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Tuesday 29 July 2014

Sick, twisted, gore-filled story not for the faint hearted


Hillary: Tail of the Dog (Hillary #1)

by Angel Gelique



The blurb:


"WARNING: This novel contains disturbingly explicit sexual and deviant content that may be considered offensive to some readers, including rape, torture and cannibalism.

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Fifteen-year-old Hillary Greyson awakens from a horrific nightmare only to discover that she faces an even grimmer reality. Naked on a bed in an unfamiliar, empty room, she is unable to move her limbs. Worse, she cannot remember who she is. Panic-stricken, Hillary desperately searches her mind for answers, but finds nothing more than fear and confusion.

A man enters the room—a stranger to Hillary. He introduces himself as Dr. Morrison. Seemingly benign, he informs Hillary that she is there for her own good…that she is under his care until she regains her memory. Hillary cannot remember anything, but her instincts warn her not to trust this man who claims to be her doctor. She can only hope that someone will come looking for her…that someone will find her before it is too late.

Several weeks later, Hillary’s situation has grown even more dismal. Still unclothed, coarse ropes bind her limbs to the bed while she is fed intravenously. Two new strangers have entered her life—Monica, Dr. Morrison’s wife, and Dr. Bentley, who claims to be her psychiatrist. Yet they are more evasive than forthcoming. Her questions remain unanswered. She is trapped, with no hope of escaping…left to piece together the mystery of her miserable existence.

Abused and neglected, Hillary knows that with each passing day, her chance of survival diminishes. She spends her long days wasting away, growing depressed…growing angry. When all hope seems lost, a cruel twist of fate provides the opportunity she has been waiting for.

With renewed hope and an unrelenting will to survive, Hillary does whatever it takes to escape. She yearns for her freedom more than anything in the world.

Hillary just wants to go home…."



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When I am reading a book with a view to providing a review, I like to keep brief notes from the start which I can then fill out at the end. My notes at the beginning included “a great prologue that really set the scene and sense of fear and hopelessness - is this a sign of things to come?” and the Doctor is a “normal looking man - not the monster my parents warned me about”. I likened Hillary’s “treatment” being similar to that which was meted out in the old style insane asylums and you start to feel sorry for her.

I thought this was a story about a kidnapping and you think its going that way then the author slips a nugget in there which changes the direction completely. At one point, I asked myself “what the hell is going on?” but then about halfway through, it changes into a whole different ball game.

I’m not going to give away anything but if you are a fan of sick, twisted, gore-filled stories about psychopaths who love to inflict the worst imaginable pain to their fellow human beings, then this is the one for you. If not, please don’t put yourself through it and keep well away - the warnings are there for a reason … ignore them at your peril.

This book tore me in two - I really wanted to read it but then again, I really didn’t but I finished it and am glad that I did.

How can I give such a high rating to something containing such graphic and explicit scenes? Easy really, such a well written book, yes there were a few errors but they are easily forgotten in what is a brilliant but very disturbing story that had me taking sharp intakes of breath, holding my breath and gasping out loud. Some sections were really hard to read and, I admit, I did skim-read some particular gruesome bits and I did have to put it down a couple of times. I normally read before going to sleep but about 50% in, I decided this was not a good idea and decided to read it in my lunch hour … however, that wasn’t the brightest of moves either!!! Now I'm no wimp but there were parts that were way too graphic for even me but I must give plaudits to the author on the way they were written.

This is one of only a handful of books that I have talked about with my husband (just to see him cringe!), his friends (I quite enjoyed their reaction in a sick sort of way!) and work colleagues (had to choose who I told as they would have serious concerns about me!) - isn’t that what books are supposed to do?

I have the 3rd book in the series to read - Hillary: Retribution but I think I will have to delay reading it until I get over the images created in my mind from this one. There is also a 2nd one Hillary: Flesh and Blood which is a prequel but this is supposed to be worse than the 1st and 3rd put together .... so may have to give this one a miss as I don’t think my brain or stomach could take that.


I want to thank the author for a free copy in return for an honest review.

Thursday 24 July 2014

A short story downloaded for free from Amazon


For Sale, By Owner by Gerard Harrison


22717638


A short story downloaded for free from Amazon but on the day of writing this it was £1.80 which, given it is about 18 pages long, works out at 10p a page ... hmmm ... a little expensive I think so was lucky to get it when it was on offer.

Anyway, the official blurb is:

"Rodney Denker, an opportunist serial killer, encounters the victim he should have ignored."

