Aliens Bishop by T R Napper

Aliens: Bishop by T.R. Napper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 2 days

Pages - 496

Publisher - Titan Books

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A direct sequel to Aliens and Alien 3 —Weyland-Yutani, the Colonial Marines, and Bishop’s creator all pursue the android for the deadly Xenomorph data contained in his brain. Written by T. R. Napper, author of the acclaimed 36 Streets , whose explosive work explores the artificial intelligence and what it is to be human.


My Review

YOU GUYS! I LOVE the aliens franchise and Bishop is one of my faves, the dude is a good yin, loyal and obviously if you have seen the movies you know how we left Bishop and the book picks up from there. The book is split, we have the new team of marines and one of them is brother of Apone (Aliens), a new recruit and with any marine squad you aren't accepted until you proved yourself. A ship earmarked for a fate worse than death and Michael Bishop, creator of our beloved Bishop is bringing our boy back, upgraded and some other AI *twitch*.

We bounce between the three, Michael wants something from Bishop and Bishop as always is loyal and an upstanding guy. We have some real shady characters and low to no morals, xenomorphs, facehuggers and the old humans will never learn or see past their greed.

New characters and some impressive feats and shows of bravery, courage and preservation and Bishop, aw I missed Bishop. I know some folks felt the book had more of the newbs and not as much of Bishop (considering the book is named Bishop) however I thought he featured well/decent amount. Don't get me wrong we are always gonna want more but I think it is well balanced. The xenos/facehuggers took a while to appear but I think with so many characters we did need time to get to know the players.

I did have some outrage and want to shake some characters but you know an author has done a great job when you get the rage and emotive shouting lol. I think this is my first by this author, I hope they do more of the Aliens franchise and I will check out their other stuff, 4/5.

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The Frighteners by Peter Laws

The Frighteners: Why We Love Monsters, Ghosts, Death & Gore by Peter Laws
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Pages - 320

Publisher - Icon Books

Source - Bought at horrorcon

Blurb from Goodreads

The Frighteners follows the quest of Peter Laws, a Baptist minister with a penchant for the macabre, to understand why so many people love things that are spooky, morbid and downright repellent. He meets vampires, hunts werewolves in Hull, talks to a man who has slept on a mortuary slab to help him deal with a diagnosis, and is chased by a chainsaw-wielding maniac through a farmhouse full of hanging bodies.

Staring into the darkness of a Transylvanian night, he asks: What is it that makes millions of people seek to be disgusted and freaked out? And, in a world that worships rationality and points an accusing finger at violent video games and gruesome films, can an interest in horror culture actually give us safe ways to confront our mortality? Might it even have power to re-enchant our jaded world?

Grab your crucifixes, pack the silver bullets, and join the Sinister Minister on his romp into our morbid curiosities.


My Review

Peter Laws is a minister who just happens to love horror, that in itself perks your attention, it isn't something you hear every day to be fair. Laws delves into horror, the movies, themes, actual true events, his experiences and how he came to embrace the genre he loves despite his "day job".

I really want to go visit Transylvania after reading this, he went for a big birthday and describes what the place is actually like, the people and things to check out. Just from reading about it, the crosses everywhere, you could totally envision it, I really want to go and check it out, the place of so many movies/legends/stories.

He takes us on a journey of some of his favourite movies, what it was that allowed his to embrace his love of horror rather than give it up as he did with so much with his faith. He also chats about how folk react to him when they realise he is a man of the cloth. From hunting down legends of a werewolf, speaking to folk who genuinely believe they transform, examining true horror acts from humans, how kids and adults process some of the most atrocious acts, it is a really interesting read.

The book has a few places he has visited and at the back of the book he references things mentioned that you can check out for further reading. I think it is a book I will go back to as there are quite a few movies and things mentioned new to me that I won't remember off the top of my head. For fans of horror who want something a wee bit different I recommend picking up a copy of this, 4/5 for me this time!

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ZomB City by Darren Shan

Zom-B City by Darren Shan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Publisher - Simon & Schuster UK

Pages - 213

Blurb from Goodreads


How many survived the zombie apocalypse?Where do the living hide in a city of the dead?

Who controls the streets of London?

B Smith is setting out to explore...



