Book Review
Reviewed by: Shrabastee Chakraborty
Villainous Minds is an anthology of five extremely harrowing tales penned by Joan Wiley. If you believe that nothing horrific can faze you, spend a day with the characters in this book. How does a peaceful camping trip turn into a bloodbath? How will you banish a parasitic demon inhabiting your soul without harming yourself first? How about a brush with death transforming you from an egotistic, spiteful person to someone conscientious, only to drag you down again? How long will you tolerate insanity before it overshadows your life and engulfs your future? What about seeking immoral and torturous ways to fulfill your deepest, most secret desires? Come, take a tour through these violent, gory, twisted tales.
The title was both self-explanatory and cautionary. Opening the pages ensured a journey into a fathomless abyss of the deranged human psyche. Reading these oddly disturbing, extremely chilling tales resembled going through a serpentine maze. Every moment spent reading Villainous Minds gave me a sense of foreboding. With a sickening feeling in my stomach, I would realize exactly what was going wrong. By then, it would be too late, and I would be helplessly watching as the lunacy devoured the characters and everything surrounding them. What amazed me was the ease with which Joan Wiley navigated such all-encompassing madness.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this collection to anyone who appreciates dark psychological thrillers. At the same time, I should warn readers that this book is not for the faint-hearted.