Spruill began his career as a novelist with science fiction, and transitioned to contemporary thrillers in 1991 with the novel Painkiller. [1]
Critical reception
Spruill's works have been met with mixed critical reception.
Before I Wake (1991) was reviewed by Kirkus Reviews as, "Slick and readable, but despite all the menace, there's not a real chill anywhere. Readers are likely to find themselves counting coincidences when they should have been too scared to notice". [4] However, Publishers Weekly wrote that Before I Wake was a "first-rate suspense novel". [5]
A Kirkus Reviews review of My Soul To Take (1995) said, "Spruill disappoints in his take-that/no- take-that plotting, less reminiscent of Dean Koontz than of Wile E. Coyote". [6] Publishers Weekly wrote, "An intriguing concept--a microchip inserted in the brain to cure blindness that also allows certain recipients to see the future--falls short of its potential in this poorly paced, digressive thriller". [7]
About Rulers of Darkness (1998), Publishers Weekly said, "By adding a noir-crime spin to his medical-horror formula, Spruill manages to grab hold of, and ride reasonably high on, the cape-tails of Anne Rice and the current vampire craze". [8] Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Terrific plotting—fresh indeed—and the hospital background shines in a seemingly unresolvable love story". [9] Its sequel, Daughter of Darkness (1999), Kirkus Reviews wrote as having "less energy and richly layered excitement than before, but still notable in its field". [10] Publishers Weekly noted some strengths of the Spruill in its review of Daughter of Darkness, including "his credible rendering of supernatural beings as members of a dysfunctional family with conflicting ideas about how to manage their problems shows a delightfully oddball sense of topicality, yet he is never less than sympathetic and balanced in his portrayal". [11]
Nightkill (1997), published under the name Steve Lyon, was called "sure-fire" entertainment by Publishers Weekly. [12]
