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Book Review: The Pope’s Butcher by Joseph C. Gioconda

Cover art for The Pope's Butcher by Joseph S. Gioconda

The Pope’s Butcher by Joseph C. Gioconda

Newtown IP Holdings LLC (May 26, 2021)

ISBN-13 ‏: ‎ 978-1737286004

Available: Paperback, Audiobook, and Digital

 

 

The Pope’s Butcher is a fictionalized historical story of Father Heinrich Institoris, the Grand Inquisitor of the Catholic church who led the infamous quest against witches. The book is loaded with true historical touches, presenting a far more complex world at the time of the setting than most history books. Gioconda’s prose is reminiscent of Anne Rice and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, albeit without supernatural elements. The story isn’t so much about a serial killer as we know them today (sorry, CSI fans) but about one young man’s research mission for the Grand Inquisitor, which leads him to understand the evil in Institoris’ heart.

 

The plot takes a predictable course, with young Sebastian falling for a woman who becomes the target of the Inquisition. Gioconda is a capable writer, and the book reflects his knowledge of history. There isn’t much new or revolutionary here, however, and the characters are somewhat flat “everymen”, being bounced around by exterior forces. The Pope’s Butcher is an easy and quick read, with the kind of historical details that bring other times to life. Recommended for history and horror buffs.

 

Contains: Violence, sexual discussion, torture, implied rape

 

Reviewed by Michele Lee

Posted on February 18, 2022 by , Reply

Book Review: All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

All These Bodies by [Kendare Blake]

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

Quill Tree Books, 2021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062977168

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

In All These Bodies, Kendare Blake imagines a murder spree throughout the Midwest in the summer of 1958, known as the “Bloodless Murders” or “Dracula Murders” because the victims have all been drained of blood. On September 19, the Carlson family is found murdered in their Minnesota farmhouse, with a fifteen-year-old girl, Marie Catherine Hale, drenched in blood, still alive. Is she a victim, accomplice, or killer?

 

Michael Jensen, the seventeen-year-old son of the sheriff with hopes of becoming a journalist, is the only person Marie Catherine will talk to, and revealing the killer is her one chance to avoid being extradited to Nebraska and tried for the death penalty. Getting the truth out of Marie Catherine is trickier than just asking her questions once and expecting straightforward answers, though; it becomes a long, drawn out process that creates a sympathetic connection between the two teens. Michael is also facing other dangers: his peers are turning against him as he continues to spend time with Marie Catherine, and he’s almost certain he’s being watched, and perhaps even hunted, in a way that feels almost supernatural.

 

Inspired by the fictionalized murders in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and a murder spree that occurred in the Midwest in 1958, Blake has created a gripping, grisly, fictional “true crime” story that clarifies what it means to be human, a monster, or both.  Recommended.

 

Contains: murder, graphic descriptions of gore, blood drinking, mentions of pedophilia

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

 

 

Posted on October 14, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

 

The final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Berkley, 2021

ISBN-13: 9780593201237

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, Audible audiobook  ( Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com )

 

 

The Final Girl is the lone survivor of horror movies. She fought valiantly, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends who were each gruesomely dispatched by the killer. But after the truck drives away, the sirens fade, and the credits roll, what happens to our heroine, other than the potential for franchise sequels? We find out in Hendrix’s new novel, The Final Girl Support Group.

Hendrix, as with We Sold Our Souls and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, displays an uncanny ability to write complex women. Combining this with the concept of the Final Girl works quite well. Twenty-two years ago, Lynnette Tarkington survived a harrowing massacre. For more than a decade, Lynette and other women meet in the Final Girl Support Group led by their therapist, Dr. Carol Elliot. Lynette keeps herself locked safely in her home with her best friend, a houseplant named Fine. She has no identification paperwork or ID, no social life, and keeps her head on a swivel when she does gather up her strength to go outside, usually to the support group. In the support group, we meet Adrienne Butler, the first Final Girl; Dani Shipman, who along with her partner Michelle owns a rescue ranch for abused and abandoned horses; Heather DeLuca, whose life has gone off the rails with bad decisions and jail time; Julia Campbell, the talkative and angry paralyzed survivor of her own story; and Marilyn Torres, the wealthy wife of a CEO, who is a recovering alcoholic and activist in the community. When one of the women doesn’t show up for their regular meeting, Lynnette’s paranoia kicks in full-bore. Someone knows about the Final Girl Support Group and wants them all to suffer, and then die. The suspect knows where they live and congregate, and what they do. It comes to light that someone in the group has written a tell-all book about the women in the group. Who betrayed the Final Girl Support Group? Lynette sets out to find the killer and expose the truth.

There is so much going on in this book, I had a hard time putting it down. If you like the slasher subgenre and have ever wondered what happened when the Final Girl’s story ended, pick up this book. Interspersed throughout the book are articles and reports about the Final Girls, which add that extra touch to each character. Highly recommended.

 

Contains: violence, gore, body horror, descriptions of torture

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Posted on August 17, 2021 by , Reply
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