Editing by Elizabeth

July 06, 2011

Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson I am not the person I thought I was when I woke this morning. – Christine Lucas

Christine Lucas is having more than some existential “Who am I?” moment when she says she’s not the person she thought she was when she woke up. She honestly doesn’t remember the majority of her life.

Severe head trauma has left Christine with both anterograde amnesia, in which the sufferer can’t form new memories, and retrograde amnesia, in which the sufferer can’t remember events from the past. She literally wakes up each day as a new person, a blank slate, having to discover over and over again who she is and what happened to her.

As disturbing as that is in and of itself, once Christine starts keeping a journal of her daily activities and discoveries at the behest of her doctor she begins to realize something even more disturbing; she’s not getting the same story consistently from those around her… including her husband.

Sometimes the variations on detail are subtle, other times she’s told outright lies. With a building sense of dread Christine begins to wonder if anything she’s been told has been true, even the version of events about the accident that caused her condition to being with. Now, not only can’t Christine trust herself, she’s not sure she can trust anyone else either. →

July 01, 2011

Out There Bad by Josh Stallings

“I don’t believe some higher force is planning this life for me. If I did, I’d give up, lay down and die right now. Because it would be clear, that fuck in the sky hates my ass.” – Moses McGuire

Well, even if there is no “fuck in the sky” that hates Moses’ ass, there are plenty of people right here on terra firma ready to step up and fill that role. It’s not that Moses tries to piss people off, he just can’t help it.

As he remarks at one point in Out There Bad, Josh Stallings’ mind-blowingly spectacular follow up to Beautiful, Naked & Dead, “You know me, if there’s any shit in a ten mile radius, I will step in it.” And, oh my, has Moses stepped in it this time.

When we last saw forty-three year old suicidal strip club bouncer Moses McGuire his life looked like it had finally turned a corner. He’d avenged the death of his best friend and, along the way, fallen in love with her twin sister. Off to Baja they went to settle down and live happily ever after. Yeah, well, life doesn’t work like that for Moses.

As Out There Bad opens Moses is once again alone and working as a bouncer in that same old strip club in LA. When a misunderstanding – one involving a patron’s broken jaw and ribs – lands Moses temporarily out of a job he decides to go hit another strip club and see how things are going on the other side of town. And that’s when Moses’ cosmically bad karma kicks into high gear. →

June 30, 2011

East On Sunset by Ken Mercer

“There are enough problems in life as it is, Will. You don’t have to go looking for them.” – Laurie Magowan

That’s a lesson Will Magowan actually seemed to learn after his brief but intense stint as the Chief of Police of Haydenville, California in author Ken Mercer’s debut, Slow Fire. And though he’s out of a job in law enforcement in East on Sunset, Magowan is back in his hometown of L.A. and things finally seem to be heading in the right direction.

He’s kicked his drinking problem, is back with his wife, who’s pregnant, and has landed a job with security for the Dodgers. Of course, you don’t have to go looking for problems for them to find you, and Mercer throws a hell of a roadblock in Magowan’s path to happiness in the form of ex-con Erik Crandall.

Crandall, a small time dealer whom Magowan sent to prison during his time as a Narcotics Detective in the LAPD, is fresh out of the joint and confronts Magowan with the accusation that Magowan stole nearly a pound of fentanyl from Crandall during his arrest. Now he either wants it back or the cash equivalent… half a million dollars.

Problem is, Magowan spent his last bit of time with the LAPD in a drug induced haze and he’s actually a little fuzzy on exactly how the bust of Crandall went down. Knowing that he can’t very well tell Crandall that, and that he doesn’t have half a million dollars lying around in any event, Magowan blows Crandall off, warning him not to come around again. That goes over about as well as you’d expect it to, and with that the snowball that is East on Sunset is sent plunging on its way downhill. →

June 29, 2011

Collateral Damage: A Do Some Damage Collection

Following the success of their first collaborative collection, Terminal Damage, the talented crew from Do Some Damage is back with another anthology that will knock your socks off. Just as the stories in the first collection were centered around a common theme, a horrendous visit to the airport, so are the stories in Collateral Damage thematically related.

This time the focus for the eight tales of revenge, mystery, murder, and mayhem all revolve around Father’s Day. And while every story in the collection is worth the price of admission, each showcasing the author’s unique voice, there were a few that stood out for me.

Reunion – The collection gets off to a rollicking start in this story from Joelle Charbonneau. After years of estrangement from her family because of the horrendous treatment she received at the hands of her sadistic mother, a grown daughter returns home to give her dying father a special Father’s Day present. There’s an old saying that revenge is a dish best served cold, but Reunion proves that a long, slow simmer is much more likely to pay off handsomely in the end.

