Animosity Paperback – 15 Mar 2014

Andrew Holland is a horror writer. His books are not for the feint hearted. He lives in a well to do, quiet neighbourhood, surrounded by neighbours that don't truly appreciate his writing style in either a entertaining or moral way but they are keen to jump on the back of this "celebrity" whenever a chance arises to big themselves up and claim to be "friends" with a star.One day while out walking his dog he stumbles upon the naked body of a young girl. A young girl roughly the same age as his daughter. The police are called. They take his statement. They reveal something from his past that he thought was buried forever. What comes from this is a story of relentless pain and misery for Andrew. Although not being treated as a suspect by the police, the press get to hear of his past and hound him in the papers, on the television and almost hold a public trial, finding him guilty in a way only the media can do. His once friendly neighbours turn on him in the most horrific way, convinced of his guilt from what they see and read. There is animosity at every turn and Andrew Holland can't escape it.This book is outstanding. It is psychological horror at it's very best. When Andrew's horror began I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. When his secret was revealed I couldn't help but feel utter contempt for him. When the story of his secret was told, I couldn't help but feel guilty.James Newman has hit the proverbial nail on the head over and over with this story. If you fail to question your own feelings towards people and how you may treat them and think of them while reading this story then I really don't think you have a heart.It shows perfectly how cruel and downright nasty human beings can be when they believe something that may not necessarily be true but can't see the truth because of their blinkered thinking and beliefs in what the media may be telling them regardless of the truth staring them in the face.This book is a must read for anyone who likes a good thriller or a good horror. It has certainly rocketed into my top 5 books I have read. It is probably the best book I have read this year both for the writing style, the story and the way it has you permanently thinking about it during those times you have to put it down and do something else.It will probably also get you thinking about the Animosity you show to others. There is a good lesson to be learned from this book.5 stars all the way!!

Ten minutes ago I killed three of my neighbors...Four, if you count the baby. What a start! to a fantastic rollercoaster of a ride the leaves the reader breathless right to the last page. Andy Holland is a horror writer (and we love horror writers!) living single at home from his estranged wife Karen (who he found in an uncompromising position with her boss!) and daughter Samantha. Andy is carrying a lot of heartache there’s just him now, and his good old buddy his faithful dog Norman and one day whilst the faithful pair are out walking they make the horrific discovery of the naked body of a dead child and thereafter things are never the same...”Truth be told, I knew exactly what was bothering Norman. Ever since that fateful morning, I could tell my dog had not been the same. It wasn’t anything I could put a finger on, really, other than a slight tension in the retriever’s haunches, a cautious twitch of his ears every few minutes. Yet I knew he sensed the wrongness that had festered within our neighbourhood these last few days. An ominous feeling lingered on every breeze, like the ozone scent of a storm looming just seconds away. The air around us crackled with a strange, electric quiet. Gone were the low, rattling drone of skateboard wheels atop asphalt and the ticking of playing cards in bicycle spokes and the carefree laughter of children which normally echoed up and down our block......”This is a delicious story that starts of slow with the horror and the reality of Andy’s situation building to a bloody crescendo and in the end Andy discovers that the good life he thought he had was in reality a myth and those he hoped he could trust disappeared and turned against him. There were three great characters of note Ronnie “Round Man” Miller proprietor of the 7th Avenue Stop-N-Shop and two of Andy’s neighbours: Mona Purfield “an obese senior citizen who dyed her hair the brightest orange I have ever seen. When the sun hit it just right, her head looked like it was on fire. She always wore three or four times more make-up than necessary for a woman her age, dressed in flowery muumuus and neon pink flip-flops wherever she went, and spoke in the most nasally, obnoxious voice you can imagine” and Ben Souther who always had a handy quote whenever and wherever he needed it. “Everyone is a moon” Ben Souther said, “and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”So will the killer be discovered?, will Andy ever have the good life again? And will he still be loved and revered by the good people of Poinsettia Lane? Dear readers you are in for a wonderful treat James Newman is one of the greatest living exponents of the the horror genre and this novel is truly brilliant...so read..and enjoy and be thankful for the support and love of good neighbours 