Book Review: Schrader’s Chord by Scott Leeds

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Schrader’s Chord by Scott Leeds

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Nightfire (September 5, 2023)

Length: 448 pages

Author Information: Twitter

A bit like High Fidelity meets Final Destination, Scott Leeds’ debut Schrader’s Chord is a captivating horror novel that combines bone-chilling intensity with quirky charm. From the very first page, it was clear to me this was not going to be your average fright fest.

Upon receiving word of his father’s unexpected death from an apparent suicide, music rep Charlie Remick travels from the east coast to his hometown of Seattle to help his sisters plan for the funeral. At the reading of the will, he also learns that his father had left him his beloved record store as well as an old box containing four dusty vinyls. But while the store may have been the late Raymond Remick’s pride and joy, Charlie, who is estranged from his father, feels that it represents everything that had gone wrong with their relationship. His first instinct is to shut it down, though its current employees Dale and Ana hope to change his mind.

Then at the wake, their house is broken into by a disturbed man trying to steal the old box of antique records. Before he can succeed, however, the stranger’s life is taken by a freak accident, and the mystery of why he wanted the box’s contents dies with him. Still, some clues may have been left behind in Raymond’s travel files, which show he had taken multiple trips outside the country in the weeks before his death. Charlie soon discovers that the elder Remick had been seeking Shrader’s Chord, a campfire story he remembers his father telling him and his sisters when they were children. As the legend goes, once upon a time there was a composer named Ivan Schrader whose grief for his dead wife was so strong that he devised a set of four notes which would open a gate to the afterlife, allowing him to see and speak to her again.

Could the records in the musty old box actually be Shrader’s Chord? Curiosity getting the better of them, Charlie and Ana are eager to find out. Together will Dale and Charlie’s twin sister Eleanor, the four of them decide to test this theory, playing the records simultaneously. What follows next is as terrifying as it is shocking. A malevolent force is unwittingly unleashed upon the world, with every member of the group emerging from the traumatic experience with the power to see the dead as well as a deadly curse upon their heads.

In the realm of horror, where the narrative often prioritizes thrills and frights, Schrader’s Chord takes things in a slightly different but refreshing direction. Of course, there is still the fear factor and shock value aplenty, which keeps the tensions high, but there’s also some humor to offer a counterbalance and occasionally break up that tightness. The novel is filled with pop cultural references, especially to horror movies and, naturally, to music. As well, the witty banter between the characters serves as a juxtaposition to the doom and gloom which would have otherwise overshadowed the entire story, and I appreciated these moments of lightness to alleviate the choking sense of dread—quite a bit more than I realized.

And speaking of the character interactions, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the familial element, which admittedly was unexpected at first but definitely not unwelcome. Woven into the plot is the constant theme of family ties, the relationship between father and son, brother and sisters. Distanced from his family since his falling out with Raymond, Charlie heads home expecting to put that part of his life to rest, and instead finds a second chance to set things right with this father. This particular aspect of the character’s personal journey added another layer of depth, and I was impressed by how seamlessly it was integrated into the overarching narrative.

All in all, Schrader’ Chord is a clever and entertaining debut into the horror genre, perfect for fans of authors like Grady Hendrix. Combining the nail-biting horror with well-timed wit, this novel sucked me with its unique premise and compulsive storytelling.