Book Review: Golem by PD Alleva

In Long Island, bored socialite Annette grows stronger in her hatred of humanity, while in New York newly minted police detective John Ashton is tasked with searching for the new D.A’s missing daughter. The case leads him to a mental hospital, and Alena, where he hears a dark tale that’s too disturbing to be true. 

A dark Pygmalion with hints of the demon worshiping New York elite from Rosemary’s Baby, Golem ticked all the right boxes for me.

The titular Golem, while inspired by the Jewish myth, has more in common with a smooth tongued abuser than the monster of clay. He’s well done, his every word sure to manipulate and confuse the characters in the book.

The majority of this book is Alena’s story, a horror retelling of the Pygmalion myth, and I’m not sure why the author decided to frame it as Alena telling the story to a policeman rather than starting the book with this tale. However, my confusion about why the story is laid out the way it is didn’t take away from my enjoyment of it.

There are some frightening scenes in this book, and the rest is an engrossing tale of depravity and dishonesty. The devil is in the details, and in every moment of this book, where the old saying is never more true – the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

I’ll be sure to read more by this author.