The story is told, for the most part, from the perspective of a serial killer who has developed a unique way of attracting his victims however, he wasn't prepared for what happened when he picked on the wrong person.

An interesting outcome from an OK story that was quite well written. I didn't mind losing 10 mins of my life reading this.

Saturday 19 July 2014

Death On The Slopes - Larry Dean Jackson - yet another short story ;)

22717702


The official blurb:

"What could be more grand than a Colorado ski trip vacation? What could be more terrible than a Colorado ski trip vacation from hell?"

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Another free download from Amazon and another very short story. I quite enjoyed this one although it is my idea of a nightmare ... rats, hate the things ... I am not going to elaborate any further as it would give the whole story away and, to be honest, would probably take me longer to explain than it took to read in the first place.


Overall, it was a good, short story that could easily work as a full length novel but could do with being proof read a little better as there were a few spelling errors but worth 5 minutes of my time.

Friday 18 July 2014

Another Short Review of Another Short Story

Face The Music


The official blurb:

"WHAT A SURPRISE; NEVER in a million years could Oliver Brock believe his misfortune. He had done so much harm to others and now he had a no way out. Or did he?"


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Another very short story I picked up for free from Amazon.  This one was OK for a quick read with an interesting storyline that could have been good but I found the writing style somehow childish and simple which did detract from an otherwise good idea.  There were also some grammatical errors which were annoying given the shortness of the story. However, I'm not complaining as it didn't cost me anything and I only lost 5 minutes reading it.


A Short Review of a Short Story

Guilty Conscience

The official blurb:

"Flash Fiction - GUILTY CONSCIENCE TENDS TO GNAW at your insides. You can lock it up in a closet in your brain for a good portion of the day, but eventually, you will go home, you will get into bed and you will finally be able to hear the guilt rattling against the closet’s door, demanding to be let out. And when you let it out, it explodes with millions of questions. What if you hadn’t done that? What if someone saw you do it? What if you talk about it in your sleep?"


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A very short story with an interesting premise - too short really to provide much of a review as it was more like a prologue to a longer story but I liked the writing style and pace.  I think it would make for an interesting full length novel where the characters could be explored and developed.  If you have 5 mins to spare, then this is OK but left me wanting more.

I downloaded this for free off Amazon.

My Review of Karin Slaughter's Unseen


Unseen (Will Trent, #7)


The official blurb:

"Special Agent Will Trent has something to hide. Something he doesn't want Dr Sara Linton - the woman he loves - to find out.

He's gone undercover in Macon, Georgia and put his life at risk. And he knows Sara will never forgive him if she discovers the truth.

But when a young Macon patrolman is shot and left for dead Sara is forced to confront the past and a woman she hoped never to see again. And without even knowing it, she becomes involved in the same case Will is working on.

Soon both of their lives are in danger."


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I haven't read any previous novels with these characters so didn't know any background to them but it didn't seem to matter to me as Karin was adept at shedding light on history but not too much that the story became confusing and bogged down which can happen.

I found it to be an exciting story that, unfortunately, is very plausible in this day and age (wow, I sound like my mum!) and it kept me interested throughout.  The descriptions of places, people, situations, injuries, etc were vivid and, I felt, accurate enough to enable me to develop detailed pictures in my mind as I was reading which made it all the more real.  

Some of my thoughts on the main characters:

Lena - I didn't like her at first but once the character started to develop I found myself on her side and defending her like she was a real person.

Sara - annoying but likeable in a strange way. She came across to me as quite a hard and unforgiving person but I think I warmed to her in the end.

Will - my favourite loved him - a very complex character that I want to know more about. A tough exterior with a very soft centre and a good heart; brave and fearless and someone you would want on your side.

There was one negative that I found and it was that I thought the chapters were way too long - I hate stopping midway through a chapter but if you only have a short amount of time to get a few pages read, you have to with this book which I found quite frustrating.

Overall though, I enjoyed it so much I will be reading more and would definitely recommend to people who love a fast paced crime thriller.

I received this book via the Goodreads website from the Dead Good Crime Book Group for free in return for an honest review.

Tuesday 1 July 2014

New book started - Karin Slaughter's Unseen

 


I was fortunate to have been sent this by the Dead Good Crime Book Group on www.goodreads.com and I started reading it last night in bed and it has had me gripped from the first chapter. I am not far in (work has got in the way) and I am already intrigued and looking forward to what looks and feels like a really good story.

I just love getting into a new book and feeling excited at the prospect of losing myself within its pages.