The Blackened Threshold - David Ben Efraim

A secret buried. Twice. Three friends, outliers in their town. A town that has never known violence or even crime. When Roger, the town's spiritual guru, sees something disturbing on the town's horizon, he knows something terrible is going to happen. Naomi, the town's art teacher, discovers a disturbing piece of art painted by one of her not-so-promising students. Jeremy, the night watchman at the town's biggest employer, has a disturbing dream. A mysterious yet hilarious adventure ensues in which the three friends try to save their small peaceful town by burning down the art gallery, breaking from prison, and battling with a painting that grows roots and refuses to be moved. In their quest, they must dodge angry mobs and rebellious cows. They also cannot do all of the saving alone and enlist the help of the town coroner, the librarian, and an old shop owner with a vendetta. Will the three friends succeed in their quest, or will they succumb to the madness unleashed on their town? The Blackened Threshold, written by David Ben Efraim, is a humorous escapade that promises to entertain.

David Ben Efraim has written a hilarious novel in which he explores the themes of conspiracy theories and their effect on society, the loss of literacy, and the obsolescence of libraries in a world where learning has become a chore. He explores the idea of a collective human mindset and how many of us have become followers and do not think for ourselves. He does all of this in The Blackened Threshold while doing it in such a humorous and witty manner that you cannot help but continue to read and see what the characters are going to do. The ironic humor is spot-on and breaks any atmosphere of seriousness that could develop. My favorite scene is when Naomi is helped over a wall. The following conversation follows "It's… It's all right...women... they have a small terminal velocity, they can survive any fall." Roger was trying his best to be reassuring. "You're thinking of rats and squirrels." The rest of the book continues in the same fashion, and I cannot imagine the story being told in any other way.