“A compelling literary crime that follows the son of a serial murderer who changes his identity in a bid to escape his past.

The arrest of his father for a series of unspeakable crimes shattered Lyle Edison’s suburban teenage life. There was no way to pick up the pieces, so he ran. Now at last, after years of hiding under a false name to escape his father’s wicked legacy, Lyle has begun to build a future with the woman he loves.

But after an encounter with an unworldly stranger named Icarus who seems to know Lyle’s secrets – a homeless man with a questionable grip on reality who claims to be a messenger for the Divine, Lyle is set on a perilous new path.

Confronting Icarus means coming face to face with his own past, forcing Lyle to make a choice that threatens the fragile façade he has created, with his future and his new family hanging in the balance.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Mother Howl by Craig Clevenger. Mother Howl was published by Datura Books on 13th June 2023 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read and review a free ARC of Mother Howl but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Caroline at Datura Books for sending me a finished copy.

Lyle Edison is a young man with a past. A past he’s desperate to escape from. Lyle’s father is a convicted serial killer and the burden of carrying that through his life, of people knowing what Lyle’s father did and associating him with his father’s despicable acts, weighs heavy on Lyle’s shoulders. So Lyle illegally changes his name, believing that will banish the past and enable him to live his life. But what Lyle doesn’t account for is the guilt of committing a crime along with the knowledge that at any point, he could be caught. Particularly when a strange man called Icarus, who claims to be not of this earth and receiving messages from a god-like entity called Mother Howl, seems to know everything about Lyle. Lyle needs to decide whether to confront his own past or risk destroying everything he holds dear…

Mother Howl is a slow burn, character-driven, literary crime novel about a young man who desperately wants to escape the trauma of his past. Lyle is a good man but turns to a criminal for help to rewrite history in the form of a brand new identity and accompanying paperwork. With his new found persona, Lyle moves away to a town where no one knows who he is and starts to build a new, untarnished life. I felt desperately sorry for Lyle who has an innocence to him that I became quite fond of. I wanted him to be free of the burdens of his past. I wanted him to start a new life with his new name and new wife that would be fulfilling and without repercussions. But of course, nothing is ever that easy and things take an unexpected turn for our lead protagonist in the form of Icarus. The introduction of this strange, otherworldly being really does blur the genre lines of this novel. Is it magical realism? Perhaps urban fantasy is a more fitting label? (Not that I read any urban fantasy so what do I know? Not a lot!) The reader is introduced to Icarus early on in the novel but you never really get a strong hold on who, or what, he is. And I’ll be completely honest with you, Icarus hurt my head a little. He’s frantic and jumbled and wordy and impossible to explain. The story is told from both Lyle’s point of view and Icarus’s. But the two don’t meet until much later in the book. I was 100% there for Lyle’s chapters. I wasn’t so keen about Icarus’s.

Would I recommend this book? If you’re looking for something to get your teeth into, something a bit different with a slightly slower pace and an interesting lead then yes, I would recommend Mother Howl. Parts of this novel really worked for me. Others, not so much. But the overall package is good and Lyle’s story is interesting. Also, if you enjoy books that blur the lines between genres then you should pick this one up as, despite me not being 100% sold on Icarus, I do think the gradual merging of the two storylines worked well. An interesting read which I’m glad I took a chance on.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of Mother Howl. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Mother Howl by Craig Clevenger was published in the UK by Datura Books on 13th June 2023 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Craig Clevenger is an American author of contemporary fiction. Born 1964 in Dallas, Texas, he grew up in Southern California where he studied English at California State University, Long Beach. He is the author of two novels, The Contortionist’s Handbook and Dermaphoria, both released by MacAdam/Cage.