Review: The Girl She Used To Be

Melody Grace McCartney does not know who she is. Well, to be more precise: she does not know who she would have been. When Melody was six, she and her parents witnessed something they shouldn’t have. An act of mafioso brutality. Talked into testifying, her parents went into the Witness Protection Program, taking Melody with them. And ruining any chance she had of living a normal life. Also gone is any possibility of an extraordinary existence. The assassination of her parents underscores a threat so severe that Melody must not stand out. Unable to attach to others, to excel in any way, or even to enjoy the banal existences lamented by her peers, Melody finds herself writhing in an unnatural state of forced mediocrity. Read more

Review: Jailbait Zombie – An Emo-Erotica Free Vampire Tale!

I. Hate. VampiresVampires reviews. Present tense. But I might be softening up a bit thanks to my new hero, Mario Acevedo. The shame is that I used to really like vampires. I thought they were much more cool back when they were less cool. Back when their existence was considered tragic. A curse that offset the thrill of immortality. Then they became a clique of badass goths. Now the trend seems to be progressing through this phase and into emo erotica. Pardon the pun, but what the undead really needs is a bit of new life breathed into them. Someone should come along and re-think vampire lore from the ground-up. Actually, an author has already done this. Meet the hero I mentioned above, Mario Acevedo. Read more

Review: Eden Log – Videogame Would Have Been Better

Allow me to begin with a warning: Eden Log is a dark film. And by “dark,” I mean dim. And by “dim,” I don’t mean unintelligent. I mean, you better not be watching this film on an old-school LCD or with any ambient light in the room. The best way to view this flick is by unbolting your plasma from the wall and crawling under a blanket with it. But wait! Is there anything in this film worth seeing? What in the world is this French film even about? It’s a tough question, because Eden Log defies categorization. Director Franck Vestiel didn’t create a horror film, because there’s nothing scary about it. The creatures that inhabit the film’s dismal underworld are always kept at bay. Often, this is done with the clever use of saran wrap, a foil on violence not matched since M. Night Shamalamalahayha introduced space-faring aliens that were flummoxed by doorknobs. Other times, the creatures are just annoying, screeching backdrop. They run past our protagonist harmlessly. Or Eden LogEden Log reviews Guards traverse a gangway on a different level–more far-off non-threats. Read more

Review: The Monster of Florence – Meta True Crime

Continuing to highlight some novels based on true crimes, I am reposting a review of Douglas Preston and Mario Spez’s novel, The Monster of FlorenceThe Monster of Florence reviews. The novel details what happens when Preston and Spezi try to identify the serial killer known as The Monster of Florence. They think the have found their man, when Preston is asked to leave the country and Spezi is thrown in Italy’s Capanne prison, accused of being the MonsterMonster reviews of Florence himself. I thought this would be a good second choice for this new column, especially since United Artists will produce a film version of the novel that Tom Cruise will produce and possibly star in.

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Review: Columbine – A Definite Must-Read

Ten years have passed since the tragic event that has become synonymous with school shootings. Columbine was once a word that simply denoted a high school, a football team or a state flower. But now the word is tainted. Despite the fact that we have moved on to newer tragedies with higher body-counts, the stain has not been scrubbed off of the word ‘Columbine’. But perhaps we need to do something other than wish it away. A better solution might be a deeper understanding of Columbine and similar events. The What, How and Why. Most of our answers to these simple questions have been dead-wrong and it is time to replace myth with truth. Read more

Muzzammil Hassan is Head-Over-Heels in Love

Valentine’s day.  FridayFriday reviews the 13th.  I know which one of these scares me more.  So many couples fall apart as this horrid holiday approaches.  Muzzammil Hassan took this quite literally. Due to a threatened divorce from Aasiya, Muzzammil lost his head a bit, and then made sure his wife lost hers all the fucking way. Read more

Review: The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

–I had this great English teacher in college.  Worshiped the guy.  I was a physics major and yet, every semester I was trying to shoe-horn every one of this guy’s classes in as electives.  I was a sophomore physics major sitting in 400-level English classes with a small circle of other students that could actually spell.  Literally a small circle.  These were those tiny classes that sometimes don’t get taught because not enough students think the subject is important and the ones that do think they are so important they have to face each other instead of the teacher.  I was just there because I worshiped the wrinkled-old man who was teaching the class and who was probably gay for me in a less-abstract way than I was gay for him. Read more

