Life After Dane

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Pub Date 10 Jul 2013 | Archive Date 30 Jan 2016

Description


A mother’s love is undying… and so is Dane.

After the state of Arkansas executes serial killer Dane Peters, the Rest Stop Dentist, his mother discovers that life is darker and more dangerous than she ever expected.

The driving force behind his ghostly return lies buried in his family’s dark past. As Ella desperately seeks a way to lay her son’s troubled soul to rest, she comes face to face with her own failings.

If Ella cannot learn why her son has returned and what he seeks, then the reach of his power will destroy the innocent, and not even his mother will be able to stop him.

A mother’s love is undying… and so is Dane.

After the state of Arkansas executes serial killer Dane Peters, the Rest Stop Dentist, his mother discovers that life is darker and more dangerous than...

Advance Praise

"And the ending. Oh, my. Didn't see that coming." Big Al's Books & Pals

"... a nail biting, stomach churning, ho-ly s*** book..." I'm a Voracious Reader

"... takes a considered look at who's responsible for "creating" serial killers." The Chaotic Reader

"... makes you think about the power of your choices & reverberations of inaction..." Dab of Darkness

"Edward Lorn demonstrates his gift of vivid writing along with a mastery at keeping the reader on edge." KBoards
"And the ending. Oh, my. Didn't see that coming." Big Al's Books & Pals

"... a nail biting, stomach churning, ho-ly s*** book..." I'm a Voracious Reader

"... takes a considered look at who's...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781940215051
PRICE US$11.99 (USD)

Average rating from 20 members


Featured Reviews

Ella Peters thought she was going to live happily ever after when she married Phillip and gave birth to their son. Instead she sat back and watched the makings of a serial killer. As the abuse Dane suffers turns more and more horrific Ella seems desensitized to it all. When Dane is found guilty and put to death for his crimes that should have been the end of it. Instead Dane has other plans and Ella may have to face some justice of her own. Dane is back and he is coming home to momma. I didn't think I could ever feel sympathy for a serial killer, and yet in those years when Dane was growing up, I did. I'm not sure who is the worst villain in this story, the murderer himself, the father who made him that way or the mother who never lifted a finger to protect her son. Either way this was a hell of a story.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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A recently executed serial killer and his mother. Which one do you feel sympathy for? Which one do you despise?

Edward Lorn succeeded in challenging my preconceptions of who's to blame for this boy becoming a serial killer. The person I felt huge sympathy for and the person I despised were switched as I read more of this, not to say I wasn't disgusted by his actions, I was, but it doesn't seem all that easy to lay some (or all) of the blame where it truly belongs.

I urge everyone to read this, it's just that good.

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A tremendously written fast paced thriller that actually left me reflecting on what paths we choose and roads we take in life and what could have been different if another path had been taken. I thought this was great.

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Fast-paced and entertaining, this book will enthrall you from the first pages to the very last! Just make sure you don't read it alone, at night.

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From the first sentence I could NOT stop reading this book. It's heartbreaking, horrific, suspenseful, terrible and amazing all in one. It's a story, within a story, within a story.

Ella May - I wanted to feel sorry for her, but as a mother I just couldn't. She never deserved the sympathy.
Dane - all logic tells you that he's a monster. I just wanted to give him a hug.

And the end... well, I didn't see it coming. Mouth agape, eyes wide, "NO. FREAKIN'. WAY."

Great book, and it won't be my last from Edward Lorn.

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This is the first book I have read by Edward Lorn and I have to say he has gained a fan. I love his descriptive style of writing and how he slowly builds the sense of horror. It is also the first book I have read where I wish I could jump in the pages and give a few people a smack or two. The only persons I actually did like were a little boy who had no one who would protect him, and another little boy who seems to be heading towards the same fate as the first boy. No, it doesn't make sense but then I am not going to give anything away about this book. The book is quite misleading the way it starts.
A mother has to watch the execution of her only son who happens to be a serial killer known as the Rest Stop Dentist Killer. After she is back home trying to restart her life, she is haunted by what she thinks are hallucinations of her dead son visiting her. To her growing horror, she realizes that Dane Peters is haunting her and has a quest for her to complete. What follows is an increase in Dane's otherworldly powers and an ever growing level of horror. I will be honest. This was a VERY tough book for me to read. Edward Lorn artfully flips from the present horror to the past where we learn how and why Dane Peters became what he was. I am a mother and it was very difficult to read what Dane went through as a child and how his own mother refused to protect him. Yes, Ella Peters is one of the main characters I wish I could really have a "talk" with. Overall, the book is a fantastic read and I absolutely loved the twist at the end.

