Title: Thrash Track (Detective Mahoney Series Book 5)

Author: Julie Hiner

Release date: July 28th, 2024

*Huge thanks to Julie for sending me a digital ARC of this one!*

I previously read ‘Devil’s Track’ which is book four in the series, and when I saw Julie had a new one coming out in this world, I was very excited for her. Then, when she asked if I wanted a review copy, I was very excited for me, ha! Excited because I enjoy Julie’s storytelling, love the world she’s created here and the mixture of music and detective narrative work so well together. Couple that with the main character of Stella Mahoney and you know you’re in for a good time. Much like with book four, Hiner indicates that you don’t have to have read any of the prior books and I found that to be true here. While there are some call backs to book four I recognized (and probably some to earlier books), I never felt lost, nor as though I’d need to stop and go back and read prior releases.

What I liked: Taking place in 1999, Stella gets called to a found-body crime scene behind a restaurant near Electric Avenue, the party strip of town. There, they find a victim, who has had their skin removed from their hand and not many other clues.

Hiner does a great job of setting the stage for what’s to come and the expected cat-and-mouse game of detective and killer. Throughout, we get a great look into each of their minds and it works really well that we are essentially shown who the killer is early on and learn about their motives and what makes them tick, while also seeing how Stella works, how her mind works and how her and her partner figure things out.

The highlight of this book (and the previous one) was the character of Stella. Part rocker chick, part strung out detective, part adult grappling with changes in their lives, Stella is masterfully crafted and is very, very relatable. She is the lead singer of the book if you will, the one that has the spot light on them and the one that all eyes are drawn too, no matter the situation.

Hiner easily takes us from 0-100 mph time and time again throughout and the finale of this is, I think, much more put together and fleshed out than Book Four wrapped up (not that the ending there was horrible). This one just left a taste in my mouth and scenes replaying in my brain, which is always what you want in an ending.

What I didn’t like: Actually, in this case, I found at times there were too many music references. They’re purposeful and not only set up different parts of the book, but also pay homage to different groups, but at times it became a bit of a distraction when things were running along and suddenly a real name/group was tossed into the book and it pulled me from the fictional narrative. Minor issue on my end, but something I noticed.

Why you should buy this: This book is a pulse-pounding read. Stella is in deep in this one and Hiner decides that’s not far enough, pushing our main character to the very brink. As she always does, Julie deftly weaves a tale punch full of mystery, complexity and buckets of blood.

Had a total blast with this one!

4.5/5

Title: Mickey7 (Mickey 7 #1)

Author: Edward Ashton

Release date: February 15th, 2022

I didn’t know about this novel until I saw the news the movie had been delayed. Crazy right? I mean, I do read sci-fi, just not in any sort of overabundance, but I certainly don’t follow big sci-fi book news or releases and for the most apart, my sci-fi ingestion is mainly from the Big Five Mainstream world, rarely from the indie world, which is kind of the exact opposite of my horror reading patterns. When I read the synopsis, I was sold and grabbed it immediately.

The whole idea of our main character, Mickey Barnes, being an Expendable, just had me hooked and not too long after grabbing it, I dove in, wondering just what I’d encounter.

What I liked: The story follows Mickey, on a distant planet, as some surviving humans attempt to set up a base to colonize the planet and build a new home for some of remaining survivors. There’s been attempts all around the universe – some successful, some not – but this one had all the hallmarks of being the perfect place. Until they arrived and it wasn’t. Mickey, as I mentioned, is an Expendable. What does that mean? It means, they’ve made a fully synthetic and digital version of Mickey Barnes aka #1, and when a job comes up that requires a human to do it, but that will result in them most likely dying, well, they call on Mickey. So, as the title suggests, we pick up with Mickey #7, who just happens to be dying, again.

One thing I typically struggle with while reading horror is humor. It just pulls me out if it’s not done spot on, even sarcasm. Well, this ain’t horror, and apparently, Ashton nailed the sarcasm/humor angle, because I was chuckling throughout. Much like Martha Wells does with her Murderbot series (yes, this feels similarish to that, but also very very different), Mickey’s sarcasm and desire to not die, even when that’s his main job, are front and center and as the story moves along, it works to alleviate tension, but also keep those who hate him pissed off.

There are two main plot points that drive this novel. The first is that somehow, a second Mickey was created. So, in theory, there are two Mickey 8’s, which makes for some hilarious moments. And the second is the strange, insect-like clawed creatures they call ‘creepers’ that seem to be planning to attack the inhabited dome where the humans currently live.

It’s those two storylines that make this for a fun back and forth between what Mickey needs to do and what he wants to do and unexpectedly, the novel asks a lot of philosophical questions about life, death, where our moral compass lies and what exactly, qualifies as a genocide.

What I didn’t like: I had a blast with this one from start to finish, so if I had to try and find something to be nit-picky about, it might be that the description of the dome was fairly weak, so I wasn’t totally sure if it was massive, medium, or mild in size. It would’ve been great to have that discussed more, so the reader would have a sense of scope.

Why you should buy this: This is essentially Murderbot meets The Martian. I really loved Ashton’s writing throughout, the characters were a blast and there was an odd, subtle tension that was held from page one until the very end, a sort of ‘Hey, you, come read this,’ tightness that never relented. And even though there is a sequel, this one ends perfectly to be a standalone singular read, which is always a wonderful thing.

5/5

Title: Daughters of Cruelty

Author: L.J. Dougherty

Release date: August 6th, 2024

*Huge thanks to L.J. for sending me a digital ARC of this one!*

‘In the Italian language, giallo is a genre of novel including any literary genre involving crime and mystery, with all its sub-genres such as crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, or thriller-horror.’

