Review of Worthe's Village

Blurb: Marcus Holt thought his worst memories were behind him. A veteran of the Vietnam War, the tough old soldier is haunted by nightmares of brutal conflict. But he’s about to discover that his battle for survival has only just begun.

Professor Abel Worthe is brilliant, wealthy, and utterly immoral. He is an expert in a very particular field: the study of fear and death. Using his vast resources, Worthe has purchased a collection of haunted houses and paranormal sites, hidden across the world. And he intends to subject a captive to each location in his collection of horror, all in the name of science.

All he needs is a test subject, a human lab rat to undergo his experiment in terror. And the target of his sinister attention is Marcus Holt. The aging veteran soon finds himself snatched off the streets, and forced to endure a never-ending barrage of horror.

But Marcus is no stranger to fear and death. He’s a fighter. And he is determined to survive long enough to find and kill his malicious captor.

Review: Veteran Marcus Holt is kidnapped from his home one night and placed in a village of haunted houses. He still has nightmares about his terrifying experiences when he was in the Vietnam War, but this is a new horror. The ghosts in the houses want to kill anyone living, and after Marcus helps the spirit of a trapped woman, the malicious Reverend is determined to make him pay. Not only must Marcus fight to survive against the dead, but the village is surrounded by modern day tech and deadly soldiers with orders to keep the test subjects inside. Add in two more vulnerable subjects, and Marcus has a new war on his hands.

This is the first book in the horror series, Haunted Village. I love the premise of this story. Professor Abel Worthe studies fear and death, and his ultimate experiment involves putting unsuspecting test subjects into his haunted village. These houses are ones he's collected from around the world and brought to his private compound piece by piece. Worthe meets his match in Marcus. Marcus is a protagonist you can truly root for in a situation that is impossible, and Worthe is a villain to truly loathe. The ghosts are unique and vicious. There's lots of violence, and I suspect it will be even bloodier as the series goes on. The book doesn't end with a conclusion, but there are lots of books in the series.

You can find Ron Ripley on his site and buy the book here.