Soze Says

Fast-paced, economically worded, sleazy, nasty, crazy, utterly unbelievable, and still "rump" obsessed (I counted its use 10 times in this one), Beware! is a lesser Laymon throwback.

How many other authors could construct a narrative that mixes a supernatural cult, a mysterious presence in a market store, a private investigator with some questionable methods, and a reporter on the run, all within a meagre 260-odd pages? Seriously, this one fairly skips along. At least until it's final quarter where the various threads come together in an altogether unsatisfactory and fairly clunky manner.

Readers should also beware (heh) the number of rape scenes in this book. Laymon pulls few punches in detailing how one of his more disgusting antagonists forces himself upon one of his more helpless heroines. The impact of these is then undermined by Laymon when said heroine falls exceedingly fast for a hero who comes to her aid, and is only too happy leap into a coital embrace with him. It was right about then that I all but lost interest in how things were going to be resolved.

So, overall, this is far from one of Laymon's finest, even if it starts well and doesn't outstay its welcome. I don't think I've heard any Laymon fans referring to this one as a favourite, however, so I guess Beware! (complete with silly exclamation point) deserves its place as one of his lesser novels.

2.5 Rumpshakers Rumpshaking for Beware!.