Modern Father – In this chilling story from Sandra Ruttan dedicated husband and father, Tom, discovers that his wife, Mary, hasn’t actually been working late all those evenings like she claims. Coldly, methodically, Tom hatches a plan to give himself a Father’s Day present Mary will never forget. →

June 28, 2011

Frank Sinatra In A Blender by Matthew McBride

“Y’know, there’s just something remotely fascinating about cutting off another man’s legs with a chainsaw. Especially if he’s still alive.” – Nick Valentine

To say Nick Valentine is a unique individual would be putting it lightly. Along with his partner Frank Sinatra – no, really – he works as a private detective in St. Louis. He likes to think there’s no case he can’t solve, and he’s damn sure there’s no drink or drug he doesn’t like.

When a credit union is robbed and the police have trouble picking up a decent lead Valentine finds himself front and center on the trail of the robbers…and the money. And he’s not the only one, as an oddball assortment of the worst examples of humanity St. Louis has to offer are all hot on the trail as well.

From dealer and go-to guy Big Tony and his partner Doyle, to local heavy hitter Mr. Parker and his enforcers Sid and Johnny No Nuts, author Matthew McBride has populated Frank Sinatra in a Blender with one of the most colorful cast of characters you’ll ever run across.

Before you know it Valentine is up to his ass in double crossing bad guys, suspicious police officers, and enough liquor and Oxycontin to drop an ox. Add to that copious amounts of strippers, car chases, and shootouts and you’re in for one hell of a no-holds-barred ride. Oh, and don’t forget that chainsaw. →

June 28, 2011

Lake Charles by Ed Lynskey

“No way do I let it go, not after tonight. They drew first blood, and now it’s game on.” — Cobb Kuzawa

If you found yourself out on bail waiting trial for a murder you didn’t commit you’d think it would be hard for things to get much worse. Of course, you’re not nineteen-year-old Brendan Fishback.

After a night of partying Brendan woke up in a motel room to find his companion dead, apparently from a drug overdose. Unfortunately for him the girl, Ashleigh Sizemore, was the daughter of the wealthiest man in their little town of Umpire, Tennessee. Eager to please the town big shot, the police seem content to pin the death on Brendan, especially after some highly potent angel dust is found hidden in the room.

Now out on bail and not optimistic about his chances at trial, Brendan heads out to Lake Charles with his twin sister, Edna, and best friend, Cobb, for what may be his last hurrah as a free man. While Brendan and Cobb try their luck bass fishing, Edna strikes out on her jet ski. When she doesn’t return as dusk begins to fall the guys go looking for her. After coming up empty in their search of the lake they return to shore and begin scouring the shoreline on foot.

Instead of finding Edna, however, they stumble into a clandestine marijuana growing operation, and the two heavily armed men guarding it. A shootout ensues during which Brendan is hit and one of the marijuana growers is killed. Suddenly what began as an afternoon out to celebrate his remaining freedom has turned into a life or death struggle and race against the clock to find Edna, whom Brendan and Cobb now fear has fallen into the drug gang’s hands. →

June 27, 2011

1979: Was It a Good Year For Brendan and Me? by Ed Lynskey

June 24, 2011

The Truth Behind The Story by Julia Madeleine

Yesterday I reviewed Julia Madeleine’s latest book, the psychological thriller No One To Hear You Scream, and today I am pleased to welcome her for a guest post to share the story behind the story.

Julia Madeleine My new thriller, No One To Hear You Scream, was inspired by actual events that happened to my family and me following the purchase of a house in foreclosure. While my husband and I are city people, both born and raised there, we had this country dream about buying a house with some acreage. I’ve since learned that it’s not an uncommon dream and a lot of people who make the move to the country end up selling and moving back to the city a year later, which is exactly what we did.

After several years of planning and dreaming, in 2008 we found our dream house on a 30 acre wooded property out in the middle of nowhere. This was in the Niagara region in Ontario. The property was magnificent and I fell in love with the peace and tranquility of the place right away. There was a beach within walking distance, a mile down the road, and our property had a huge pond where our dogs eventually learned to swim. I knew immediately living in that environment that my creativity would explode.

And I was right…but it just wasn’t in the way I had expected. →

June 23, 2011

No One To Hear You Scream by Julia Madeleine

“If you don’t want to play ball that’s your choice. But you’re not going to like what’s coming next, buddy.” – Rory Madden

What’s coming next in author Julia Madeleine’s No One To Hear You Scream is a world of manipulation, suspense, and terror, all of it orchestrated by Rory Madden. Originally from Belfast, Ireland, Rory has made a life for himself in upstate New York in a beautiful house set on twenty acres of secluded land.

Of course the fact he financed it all by selling drugs comes back to bite him when he’s busted in a sting and sent to jail. Unable to keep up the payments on the house, it’s foreclosed on and put up for sale. Enter the Jamesons.

Brett and Pamela are fed up with city life and looking for a place in the country. They think it would be a great change of scenery not only for them, but for their seventeen year-old daughter Justine too, especially since she’s just had a baby and is a bit overwhelmed by it all.

When they’re shown Rory’s beautiful house, standing empty and for sale at a steal of a price, they think they’re finally on the way to fulfilling their dream. What they get instead is a nightmare when a screwup by police springs Rory from jail on a technicality after only six months and he immediately heads back to upstate New York intending to get the house back that he worked so hard to build…no matter what it takes. →

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