Blood Rain in Trieste by George Henry made me think of Casblanca and Humphrey Bogart. I wonder…did Bogie ever visit Trieste, Italy?

 

Goodreads  /  Amazon

 

MY REVIEW

 

Sounds like shades of Casablanca and Bogie made a trip to Trieste, Italy and ran into Hawaii Five-O.

 

Milo Marchetta is a musician, a club owner…in walks a dame, only this one wants to hire him to commit a murder.

 

Mobsters, hookers, money laundering, murder and bullies. What more could you ask for? Small men acting big. Walking a line between life and death. The characters are not prim and proper. I love flawed characters, but these characters are past flawed. They are desperate, twisted individuals, the dregs of humanity.

 

Milo has a big mouth and a penchant for putting his foot in it, or should I say someone else’s foot. Flawed…he is twisted, broken. As he gets his ass and a bunch of other things kicked…I can’t help but laugh. Even when he tries to do something good it craps on him. He’s so friggin’ damaged I don’t know how he’s still alive.

 

Forbidden love…the ultimate price…death.

 

There is so much going on, double cross, triple cross, revenge, betrayal, murder…don’t look away. You might miss something.

 

This was heavy, slow reading for me. It felt like work, like I was studying for school. Normally, this would be right up my alley, so I wonder, was I having an off day? You’ll need to judge for yourself.

3 Stars

 

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Blood in the Rain 2: Nineteen Stories of... ** I have only read Dale Cameron Lowry's offering, Sweeter Than Blood. **

Sweeter Than Blood
POV: 1st person, present tense
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Wow! That was one hot little number!
I love that it's told in 1st so that we get that really visceral connection to Keith. He's a sweet, if lonely and conflicted, guy and a nearly turned vampire. The struggles he goes through are nicely explained and explored throughout his thoughts and experiences. Most of all, though I wasn't sure how it was going to end, I really loved his connection and relationship with John. The way it was shown to be both physical, in the past, and still emotionally close, in the present, was great to see. Although Keith was furious with him for what he'd done, they had never turned their backs on one another.
Andres was an interesting character, since he seemed to perfect at first. At the same time, despite this being a world of vampires, the way they interact and the eventual outcome is so realistic. It's so typical for someone to get in over their head and expect one thing only to get another. But, on the other hand, it's also part of human nature to see what we want to see and I love how that was explored here.

~

Favourite Quote

““I wish you wouldn't be so cold. We're in the same boat. Why not be friends instead of just sire and spawn?”
In spite of myself, I give his hand a soft squeeze. “Be patient. After a few hundred years my resentment might fade enough that I can look at you without wanting to punch you in the face.””

I feel that you need to be prepared properly to enjoy Blood And Rain, the latest offering from the up-and-coming Glenn Rolfe. Glenn is yet another author from Maine to throw his hat into the horror genre ring. Now before you Stephen King purists out there yawn and let out a "Ho Hum", you need to check your ego at the door. While the state of Maine has given us horror addicts King, Ketchum and others, Rolfe proves that there must be something in the New England water that breeds creativity. Blood And Rain is a werewolf tale that is how werewolf tales are meant to be told. Fast, furious, and balls to the wall.

 

Gilson Creek, Maine is that kind of small town that we all know and love. Its familiar and comfortable, like we've been there before, maybe even lived someplace like it ourselves. It's slow paced, blue-collar and everyone knows each other. But not all has come up roses in this idyllic town's past. In 1997, a set of killings during a full moon cycle caused the residents to check their calendars and lock their doors everytime the moon is full. The sheriff at the time proclaimed it was from a wild animal attack, probably a mountain lion, even though a mountain lion hadn't been witnessed in those parts since 1936. Soon afterwards, he resigned as sheriff and promptly checked hiimself into a mental hospital amidst a breakdown. The deputy at the time, Joe Fischer, is now the new sheriff and a new batch of killings has started up again after all these years and wouldn't you know it - the moon happened to be full. Gilson Creek isn't unlike any other small town. They all have their secrets. But for Gilson Creek, their secret is back and its spilling blood. A lot of it.

