“The Praying Mantis Bride” brings Nameless his next horrible case and Koontz keeps the whole thing moving at a pace that never slackens. The prose is smooth and unfussy, the kind of writing that carries you along without ever drawing attention to itself. I sat down meaning to read a few pages and finished the entire novella in one sitting.

„A deadly black widow has eliminated three husbands and counting. But Nameless knows her one weakness. To bring truth and its consequences to her crimes, the vigilante must spin a web of his own in part three of the Nameless series. Lucia, current last name, Rickenbah, has made a fortune by marrying rich men who tend to drop dead. But the superstitious blonde believes in more than money and murder. Nameless’s job is to scare a confession out of Lucia, and as the psychological warfare escalates, even he may be in for a shock.“

Blurb

What I enjoyed most this time were the smaller pieces of the larger puzzle. We learn a little more about Ace as well as about the organisation standing behind Nameless. It is never enough to spoil the mystery, but it is enough to keep the bigger arc alive underneath the case at hand. That balance is what makes the series work as a series rather than as a set of interchangeable episodes.

The books have always carried a faint supernatural charge through Nameless’ visions. Here that element steps out of the background. The ending turns into genuinely uncanny territory and I enjoyed every page of it. It is one of several reasons why I will pick up the next instalment as quickly as I can. Another solid 4-star-read.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📝 If you are looking for my own short stories, poems and texts, check out my Substack: https://substack.com/@fragmentsandthedark