3.5 stars for Faithful by Dean Skinner #thriller #horror #freebie #newrelease #bookreview
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  • N. N. Light
    • Oct 24, 2023
    • 3 min read

3.5 stars for Faithful by Dean Skinner #thriller #horror #freebie #newrelease #bookreview



Title: Faithful

Author: Dean Skinner

Genre: Thriller / Psychological Thriller / Horror


Book Blurb:


"It's been 30 days now, about four and a half weeks, but it might as well be forever because I'm in Hell. I am absolutely in Hell and apparently... I'm atoning for my sins..."


Body horror is just the start. Faithful is a suspense-filled novella that unwinds the relationship between a captor and his victim in a cold and agonizing thirty-day plot. With a purposeful and melancholic melody, it will have you holding your breath and body close.


From the author who brought you Broken, Paths, and Healed, all reaching and maintaining number one spots in numerous categories (#1 in Horror Short Stories, #1 in One-Hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads, #1 in 90-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads, etc.), Faithful is by far Dean Skinner's darkest novella yet. As one reader described it, "This 90-minute book f@#ed me up for an entire week."


Within the first week of publication, Faithful made multiple Amazon Bestseller lists including:


#1 in Horror Suspense

#2 in Horror Short Stories

#3 in Psychological Fiction


Faithful is Dean’s fourth book and all of his books (e.g. Broken, Paths, Healed and now Faithful) continue to remain on Amazon’s Best Seller lists.


My Review:


Faithful by Dean Skinner is a grisly tale of a kidnapped man. It reminded me of the horror movie Hard Candy (2005) mixed with the plot twists of The Usual Suspects (1995.) However, we don’t know our protagonist’s relationship to the ‘Batman masked man’ because the book’s timeline is reversed. The reader is as bewildered as the main character with layers revealed in small segments.


The continuity was maintained throughout the book, despite the reversed timeline that was sometimes nonlinear. This is a difficult feat, and I was delighted that all the details were meticulously planned by Skinner. However, the reader misses out on some of the emotional connections that make the torturer’s actions truly scary. For example, when our protagonist lost his friends, I didn’t feel any connection to them. Because their death was my first introduction to them, I didn’t feel a surge of compassion for the protagonist’s loss. I wasn’t connecting to the characters because there wasn’t tension or an established relationship.


These holes make the twist possible. At one point the protagonist endures mutilation that doesn’t have a large impact until the final scare. Be patient with this short read because it comes together in the final pages. You will be rewarded for the confusion at the beginning. ‘Faithful’ is the type of book where you hold it after the last words and allow the building blocks to fall into place in your mind. Overall, ‘Faithful’ is more for the speculative horror fan than the slasher movie fan, although there is plenty of blood and gore for both. I recommend this horror novel to those with a strong stomach and a love of puzzles.


My Rating: 3.5 stars


Buy it Now:

Grab your free copy today to start reading this bestselling story!








Author Biography:


Dean is an artist and an author of supernatural thrillers. His last book, Healed, was number one on six of Amazon’s best seller lists and remained within the top spots in multiple categories well over a year since it was published in 2021. And his first book, Broken, held multiple top ten spots, including number one in Horror Short Stories, four years after its release in 2019.


Dean is also an artist who has painted over one hundred large-format portraits. His work has been featured in galleries throughout the US and UK and he has been commissioned by numerous NFL athletes, including Derrick Henry, All-Pro running back. If you’d like to see Dean’s artwork, please visit instagram.com/deanskinner.


In November of 2018, Dean went to 20Books Vegas, a yearly gathering of some of the publishing industry’s most notable self-published authors. Here, Dean was so moved and inspired by this talented group of people that three months later, he finished writing his first draft of Broken and published it later that year.


Dean is originally from Bridgeport, West Virginia and now lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, two children and giant, fluffy Sheepadoodle.


Social Media Links:



Reviewed by: Patty

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