Dark Passage (A Terrifying Horror Thriller) [Kindle Edition]

Griffin Hayes (Author)

Book Description

Tyson Barrett's dreams want him dead.

An illicit drug trial promises to cure the crippling nightmares that have kept Tyson awake for months, nightmares rooted in the terrible abuse he suffered as a child. Exhausted and near collapse, he jumps at the chance to get his life back.

But Tyson soon discovers a side effect no one could have imagined. Doors are opening between Tyson's nightmares and the real world--and more than memories are coming through.

Dark Passage is a terrifying thriller in the tradition of Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

Bonus content: an excerpt from Hive, a post-apocalyptic zombie novella.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the work of Griffin Hayes

"Nail-biters beware: Griffin Hayes will have you chewing off your arm!"
-- Hugh Howey, best-selling author of WOOL

"Griffin Hayes brings to-the-point characterizations, a crisp writing style, and well-written action scenes."
-- Keith C. Blackmore, best-selling author of MOUNTAIN MAN

Product Details

• File Size: 429 KB
• Print Length: 295 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Trebor Books (December 10, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007J3HFOA
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,094 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Horror April 30, 2012

By Donald Armfield

Format:Kindle Edition

Griffin digs his nails in with his horror story. And leaves claw marks you won't forget.

Tyson an insomniac joins a test subject for meds to help one sleep. All seems good, plus the fact you can pull things outta your dreams.

If dreams come true what's the catch. Tyson finds that out the hard way. Digging up his past he did not know about.

Griffin's Wes Craven twist is sure to call out Mr. Sandman and help you sleep at night ..... well maybe. A terrifying 5 stars.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Yawatta Hosby's review on "Dark Passage: A Paranormal Thriller" May 29, 2012

By Yawatta Hosby

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This 46 chapter novel exceeded my expectations. Already a fan of the author's writing style, I knew the story would be spooky, entertaining, and action-packed. But it went well beyond that. I'll never smell a pine tree scent or see a fly the same way ever again.

Griffin Hayes has an amazing talent with characterization, voice, and description. His creative, original metaphors helped enhance the narration. Each character sounded different. I got lost in the story, feeling what the characters felt. Experiencing what they went through because of the great use of showing rather than telling.

For the majority of the novel, Tyson and Hunter switched point-of-views, each having their own chapters. At first, its set-up where I had no idea how they could know each other or meet later in the story. Then, it's finally revealed that Hunter's patient Brenda (in a coma) is actually Tyson's mother. Let me tell ya, the plot thickened! The premise was Hunter just got hired to join Sunnybrook Asylum as a doctor, and for awhile Tyson has had insomnia because of nightmares. He found Dr. Stevens to help him sleep by taking a dosage of medicine after every meal.

There were some chapters that showed the supporting characters' perspectives as well. Pay close attention because these sections are very important in developing the plot and revealing some of the mystery.

My favorite line was: "Funny, he thought how so many of the fears that we carry with us aren't much more than a product of an overactive imagination." Boy was Tyson wrong LOL! Bad for him-good for the readers. This thriller was very entertaining.

Besides the suspense and action, I loved the drama elements as well. It helped me, as a reader, really care about the characters. Poor Tyson. Due to his long periods of insomnia, he pushed his family away, so eventually Ruma left him taking their son Kavi with her. Their conversations broke my heart, and I wished she would have gave him a second chance. I'm a sucker for happy endings. He met Judy, so I enjoyed their friendship blossoming. She was the only one who believed him about all the craziness going on. Tyson had a crappy childhood. His brother Alexander had died, his mom had attempted to kill Tyson. That's why Brenda was locked up in the insane asylum. She was in a coma but had high brain activity levels (like she was dreaming). No. She was stalking Tyson and Kavi, plus turning Hunter into a madman.

Chills went down my spine whenever the characters died. The scenes were so disgusting-in a good way-and I kept looking down under the table to make sure nothing wasn't crawling towards me. Also when Hunter went cray-cray, the other characters weren't aware. So, I kept screaming "Watch your back", especially that cafe scene with Ruma. When Ruma and Kavi visited Sunnybrook to get answers, I knew her telling him "When adults ask you a question, you better answer" would blow up in her face. Brenda was able to communicate with Kavi, getting his home address out of him. Dun, dun, dun...

I have to admit that I was scared when I saw it was 46 chapters, wondering when I'd have time to finish reading it. However, it was a very fast read. And, all the sections were important to enhance the story along further. The action and emotion weren't lost. There wasn't any boring setups or unnecessary backstory. All the twists and reveals kept me on my toes; the ending tied together nicely.

I could picture this as a movie. I could envision Logan Marshall Green as Tyson and Ryan Phillippe as Hunter.

I RECOMMEND this book to read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Jen's Review May 16, 2012

By Ezra T. Gray

Format:Kindle Edition

Dark Passage, by Griffin Hayes, is the frightening tale of Tyson's struggle to leave his childhood trauma behind him. The problem Tyson has, though, is that it follows him home from his dreams.
Without spoilers, the monster in this was terrifying. Hayes has an excellent imagination and a gift for keeping the tension torqued. Every time I thought, well, this will have to be it, he pulled another twist.
This is a well told story, carefully thought out and nicely paced. The characters and their actions made sense. I never had the feeling that a character had been inserted for the convenience of the plot. My only complaint is that the 'how' of the monster is not fully explained. This, however, does not detract in any way from the enjoyment of the book.
I give this book five stars and, from the excerpts of his other novels at the end of this book, would definitely recommend him to horror lovers!
Jennifer Gray, editor The Grove and Other Stories

More About the Author

I grew up watching grainy reruns of The Twilight Zone and rereading worn-out copies of Raymond Chandler novels. Eventually, my taste for the unsettling and the inexplicable found an outlet in my short stories; two of which have been published: The Grip with Black Ink Horror and Last Call with Alienskin. I've written a handful of books to date. The latest is a post-apocalyptic series called Primal Shift about a worldwide amnesia that sends humanity back to the dark ages.

I'm always thrilled to hear from readers, so feel free to drop me a line at: griffinhayesbooks[at]gmail[dot]com.

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