Monsters in the Hallway by Capt Jim Kosmo

Monsters in the Hallway is a standalone novel and is based on true events that the author experienced while growing up in the years when mental health was not understood and sexual attacks on children not spoken about.

Jason knows his father can be a little strange. Sure he talks to people that aren’t there and yes he did try to kill the family by setting fire to the house. But when the monsters in white coats come to take him away, Jason has torn feelings about it. Now the burden falls on his mom to take care of the family; no mean feat in the 50s. As crazy experiments are done on his father in the hospital, Jason grows up a responsible and polite young man and works hard within his Eagle Scout Troop. On the night Jason is honoured for rescuing his sister from the fire that his father set, his best friend Roy who is also a pack member, is raped and murdered. Jason’s father escaped from the hospital that night to see him receive the award and is now the prime suspect in the case. Detective Stroud and Jason are the only two people that believe in his father’s innocence. The detective because of clues popping up in other similar cases, and Jason because he knows there is someone out there who is hurting young children. He does, after all, have firsthand experience. So begins an extraordinary story of people working together to prove a man’s innocence amidst kidnapping, sexual abuse, murder and the stigma placed on misunderstood mental health.

This book really pulled me in and I didn’t realise it was based on a true story until the very end. So many people are victims in this story; whether directly affected or a family member or friend. The nurture versus nature debate had a strong thread throughout the story and made a huge impact on the choices a lot of the characters made. The fact that the author was courageous enough to come forward as a young man and then relive the memories while writing the book is truly impressive. So much bias against those suffering from mental health in this day and age is inexcusable, and it’s sad that opinions are formed based not on facts, but on mass fear. The book was exceptionally well-written and definitely made a strong impression on me.

I highly recommend this book.