Nothing ever happens in Safe Haven, Wisconsin, a sleepy little town isolated from neighboring towns by thick woods and accessible by only a single road in and out. And that’s the way the 907 residents of Safe Haven like it… until that idyllic isolation turns into their worst nightmare.

On a peaceful evening under a hunter’s moon an explosion lights up the sky as a helicopter carrying a Red Ops military unit crashes into the woods just outside of town. The Red-Ops team is made up of psychopathic killers who have been scientifically enhanced and specially trained to exploit their individual perversions for military objectives. Unfortunately for the town’s residents, the Red-Ops team survives the crash, descends upon the town, cuts them off from the outside world, and unleashes utter destruction on everyone and everything in their path.

In the face of brutal circumstances thrust upon them, ordinary people are forced to confront their beliefs and to look deep within themselves to see what they are really made of. What does the lifelong supporter of Amnesty International do when violence threatens her child? How does the fireman who has never had to do anything heroic in his sleepy little Midwestern town react? And if you’re the Sheriff who’s old and alone, beaten and broken, do you give up and lay down, or do you keep putting one foot in front of the other because people are counting on you to do so? Such are the soul testing situations the hapless people of Safe Haven find themselves facing.

The relentless pace and extreme terror of Afraid are the hooks being used to promote this book, justifiably so, but if you focus a little deeper there’s much more going on here than just a scary story. Kudos to Mr. Kilborn for creating a genuinely terrifying story that actually has depth to go with its death and destruction. 5 out of 5

A plane crashes outside of the small town of Safe Haven, Wisconsin and unleashes a horrifying string of events brought to life in a truly spectacular way by Jack Kilborn.

Kilborn conveys an emotion that could be mildly called terror in a beautiful economy of words that sucks the reader in right from the start. This reader – who can be callous in the extreme when reading – teared up during the first kill – a scene so cleverly diabolical and sadistic that I think I can say Kilborn has a fan for life.

The baddies in this one – a good baddie can be interesting – these baddies are so brutal and unexpected that they tie the reader in a brotherhood of joy and love of art. A truly good baddie is one that you feel for as well and as nasty and awful and horrible and…..well, it was hard not to feel for the baddies – sorry if that makes this reader twisted – but, read it and tell me how awful I am for feeling for the baddie.

It must also be said for Kilborn that though we meet dozens of people in this book and many only for a paragraph or two, we have the feeling of knowing them – these are not paper dolls, people – these are people who feel for and want to win and….well, maybe they do and maybe they don’t.

By now the reader of this review is probably rolling their eyes saying, “Oh please, the book can’t possibly be THAT good.” Oh, trust me – there are no words for so fascinating a read. True, this one is not for the faint of heart – you can’t watch horror movies at night? Well, maybe this is t he one to pass up. If you like to be frightened and you like a truly horrifying storyline which is well crafted and sucks you in like a brand new vacuum? Kilborn is the author for you.