Shadow's End

Ripley, R. (2021). Shadows' end.

When retired Marine Corps sergeant Shane Ryan and his friends are forced to fend off a supernatural attack at a nearby orphanage, he plans to destroy the person responsible for the terror and carnage caused. There’s a problem though, the one behind the attack is a deranged young boy who had gained the ability to command restless spirits of the dead, and the only way to stop him…is to kill him. Can Shane bring himself to do what must be done?

For the first few paragraphs the story seems normal, then the character we’re following – Sally – discovers someone has shaved off all her hair. From there it’s a rollercoaster of questions, uncertainty and then the boy and a ghost appear. The eeriness of the way the boy talks about tests and experiments combined with the sudden death of Sally at the hands of the ghost really help set the tone for the rest of the story. The only downside was when the main character – Shane – talked a lot like some 80’s action movie hero, which was a bit ridiculous.