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Comes a Horseman

by Robert Liparulo

For a first novel, this is an amazing book. Comes A Horseman, by Robert Liparulo, is about the Antichrist, and certain prophecies in the Biblical Book of Revelation applied to our present. Hardly a stranger to writing, Mr. Liparulo writes well, and has entered the fictional novel arena in the winner's circle with Comes A Horseman. This is a story where the characters are not only believable but often all too scary. Firmly ensconced in reality, you can nonetheless see where Robert Liparulo was influenced by the likes of Stephen King and his preference for the weird and occult!

Luco Scaramuzzi, handsome and charming, begins the rocketing ride toward his goal with an assassination. His goal is to convince others he's the Antichrist. Scaramuzzi wants the wealth and power that would become available to him once that goal is accomplished.

Brady Moore, a Special Agent with the FBI, is attempting to avoid becoming a hopeless drunk and remaining a father to his son Zach while still mourning over the death of his wife, Karen. Alicia Wagner, also a Special Agent and his partner, has feelings for Brady, but knows enough to leave him alone until he gets over Karen's accidental death. Meanwhile, someone is brutally killing people – seemingly at random – with three wolf-type dogs to assist him. Brady and Alicia are attempting to make sense of the killings.

Only a man named Pip Farago knows that Luca Scaramuzziz can't be the Antichrist. He possesses a file on Scaramuzzi that proves it. And there's a fabulously wealthy group called The Watchers who are waiting for the actual Antichrist and will give him all the support and power he needs, once that individual has proven himself to be what he claims. Scaramuzzi expects to become that man, and the more he gets involved, the more he really believes he IS the Antichrist– until he precipitates himself into total madness. There is, of course, a minor segment of The Watchers who are skeptical – and Pip decides to give them the incriminating information.

Brady and Alicia soon find themselves on the target list for death, and their escapades finally lead them not only to Scaramuzzi but to their own capture and imprisonment, with the promise of murder to come. The last chapters of Comes a Horseman are riveting and mesmerizing, forcing the reader to wonder how the two FBI agents will ever extricate themselves from such a predicament, even while knowing that all mystery novels make everything turn out well in the end!

Robert Liparulo provides the murder mystery genre with a taste of macabre reality in Comes a Horseman. The tale is frightfully believable, and all the more scary because it could actually happen. We look forward to Mr. Liparulo's next literary accomplishment.

Alan Paul Curtis

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