by Jonathan Janz

Film composers Ben and Eddie along with a couple of their female friends go to stay a month in Castle Blackwood, which has been uninhabited since a series of gruesome murders in 1925. Eddie is trying to inspire Ben's creativity when his personal problems with an ex-wife and son are distracting him. However, a malevolent being has been trapped for nearly a century in the castle and he’s ready to feed.

The first chapter was very well written and the personalities of Ben and Eddie were coming out strongly from the start. The one issue was that very different things were happening in the first few chapters so it took a while to get hold of a storyline without referring back to the description to remember what the story was supposed to be about, but a few chapters in, it all pulls together and we're off to the island.

It also got a little overblown on sex. Whenever an author's description of a woman includes "perky breasts" I get an impression of a creepy guy who objectifies women. Female authors just don't describe women that way, even if they prefer women themselves. I'm not a prude but I felt the sexual content was invasive rather than beneficial to the story.

The scares in this one didn't really deliver. The set-ups were there and could have been horrific, but the obsession with sexual dynamics distracted from any intensity and made the story drag. By the time I got to the end all I could feel was that I didn't like any of these characters. I know this author has written some good stuff but this one just fell flat for me.

What a mess! This is my first Janz book and I wasn't impressed. It started out bloody great, first chapter was gross and gory and it was awesome! It read like a 80/90s B grade sexist horror movie which is not the issue at all as I'm quite fond of reading about dumb characters, doing dumb things and dying dumb deaths if it is done well. But I didnt like a single one of the dumb stereotypical characters even in a I hate to love you way.

I can pinpoint the part that I lost complete interest, it was when something really really bad had happened to one of the "I thought might be okay" characters, something that had it happened to myself, I would be inconsolable and fighting everyone and everything that stood in my way to fix the bad thing. But this dumb weepy sad character thought to themselves, hey why not flirt with this hot person over here. Because that is what every person would do in that situation!

Anyway so that was the end for me, I did read the rest but my heart wasn't in it and I found myself disliking all the dumb shit characters even more after that.

Demons and serial killers.

I don't find demons to be particularly scary.  This started out pretty much as a retelling of The Exorcist, actually referring to it more than once.  So I was prepared to be totally unimpressed. 

However, it takes a sharp turn into 'holy shit that was unexpected' after the rites are concluded.  

The serial killer part skirted heavily on the edge of unbelievable - how did he think he would get away with it for much longer? but was attention holding.  However, I suppose that something serial killers don't really consider.

And what does happen to demons that have been cast out of their human hosts?

I have to admit that I had a little struggle with this book because the font on my ARC was so teeny tiny I could only read the story in 20 minute increments before my eyes started to cry and reading became an impossibility. After trying to read it this way for over two weeks I finally gave up and requested an eArc via Netgalley. Thank you Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for the arc’s! The author has confirmed that final copies will have an easier to read font so your eyeballs need not worry.

This is a story about a group of writers who are invited to join in on a game at a creepy old mansion hosted by a creepier old writer. A Dark Game, mwahaha. The winner will receive fame and fortune and all they desire and who doesn’t want that? Everything about this game and its mysterious host is weird and ultra-creepy but the prize is irresistible. The losers? Well, you do not want to lose this game and that’s all I’ll be saying about that . . .

When the story begins it tells the tale of a full cast of characters in alternating chapters and, likely because I was reading it in such short bursts, I had a difficult time keeping track of who was who and whose back story went with who and I kept mixing them all up in my head. I kept hoping a few of them would get killed off fast in order to end some of my confusion. I know, how selfish of me, but it is the truth. I don’t like straining my brain that hard after a long day of life and some of these characters were no good trashy people anyway and no great loss to humanity, if you’re asking me.

I enjoyed this book once the cast was trimmed down a bit, as I knew I would. The whole atmosphere was very well done and I enjoyed learning about the darkness hiding inside most of these characters. Reading about terrible and sordid secrets is my one of my favorite past-times and this book delivered on those. There were lots of nasty surprises to be found and watching the characters get all vicious with each other was a bit of blast!

This is a wild book that really ramps up in its last few acts. If your memory is better than mine and you can handle a large cast of characters, I bet you’re going to fall right into this deliciously evil story and not come up for breath until you finish.

10 aspiring writers are invited to a writing retreat at the remote mansion of reclusive author and literary giant Roderick Wells, an invitation that will transform one of them into a bestselling author in their own right.
But this bargain turns out to be more Faustian than benevolent......and failing to impress the great Roderick Wells carries a price far darker than any of them can imagine.

Janz spins a nasty little tale of psychological and supernatural horror, with touches of BURNT OFFERINGS that makes one wonder what he has agreed to on his path to becoming one of the powerhouses of contemporary horror.
Someone really needs to keep an eye on this man.

Many thanks to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Highly recommended.