Tag: book tour

Dirty Spirits, by Sawney Hatton

I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

Dirty Spirits is not like anything I’ve ever read before. It is full of really interesting and unique body horror without straying too far into splatterpunk/extreme horror territory, and is a brilliant example of high personal stakes. I firmly believe that all good horror has a bit of surrealism mixed in, but I’ve found more modern novels lacking. Dirty Spirits absolutely hit the spot for me.

The novel has a really interesting narrative structure to it. Despite the story focusing mostly on Michelle and her struggles with both addiction and her ex-fiancé Liam, her new partner Doug is our focal point. While this does make for an intriguing story, I felt it left the text itself a little unbalanced. Most of our flashbacks are from Michelle’s point of view, so those little interludes into Doug’s narration ended up being a bit disjointed from the rest of the story.

Despite this, I cannot fault the writing. The tension is tight, the pacing is amazing, and I was kept on edge the entire time. The book is very reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s Get Out, but with more of the paranormal mixed in. One of the most understated scenes is the motel scene – I won’t say much else to avoid spoiling it, but definitely give this book a look at.

Check out Dirty Spirits on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

The Fall of the House of Usher meets Evil Dead 2. Experience an offbeat occult ghost story from the twisted mind of Sawney Hatton.

They say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, and Doug believed it.

He didn’t expect to fall in love with an addict. Once he did, he knew the relationship would be challenging. He knew sometimes it would blow chunks and rain shit. He expected it. He prepared for it. But there are some things you can never imagine happening, crazy stuff you can never prepare for no matter how hard you try. All Doug can do now is hang on and hope the love of his life isn’t dragged back into hell by her ex-fiancé who can’t move on.

Because while Liam Fowlington may be dead… he’s far from departed.

Trigger warnings:
Drug & alcohol addiction plays a large part in the story. R-rated sex and violence.

About the author

Sawney Hatton is an author, editor, and screenwriter who has long loved taking trips to the dark side.

Weaned on a steady diet of paranormal horror and creature features, he quickly developed an appetite for all things macabre and monstrous. With early literary influences as tonally disparate as Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One, and Marquis de Sade’s The 120 Days of Sodom, he enjoys fusing the sinister with the satirical, the abominable with the absurd.

Other incarnations (reincarnations?) of Sawney have produced marketing videos, attended all-night film fests, and played the banjo and sousaphone (not at the same time).

As of this writing he is still very much alive.

Adiel and the Führer, by Elyse Hoffman

I was offered a copy of this book as part of a book tour and asked to give an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

I think we’ve all had that late night discussion of what we’d do if we could go back in time and kill Hitler. Adiel and the Führer is a really interesting extrapolation of that idea, involving two Jewish Holocaust survivors, the demon king Asmodeus, and a good measure of kindness. What follows is one of the most thought-provoking novels I’ve ever read: what if, instead of killing baby Hitler, you raised him in a gentle and nurturing environment? He has the same experiences that lead to him becoming leader of the Nazi party: surviving the First World War, being rejected from art school, etc., but views everything through a different lens. What kind of man would be become?

I loved the way Adiel’s experiences informed his character. Out of everyone, seeing how the lead up to the war and the plot changed him was devastating. Crafting flesh and blood around names pulled from history books is no mean feat, and Hoffman has done a brilliant job humanising some of the most important figures in the Nazi party – the ability to do so is one of my favourite features of the alternate history genre. Watching Natan fight with his instincts and experience once Adiel and Kaia recruit a Nazi to their side was one of the most nail-biting sequences I’ve read outside of horror. The character work in general is one of my favourite aspects of this book – with one exception. As much as I liked Kaia’s fearlessness and oddity, she did feel fairly one-dimensional when surrounded by this rich of a cast.

Alternate history allows for some deep discussions around exactly what influences specific events. In this case, Hoffman raises questions regarding good and evil, shared responsibility, blame, and nature vs nurture. I love that the genre exists to allow us to explore these topics. A lot of kneejerk reactions to events like the Holocaust are that the perpetrators are straight up evil to the core and, while I’m not disagreeing with that, I like that we can construct a narrative in which we can explore the character and history of these perpetrators using the resources we have from the time period itself, so we can determine what might have led them to make such heinous decisions. This type of work especially is brave and daring for any author to publish, even more so now we live in a time where global slander is possible and a lot of people take offence to headlines without reading deeper and thinking critically, and Elyse Hoffman deserves all the credit for taking that risk and executing it this well.

