High Risk
Rick R. Reed
Reviewed by Sarra Borne
Rick R. Reed’s latest thriller, High Risk, is a
cautionary tale that shows the reader what the
consequences might be when sexual addiction goes horribly, horribly
wrong. Beth
Walsh has it all, trendy clothes, a beautiful home and a handsome,
successful
husband. It’s not that she doesn’t love Mark, and sex with him is
great, it’s
just that she needs something more to fulfill her dark and depraved
fantasies.
She gets way more than she bargained for when she picks up the handsome
stranger at the mall and brings him home.
Ironically Beth spends much of her time worrying about
picking up a STD, when she really
should be
more concerned about picking up a monster. Drop dead gorgeous on the
outside,
Abbot Lowery is hideously ugly on the inside, and he will change Beth’s
life
forever.
Chilling and suspenseful, this story is a look into the
darkness of the souls of both the main characters.
Beth is a hard character to muster up
sympathy for even though you know she has real issues that are behind
her
behaviors, it is still difficult to condone her actions. Not simply
because
society has declared adultery wrong but because she takes no
responsibility for
them. For years she has cheated on her husband, with hundreds of
partners, all
the while declaring that she loves Mark more than anything. Her
motivation is
simply fulfilling her own needs and damn the consequences. Later, some
of her
back-story is revealed, and she becomes easier to empathize with, even
if her
actions are still deplorable. Abbot on the other hand, is just plain
crazy
under a thin veneer of civilization, and Beth manages to push all of
his hot
buttons within the first ten minutes of contact.
In a slight departure from his earlier works, High Risk
deals with heterosexual
relationships and issues, which makes it a little more mainstream than
titles
such as I.M. (2007), and In the Blood
(2007). Hopefully this will gain Reed an even bigger audience, as he
certainly
deserves one. Called the Stephen King of gay horror by Unzipped
magazine, Reed
is certainly living up to the title, not only is he immensely prolific
with two
or three new titles appearing every year, but he is also eminently
readable.