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What a terribly gruesome, horrifying ride into the broken psyche of a young man who grew up into a serial killer, as well as the mind of his mother who sat back and watched it happen.

Character development in this book is simply outstanding. Ed Lorn is an outstanding writer, and his abilities really shine in this book. Ella, mother of the serial killer known as the “Rest Stop Dentist”, is the profoundly flawed narrator with a deeply religious worldview that came across as very realistic. Throughout the narrative, there were many times I thought the story was turning in different directions, maybe with her mind snapping and picking up where her son left off as a killer. The book really provided an outstanding character study of someone having to deal with the aftermath of a mass murderer, from the unusual perspective of being the killer’s mother. She was very well written and came across as so well-rounded that I remained completely riveted to her tale. Her experiences are terrifying, yet the other people around her don’t necessarily react to what’s happening the same way she does, which made me wonder if it was all happening in her head.

There is a ton of graphic, abusive violence in this story, and while it wasn’t a “horror” book in the true sense of the word, the psychological horror experienced by Dane as a child was primal and heart-wrenching. These were the hardest parts of the book to read.

The mystery of the book hooked me from the very first paragraph, and had me guessing until the very end when everything skillfully fell into place.

No matter how this book is classified, as a chilling mystery, paranormal horror, or psychological abuse, this is a fantastic choice for anyone who wants to read and experience the unpredictable.

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When I initially started Life After Dane, I was expecting a horror novel, plain and simple. Serial killers are scary, ghosts are scary, and this story has both. What I wasn't expecting was the layers and the many different facets of what horror can be and subsequently, the many different forms that monsters can take. And certainly, I wasn't expecting the realization that a mother of a serial killer, one who watched her son get executed, wasn't worthy of any sympathy whatsoever.

In Life After Dane, author Edward Lorn delivers a creepy tale centering around Dane Peters, known as the Rest Stop Dentist. His trademark was taking his victims' teeth after the deed was done, hence the "catchy" name. His mother, Ella Peters, initially comes across as a devoted parent -- one who's willing to remember the boy he was, instead of the monster he became. She followed him from state to state after his discovery and subsequent arrest and trial, all the while appearing as a mother who's love and devotion will never fade, despite the events surrounding her son. After Dane's execution, it would seem that his story ends, the case is closed. Until Dane returns, that is. He wants to settle a score and right the wrongs done to him, and his vengeance is just as horrible as the crimes he committed.

In the beginning of this novel, I found myself feeling sorry for Ella. Sad that she lost her only son, sad that she married an asshole, sad that now that Dane is gone, she's alone. As the narrative unfolds and as the past is slowly revealed, all that changed for me and Ella, in my eyes, was truly a more heinous character than her murderous son. There's a deeper story to be told aside from a serial killer, and that particular story was much more abhorrent than a murderer. Abuse, particularly that of a child, is not a thing that can ever be redeemed in my estimation. And even worse than the abuser is the person who stands by and does nothing. Not a goddamned thing. Those are the people who should rot in hell. The ones who have all the chances in the world to stand up and make a difference. And don't. The abuse side of this story was much harder to stomach than the requisite gore and general grossness that comes along with a tale about a serial killer.

Anyhow. Lorn, in the end, managed to deliver a fast-paced and horrifying tale with the creepy aspects being both subtle and quite obvious. Life After Dane is definitely a story that will haunt readers on many different levels and certainly not a book I will soon forget. Really looking forward to discovering many more stories by this new-to-me author and seeing what else he's got that will both scare me and make me think.

**Received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It caught my eye because it was about a serial killer. I did enjoy the premise of the novel, however I was not a fan of the supernatural part of it. I felt it was too far fetched. I usually like my horror and supernatural separate. But the story was well written.

