An Open Vein is a brilliant novel of psychological terror and manipulation wrought by love and obsession – not horror in the conventional sense, but it is stronger for avoiding the clichés that are so prevalent in that genre - there are no monsters or things that go bump in the night, but they are not needed as those that are closest to us can inspire the most fear.

Told from the perspective of John - the story’s protagonist, this is an emotional and terrifying tale of a teen whose freedom and preconceptions of his world are radically altered. The story is written with a realistic teen voice; the first-person perspective works very well with the twists that the story takes and the back-story is deftly inserted and never sounds contrived.

The claustrophobic intensity and confusion that set the tone pick up in the first quarter of the book and do not let up until the very end.

Well-written and highly recommended!

7/10

Reviewer: M. Imrie