An Evil Premise
From T. Marie Vandelly, author of the acclaimed horror novel Theme Music, An Evil Premise is a mind-bending, thrilling metanovel about possession, insanity, and the lengths a writer will go to find inspiration.
When a bizarre accident leaves her sister, bestselling author Deidre Baldwin, in a coma and suffering from a grotesque skin malady, Jewel rushes to her bedside. Though the sisters are not close, she is determined to do what she can for Deidre. Staying at her sister's apartment, Jewel stumbles upon an unfinished manuscript, the one that Deidre was rushing to complete for her publisher. When Deidre's literary agent calls in a panic, Jewel--a self-published writer herself, desperate for a break--suggests she can finish it by the deadline.
But the story is unsettling. It begins with a writer looking for inspiration, who finds an unclaimed manuscript. But said manuscript is just a series of protagonists who feel compelled to act out their heinous contributions to the grisly plot.
Jewel is determined not to be scared off, but the novel hits a little close to home. She tries to tell herself she's being paranoid, but swears she can hear someone typing when she's not at the desk, and somehow the word count of the novel keeps going up. Her skin begins to itch.
Terrified of losing her sanity, but equally terrified of losing her one shot at success, Jewel tries to find a story somewhere in the carnage, even as her rash becomes worse and she starts to have not-so-neighborly thoughts about her neighbors. Is this what happened to Deidre? Did the manuscript drive her mad? Infect her somehow? Jewel finds herself hoping her sister never wakes up. And fearing what will happen if Deidre does ...
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Community Reviews
An Evil Premise was completely addictive. I loved every minute of it. Jewel steps in to finish her comatose sister Deidre’s unfinished manuscript. She hopes the opportunity might finally give her writing career the break she has been chasing. The problem is that the manuscript seems to be writing back.
The story within a story fascinated me. The manuscript begins reflecting Jewel’s life a little too closely. Soon it becomes clear that something malevolent is using the novel to control whoever writes it. The idea of a demon possessing people through writing felt novel. Every time Jewel sat down at that computer, I wanted to know what horrible thing the entity was going to make her do next. It reminded me of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "I, Robot...You, Jane" (1997).
Jewel and Deidre have such a messy relationship. These sisters betray each other repeatedly. The demon has entirely too much fun exploiting every bit of jealousy, resentment, and ambition between them. Watching both women descend into madness made the in progress book increasingly disturbing as their desire for literary success became tangled with something much darker.
The ending was perfect. Jewel signing the manuscript with both her and Deidre’s initials gave me exactly the sinister final note I wanted. I still desperately wanted to know what happened to both sisters after the manuscript was finished. I need a part two!
I could picture this as a horror movie the entire time I was reading. The cursed manuscript, mental. deterioration, sister drama, and escalating violence would translate so well to the screen. T. Marie Vandelly has created something creative, creepy, and fresh. I am officially adding her backlog to my TBR.
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