This book is for people who want a more intense, thought-provoking reading experience, or those who want to know exactly what loss can make a man do.

Check out Adiel and the Führer on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.

Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.

Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.

Award winning author Elyse Hoffman has crafted a thought-provoking and daring work of historical fiction which will tug at your heartstrings.

About the author

Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. She loves to meld WWII and Jewish history with fantasy, folklore, and the paranormal. She has written six works of Holocaust historical fiction: the five books of The Barracks of the Holocaust and The Book of Uriel.

Conversations with the Tarot: Bewitching Meditations on Reading the Cards, by Maria DeBlassie

I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

I adore Tarot cards. I love how beautiful some sets can be, and I love how introspective a session with them can be. Despite my love of them, I have very little experience actually reading the cards, and most websites and included leaflets are very vague and piecemeal. That’s where Maria DeBlassie comes in.

Having previously read Weep, Woman, Weep and loved it, I knew I could trust DeBlassie’s interpretation of the cards. Not only did Conversations with the Tarot help me learn more about the cards themselves, but it also helped me with learning to embrace a slow life (one of my goals for this year), and feeding my creativity. I’ve been dipping in and out of the book since I got it, and it’s a brilliant start to the morning with a nice cup of tea and a crumpet.

The book is a series of microfiction entries based on a card drawn totally at random followed by an ‘insight’ into what DeBlassie interpreted and felt when she saw the card. Each story is exactly 78 words and reads very much like poetry as well as simply microfiction. There is so much imagery and life lessons packed into these tiny stories and a lot of them are pretty powerful to read. The insights are little windows into DeBlassie’s life, and are full of ways to interpret the cards, both reversed and upright.

I’ve learnt a lot about writing and creativity from both the stories and the insights, and I’m thinking about adopting the weekly card draw and meditation practice for myself. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about themselves or how to get more out of the creative process, or is just interested in Tarot cards as a whole.

Check out Conversations with the Tarot on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

Bewitching tarot meditations by bruja and award-winning writer Maria DeBlassie.

One part prose poetry, one part witchy insights, and one part study in learning the tarot, this book explores this mundane divination form for beginners and experts alike.

This cartomancy book was birthed from DeBlassie’s creative tarot studies in which she wrote 78-word prose poems for each of the 78 cards in the deck, using synchronicity, everyday magic, and her budding understanding of tarot symbolism and meanings to craft her tales.

It’s not your basic how-to-read tarot book, but more a how-to begin a conversation with this divination tool. As any tarot reader can tell you, dealing the deck is more than interpreting cards. It’s about building a relationship with this mystic tool and learning how you and the tarot can work together to discover numinous revelations.

This book is a series of proverbial spells. A series of stories. A series of synchronous messages and mystic musings. A journey into learning the tarot. Are you ready to start your adventure?

About the author

Maria DeBlassie, Ph.D. is a native New Mexican mestiza blogger, award-winning writer, and award-winning educator living in the Land of Enchantment. Her first book, Everyday Enchantments: Musings on Ordinary Magic & Daily Conjurings (Moon Books 2018), and her ongoing blog, Enchantment Learning & Living are about everyday magic, ordinary gothic, and the life of a kitchen witch. When she is not practicing her own brand of brujeria, she’s reading, teaching, and writing about bodice rippers and things that go bump in the night. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there.

Flames of Flamenco, by Jennifer Ivy Walker

I was offered a copy of this book to review as part of Black Velvet book tours. This review may contain spoilers.

Flames of Flamenco is an absolutely gorgeous story of a developing romance in the summer streets of Paris. Ella, an American French teacher, relocates to France for a language course and on her first day in the city she bumps into Jean-Luc, kickstarting their whirlwind romance.

It very much made me want to roam cobblestone streets, and I found the book made me feel wistful, in that I wanted to go and pursue my own creative ventures just like Ella had the chance to. There’s not a whole lot of conflict in the story, mostly only in the last third, but Ella and Jean-Luc are both well-developed characters and were a delight to get to know. The book is short, but packed with steamy scenes and lots of spice.

