A History of Fear (sadly not much fear involved.)

A History of Fear by Luke Dumas has an interesting premise but sadly falls a little short in execution. There are so many elements at play in this novel--childhood trauma, mental health, and identity plus a deal with the Devil and the effects it has on the main character Grayson Hale. Without giving too much away this book takes the old tack that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was to convince people he doesn't exist. It makes for an interesting story here with the reader going between believing Grayson's version of events and questioning his grasp of reality. Where the book fell a little flat for me was that the time frame was hard to place--The story is told in such a way that we are reading a found manuscript written by Grayson Hale and the style is reminiscent of classic literature yet when Grayson describes his interaction with other characters it is in a much more contemporary voice. If the intention is to create a fog where we are not sure of the time period then it succeeds. Thanks to #NetGalley, #AtriaBooks, and Luke Dumas for the ARC of #AHistoryofFear.

In the end it was not scary at all.