Book Review: Silence In The Basement by Alex Mura (2024)
Hanabi Press
Out of the gate, Silence In The Basement feels like a vaguely special novel in the context of contemporary horror. It’s not the prose, plot, or characters, all of which are perfectly serviceable, but the vibe, and the type of the story that shapes up after the first few chapters. After sixty or seventy pages, my curious appreciation begins to coalesce into something more articulable: Silence In The Basement feels like careful, conscious throwback to the one-line plot pitches and Anytown settings of popular horror novels in the 1980s and 1990s, content to simply drop an unremarkable-yet-relatable American into a remarkable-and-(hopefully)-unrelatable situation.
In this case, the character is Hank, a long haul trucker making his way through Texas en route to California. Hank is something of a romanticized blue-collar Everyman: widowed, half-estranged from his adult daughter, but not guilty of anything more sinister than struggling with modern life and trusting the solace found in his truck’s cab more than the world outside it. He stops at a roadside motel in a stretch of Texas where folks have been disappearing without a trace, and soon finds himself in the middle of the mystery. Locked in a windowless basement with a young woman named Sara, the two soon learn that they are the guests of a cannibalistic conman. The only catch is that their captor doesn’t plan to kill them: he’s going to make them part of his family.
…Isn’t that an oddly refreshing premise for a book? As someone who spends the bulk of their reading time digesting and analyzing newly-published horror novels, I was pleasantly surprised to find I had picked up something that at once feels like mid-tier Stephen King novel from decades ago. I sunk into the story quickly, and despite the absence of the too-clever twists and ham-fisted social commentary that are the hallmarks of modern fiction, I felt oddly pleased by what I was reading, and suffered no intellectual guilt as a result of this dalliance with a straightforward horror story.
That’s not to say the novel is in any way unoriginal or uninteresting–on the contrary, Mura takes the forthright setup and introduces one of the most interesting serial killers to turn up in recent literature. Our antagonist, Mal, is as unpredictable and layered as Mickey Knox, and while his motivations remains difficult to descry, as a reader I have no doubt they are sensibly constructed within the confines of his deranged mind. Mal is perpetually caught in a tug-of-war between controlling his captives and winning their approval, and pendulums between these points anytime he encounters frustration or resistance. Couple this with excellent character work in the wider novel and the fact that Mal has no intention of killing Hank or Sara, and we end up with an interesting game of masks that is thick with tension and manages to create a very engaging and dynamic conflict.
In an era where I often lament the MFA-ification of popular literature and feel that writers are almost bullied into prescriptive, formulaic novel structure (...while at the same time praising much of it), it’s really refreshing to see a young author write something so instinctual. I hope the popular literature landscape will soon swing back a bit more in favor of style and simplicity, and that Alex Mura can find a substantial audience as a result. Sometimes readers just want to be entertained by solid writing in a gripping story, and that’s what is done here.
All of that praise retained, the novel does have some weaknesses. I get the impression that it was begun without a precise ending in mind, and many of the developmental details and backstory–particularly about the killer–would have been better served to enter the story earlier than they did. The final act also feels a bit like Hank ran out of highway, and the novel veers into a somewhat abrupt and chaotic conclusion. It holds up to the last page, but I think something better could have been done with a bit more plotting and planning. Still, Mura is very young, and I’ll be watching for his next outing to see if his can hone his ability to bring a story home.
Final Thoughts
Despite some questionable pacing in the back half and a sense that the idea that holds the novel together started to run out, Silence In The Basement is nonetheless an smart and effective horror-thriller with strong moments of tension and a consistent, immersive voice. It’s an incredibly promising debut, and genuinely fun read from an author who seems to have all of the tools to find success.
Silence In The Basement is a novel with a very clear idea of what it is, and plays that role exceptionally well. I think this novel works well for readers of any generation, as older heads will find a bit of something they don't get anymore while younger readers may discover something they’ve not yet encountered.
Score: 7.8
Strengths:
Well-written characters, premise, and story
Excellent villain
Clear identity
Weaknesses
Sense that the book ended up painted into a corner in the final act
Old school sensibilities may not work for every reader
Occasional UK vernacular from American characters may break immersion
You can purchase Silence In The Basement on Amazon, or preferably, through a bookstore in your community.
You may also like: The Hitcher, Desperation, Ti West’s X, The Suicide Motor Club