Flames of Flamenco is a quick, easy and fun read, perfect for washing away the winter blues. Best read with coffee and a croissant.

Check out Flames of Flamenco on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

In Montmartre, the bohemian heart of Paris, Ella meets an intriguing artist who sketches portraits on the trendy Place du Tertre and dances flamenco at the local tablao. As Jean-Luc introduces her to the secret delights of the City of Light, Ella becomes his Muse, the passion they share inspiring and igniting his art and his dance. When he melts her frozen heart, she decides to remain in Paris and live with him, sharing his atelier as she designs and creates chic couture. But a beautiful, beguiling curator invites Jean-Luc to display his paintings as the featured artist in the upcoming L’Art de la Danse exhibit, and the lure of international fame threatens his future with Ella. Will jealousy and greed extinguish their passion, or will the flames of flamenco endure?

About the author

Enthralled with legends of medieval knights and ladies, dark fairy tales and fantasies about Druids, wizards and magic, Jennifer Ivy Walker always dreamed of becoming a writer. She fell in love with French in junior high school, continuing her study of the language throughout college, spending summers in France as a foreign exchange student, exploring medieval castles and troglodyte caves in the Loire Valley, sites of pilgrimage such as le Mont-Saint-Michel, eventually becoming a high school teacher and college professor of French. As a high school teacher, she took her students every year to the annual French competition, where they performed a play she had written, “Yseult la Belle et Tristan la Bête”–an imaginative blend of the medieval French legend of “Tristan et Yseult” and the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”, enhanced with fantasy elements of a Celtic fairy and a wicked witch. Her debut novel, “The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven”—the first of a trilogy—is a blend of her love for medieval legends, the romantic French language, and paranormal fantasy. It is a retelling of the medieval French romance of “Tristan et Yseult”, interwoven with Arthurian myth, dark fairy tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, and otherworldly elements such as Avalonian Elves, Druids, forest fairies and magic. Explore her realm of Medieval French Fantasy. She hopes her novels will enchant you.

The Other Murder, by Kevin G. Chapman

I was offered a copy of this book with a request for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

I previously read Kevin G. Chapman’s Dead Winner, and I was excited to jump back in to another of his works. The Other Murder is a detailed look at a double homicide in the middle of New York and the inherent prejudice in both policing and reporting. The murders are truly at the heart of this novel, as we follow not only the police investigation, but the investigation of both TV news and small online reporters. As a result, the novel becomes more about whether the reporters will get their scoop rather than the police investigation, which is an interesting and effective angle to tell the story from.

Taking this multiple-angle approach to the crime itself really allows the personal conflicts of the characters to shine through. We have essentially three pairs of characters, each with their own developing kind of tension. My favourite pair to follow was Hannah and Pablo, the reporters, and their friendship as it blossomed into something more. Out of all of them, my absolute favourite character was Pablo; his dedication to his area and the people living in it was so wholesome, and he would do anything to do right by them, even if it meant putting himself in danger.

As a whole, the novel was so easy to read and flowed really well. The Other Murder was an incredibly satisfying and exciting book that I wholeheartedly recommend.

Check out The Other Murder on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

Sometimes, the most dangerous thing . . . is the truth.

For disgraced cable news producer Hannah Hawthorne, covering the shooting of a pretty NYU sophomore is a chance for redemption. When the story snowballs into a media circus, Hannah’s reporting fans the sensationalistic flames and earns her acclaim. The tragic murder prompts protests and vigils that further magnify the story.

Meanwhile, Paulo, a neighborhood newspaper reporter, is following the other murder in Washington Square Park that same night – a young Hispanic boy. He discovers an unexpected connection that is political dynamite. When Hannah and Paulo team up, they uncover disturbing facts, leading them to question everything they thought they knew. It also leads them to the man who might be the killer.

When the story is ready to explode, the truth may be hotter than anyone can handle. Breaking the next scoop could ruin Paulo’s paper and wreck Hannah’s career – and it could get them both killed.

If you like David Baldacci’s page-turners, Michael Connelly’s cops, and Sara Paretsky’s quirky characters, you will love The Other Murder.

