The Rule Of Three by Sam Ripley

Author: Sam Ripley

Title: The Rule Of Three

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Published: 2023

Pages: 432

Genre: Horror / Thriller 

     That’s the one. That’s the girl who’s going to die. I didn’t believe in the Rule of Three. Not at first. It was just one of those urban myths you hear about all the time. A story my boyfriend told me about a girl cursed by the number three. A girl whose parents had killed themselves after her sibling had died in an accident. Which meant that she was doomed to die too because that’s the Rule of Three. Bad things always happen in threes, they say, and they are right. Because it’s happening again. But this time the curse is coming for me. And worst of all? It’s coming for you, too.

      I am really starting to gain a great fondness for horror books that dip their feet into other genres. None more so than those books that delve into the crime or thriller genres.  For me, they seem to draw me in more and slip off the page and into the world we inhabit with ease. These are the books that are far more likely to send a shiver up the back of my neck than some spectral abomination stalking the night. I suppose I need my killers to look and feel like those I've seen in many a true crime documentary or book. After all the real monsters of this world look far more like our neighbors than Jason Voorhees So after reading a little about this book, it sounded just the sort of thing to pull me in. A brilliant blend of crime and horror might just be at my fingertips waiting to be explored. 

     The theme of threes travels through every aspect of this novel, you cannot escape it even down to our heroes. Of which there are unsurprisingly three. Each one is here to teach us about the rule of three and how it stalks every aspect of their lives. They teach us the rules of this new urban legend because as we know urban legends all have rules we must follow. They are the promise that we might just make it out alive if only we follow them step by step. Amy is our first and most prolific of the three. She is the one who creates the world that we must walk around. And she can be shall we say a little chaotic, this is a girl who has turned to other means in which to deal with all the horrors life has thrown at her. It does mean that at first one might be wondering where it is all going. It can feel a little slow for the horror genre but if you are coming from a thriller or crime background it feels a little more like home. We need to see the pieces of the puzzle even if we can't quite work out just yet how they go together. That is what Ila and Eve are for, they are the ones who are going to help us solve all this. 

     This book seemed to grab me after only a couple of chapters. The author has created a Frankenstein monster of crime thriller, urban legend, and the golden age of Giallo. What this means is you are going to have to pay attention and whilst you may spend time questioning just where this book is going at times. It will all pay off in the end and even the most incidental of moments will circle back on you. I think that of all the most recent books similar to this that I have read it feels far more Thriller than horror. It allows the world to feel that much bigger as we delve into the depths of these characters' lives. It's kind of like if a director took a trilogy of films and turned it into a mini-series instead. And to me, it seems to suit Ripley's style of writing. He is great and slowly adding layers of texture and tension all the while leading us this way and that and letting you believe you know what is going on. This is one of those tales that definitely had my brain working over time as I tried to work out just what was going on. 

      I think The Rule Of Three is a great book just as long as you know what you are getting into. If you are expecting to find yourself in a far more conventional horror book then I think you are going to be disappointed. But there is definitely a case to be made for giving it a chance. I love trying to pull puzzles apart and work out just what is going on. And this book gives us ample opportunity to do just that.