Oh ok, I see you John Fram. I've been begging for more unique and creative crime fiction for what feels like decades, and low and behold Stephen Queen is here and he has delivered! Funny story: I reviewed this book in my head back in February, and apparently thought I reviewed it here as well, but... SURPRISE! Alas, in my head it stayed. But that's ok because I'm here reviewing it now!

"His brother was not the first troubled football player to confide in Joel. All week in Manhattan he had thought of nothing but a sticky summer afternoon a decade ago, of a truck cab spiked with the smell of spearmint, of a man with shocking green eyes and a bad neck shaking his head with the effort and saying, "Don't play that game if you can help it, Whitley." Joel would cut off an arm to ensure Dylan never suffered the same fate as that ruined man."

Imagine if Friday Night Lights and any one of Stephen King's stories had a lovechild, and you would probably end up welcoming a spunky little bundle of [b:The Bright Lands|52703177|The Bright Lands|John Fram|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574745711l/52703177._SY75_.jpg|73039715]. From the very first page, Fram has saturated the story with mystery, suspense, and a special brand of dread that grows with each breath of this tale. It's a dread that is both fantastical and allegorical. Typically I don't like my thrillers packaged in a 500 page count, but John has proven me wrong by showing me just how much this story needed the hefty chunk. This novel is meaty in more ways than one,