About the author

Kevin G. Chapman is an attorney specializing in labor and employment law and an independent author. In 2021, Kevin finished the first five books in the Mike Stoneman Thriller series. Righteous Assassin (Mike Stoneman Thriller #1), was named one of the top 20 Mystery/Thrillers of 2019 by the Kindle Book Review and was a finalist for the Chanticleer Book Review CLUE award. Deadly Enterprise (Mike Stoneman Thriller #2) was also named a top-20 Mystery/Thriller of 2020 by the Kindle Book Review and made the Short-List for the 2020 CLUE Award. Book #3, Lethal Voyage, was the winner of the 2021 Kindle Book Award and a Finalist for the CLUE and for the InD’Tale Magazine RONE Award. Book #4 in the series, Fatal Infraction, was named Best Police Procedural of the year by the Chanticleer Book Review, and book #5 (Perilous Gambit) was published November 24, 2021. Kevin has also written a serious political drama, A Legacy of One, originally published in 2016, which was short-listed for the Chanticleer Somerset Award for literary fiction. A Legacy of One was re-published in a newly re-edited and revised second edition in 2021. Kevin recently completed a stand-alone mystery/thriller titled Dead Winner, published in late 2022, winner of the 2023 CLUE Award (best suspense/thriller), and he is working on a stand-alone mystery titled The Other Murder. Kevin is a resident of Central New Jersey and is a graduate of Columbia College and Boston University School of Law. Readers can contact Kevin via his website.

The Horror Zine’s Book of Monster Stories

I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

This collection of creature feature stories is incredibly creative and entertaining. It ticks all my boxes: monsters; folklore; satisfying stories where the bad guys get eaten by monsters; devastating stories where the good guys lose. There is so much variety in this collection, there’s honestly something for everyone.

Here are some of my standouts:

‘Night of the Crickets’, Christopher Beck

  • A story about why a woman’s fear of crickets is completely justified. Poor cat. Made my skin crawl.

‘The Scarecrow’, Kieran Meeks

  • A new twist on horror scarecrow stories. Amazingly visceral despite the lack of any actual gore.

‘Nom Nom’, Elizabeth Massie

  • Bizarre in the absolute best way.

‘J-28’, Simon Bleaken

  • Gave me the same vibes as Alien, but with kids. One of the most devastating stories, but really well-written.

‘The Gruger’, Christopher Sweet

  • An honestly heart-wrenching tale of sibling loyalty with a truly horrifying creature.

This collection is a must-read for anyone who loves monsters and folklore as much as I do.

Check out The Horror Zine’s Book of Monster Stories on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

With an Introduction by Shirley Jackson Award-winner Gemma Files, this outstanding anthology of all things monstrous includes spine-chilling stories from Bentley Little, Simon Clark, Elizabeth Massie, Tim Waggoner, Sumiko Saulson, plus some of the best emerging horror writers working today.

“This anthology gives us a chilling glimpse at the dark and dangerous things prowling in the minds of some of today’s best horror writers.” – JG Faherty, author of Ragman and Songs in the Key of Death

“Throughout the pages are creepy tales by up-and-comers who you may have read, plus writers brand new to a horror reader’s discerning eye. Embark on a journey to the realm where monsters—familiar or unique—dwell. Highly recommended to horror aficionados obsessed with eldritch fiction—this one’s for you!” – Nancy Kilpatrick, author of Thrones of Blood Series and the Darker Passions series.

About the publisher

HellBound books are the veritable tour de force in the independent publishing world — for eight years and counting, they have published novels, novellas, and bestselling anthologies of exemplary horror, bizarro, and all things dark — the type of tales from exciting new authors guaranteed to keep you wide awake in the small hours and checking the inky-black, coagulating shadows beneath your bed just one last time…

They are incredibly proud to be champions of the newest, brightest upcoming authors as well as home to more established writers. Their objective is to bring to you — wonderful readers — the very best in the dark genres. They are proud to say all HellBound books titles are available in traditional-sized paperback and ebook, along with a few very special hard cover books, too.https://hellboundbookspublishing.com/
https://twitter.com/HellBoundBooks
https://www.instagram.com/hellboundbooks

Playground of the Dead, by Stone Wallace

I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

First and foremost, Playground of the Dead is a horror novel, but it’s also a tragedy. The horrifying climax was inevitable, and nothing the characters did could have changed that. I take refuge in this fact, because these characters – Braden Powell, Donna Murray, and Terry Reynolds, specifically – tried their utmost to save their town without knowing their fates were cast in stone long before the events of the plot unfolded.

