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Book Review: Beyond Belief: An Emily Castles Mystery by Helen Smith

Beyond Belief: An Emily Castles Mystery by Helen Smith

Thomas & Mercer, 2014

ISBN: 1477849726

Part-time sleuth Emily Castles is coaxed into attending England’s Belief and Beyond Conference, after Perspicacious Peg, a renowned psychic, has predicted that a murder will occur there. Bodies accumulate, and tension rises as the philosophies of science and spiritualism clash, leaving Emily to navigate a colorful cast of characters and solve the mysterious crimes.

This cozy mystery certainly has its charms. It’s cute and witty, with just the right amount of intrigue to keep the pages turning. The rich and varied cast is entertaining and a lot of effort is taken to make them breathe on the page. Unfortunately, that same level of attention to character was not given to writing the protagonist. Emily herself is hardly more than a cipher, and the reader has little insight into what makes her tick.

Still, with its diverse cast and light tone, fans of the quick-read mystery will certainly find this to be their cup of tea.

Recommended for 11 years and up.

 

Reviewed by Bob Freeman

 

Posted on November 14, 2014 by , Reply

Book Review: Vampyres of Hollywood by Adrienne Barbeau and Michael Scott

Vampyres of Hollywood by Adrienne Barbeau and Michael Scott

St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009

ISBN: 0312565771

Available: Hardcover, Kindle ebook

A serial killer is murdering Hollywood’s celebrities, and Detective Peter King is on the case. King links the crimes to the Scream Queen, and her producer, Ovsanna Moore. Moore has a hideous motive for murder…the dead celebrities were all vampyres, and each had been sired by her.

Barbeau and Scott have produced an inventive take on the vampire mythos, linking it to classic Hollywood filmdom, and using actress Barbeau’s behind-the-scenes knowledge to add rich texture to the narrative. The chapters alternate between the viewpoints of King and Moore as the mystery unfolds in noir-like fashion.

Vampyres of Hollywood is adequately written, and fast-paced, with plenty of action and humor, but it is not for the squeamish or fainthearted. The violence is brutal and sometimes over-the-top, and there is plenty of adult-only content. That said, it’s a fast and enjoyable read for mature audiences. Recommended.

Contains: sexual content, graphic gore and violence.

Reviewed by Bob Freeman

Posted on November 14, 2014 by , Reply

Book Review: D.O.A. II: Extreme Horror Collection edited by David C. Hayes and Jack Burton


D.O.A II: Extreme Horror Collection, edited by David C. Hayes and Jack Burton

Blood Bound Books, 2013

ISBN 978-0-984978274

Availability: paperback

 

D.O.A. II continues the extreme horror begun in the first anthology … and I am an unashamed lover of extreme horror.

Some of my favorite stories included:  “If Memory Serves” by Jack Ketchum, where a therapy patient with Multiple Personality Disorder was horribly abused and tortured by her parents and the Satanic cult they belonged to; “Anointed” by Lynn Smith, about a clogged baptismal font and the hapless plumber who attempts to unclog it, only to become possessed for his trouble; “A Scalene Love Triangle” by Kerry G. S. Lipp, which deals with a love triangle that comes to a horrible end; “Slice of Life” by Thomas Pluck, about two very damaged people who meet and the results of that meeting; “One Flesh: A Cautionary Tale” by Robert Devereaux, in which a father and son reincarnated together and suffer an intriguing aftermath; and “STD” by David Bernstein about an especially nasty sexually transmitted disease.

D.O.A. II is, overall, an excellent collection of truly horrid and disturbing stories, and if that’s your thing, then I highly recommend this book. As with any anthology, however, there are a few stories that I wasn’t crazy about. They weren’t bad stories, I just found them either boring or confusing. As I said, though, I love extreme horror and there is plenty of that included here. Recommended.

 

Contains blood, gore, violence

Reviewed by Colleen Wanglund

Posted on November 13, 2014 by , Reply
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