Hellbound by David McCaffrey

Hellbound by David McCaffrey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 300

Publisher - Britains Next Bestseller

Source - Amazon (ebook) & Print copy from the author

Blurb from Goodreads

His crimes - unforgivable. His death - inevitable. His suffering - just beginning.

Obadiah Stark aka The Tally Man, is executed at ADX Absolom, his death sentence watched by the world's media, victim relatives and one investigative reporter, Joe O Connell. Penning an account of Stark's personal history and subsequent crimes in the hope of determining what elements make the sociopathic mind tick, Joe discovers clues and inconsistencies which cause him to investigate Stark's execution.

While this is happening in the real world, Obadiah Stark awakens to an afterlife where he has a wife and daughter bound to his childhood hometown. Following his natural predatory instinct, Obadiah proceeds to torment the town, committing multiple murders before being gunned down by the police. He awakens to find that everything has reset, with no one recalling his murderous spree a reality which offers no escape. As the scenes repeat, he is forced to submit to emotions he has never experienced before... and with it, a poisonous dose of morality.


My Review

Obadiah Stark is a killing machine, no morals, no care for any human and no remorse even when he is about to die, by the hand of the state. Joe O'Connell has been wrapped up in his job, a journalist covering Obadiah's murder and destruction, now Obadiah is dead he can focus on his book. However not all as it seems, after a tip off Joe starts digging into Stark's life and death taking him down a path there is no way back from. For Stark, he expects to finally find peace, only to awaken back in his hometown with loved ones around him making him question his sanity and existence.

The story is really split threefold, that of Stark just before and following the execution, Joe just before the execution and what happens after and the profiling of Stark and his crimes dottered throughout the book. I have to say Stark was the most riveting, whilst reading the profiling was also gripping it had a very different feel and pace to that of Stark and it made for a bit of distraction. Absolutely interesting in its own offering and insights, adding a different voice to the story. Whereas Joe brought a humane feel to the book as with the reader, he tries to understand Stark's impact on the families, those left behind in his path of destruction and who the killer actually was.

Obadiah, post execution was the real gripper for me. You, like him, have no actual idea of what has happened and we get to see the killing machine unleashed without boundaries. As with everything there are no actions without consequences and watching the penny drop for Obadiah and how he reacts was something I haven't read in fiction so far. An interesting and fresh premise from McCaffrey and made for a great page turner to see what was in store next for the characters. I think I need to re read In Extremis now before heading onto the newest offering "Nameless", 4/5 for me this time.

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In Extremis: A Hellbound Novella by David McCaffrey

In Extremis: A Hellbound Novella by David McCaffrey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 hour

Pages - 88 pages

Publisher - Sixth Element Publishing

Blurb from Goodreads


James Maybrick had secured his legacy as the most infamous serial killer of all time…his diary would one day shock the world.

Thomas Quinn wants revenge…his actions will give birth to an organisation of unspeakable power.

Together, they unwittingly set in motion a plan that will one day lead to the serial killer, Obadiah Stark.

Stark became The Tally Man.

They were The Brethren.

Maybrick is known to history by another name…



My Review

In Extremis is a novella that picks up immediately after the last murder by Jack The Ripper, the author has another book, Hellbound that people say you should read before this one. I decided to read this first, James Maybrick is The Ripper & in this short novella we get to read his thoughts & state of mind in the immediate aftermath of the killers. Thomas Quinn is one of the Brethren, a group of "individuals" who have an idea of what society should be and see Maybrick as a means to an end. When Maybrick puts them at risk, Quinn and the Brethren set in motion a plan to clean the decks, without exposing the all important Brethren brotherhood.

Ooooh I do love all things Jack The Ripper, he has always been an enigma, so many conspiracy's and theories. I can't believe of the books I have read Maybrick didn't feature or if he did I don't remember him. I now want to go digging and have a read about Maybrick and his diary, In Extremis we get to go behind the scenes and see into the mind of one of the most notorious killers. Excerpts from the journal of James Maybrick which I did struggle with a few of the words with the curved writing however it was very late at night which probably contributed!

Apart from a few big words I needed to look up, the writing flows well, it is well written creating a creepy and eerie atmosphere making the reader pull their blanket just a wee bit closer and listen a bit more keenly to the creaks when late night reading. This was my first dance with this author, it won't be my last, 4/5 for me this time. I would warn, as with all Jack The Ripper themed books, some of the passages are graphic which may upset some of our faint hearted readers, otherwise dive right in.

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