Known as “the most successful ghostwriter in American literary history,” Andrew Neiderman is one of the most prolific authors writing today.
Though a bulk of his work is ghostwriting for the V.C. Andrews franchise, he has published 46 novels under his own name. That’s right: 46 novels. And a few have been adapted into film.
The sheer breadth of his career is enough to fill one with awe. It can also mean readers new to his work might find navigating it a tad overwhelming.
Well, no worries: We did just that and have some key touchstones to check out as you dig into Neiderman’s catalogue of writing.
The Devil's Advocate
Easily his most popular work due to the film adaptation starring Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino, The Devil’s Advocate tells the tale of a lawyer named Kevin Taylor.
He’s young and ambitious, seeking not only a living but the glory of a powerful role. After he lands a job at one of New York City’s biggest law firms, he discovers that his boss and owner of the firm is the Devil himself.
What happens is a relentless page-turning thriller depicting Kevin taking on a high-profile case after high profile case, each win resulting a dangerous criminal let free. The Devil’s Advocate is a must read and perhaps the best place to start with Neiderman’s work.
Pin
Nothing comes close to a creepy doll when you want to keep the reader second-guessing.
Pin, the name being a nod to Pinocchio, is what a physician calls the anatomical doll used at his office to teach his patients about the body’s organs and various diseases that can affect the body.
After the physician and his wife die in a car accident, one of their kids, Leon, ends up taking Pin home, using him as a surrogate parent. They treat the puppet like a real member of their family, and things only get creepier from there.
Pin is one of Neiderman’s most disturbing novels, and one that readers should go in with courage to spare.
Perfect Little Angels
Elysian Fields is one of those picture-perfect towns that you see on postcards and in movies. Everyone and everything in the town is perfect. Literally.
There is no sign of self-destruction or vice, and everyone follows the routine of someone made to be pristine.
Justine Freeman moves with her parents to the town. She isn’t at all like the other teenagers in the town.
She begins to see through the sheen of perfection, realizing that behind Elysian Fields is something nefarious brooding its way into every aspect of its inner society.
Child's Play
Child’s Play tells the story of the Golds—and what happens when they adopt four children with troubled pasts.
The husband, Alex, teaches them “well,” and they quickly become obedient children that increasingly say and do everything Alex says.
Problem is, the same doesn’t go for wife and mother Sharon. It’s like she doesn’t exist.
Like any great Neiderman plot, things escalate to the point where the children become something sinister, and Alex’s motivations borderline on cultish.
Judgement Day
Judgment Day is the prequel to The Devil’s Advocate. The novel opens with the death of Warner Murphy, a young lawyer, found splayed out on the sidewalk.
It’s written off as a suicide and people move on quickly. Detective Matthew Blake takes up the case and finds something odd about the conditions involving the suicide.
John Milton (readers familiar with The Devil’s Advocate will surely take note of the name) replaces Murphy at the law firm.
After a sequence of deaths occur, similar to each other, Blake starts connecting the dots, discovering that these deaths are the work of the Devil.
Brain Child
Brainchild introduces readers to Lois Wilson, a high school student with an incredibly high intellect. Seems she has a bit of a fixation on science.
The obsession makes her a target for bullying, and yet Lois has something big, an experiment of sorts that consumes her life and her family. Her specialty is behavioral conditioning, and she begins to use her brother, father, and mother as test subjects.
The result is nothing short of alarming: Her dad suffers a stroke and she keeps him trapped in a half-state. Her mom becomes a drunk recluse, and her brother becomes her biggest fan.
Brainchild is equal parts camp and creepy, that perfect kind of deep-cut novel from a different era of horror fiction.
Featured photo: Bill Strain / Flickr (CC)
