Book Review | The Binding by Nicholas Wolff

The Binding is the debut horror novel of Nicholas Wolff (a pseudonym for "an acclaimed New York Times bestselling author").

When a rare mental disorder begins to consume his small-town neighbors, a young psychiatrist digs up the past for clues to the epidemic’s bone-chilling source in this brilliant supernatural horror debut, written in the bestselling tradition of Peter Straub.

Convinced that evil spirits have overtaken his daughter, a desperate father introduces her to Nat Thayer, a young psychiatrist in their sleepy blue-blooded Massachusetts college town. Thayer quickly diagnoses the girl with Cotard Delusion, an obscure condition sometimes described as “walking corpse syndrome.” But Thayer soon realizes his patient—and many of the local families—are actually being targeted by a malignant force resurrected from the town's wicked history. Thayer must discover the source of the spreading plague…before there is no one left to save.

Reading The Binding was kind of a strange experience. There were some great scenes - even some scares - but I had a lot of trouble paying attention to the rest of it. I'm coming out of it with memorable bits and pieces but no glue to hold it all together.

I texted my mom at 12% because I knew she was reading this as well. She told me she had to start over completely 3 times before she got it to stick. That was not a fate I wanted so I just pressed on.

In the end, I'm glad for those memorable moments - they are what I look for in a great read - but I often found myself pushing through The Binding so I could move on to something else.

5/10: Decent Read

Review copy provided by publisher