My Review

B is out from underground, picking up from where we left book three, she is weak, hungry and disorientated. Stumbling about she hits the streets of London, among the undead to try and find her way through the new world and what her place in it might be.

You can read this book as a stand alone as Shan does give a brief recap of what you have missed, however if you can I would suggest going back and reading the others. B is determined she won't be attacking humans but she knows what she needs to do in order to survive. Despite being undead and never being able to age, B is growing up fast and trying to adapt to her new way of life. Coming across the undead is not her only problem, there are much worse things than zombies out there and what do they have planned for her?

More death, gore and self exploration, some of the scenes cover innocent and young victims which some readers may find distressing. If you have read the previous and enjoyed you won't be disappointed with this one. B's journey continues, we are offered a bit more insight into what has happened and how our world looks now. I can't wait to see where the next installment takes us, 4/5 for me this time.

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The Walking Dead - The Road To Woodbury by Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 277

Publisher - Thomas Dunne Books

Blurb from Goodreads

The first book explained how the Governor was created; this thrilling sequel to The New York Times bestseller further reveals his ruthless, inhuman conquest of Woodbury

The zombie plague unleashes its horrors on the suburbs of Atlanta without warning, pitting the living against the dead. Caught in the mass exodus, Lilly Caul struggles to survive in a series of ragtag encampments and improvised shelters. But the Walkers are multiplying. Dogged by their feral hunger for flesh and crippled by fear, Lilly relies on the protection of good Samaritans by seeking refuge in a walled-in town once known as Woodbury, Georgia.

At first, Woodbury seems like a perfect sanctuary. Squatters barter services for food, people have roofs over their heads, and the barricade expands, growing stronger every day. Best of all, a mysterious self-proclaimed leader named Philip Blake keeps the citizens in line. But Lilly begins to suspect that all is not as it seems… Blake, who has recently begun to call himself The Governor, has disturbing ideas about law and order.

Ultimately, Lilly and a band of rebels open up a Pandora's box of mayhem and destruction when they challenge The Governor's reign… and the road to Woodbury becomes the highway to hell in this riveting follow-up to Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga's New York Times bestselling The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.



My Review

I am a big fan of the TV show The Walking Dead, I have also read the first book in this series: The Rise Of The Governor. This book starts with Lilly Caul and the survivors she finds herself grouped with. After their camp gets attacked and people start to turn on each other, Lilly finds herself leaving with Josh, Bob, Scott & Megan. Eventually they find themselves in Woodbury and coming to the conclusion that the walkers may not be their biggest threat.

I love zombie books anyways, and films/shows so to be honest it isn't rocket science that I would really like this. As well as the usual fight or flight, struggle to survive, breakdown and strengthening of friendships, in this particular type of book we learn more about characters we already knew in the show. The Governor is not a nice guy at all, we know this but we get some insight and answers into some of his behaviour and actions we saw on the show and the previous book.

There are some things people will dislike about the book, the dialogue between Josh and Lilly can be a bit grating and repetitive. Some of the actions of the characters, as always, often causes annoyance or makes you questions their actions or lack of. However, for zombie fans I think you would like this book. I would recommend getting the first in the series so you get a bit of background on the governor although you could pick this up and read it as a stand alone. I believe there are two more books after this one, I will be on the look out for them, 4/5 for me this time.

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The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Publisher - Orbit

Pages - 460

Blurb from Goodreads

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.



My Review

We open with Melanie, what her name means and what "life" is like for her and her routine. Her cell is where she lives when she isn't in the classroom, when she goes to the classroom she is confined to a chair. The soldiers, the children she spends her class time with and the teachers. Melanie is different, she is smart and notices things, that some of her classmates go missing and never come back. Soon Melanie will find out first hand what is happening to her friends, why her favourite teacher is looking so sad & what she really is.

For the first we while I wasn't too sure where the story was going and was a bit confused. However, eventually you find out, along with Melanie why she is strapped down, why her classmates disappear and what the lessons where all about. For me the story is a cross between invasions of the body snatchers with a bit of post apocalyptic theme with cannibalism, cruelty, murder and gore.

It isn't just about Melanie's self discovery, she is ten years old by the way but very intelligent and advanced for her age. It is also about relationships, survival and acceptance. It is different from a lot of what I normally read but reminded me a lot of the old movies I loved as a kid, 3/5 for me. This is my first time reading this author and I would read more by them.

