Red Hands by Christopher Golden
St. Martin’s Press (December 8, 2020)
320 pages; $27.99 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms
“Weird shit.” That’s Ben Walker. The expert on weird shit from the previous two entries which are standalone novels, Ararat and The Pandora Room, one of which left a scar few horror novels ever manage to accomplish while the other dug deep into thriller territory in a deliciously fun manner. How does Chris Golden follow this up? Red Hands.
It’s his most personal novel in years. Not since Dead Ringers has the author hit on characters so intimate that the reader is unable to extricate themself from the scenes within — a marvelous thing for a story of this kind. One can classify it as a thriller, and would hit the nail on the head, yet turn around and label it it as horror and be just as correct in that assumption. The bottom line: it’s another winner from Golden that will undoubtedly wind up on the Stoker finalists list.
The story explodes off the page in a manner that many thrillers attempt to do and few succeed. The horror hits almost as hard. It called to mind the introduction to Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes or The Stand — the chapter feels like a story until itself. Golden knows how to snare a reader and keep them enthralled until the final page.
Maeve Sinclair is enjoying a July 4th celebration in her small town when a car streaks down the street and mows down several people. The driver proceeds to touch various people, who die almost instantly, and brutally. She rushes in and attacks the man, but not before something passes between them. Whatever existed in the man has now transferred to Maeve. She senses this and not wishing to hurt anyone else, bolts for the vast forest behind her.
Ben Walker arrives and seeks out Maeve’s family, hoping to bring her in before she kills anyone with the “red hands” she’s now acquired…or before the shadow government group tears her apart in search of what makes her tick. Alena Bodreau calls in Walker to help the restructured Global Science Research Coalition save Maeve and get her off the mountain in one piece — while not getting killed in the process.
There’s more to the red hands than the deadly touch. A voice infects the afflicted, a sinister voice that prods the “victim” to feed, to destroy in an attempt to strengthen itself. Ben Walker seeks to decipher what the source of the voice is and how much of Maeve remains.
The true story is about Maeve Sinclair herself as she transforms from possible savior to victim to something… much darker. Golden colors her as one of his most memorable characters yet. Walker might be the hero of the series, but this woman is the engine behind the novel both touching and unsettling.
As usual, Christopher Golden’s new novel comes highly recommended.
