Aaron is dissatisfied with his life in small-town Ptolemy, Ohio. He’s got the perfect car, the perfect wife and kids, and a perfect house in the ‘burbs. Aaron isn’t satisfied with the trappings, and he’s missing something vital in his suburban world. His sex drive is, shall we say, above the norm.

His pecker is about to get him into deep trouble when he catches a glimpse of his hot neighbor, Caroline Langdon, with a man who isn’t her husband. It’s obvious these two are “involved,” and when they slip through a secret door at the local strip mall, Aaron’s mind immediately jumps to conclusions: a sex club!

Aaron finally wiggles his way into the hidden world of a club called Penumbra -- via a blowjob from the very lovely Caroline at his vet clinic -- but it’s not exactly the images he’s conjured up from his imagination. The members are slightly off, for lack of a better term. And how they get off isn’t the norm, either. Something malevolent resides in the back room, and it’s capable of fulfilling Aaron’s wildest dreams of pleasure. It’s an addiction they live for, and willing to kill for to keep it a secret from the outside world.

There isn’t much to like about Aaron. He’s greedy, self-centered, and he’s not above destroying his family for the sake of making Mr. Happy jump with glee. When he steps through the doors of Penumbra, this reader knew Aaron was about to get his comeuppance and I couldn’t help but smile.

As much as I love an in-your-face bloodbath, there’s a lot to be said in favor of insanity. The best trait is the author’s smart, compelling way of building tension via creeping lunacy. Who is crazy and who isn’t…well, it’s hard to tell until it’s too late.

Don’t get your hopes up thinking this is gore-free (fortunately, I didn’t.) There is plenty of gruesome havoc to mix with the salacious goings-on in the club, and it gets very, very messy at the end. It’s fairly tidy in cleaning up loose questions and everyone does get what they truly deserve, but the last chapter is far from the expected outcome. Try stupefying instead.

Highly recommended and I’m looking forward to more from this author.
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Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Leisure (November 28, 2006)
ISBN: 0843957948
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