I liked all of the three main characters in the book, but I especially liked Powell. The majority of the novel’s focalisation was through him, and he was a well-rounded, likable character. He had multiple weaknesses, which I always enjoy, particularly when they play against one another, and a tragic backstory that made him both sympathetic and determined when it came to the children of the town. His ultimate fate also works extremely well and is all the more devastating for the fact that he doesn’t die in the final pages.

With some books, you can very clearly see the cinematic value in them. Playground of the Dead is one of those novels. The sense of place is ingrained so deeply in the prose that it gives the novel a delightful depth and richness. It makes the horror that befalls the town over the course of the story that much more terrifying. As much as location is a large part of the novel, it did take me a while to work out that the book was set in the 80s.

I really loved the concept of this book, and the scares and gore were great. I won’t say much more in case I spoil anything, but I will say the ending left me with more than a couple of questions that will likely remain unanswered. Despite this, it was an enjoyable read and a great book for a scare on a rainy night.

Check out Playground of the Dead on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

Playground of the Dead is a macabre tale set in a seaside California community of Clear Vista.

There have been a number of unexplained deaths of its citizens – all related to tragic incidents involving the town’s children.

The police chief, Braden Powell, a man dealing with his own troubled, tragic history, has been investigating the mysterious occurrences with frustratingly minimal success.

He gradually comes to realize that there may be a sinister, supernatural connection too terrifying to comprehend.

About the author

Stone Wallace has worked as a professional writer for over 40 years. He has published 20 books (novels and non-fiction), short stories, scripts/screenplays, and written numerous articles for various North American publications. He has conducted celebrity interviews with such legendary performers as Anthony Quinn, Coleen Gray, Lloyd Nolan, Robert Stack, and 50s horror director Herbert L. Strock (I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, Blood of Dracula, How to Make a Monster). He attended Red River College, The National Institute of Broadcasting and Robertson Broadcast Academy.

Stone has held a lifelong fascination with the paranormal and the macabre, his early interest stimulated by the tales of Poe, Lovecraft, and M.R. James. Later he discovered contemporary masters such as Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, and Richard Matheson. And then came his discovery of Stephen King and James Herbert, and that was when Wallace determined that writing horror fiction was what he wanted to do. After graduating college, he wrote his first supernatural novel, which became a national bestseller and earned him the title “The Stephen King of Manitoba”.

Stone is also a fan of crime, gangster and noir films and is the author of DUSTBOWL DESPERADOS: GANGSTERS OF THE DIRTY 30s and GEORGE RAFT: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE BOGART.

His Western novels have brought him critical acclaim, with his second book MONTANA DAWN being recognized by Booklist as one of the “Ten Best Westerns of the Decade”.

PLAYGROUND OF THE DEAD is Stone’s first book for HellBound Books. He also has contributed stories to the anthologies GRAVEYARD OF BLOOD and HAPPY HELLIDAYS. Future novels for HellBound Books include the supernatural chillers WENDIGO! and CHILD OF ADAMM, along with the noir thriller WAKING IN HELL WITH A HANGOVER.

Writing as Mason Burgess, Stone has been hailed as the “Stephen King of Manitoba”:

https://www.stonewallace.net

Umbrate, by A. D. Jones

I was offered a copy of this book with a request for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

We are BACK with more book reviews after a brief two-month holiday, and what a book this is too!

But first: stay tuned for a year of horror, folklore, and storytelling in all forms, as we return with even more spooks and scares for 2024!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know I love a detective story with a supernatural/sci-fi twist. Our best examples are A Name in the Dark, Catch Lili Too, and, of course, the Angela Hardwicke series. So when I saw the premise of Umbrate, I jumped at it.

What makes Umbrate unique amongst this already fairly niche genre is the fact that it’s not set during an ongoing investigation. Although our main character, Vanic Bradley, is a detective by trade, he finds himself targeted while spending a day out with his son. Sparked by the initial cold-blooded murder of an innocent bystander, Van ends up at the centre of a closed circle mystery, with the perpetrators drawing ever closer and his son at risk.