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Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan

Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 2.5 days

Blurb From Goodreads

'Apocalypse Cow made me snort with laughter' - Terry Pratchett.

Forget the cud. They want blood. An outrageous an anarchic comic take on the zombie apocalypse - and joint winner of the first Terry Pratchett ‘Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now’ prize.

It began with a cow that just wouldn’t die. It would become an epidemic that transformed Britain’s livestock into sneezing, slavering, flesh-craving four-legged zombies.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the fate of the nation seems to rest on the shoulders of three unlikely heroes: an abattoir worker whose love life is non-existent thanks to the stench of death that clings to him, a teenage vegan with eczema and a weird crush on his maths teacher, and an inept journalist who wouldn’t recognise a scoop if she tripped over one.

As the nation descends into chaos, can they pool their resources, unlock a cure, and save the world?

Three losers. Overwhelming odds. One outcome . . .

Yup, we’re screwed.

My Review

I love zombies books (as you may have noticed), so when I heard about this one I thought I just had to give it a read. Geldof is a 15 year old Vegan boy, embarrassed by his hippy parents. If they aren't screaming at the neighbors for their murder and consumption of flesh(animals of course), forcing him to be a Vegan and wearing God awful natural fiber clothes his mum is bartering for food in the shop with vegetables. What follows is an unlikely team against the zombie animals. Something goes wrong at the abattoir, a weird plague amongst the cows gets out and spreads among domestic animals and soon everyone in Glasgow (and Britain) is at risk of being humped, mauled and or eaten.

This book is hilarious, disgusting and so UN PC - it has everything rolled into one story. The nerdy boy with the crush on the teacher, the hippy parents, the teenage bullies that need to be addressed or obeyed and of course the threat of being killed by rabid flesh eating animals from cows to rats.

Some of the brutality to the animals is a bit uncomfortable reading (in any kind of context) but taking the book as it is with silliness you can get through it, after all it the small matter of survival. This is my first encounter with this author and I would read him again, I also secretly (not so secret now) hope there is a follow up to this book. Will Geldof survive? Does he get the woman of his dreams and be the hero at the end? Well you have to read it and find out for yourselves folks. Thanks to Transworld publishers for giving me the chance to review this and introducing me to a new author, 4/5 for me this time. Just to add, I reviewed this in 2012 however the review was missing from this blog. I just received a copy of the next book in this series so reposting this!

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Surviving The Evacuation - London by Frank Tayell

London by Frank Tayell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days (on and off)

Pages - 201

Blurb from Goodreads

The outbreak started in New York. Within days the infection had spread to every corner of the world. Nowhere is safe from the undead...

Bill watched from his window as London was evacuated. His leg broken, he is unable to join the exodus. Turning to his friends in the government, he waits and hopes for rescue. As the days turn into weeks, realising inaction will lead only to starvation and death, his thoughts turn to escape.

Forced to leave the safety of his home he ventures out into the undead wasteland that once was England, where he will discover a horrific secret.

This is the first volume of his journal.



My Review

An outbreak that starts in New York soon finds its way to London. Bill is stuck in his house watching it all unfold as he is stuck indoors with a broken leg. As the chaos descends Bill knows that he will have to make a break for it if he is to survive, this story is Bills journal cataloging his journey.

As you may know, I love zombie/apocalyptic stories, this is a fairly thin read although I believe there is 7 volumes available. Bill is our main character, it is his voice and diary we follow as the events unfold and he faces the choice of staying safe indoors and starving or attempting to go out and escape where he has seen so many perish.

This is a bit different from the books I have read on this genre, it is told in diary format which isn't exactly unique however Bill has a broken leg. The outbreak is hard enough to try and survive without having a cast on and being slowed down. It builds up the tension as you feel the despair of the situation for Bill and things go quickly from bad to worse. There are a few surprises along the way and considering it is a lone voice telling the story and for the most part it is only Bill, the author manages to bring in other characters through Bills previous chats/memories and things he happens upon.

I think some people may have issue with this one because Bill has a cast on, one or two things that happen you question the validity however, it is a zombie outbreak book and I think it all works pretty well. I have already downloaded the second one of this in the series and can't wait to see what happens next, 4/5 for me and I definitely recommend it to fans of this genre.

