Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nick is a killer for hire, cold, calm and professional. Not since he his first killings has he felt any remorse for what he does, that is until his latest job. He becomes physically sick but puts it down to bad digestion until it happens again and again.

He thinks he's losing his ability to do his job so starts tracking a young couple to kill just to prove to himself that he can. The jobs keep coming but he realises there is a common thread amongst the victims, one that ties in with his violent past.

This is an interesting thriller that uses two time frame story arcs to tell Nicks story, his present dilemma and his turbulent past. At times it can be confusing as it slips between past and present without much clarity as to which time frame it is. This kept pulling me out of the story at the start until I got used to the authors style.

The character of Nick was really well done and whilst he could never be described as a hero you still feel for him and how he came to be in his present profession. His initial intentions had been well meaning, to confront a sadist but events take an unexpected turn and he becomes involved with the mob, owing them for his over zealousness.

The well written and engaging main character really made this read for me, Angel of the Abyss, remains a favourite of mine but this is still a recommended read for those that like noirish thrillers.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Disgraced doctor, Walter Freeman, thinks he has perfected the Transorbital Lobotomy, a simple procedure he feels will cure a vast majority of his patients at the psychiatric hospital he has worked at for over thirty years. The other doctors do not agree and he is dismissed but decides to 'liberate' one of his successes, Edgar, a murderer who is now as meek as a kitten thanks to the procedure.

Walter decides to take his 'success' on the road and they tour town after town speaking of the positives of the procedure and how people can be saved.They come to Burnwood and there meet a variety of troubled and manipulative characters. Durango and his preacher father and Scent, the young prostitute who is desperate to get her hands on money hidden by her mother. Their stories converge into a violent finale where Walter is shown the real cost of his procedure.

The author has again brought together an amazing array of characters for his novel, Walter with his almost blind faith in the power of his procedure. This is mirrored in the story arc of Durango and his father, his father convinced that Durango is the messiash and can perform miracles and raise the dead. Scent's character was complex with the initial set up of her being a sweet girl who is hooking because she has no other options. She is soon revealed as someone violent, calculating and manipulative but her love for Durango seems pure and she is convinced this is what's needed to change her life, along with her mother's money of course.

The novel is set in the 50's and scratches the underbelly of america, showing the violence and poverty that confront people on a daily basis. It's fascinating and disturbing in equal measures but well worth the read.

Recommended.

I received an E-arc from Darkfuse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

John is the caretaker in a very special house, it's one where those who have lost someone they love can connect with them through sigils and totems. When he finds an unwelcome presence in the house it is up to him to set things right.

This novella ties in with previous work, Broken Sigils, which unfortunately didn't really work that well for me either. John was a pretty good character and I liked his research on the house through the tapes but the threat wasn't that disturbing to me and I wasn't that interested in it when it was revealed.

Just a case of personal preference and this one just didn't quite work for me to rate it higher.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This medieval fantasy sees 4 women team up for adventures and debauchery. The group consists of Hannah; the elven mage, Dee; a cult goddess who has lost her faith, Violet; a dwarven warrior and Betty; a smidgen thief who loves the party lifestyle. The group, along with others, are given missions by towns but often end up destroying the town they're supposed to help with their hard partying ways, something that doesn't sit well with the locals.

Someone sets out to rid the town of Palisade of all the groups, sending them out on bogus missions, only to have an assassin waiting for them. The group have to figure out who is behind it and stop them before they destroy not only them but Palisade as well.

I really loved this comic, first of all the group it has some amazing characters in it, the rat queens is made up of four equally badass woman. They are diverse in looks, background and personalities, whilst most of them had back stories fleshed out a little there's still plenty to be explored especially Betty. The dialogue is snappy and extremely funny at times and I laughed out loud on several occasions whilst reading this, Betty is an absolute hoot and her dialogue was, for me, the funniest. I loved the art, it was nicely detailed and the panels pop with colour.

It's easy to tell that this is more geared towards female comic readers, whilst I love Vampirella and Sonja, it irks me that they have to appear with next to nothing on. The RQ are all covered up for battle, not wearing a few inches of fabric to appease and engage male readers, it's refreshing and goes to show that females in comics can be (almost) fully clothed and still be able to sell a story.

If you liked foul mouthed, hard partying characters and a story that is soaked with sex and violence, this might be right up your alley.

Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pen is adopted by scientist Jed and his son James, Jed is fascinated by marionettes and Pen agrees for Jed to experiment on her, turning her into a living marionette but with far superior skills. Once the authorities learn of her, she is deemed dangerous and taken into custody to be used by the authorities, however she is part of a much bigger plan, one that puts her in considerable danger as well as those she loves.

This was actually much better than I initially thought it was going to be. The writing was a bit disjointed but overall I really enjoyed the authors style and would certainly be keen to pick up something by her in the future. The pacing started off very slowly and it took until quarter of the way through to feel as though things were happening, once they did though there was a lot going on and it kept me fairly engaged until the end.

Most of the things that didn't quite work for me came from the threadbare world building. There is so much that is left out of the story, the world that it's set in is never explained and although it was clearly set in modern times you're given no details as to how society is living (apart from the marionette/robots), the economy, government, the prisons, etc, so it's hard to get a feel for how the story really fits in.

Although the love story between James and Pen is quite sweet, I didn't feel it really added anything much overall and it would have felt more believable for them to continued to develop their friendship as brother/adopted sister.

A nicely paced read that glosses over too many of the details which would have made for something a little less superficial.