Fiction Pick of the Week: Breed

Breed by Chase Novak 2012

Well-to-do Alex and Leslie Twisden met in front of his four-story Manhattan townhouse which had been in his family for decades.  Anxious to produce an heir, yet inexplicably infertile, the Twisdens head to Slovenia for a “fertility enhancement” treatment.  The excitement regarding their pregnancy is eclipsed by the animalistic side-effects experienced by both.  Fast forward ten years… that same brownstone is now hiding Alex and Leslie’s secret.  Their twins, Adam and Alice, fear for their lives and run away.  What exactly goes on behind their parents’ door? 

Spencer’s creepy debut novel writing as Novak elevates the subject of infertility treatments.  The concept of this story, while not original, tells of the disturbing nature of human experimentation in medicine.  At times disjointed, this gruesome story loses its’ fast pace when telling the twins’ story.  It should, however, appeal to fans of Justin Evans’ A Good and Happy Child, Bentley Little’s His Father’s Son and Stephen King.

Little Red Riding Hood meets Flowers in the Attic!