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The Retribution by Val McDermid

The Retribution by Val McDermid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 402

Publisher - Little Brown and Company

Blurb from Goodreads

There is one serial killer who has shaped and defined police profiler Tony Hill's life. One serial killer whose evil surpasses all others. One serial killer who has the power to chill him to the bone: Jacko Vance. And now Jacko is back in Tony's life - even more twisted and cunning than ever before.

My Review

I have only ever read 1 or 2 of McDemids books before, this one is 7th in a series. Whilst I didn't have any problems following the plot, I do feel I should have read the others before hand as there is history between some of the characters. Tony Hill is a profiler and very good at what he does, he is the main character along side Carol Jordan. Carol has a serial killer on the streets, taking out prostitutes and she may just need Tony's help. However a bigger killer is on the streets, Jacko Vance. Jacko is one of the worst killers they put behind bars and now Tony must focus all his attention on Jacko, before more bodies turn up.

Tony and Carol are complex characters, they are also involved although their relationship is on the down key. Carol is fiercely private, it is hard enough being a cop but to be a female and in charge of investigations, she has more to lose than the men in the department. It is a busy story, two killers, Tony & Carols relationship and the sidelines of everything going on between. However, McDermid makes it flow well and keeps you interest in all aspects of the story.

I think I will probably go back and get the earlier books in the series and maybe re read this one. Whilst I enjoyed the pace and how the story was done, I feel if I read the others I would have got a better insight into some of the actions of the characters.

There is quite a bit of gore involved so not for the faint hearted and some of the behaviours or choices or the characters annoyed me. I did question would someone behave in such a way and fiction isn't always what would happen in reality but it did annoy me in some aspects. The pace of the story changes also, it take a bit to get going and then it just seemed to speed up and end which also took a part of the enjoyment away for me. Still a good read and I do think this author is really talented at what she does, 3/5 for me this time though.

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13 Bullets by David Wellington

13 Bullets by David Wellington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Publisher - Piatkus

Pages - 373

Blurb from Goodreads

All the official reports say they are dead-extinct since the late '80s, when a fed named Arkeley nailed the last vampire in a fight that nearly killed him. But the evidence proves otherwise.
When a state trooper named Caxton calls the FBI looking for help in the middle of the night, it is Arkeley who gets the assignment-who else? He's been expecting such a call to come eventually. Sure, it has been years since any signs of an attack, but Arkeley knows what most people don't: there is one left. In an abandoned asylum she is rotting, plotting, and biding her time in a way that only the undead can.
Caxton is out of her league on this case and more than a little afraid, but the fed made it plain that there is only one way out. But the worst thing is the feeling that the vampires want more than just her blood. They want her for a reason, one she can't guess; a reason her sphinxlike partner knows but won't say; a reason she has to find out-or die trying.
Now there are only 13 bullets between Caxton and Arkeley and the vampires. There are only "13 bullets" between us, the living, and them, the damned.


My Review


Well, this was a vampire tale with a bit of a difference. The vampires are not like vamps as we know them, well not any I have watched or read about. They are most powerful when they feed, totally vulnerable when they sleep. They have hypnotic powers of control, ok this has been mostly popular throughout the years, they require you to self terminate to aid the turn. Just a few things that are new compared to the books I have read. Agent Arkeley has dealt with them before and only just made it out, this time he enlists the help of State Trooper Laura Caxton to defeat the new rising of vampires. By why her, why are the undead and half undead interested in her, why is Arkeley so invested in killing their one true master?

I liked and disliked this story probably in equal measures which is why I fenced it with a 3/5. It is always interesting to get a fresh spin on tales that have been around for years however some of it really annoyed me. If the vampires are so indestructible at certain times, why do they not overcome their subjects quicker? Why are not all made full vampires, why do the half deads flit between ferocious and cowardly? Why is there a need for self termination, I think for me, I needed more on the curse and the how and why of it.

There are quite a few themes in the book, the killings and blood lust are quite graphic in parts so not for the faint hearted. There are paintings with body fluid, lesbianism features strongly for one of the characters which, I understood for two scenes but otherwise there was no huge contribution to the tale, unless I missed subtle undertones?

There are more tales in this series and whilst I would read them, I won't be rushing out to buy them. I would love to know more about Arkeley right enough and Malvern so I would certainly read them if they came my way. I have read Wellington before, his zombie trilogy which I definitely prefer however I think this series does have potential.