Review: The Serial Killer’s Apprentice

About a year ago DreaminDemon.com, began using the name of the alleged criminal in the title of every blog post.  Since then it has become standard practice at many other true-crime blogs, a mimicry that provides no shortage of flattery.  Unfortunately for James Renner, no names of the assuredly guilty can grace the titles of his chapters.  In The Serial Killer’s Apprentice he usually has to settle for the somber and sad inclusion of  only the names of victims. Read more

Interview With Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez’s startling first novel, DaemonDaemon reviews, lands on store shelves this Thursday, January 8th.  If you have read my review of Daemon, you’ll recall that we gave it 6 stars out of 5, which brought our site down for a few days (perhaps an early sign of the Daemon’s awakening?). The fact that Daniel took time out of his busy schedule to answer some of our questions also makes me nervous. I have a bad feeling that you, the reader, are about to be infected with a neurological meme-based virus encoded to trigger your genetic predisposition for peer pressure. Read more

Review: In The Woods

In the Woods comes with a ton of expectations.  With an Edgar award, a Macavity Award, an Irish Book Award, and the Strand’s award for best first novel, I cracked this book open prepared to be blown away.  You would think a let-down was imminent, but instead I was up way past my bedtime two nights in a row, desperate to finish the novel but dreading not having any more to read.  Good news on both fronts: the end was satisfying, a sequel was released this summer, and Tana’s publicist informs me that she is hard at work on a third.  Not only was I satisfied, I get to go back for more! Read more

Review: Dead or Alive

Dead or AliveAlive reviews is McGarrity’s 12th Kevin Kerney novel. Fans of his series probably know exactly what to expect and will pick up this book on day one, but it was my first encounter with the author and his characters, so this review is for people who might be interested in getting on board. Before I discuss Dead or Alive, I have to say how much I love McGarrity’s website. I wish every author had a resource like this. For each book (Tularosa, for instance), he has provided a synopsis, reviews, and even interactive maps.  Locations used in the books are laid out relative to one another and the locales are hyperlinked to other resources.  The same meticulous touch that is evident in McGarrity’s writing of Dead or Alive pervades his site.  It is an attention to detail that may be a mixed blessing, unfortunately. Read more

Review: Heartsick – A Gory, Contorted Thriller

If there was an award for scariest dedication, Chelsea Cain wouldn’t have any competition. Her national bestseller, HeartsickHeartsick reviews, starts off with: “For Marc Mohan, who loved me even after he read this book”. I had to pause before I started the first chapter. What in the hell was I getting myself into? A pickle, that’s what. I have a bit of a problem here. I am giving this book our highest marks and I am about to lavish some serious praise on it, but I am by no means recommending this book to everyone. If anyone passed by and bought this book because they saw my five stars, and now you are back to determine what in the world I was thinking, all I can say is: I didn’t tell you so. Because you didn’t listen. Read more

Review: The Napoleon of Crime

I am a fast walker.  Olympic fast.  It isn’t something I am even aware of until a laggard points it out to me.  A laggard–or a trio of muggers. The first time I was mugged I was in LondonLondon reviews.  Forging ahead of my leisurely-paced family, threading through a British crowd that tended to pass me on the incorrect side, I bumped into a chap, which sent me into oncoming pedestrian traffic where I was nearly bowled over by a man twice my size.  The next thing I know, the very large man is holding me by the cuff, nearly lifting me off the ground and yelling with an accent too thick to comprehend. Read more

Review: Interred With Their Bones

Interred With Their Bones sure had a lot stacked against it.  Having come off an incredible streak of three delightful novels, the last of which was easily my favorite read of the year, it was time for a deviation to the mean.  As I began Carrell’s novel, I thought that this would be it.  A nice 3-star review to settle my average and set me up for the next read.  I was using this book as a rebound and I wasn’t ashamed of it. I am now.  My plan would have worked, but the subject matter of Interred With Their Bones is just too dear to my heart.  Not to unfairly compare, but Carrell’s tale is The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code reviews with Shakespeare taking the place of Da Vinci.  It is a shame that Dan Brown did it first, because Carrell does it better. Read more

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