The giallo. Whether movie or book, this is a genre of work that I am wholly unfamiliar with. In fact, I believe the only piece of giallo media I’ve ever consumed is David Sodergren’s ‘Dead Girl Blues’ novel, one that I beta read for him. I even remember sending back some feedback, to which he replied something along the lines of ‘that’s counter to what a giallo is trying to do.’ Fair. And Sodergren would know. Not only is he a frequent consumer of such media, but he’s written an essay for a giallo movie release AND the guy learned Italian specifically to go to Italy for a giallo based tour. On top of that, Sodergren provides a very strong introduction to this one, one that helped get me in the right frame of mind.

Because, up to this point, while I’ve not read (or watched) any giallo outside of that one novel, I’ve read each book Dougherty’s released, and each one has been magnificent. From his creature-espionage trilogy to his dystopian novella, L.J. infuses his stories with so much oomph, that each one is an experience to read and each one’s a story that’ll stay with you for a long, long time.

Going in, I didn’t think this novel would be for me. But that was ok, because I was excited to see what he’d delivered with this murder-mystery. Much like how Nick Sullivan delivered ‘Zombie Bigfoot’ as well as ‘Deep Shadow,’ I knew that in the right hands, a novel that I typically wouldn’t enjoy nor choose specifically to read, had the possibility to be fantastic, especially when delivered by an author whose work I love.

What I liked: The novel follows Jack, an American photographer/private investigator, who, after delivering a series of candid scandalous photos to a congressman who has hired him, is sent to Italy as a thank you. An all-expenses paid trip to a five-star, exclusive resort. At first Jack is hesitant, expecting it to actually be a ploy to get him there and have the mafia take him out, but once there, he starts to relax, has some drinks, some casual sex and things seem good. That is until people begin to be killed.

Look, this novel is nothing if not cinematic. Dougherty deftly details (not ridiculously over the top, mind you) the settings and scenarios and it helps to feel like you’re there while reading it. That you can hear the clink of glasses, the laughter of guests and smell the expensive perfumes and the sea air blowing in through an open window.

This works to heighten the tension when things ramp up. As it’s taking place in a hotel, we become intimately aware of the surroundings and when the knife-wielding killer arrives time and time again, the reader is able to picture exactly where they are and what escape routes the characters have. Not that those matter.

Throughout, I kept tossing guesses into the air, as to who the killer was. It had to be the bartender! It had to be the concierge! It had to be Jack himself! It had to be X! etc. etc. Which was a huge part of the fun of reading this. Over and over again, bread crumbs were left behind, but ultimately when they were followed, the reader would end up at the wrong loaf.

The reveal was well done, and in the afterword, Dougherty mentions that part of the giallo-ness of a story is not only who did the killings, but also why they did it, and that was detailed nicely. Which allowed for a very solid ending, answering the numerous questions leading up to that moment.

What I didn’t like: I say this in the nicest way possible – and this is 100% because I’m not familiar with this genre – but the novel does read very formulaic. I knew the killer would be revealed at about the 90% mark, simply because that seems to be how things are set up in this style of story telling. That’s not a bad thing, but if this isn’t something you typically enjoy, it will feel like many characters are purely set up to be taken out – but don’t fret, there is a specific reason for that!

Why you should buy this: I mean, if you love giallo entertainment, this is a no brainer. Dive in, digest, have some drinks, smoke a cigarette and take wild guesses at who the character is in between the spicy scenes. If you’re a fan of Dougherty’s work, also a no brainer. While this wasn’t a horror-style/espionage-style novel, Dougherty’s signature writing voice is there from the very first sentence.

Otherwise, if you’re simply looking for a rollicking, murder-mystery with great set pieces and enjoyable characters, look no further. This was a blast to read and one that did a wonderful job of throwing my expectations through the window and down, down, down to the sandy beach below.

5/5

Title: The Miracle Sin

Author: Marcus Hawke

Release date: January 5th, 2021

Over the last few years, I’ve read a number of Hawke’s books and really enjoyed everything I’ve read. But up until now, I’ve not managed to read ‘The Miracle Sin,’ his major novel he’s known for. Everything about this novel had me excited and intrigued, yet it still managed to stay slightly away from the top of my TBR over and over.

But no longer! I made sure to get this to the top, wanting to get it read over the summer months, and help celebrate Canadian horror throughout the month of July.

What I liked: The novel itself reminded me a lot of elements from Clive Barker’s ‘Next Testament,’ and I say that in the best way possible. The story focuses on teenager, Mason. He’s been through a lot, his parents dying in one of the biggest natural disasters ever, one in which Mason himself was the only survivor.

Things take a turn when he finds out that all sorts of the things that are not supposed to be ‘real’ are. And with that, Mason also finds out he just might be the chosen one, the savior descended. While none of this makes sense to Mason or Grim, the stranger who takes him under his wing, it seems to be the truth, when a sinister evil wants to use Mason’s abilities for its own gain.

Hawke takes us on a rollercoaster ride of action/adventure and introspective reflection. Mason works to understand why the events took his parents from him, where he sits within those events and what it means for his current situation. His survival depends on his acceptance of his place in history as well as working with those around him.

The final quarter of this novel works to bring those storylines together and set up an explosive finale. Hawke seems to take special glee in how these things wrap up as even the prose feels heavier with action but weightier with passion.

What I didn’t like: There are a few points where the novel meanders away from its main narrative and at times there’s a few spots where I had to go back and reread the events of a singular scene to follow along, but overall the story is fantastic.

Why you should buy this: Dripping with darkness and some moments of terrific evil, Hawke’s definitively weaved a tale that walks that line between religious possibility and narrative fiction. In the battle between good and evil, our main character takes an all or nothing approach and its this character that really hammers home the depth of Hawke’s convictions for this novel.

I had a blast with this one and see why so many people have recommended it to me over the years.

4/5