This was a really fun and easy read and, if I hadn’t been reading it at work, I would’ve zoomed through without putting it down once. It has everything you could want: humour, gore, drama, thrills, and a truly radiant climax. I caught the final twist sentences before it was revealed and enjoyed it immensely. As mentioned above, the bulk of the story takes place on a day off for Vanic. Not only did we get to see him in action as a detective in the beginning chapters, but we also got to see him work with clouded judgement and prejudice. The stakes are so much more personal and genuine, which makes it a real character study, and it’s such a delight that the novel maintains the light, easy tone throughout while balancing this.

And let me say – Vanic Bradley? Top ten character development arcs, easy. At the beginning, Van is full of what he believes is well-proven prejudice against the Umbral population of Dalton. Over the course of the book, those prejudices are challenged again and again until he emerges from the climax, victoriously shedding his outdated beliefs and rightfully becoming a better, stronger version of the character he was before.

As a final note, the worldbuilding in this novel is beautiful. Familiar and yet not, Dalton is home to four different races, yet falls into very few of the usual tropes you get with elves and dwarves. The Umbral population is a marvel. In the past decade or so I’ve missed the urban fantasy genre. There was something so homely and cosy about it, as if we could look anywhere in our own world and find small magics. Bring on the urban fantasy revolution!

Check out Umbrate on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

Welcome to Dalton
Home to Humans, Dwarves, Elves and the shadowy Umbral Populace.

Detective Vanic Bradley works hard to keep the peace, coming down hard on the criminal underbelly of the city.

After putting his life on the line multiple times in recent weeks, all he wanted was a day off work to spend time with his son, and re-evaluate his place in the world – but forces beyond his control have other ideas.

For reasons unknown, he will find himself in a race against time as two hundred innocent citizens become collateral damage in a murderous plot centred around him.

Umbrate is the debut Urban Fantasy crime thriller by A.D Jones, that will offer up his take on a fantasy setting that should be welcomed by many readers, regardless of their genre tastes.

About the author

A.D Jones lives in the North of England; where he spends his time favouring books over people and can be found writing or devouring said books to review online. He loves Cola, Twin Peaks, cult movies and all things horror. He dislikes the movie ‘The Karate Kid’ with a passion that burns brighter than the sun.

You can find him on Instagram – the_evergrowing_library

Red Line, by Blake Rudman

I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

I’ve reviewed a few of Blake Rudman’s books now, and with every single one I find an absolutely fascinating idea or concept at its core. Red Line is no exception. Bursting at the seams with intrigue and suspense, this is a fast-paced, high-stakes story with global consequences.

Our core protagonists are held together by necessity only. For the most part, we follow Detective Mitch Wilson and Dr Yasaman Karami as their paths slowly intersect in the aftermath of the Red Line, a series of simultaneous mass terror attacks across the US. Recruited as part of (or in Mitch’s case, forcing himself into) the FBI’s investigation, we are taken along for the ride as this small group crash into one another while trying to stop subsequent attacks on a global scale. The conflict in the group is evident, making for some excellent scenes and brilliant character development, particularly between Mitch and Agent Wells.

Slight spoilers for the next paragraph, but I just have to talk about how interesting the underlying concept is. Rudman takes us deep into the conspiracy of subliminal messaging and protolanguages. What was especially fascinating was how he tied it in with the overarching themes of capitalism and technological reliance. I won’t say much more, but if you’re looking for a thriller with an almost academic angle, this is the book for you.

What I really liked about the story was how we were given a third angle through which to watch the chaos unfold in the form of Darren, a bystander to the first terror attack who just happened to bump into Mitch, marking him as a viewpoint character. Darren’s perspective as someone just trying to get by in the wake of the Red Line gave a wonderful view of the bigger picture, and we follow him to the bitter end.

Red Line is a tale of fiery tragedy, of loss and division, and of basic instinct. It is an absolute unmissable roller coaster that I would highly recommend.

Check out Red Line on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

“If Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher or Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt tackled a terrorist scheme that utilized subliminal messaging to sow global social and economic chaos, it would look a lot like Red Line.” Baltimore Police

Detective Mitch Wilson wants a nice day out with his wife and son. Instead, they are all caught up in a catastrophic terrorist attack that has repercussions across the USA and triggers events that could alter the course of civilization.

