I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Trigger/Content warnings: Language/Explicit Sex/Rape, Moral Rot.
A man grieving the loss of a child and struggling with addiction discovers a shocking supernatural horror in author David M. Ward’s “Excruciating.”
THE SYNOPSIS
Matthew Rix CRNA has spent his life putting people to sleep.
A respected nurse anesthetist, Army veteran, husband, and father, Matt once believed he understood suffering. Then his son died tragically.
Now his marriage is collapsing, his career hangs by a thread, and the drugs he administers to patients every day have become the only thing keeping his own pain at bay.
When a beautiful young nurse enters his life, Matt finds himself drawn into a dangerous affair that offers an escape from grief, guilt, and loneliness. But temptation comes at a price.
After a brutal murder rocks their small town hospital, Matt becomes entangled in a web of secrets, obsession, corruption, and violence. As the investigation closes in, he begins to suspect that the darkness surrounding him is far older—and far more sinister—than he ever imagined.
Some wounds never heal.
Some temptations never let go.
And some forms of evil hide in plain sight.
EXCRUCIATING is a chilling supernatural thriller about grief, addiction, love, betrayal, and the terrifying cost of surrendering to despair.
THE REVIEW
This is a gripping, compelling blend of psychological thriller, medical drama, and supernatural horror. Readers immediately felt the intensity and the chilling atmosphere the author was able to bring to life on the page, from the Author’s own experience in medicine, impacting the psychological and emotional experiences many in that field undergo when treating patients and performing surgeries, to the painful realities of addiction and transformation so many go through.
This book brings to life the author’s balance between powerful themes and character development and the shocking supernatural horror rooted in ancient mythology. The strained relationship between the protagonist and his wife in the wake of such a devastating loss speaks to the trauma that comes with losing a child, and deeply informs the protagonist’s personal struggle with addiction as well. Seeing this personal trauma and grief lead into supernatural elements, such as the inclusion of a powerful creature from folklore and belief systems known as the golem, allowed the reader to not only feel that emotional weight, but take on the fear and the uncertainty the protagonist and the cast of characters felt in the wake of these events.
THE VERDICT
Visceral, greedy, and engaging, Author David Ward’s “Excruciating” is a must-read psychological thriller that meets medical and supernatural horror. The story’s twists and turns, immersive experience, powerful writing, and haunting atmosphere transport readers and keep them emotionally invested as the story builds to a shocking ending. If you haven’t yet, please be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David M. Ward is a retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) with over two decades of operating room and trauma care experience. He began his 37-year military career as an enlisted combat medic in 1988, later serving as an Air National Guard Flight Nurse and an Army Reserve nurse anesthetist before retiring in late 2025.
Having balanced intense leadership, clinical, and training roles through deployments spanning the First Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa, Ward has witnessed firsthand the fragile boundaries of life and death. He draws heavily upon these raw, front-line medical and military experiences to write dark, character-driven supernatural thrillers that explore trauma, isolation, and the thin line between human suffering and redemption.
Excruciating is his debut novel. He resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
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