Seed by Ania Ahlborn (2011)

It's been a while, since I wrote a book review.  What happened is that I raced through pretty much the entire collection of Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch, and then needed a break from the onslaught of blood, guts, and general creepiness I had subjected myself to.  After a few weeks of trashy romance novels (my guilty pleasure), I decided to delve back into the world of horror fiction and was glad to stumble upon Seed.  The description related this story to works of King, Crouch, and Kilborn, and of course, I was instantly hooked.

Seed is the story of a young family: father Jack, mother Aimee, 10-year old Abigail, and 6-year old Charlotte/Charlie.  Jack harbors dark secrets from his childhood, which culminated in him running away from home at the early age of 14.  One evening, while driving home late at night with his family, he swerves off the road to dodge what he thinks is an animal.  No one else sees the animal, except for Charlie.

After the accident, things begin to change.  Jack begins to see the evil in Charlie that he saw in himself as a child.  In conjunction with the current story, we also get a slow and steady reveal of Jack's childhood.  Charlie becomes scarier and more intimidating, as her older sister and mother shrink away from her.  Jack, however, is intrigued by his changed daughter.

This book had a level of creepiness that is sincerely difficult to achieve.  I read some sentences/scenes repeatedly, as I loved how they were written.  I find it's challenging to paint a child as an antagonist, a la Damien and Reagan, but Ahlborn hit the nail right on the head.  I flew through this book in two days, and literally could not put it down.  I would highly recommend.