The Mall Priest is the first book in a series co-written by Australian author Chris Heinicke and Canadian author Kate Reedwood. Chris started writing in high school and began self-publishing books years later. In 2015, his writing path met with that of Kate Reedwood. A mutual respect of each other’s work ignited an interest in working together, creating the Legacy Hunter series. Kate Reedwood, also known as Felicity Kates, is a manager by day who, at night, enjoys writing stories that combine humour with strong characters who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go get it.
It’s Christmas Eve, 1985, and Mallzilla, Springfield’s largest shopping mall, is flooded with last-minute shoppers. Also at the mall are the mall’s resident priest, Father Sam, spending the day at a kiosk, and an embattled rock star, Ricky, who’s trying to revive his career with a Christmas Eve mall performance. But when Abaddon, one of the Devil’s deadliest soldiers, is unleashed after being imprisoned in a human vessel for centuries, the mall becomes the epicentre of a battle between good and evil.
Abaddon plans to create a demon apocalypse on Earth, and he intends to begin by recruiting an army of possessed mallgoers. As the demon-possessed humans start killing off innocent shoppers and store owners, Abaddon seals everyone inside. At the same time, a group of unlikely heroes, led by Father Sam, band together, trying to stop him. As the body count rises and the stakes get higher, the mall becomes the last line of defence against Abaddon’s quest for world dominance. With no time to spare, the Mall Priest and his team must find a way to send Abaddon back to Hell before he succeeds in building his army of darkness.
The Mall Priest is a fast-paced, gore-filled, comedy-horror novel with relentless action and suspense. The storyline is incredibly original with its premise of an unleashed demon taking possession of people in a shopping mall on Christmas Eve to build an apocalyptic army. Even if horror is not your genre of choice, you’ll still likely find this book difficult to put down. The book features many compelling characters, including an alpha hero priest, an embattled rock star, a snarky demon, quirky supporting characters, and the ultimate demon hunter squad!
The mall, perfectly named Mallzilla, comes to life in all its 1980s glory. The writing makes it so easy to visualize the shops, aisles, and the Christmas tree concourse where most of the action unfolds. There is even a retro bowling alley where one of the thrilling battle scenes takes place. The author uses all of these fantastic settings to great effect, creating both truly horrifying and absurdly hilarious scenes.
It should also be noted that there is some religious ideology in this book, but it’s mostly presented by the priest protagonist, Father Sam, in his efforts to exorcise the demon-possessed humans and banish the demon Abaddon back to Hell. None of it is written in a preachy manner, so it definitely doesn’t detract from the story. There are also interesting references to other mystical spiritual ideologies, including protective crystals, Gaia, and angels, that add further intrigue to the story. The story effectively highlights the conflict between modern-day materialism and spiritual faith by using the juxtaposition of frenetic Christmas shoppers alongside an unperturbed priest who’s upholding his spiritual convictions. After such an action-packed storyline, the epilogue provides some more comic relief, as well as some unexpected twists that give some insight into what may arise in the book’s sequel.
Narrator Justin Price does a phenomenal job elevating this story to its full potential. Price brings a commanding voice to the story from start to finish and perfectly portrays each character with a distinct and authentic voice that gives the audiobook the feel of a multicast listen. In particular, his portrayal of the demon Abaddon is a perfect combination of terrifying and hilarious, matching the character’s dark, sardonic persona. Price never wavers in his performance, paces the story incredibly well, and brilliantly increases the emotional intensity of the characters towards the end, making for a very captivating listen! With such exceptional narration, the recommended format for enjoying this book is most definitely the audiobook! It’s a wild ride of a listen that you won’t soon forget!
Overall, Mall Priest is a fun, atmospheric, and thought-provoking comedy-horror book that stands out for its originality. If a Christmas story with a retro vibe, some gore, non-stop suspense, and memorable characters tickles your fancy, then you’ll definitely want to give this book a try! It’s also great to know that books two and three in the series have already been released, so you can joyfully devour the entire series this spooky season!