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Thursday Legends by Quintin Jardin

Thursday Legends by Quintin Jardine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 320

Publisher - Headline Book Publishing

Blurb from Goodreads

Every Thursday for 25 years, Skinner and his friends have met for a game of football. Which is why the discovery of Alec Smith's mutilated corpse has hit Skinner so hard. A former policeman, Smith was one of the Thursday Legends. When another teammate is murdered, Skinner realizes it's only the beginning.

My Review

Skinner plays football every Thursday with the "Legends", when one of them turns up dead and its a former policeman the investigation into such a heinous crime starts. When another of the team is missing and turns up dead, Skinner starts to think there is something much bigger to these crimes. As the investigation continues Alex Smith, the former cop, has some dark secrets in his past that could put the investigating team at risk.

I have never read this author before, or if I had it was years ago, this is book ten of twenty five. I don't think I missed anything out by not read the first ten to be honest, I would definitely like to go back and read them as it was such a good series.

The story kicks off really quickly with Smiths brutal murder, the characters are brought to life and spark your interest from the very first pages. Skinner is a bit of ladies man which rises a few issues in itself, especially when he hooks up with the pretty young lady next door whilst seeing a colleague on the force. There is quite a bit of gore and violence, murder, lies some sex and a few secrets.

I found it really hard to put down, it is a real page turner and I will be getting the back catalogue and the books that followed. 4/5 for me this time, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes their crime a bit bloody and rough.

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Review - The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - HarperCollins

Pages - 399

Blurb from Goodreads

THE GIRL WHO WOULDN'T DIE HUNTS THE KILLER WHO SHOULDN'T EXIST.

The future is not as loud as war, but it is relentless. It has a terrible fury all its own."

Harper Curtis is a killer who stepped out of the past. Kirby Mazrachi is the girl who was never meant to have a future.

Kirby is the last shining girl, one of the bright young women, burning with potential, whose lives Harper is destined to snuff out after he stumbles on a House in Depression-era Chicago that opens on to other times.

At the urging of the House, Harper inserts himself into the lives of the shining girls, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He's the ultimate hunter, vanishing into another time after each murder, untraceable-until one of his victims survives.

Determined to bring her would-be killer to justice, Kirby joins the Chicago Sun-Times to work with the ex-homicide reporter, Dan Velasquez, who covered her case. Soon Kirby finds herself closing in on the impossible truth . . .

THE SHINING GIRLS is a masterful twist on the serial killer tale: a violent quantum leap featuring a memorable and appealing heroine in pursuit of a deadly criminal.




My Review

I don't think I opened this appreciating it was a time travel book so I was really confused for a good bit of it. Reading other reviews I don't think it sounds like it was clearly highlighted although I read it on the kindle and very rarely these days do I read the blurb. Harper Curtis is our killer, the book opens with him in the 1930s visiting one of his future victims. He calls them his shining girls and always goes back to meet them when they are children and visits again to murder them as adults in the future. The book bounces between the 1930s and the 1990s, there are a few characters and each chapter has their name at the top so you know who it is about. Kirby should be dead, she is one of the shining girls who Curtis took care of, or so he thought. A game of cat and mouse begins when he realizes she is still alive and Kirby knows, despite details not making any logical sense, that her would be killer is out there and she means to stop him.

This book took a while to get to grips with, it was interesting enough although the time and character jumps took a bit of getting used to and sorting through. Once I realized what was going on I got on a lot better with the story. Harper is driven to contact and then later, through time gaps, kill them as they are the shining girls and have to die. Anyone who gets in his way is also in peril however they are his main focus. He isn't a particularly crafty killer, barring the fact he can time travel but the murders themselves are hideously brutal and gorey.

I think the idea for this book is a really good one, I read one by Joe Hill that was a similar theme, chosen ones to die and time travel however this one needs something more. I think had there been an explanation up front of why they are chosen and everything that follows after then the book would have, for me, been much more enjoyable. I don't like when I have to come up with the hows and whys, I know some readers do, I also don't like to be left with questions and hanging. That said, the way the characters and events are linked is done well which is why the rating for this one is 3/5. I had never read her before and whilst I would try her work again, I won't be rushing out to buy them all up. I believe she has a new one coming out in July, 2014 so will keep an eye on the reviews for that one.