 

Blood And Rain is not Charles Dickens. But Blood And Rain is a wild midnight ride with the lights off, your hair on fire, and the music cranked to 11 and should be viewed as such. Rolfe is new and it shows. This story has some warts - the pacing can be off a touch, you'll change POV without warning, but this book is fun. A real page turner. I flew though it at breakneck speed and its been a while since a book has captured me like this one. The blood is spilled by the gallons and the carnage is brutal. Rolfe's werewolves enjoy ripping limbs off. I've seen blurbs that compare him to Stephen King and Richard Laymon. I'd have to agree and disagree. Rolfe tells a tale that captures your attention like King without all of the wordiness. He also spills the red stuff like Laymon without the rediculous silly characters and dialogue. As you can probably tell, I'm now a fan. I think you will be too.

 

I received an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review.

5 bloody appendages out of 5

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Synopsis:

The light of a full moon reveals many secrets.

Gilson Creek, Maine. A safe, rural community. Summer is here. School is out and the warm waters of Emerson Lake await. But one man’s terrible secret will unleash a nightmare straight off the silver screen.

Under the full moon, a night of terror and death re-awakens horrors long sleeping. Sheriff Joe Fischer, a man fighting for the safety of his daughter, his sanity and his community, must confront the sins of his past. Can Sheriff Fischer set Gilson Creek free from the beast hiding in its shadows, or will a small town die under a curse it can’t even comprehend?

One night can—and will—change everything.

My review:

The witching season is upon us. The ghosts and monsters are close and the veil is pretty thin this time of year. Werewolves howl and Glenn Rolfe has written a damn near lycanthropic masterpiece. 
I generally touch on three things in reviews. Character development, atmosphere, and my overall entertainment with a title.

If Glenn Rolfe never writes another book, he can consider his resume quite filled with this one.

The monster is scary and almost as threatening in human form as he is transformed. Let's face it!! In Blood and Rain, the werewolf is the star. But, Glenn did a fantastic job of creating a great supporting cast for his werewolf yarn. (Joe Fischer, the small town sheriff,  is particularly well crafted and very fleshed out. The reader can totally feel his regret about past actions.) The characters as a whole create the feel Glenn was obviously aiming for - small town life, where every one knows your business and life quietly goes unnoticed behind white picket fences. Characters who this reader actually felt pretty bad to witness as werewolf fodder. 
The atmosphere written into Blood and Rain is something you can cut with a knife. Maine is a big forest and genuinely creepy in this story and the deserted back roads, back roads just like every small town has, make for a most terrifying setting for the carnage that takes place throughout this story. I can actually hear the crickets and feel the warm breath on my neck from the furry death that creeps in the shadows, death that will rend your flesh and remove your appendages.

As far as entertainment, your could do far worse than THIS werewolf story as Halloween approaches. Just the perfect amount of blood and guts, mixed with fear. Add a dash of silver and the perfect Halloween creature feature for your spooky nights sits ready for your indulgence. Glenn Rolfe has created a monster. Two, if you count the werewolf. 

Make sure your doors are locked when you sit down to read Blood and Rain. As solid of a werewolf read as you will find. Happy Halloween from Reaper's Harvest Horror!!!

You can find this excellent title here.

You can follow Glenn or check out some of his other work by following this link to his Amazon author page here.

Reaper's Harvest Horror has been largely inactive for some time now. Life as a whole is pretty busy for me and for those of you who have missed it, I do apologize. I have barely had time to read, let alone review. But then I happened across Blood and Rain by Glenn Rolfe. Admittedly, I'm a big fan of werewolves, but not so much werewolf fiction. (Matter of fact, the last werewolf title I truly enjoyed was Cycle of the Werewolf by the one and only Stephen King.) But Glenn Rolfe is a really cool guy and I thought I would give his new book a shot.

Tomorrow, I will be resurrecting the blog to pay homage to the book that gave me a new appreciation for werewolf fiction - Blood and Rain!! 

Stay tuned for the review of that title.