I was hooked from the first page. The character development was really well done. I got to know the characters well, and why Dane came to do what he did. I was not a fan of Ella, Dane's mother. You'll see why. The back and forth in the story really shows the backstory and how Dane became the person he became. And those were some tough scenes to read.

The ending did leave room for a sequel. If there is one, I will definitely read it.

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Oh, Edward Lorn. When you offered your Holiday themed short stories on Amazon, I read them. They scared the hell out of me, but I read them. Then, when Life After Dane was on NetGalley, I requested it. I was scared. Dane is creepy, a high functioning psychopath with an unhealthy obsession with molars. Dane is executed for his heinous crimes, but sometimes the dead don't stay dead. Dane returns in ghostly form, haunting his mother and a journalist who followed his life. Blood is spilled, teeth are taken, and some really nasty things keep happening.
Not for the squeamish, Life After Dane is quality horror from a fresh new voice. Well done.

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Horrible horrible horrible.
Such a horrible mother. And don't even get me started on the father!

This is a story about the mother of an executed serial killer Dane Peters, the so-called "Rest Stop Dentist". It is only after his death that things start to spiral out of control for Ella. Cause Dane's poor soul can't find the way to his final resting place and starts to haunt his Momma.

I put off reading this book, cause I was a teeny tiny bit afraid of the horror. But once I started, it sucked me right in. Lorn knows his writing! Main characters were quite despicable, the scenes graphic. I felt all kinds of things while reading, including feeling stabby. My body tensed when I sensed something coming up, full of anticipation, anxiety, and fear. And if a book can pull (no pun intended!) these reactions out of you, than it must be good. Very good!

Review copy supplied by publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a rating and/or review.

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Well, that was quite a twisted ride here. A sort of “making of a serial killer”, seen through the eyes of the killer's mother, Ella, as she reminisces about the past after her son's death, while stranger and stranger events start happening around her.

Dane Peters, a serial killer known as the Rest Stop Dentist (after his places of killing and his “collection” of teeth from his victims), is gone, sentenced to death and executed. It's time for his mother, who followed the trial for months, to go back home, where she finds shelter in religion, the only thing she has left—and even that is less than certain, for Dane's reputation as well as an article by journalist Sven Gödel have tainted her, made her into “the killer's mother”, and he own church may not want her anymore. So Ella tries to go on as she can, but her enemies are many, tagging her house at night and leaving accusatory articles in her mailbox, while her friends, like Talia, are few.

Enters Dane, his presence brought back through a DVD he left in Sven's care, a video containing a last message for the person he loved most. His mother? Well... This is when Hell on Earth breaks for Ella and Sven, haunted more and more by Dane. A real ghost? A common hallucination? A hallucination that can hurt and kill, for sure. Threatened and manipulated, the mother and the journalist have no choice but to go on a sick quest of Dane's making. But did Dane turn evil just because it was in his nature, or did someone made him into a killer?

For me, the supernatural and horror aspects were intriguing, but what interested me even more was the abuse running rampant in Dane's family. While I would definitely disagree with anyone affirming that being abused as a child turns people evil, the fact is, abuse in any form is very, very likely to leave children (and their future adult selves) scarred, in one way or another. This novel is perhaps more a study of abuse than a ghost/horror story: a study in how a father perpetuates on his son what was done to him, on how a scared mother may choose to turn a blind eye on said abuse, thus becoming complicit in the daily torture, on how love can get horribly warped, on crappy justifications to horrible actions...

As a result, the main characters felt unpleasant yet also sympathetic, a dichotomy that isn't so easy to achieve. Unpleasant because of their flaws, their tendency to justify them, their voluntary blindness to ugly truths, their hypocrisy, too (Ellaconsidering herself a good Christian, while letting the abuse go on). Sympathetic, because, all in all, Ella and Dane were victims first and foremost (to use the same example, Ella found refuge in her beliefs precisely because facing the truth alone was too hard and she was too scared).

And, to be honest, the teeth motif particularly struck me: losing teeth is one of my deep fears, and in general, anyway, imagining people having their teeth ripped out of their mouths is... just frightening. It hurts terribly, it touches you directly in your face, so close to the seat of your thoughts, it disfigures you, and it's such a horrible way to bleed to death, too...

Nice touch at the very end, too, but I'm certainly not going to spoil anything.

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