The Leper

by: Steve Thayer

Published by: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc

Reviewed by Sharron Stockhausen

Anyone who likes history and suspense will enjoy Steve Thayer’s latest offering, The Leper. While we’re familiar with many medical horrors today, most of us think of leprosy as something of the past. Thayer brings it back to the forefront of modern thinking.

During WWI, marine captain John Severson and his men come across a French-German leper colony and Severson takes a healthy little girl out of the colony. Do they meet again? You’ll have to read the book.

Eventually, Severson returns to his home in Minnesota and becomes a high school math teacher.

He becomes engaged to one of his students, but soon discovers that isn’t his biggest challenge. He learns he has leprosy and can’t live in society any longer. The diagnosis sentences him to a life in secluded leper colonies in Louisiana and Hawaii.

This book is well-researched. Leprosy is misunderstood, but Thayer attempts to enlighten readers by showing views of leprosy most of us would never see.

He also remembers his job as author is to entertain his reader. His characters experience happiness, sadness, frustration, and triumph. The leper experience keeps readers thinking long after they finish the book.

Currently known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy is a chronic bacterial disease affecting mainly skin and nerves. Lesions are manifested in the skin, so it’s easy to imagine adverse reactions from those who see a person with visible leprosy.

If there’s a lesion on Thayer’s book, it is the quality of editing. Readers can tolerate a couple of errors in a book, but Thayer deserves better editing than he received. I found 18 mistakes ranging from punctuation to spelling to missing words to grammar errors. Distracting, yes, but Thayer’s writing is strong enough to keep the reader’s attention.
If you like Thayer, you’ll enjoy his latest book. If you’re new to Steve Thayer’s writing, you’ll become an instant fan and want to get the rest of his books. Just remember to block out some time for reading because you won’t want to put this one down.

Armchair Interviews says: A most interesting historical suspense.

Author’s Web site: http://www.SteveThayer.com