In At Dark, I Become Loathsome, a grotesque yet moving horror novel from Eric LaRocca (You've Lost a Lot of Blood), the conductor of a macabre ritual to help those contemplating suicide forms a disturbing connection with a potential subject.
Ashley Lutin has always considered himself to be a "horrible creature," and he has only sunk more deeply into darkness in the years since his wife died and his young son went missing. A "self-loathing bisexual," Ashley worries that he may have driven his son away with his fears that the boy might be gay--"I just didn't want him to be like me." To help others who have often "thought that the world would be a better place without [them]," he has created a " 'fake death' ritual," through which they can confront death by being buried alive. But not long after receiving news about his son's disappearance, Ashley is approached by a new client who tells him a story that both revolts and intrigues him. He begins to lose the careful balance that has contained his self-described loathsomeness in the dark.
An expert in body horror, LaRocca skillfully uses the unsettling stories that fascinate Ashley to drive home the ugly burden of guilt he feels over his son's fate and his own sexuality. As Ashley careens out of control, readers will be breathless and on the edge of their seats, waiting to find out whether the truth will set him free. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library