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Review - Ash by James Herbert

Ash by James Herbert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken to Read - 3 days

Blurb From Goodreads

David Ash – detective of the paranormal – is sent to the mysterious Comraich Castle, secluded deep in the Scottish countryside, to investigate a strange, high-profile case: a man has been found crucified – in a room that was locked. The reports suggest that the cliff-top castle is being haunted . . .

Who – or what – is the reclusive hooded figure that Ash has seen from the window walking across the courtyard in the dead of night?
What are the strange, animal-like sounds that come from the surrounding woods?
And why are the castle’s inhabitants so reluctant to talk about what they have seen?

. . . what Ash eventually discovers is truly shocking

My Review

I was torn between giving this a 2 star or 3 rating; I decided on the latter. I have followed David Ash's adventures and love James Herbert's writing however this is totally different. Ash is still trying to recover from his last encounters with the supernatural when he is hired to investigate the strange happenings at a Scottish castle that harbours those who have money to evade the law.

The story takes a while to start however when it gets going it quickly becomes twisted with murder, incest, conspiracy theories, and ghosts to name but a few of the aspects of this story. Some of the scenes are very descriptive and gory however if you have read James Herbert before you will be used to this, if not just a heads up. It is a big book (the printed version is over 600 pages) and goes from Ash's point of view and what is happening and flits between the other characters and back to Ash. Most of the Herbert books I have read focus on a theme (usually supernatural and horror) but this one covers a whole host of topics including love, sex and lesbianism.

Ash's character goes through different phases as the story progresses. He starts off as investigator battling his addictions and old ghosts whilst trying to keep on top of the new case with limited information. Then as he uncovers the history and secrets of the castle and residents he becomes more assertive, latterly the "hero" in him comes forth as he attempts to do his job and stay alive.

To be honest the story is simply madness. There is so much going on in it and even for a horror fan who loves "out there" and "it is never going to happen" stuff even this was a bit unreal for me. I still enjoyed it though and think if you're happy to read it knowing it really is quite silly and bizarre you will be fine with it. 3/5 for me.

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ARR - Ugly Beautiful by Seanpaul Thomas Cairns

UGLY beautiful by Seanpaul Thomas Cairns

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Time Taken To Read - 3 hours

Blurb From Amazon

Jason, a tormented soul and small town, womanizing gangster, double crosses his only friend and does a runner with a suitcase full of drug money, disappearing into the heart of the gorgeous Scottish highlands to lay low in a secluded cottage and start a new life.

On his second day of hiding out Jason discovers the mysterious body of a young and hauntingly beautiful woman lying unconscious at the bottom of a nearby hill. The woman though has no memory of who she is or how she even ended up there. So Jason carries the beauty back to his cottage, tenderly nursing her back to health and gradually gaining her trust and friendship by confessing his own past crimes, misdemeanors and infidelities, while also coaxing the woman to unravel her own forgotten past and tormenting mad visions... But doing so without the hindsight of the chilling, terrifying and sickening horrors which are about to be unleashed.


'Strong language and graphic scenes of violence in parts.'

My Review

First thing I have to say this novel starts with some pretty bad language and the theme stays for most of the book (I felt this was overdone and didn't really add to the story to be honest). Jason is a thug, a small time gangster who basically screws over his partners and does a runner with the money. Whilst hiding out he finds what he thinks is a dead body only to discover a beautiful woman who has no memory of who she is or what has happened. what follows is a journey of self discovery for Jason and an abundance of horror you couldn't imagine.

The book goes along at an ok pace but your sitting not sure of which direction it is going to go or if your going to like it. The skin crawling, stomach turning side of the book comes out well over the half way mark and if you liked movies like the hills have eyes, hostel etc you will love what follows.

I did like that your not left hanging and most of everything is explained for you. I didn't like the overuse of bag language which doesn't normally bother me but in some parts it just felt overdone and not required. The writing itself is easy reading and the story whilst it has undertones of something else going on isn't hard to follow which is always a bonus. Overall it had it's moments but if you like gore and graphic scenes this is the book for you and at only £0.99 on amazon.co.uk (kindle) it is definitely worth a read, 3/5 for me.

Thanks so much to the author for introducing me to his work and giving me the opportunity to review this book. I would be tempted to read something by him again.

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