Having lost everything, Mitch sets out to seek justice – and revenge and stumbles upon a global conspiracy.

On the other side of the world, renowned linguistic professor, Yasaman Karami, flees her native Iran for the freedom of the west; she holds one of the keys to defeating the terrorist organization.

Yasaman and Mitch’s worlds collide as, alongside federal agents and allies, they race against the clock to hunt down the terrorist masterminds and prevent worldwide catastrophe.

About the author

Blake Rudman enjoyed a former, successful career in executive management, building his own companies from the ground up.

Success or not, Blake’s heart has always been in the written word, and the myriad ideas he spent much of his spare time jotting down in notebooks, Post-Its, and scraps of paper whenever the inspiration hit him.

Now a breakout author of five noir thriller novels – all to be published in 2023 – Blake’s destiny of becoming a writer of some renown is well under way.

When he’s not working diligently on his next novel, Blake spends quality time with his family and tropical fish.

The Great Gimmelmans, by Lee Matthew Goldberg

I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.

It’s always a joy to see that Lee Matthew Goldberg is releasing a new book, and I always jump at the chance to review them (see here and here and here and here and… you get the picture). The Great Gimmelmans fits nicely into his back catalogue, with all the hallmarks of a great Goldberg book: darker thrillers with an interesting concept and excellent character voice.

To me, The Great Gimmelmans felt more ambitious than any of Goldberg’s previous works. I’m not sure if it was longer or just more complex, with a wider, close-knit cast of characters, but the individual storylines were handled beautifully. It was a brilliant book story to sink my teeth into, especially considering it has a framing device, which is one of my favourite literary techniques (my favourite example of a framing device, just in case anyone’s interested, is Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Hot Potting’, but this is a close second). Opening in the present day, we’re introduced to our main character, Aaron, at what could be considered a personal rock bottom, as far as his family is concerned. Aaron has a really strong voice, which is fantastic for our narrator, and we’re thrown back in time to the 1980s, when our narrator was a twelve-year-old bank robber.

The conflicts in this book are really well done, with a good mix of normal twelve-year-old-boy problems and bank robber problems. The development of Aaron’s character is satisfying to follow, and is especially evident in his relationship with his sisters. We follow him as his family begin to fall apart in the chaos of a series of bank robberies, and there’s some really nice discussions of morality, blame, forgiveness, religion, and loyalty, particularly in the second half of the book.

As always, Goldberg’s writing is humorous, startlingly easy to read, and yet completely unpredictable. Just when I thought I knew where the plot was going, I was taken totally by surprise. This is a fun romp in which you’re given just a teaspoonful of the ending right at the start, and you chase that high all the way to the final chapter.

Check out The Great Gimmelmans on Amazon and Goodreads.

About the book

Middle child Aaron Gimmelman watches as his family goes from a mild-mannered reform Jewish clan to having over a million dollars of stolen money stuffed in their RV’s cabinets while being pursued by the FBI and loan sharks. But it wasn’t always like that. His father Barry made a killing as a stockbroker, his mother Judith loved her collection of expensive hats, his older sister Steph was obsessed with pop stars, and little sister Jenny loved her stuffed possum, Seymour.

After losing all their money in the Crash of 1987, the family starts stealing from convenience stores, but when they hit a bank, they realize the talent they possess. The money starts rolling in and brings the family closer together, whereas back at home, no one had any time for bonding due to their busy schedules. But Barry’s desire for more, more, more will take its toll on the Gimmelmans, and Aaron is forced into an impossible choice: turn against his father, or let his family fall apart.

From Jersey, down to an Orthodox Jewish community in Florida where they hide out, and up to California, The Great Gimmelmans goes on a madcap ride through the 1980s. Filled with greed and love and the meaning of religion and tradition until the walls of the RV and the feds start closing in on the family, this thrilling literary tale mixes Michael Chabon and the Coen Brothers with equal parts humor and pathos.

BUCKLE UP!

About the author

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of thirteen novels including THE ANCESTOR and THE MENTOR along with his five-book DESIRE CARD series. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the Prix du Polar. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared as a contributor in CrimeReads, Pipeline Artists, LitHub, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Mystery Tribune, The Big Idea, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, Hypertext, If My Book, Past Ten, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Maudlin House and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City.