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Book Review: THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen

cover for THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen

THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen (  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Publisher: Independently published, 2020

ASIN : B08HQ6JV85

Available: Kindle edition, paperback

 

THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen is a crime novel about horrific serial murders in Boston. Martina Zucco is a deadly serious homicide detective. Her mother died in childbirth, and she was raised by a distant father, whom she followed into the police force. Her partner, Neil Cavanaugh, balances out the team with his irreverent, male humor. They investigate the murders of a M13 gang member, a teenage Satanic cultist, and an incel (“involuntary celibate”). Each victim is hanged, mutilated, and publicly displayed. The eyes, tongue, or hand are cut out. Skin from the abdomen is flayed away and glued to outstretched arms like wings.

What is the motive? The author gives readers clues. She begins each chapter with an excerpt from the Geneva Bible used by the Puritans, and inserts sacrifices from the Salem witch trials between the present-day murders. The only clues for Zucco and Cavanaugh, however are small pieces of the Geneva Bible stuffed into the victims.

The author describes the Boston area well, including the Boston Commons and neighborhoods burdened with gangs or crime (Mattapan aka “Murderpan” and Dorchester aka “Deathchester”). The plot moves along quickly, keeping the reader engaged. The author gives interesting background information about the M13 gang, satanic cults and the incel community. However, the novel ends too abruptly. As in many novels about serial killers, the detective and psychopathic killer struggle to the death. However, the author does not give enough details about the murderer’s family and childhood to satisfactorily explain his psychopathy.

Birgitte Margen also wrote The Red Death, about a deadly ancient plague, previously reviewed and recommended by Monster Librarian.

Contains: violence, extreme gore, body horror, and sexual content

 

 

 

Contains: violence, gore, sex

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee

 

 

Posted on September 23, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Mayhem by Estelle Laure

Cover of Mayhem by Estelle Laure

Mayhem by Estelle Laure  (  Bookshop.org  | Amazon.com )

Wednesday Books, 2020

ISBN-13: 9781250297938

Available: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook

 

Mayhem Brayburn’s mother fled her home in Santa Maria, California, after her husband Lucas died, cutting all ties and marrying again to another man in a small town in Texas. The tradeoff she’s made is that her new husband beats her, and in avoiding the reality of her situation, she has become an alcoholic and addict. When Mayhem’s stepfather turns against her, her mother finally realizes the situation is untenable, and having nowhere else to go, she flees with Mayhem back to her sister Elle and childhood home in Santa Maria.

As Roxy tries to recover from her destructive relationship and her addiction, Mayhem develops relationships with Elle’s foster children: Neve, Jason, and Kidd. The three of them take her to their “hideaway”, a difficult-to-reach sea cave with a freshwater spring, and tell her that to truly be one of them she must drink from the spring, but once she does, she won’t be able to leave Santa Maria. After drinking the water, Mayhem can see the hidden secrets in other people’s minds. Her aunt explains that generations of the women in Mayhem’s family have drunk and developed an addiction to the water, dating back to the rape of the first woman in their family to come to Santa Maria. The water in the “hideaway” gives the Brayburn women the power to see secrets, but the price is that they must identify predatory men, drain their souls, and kill them. Elle tells her that the Brayburn women are the only ones able to preserve their sanity after drinking the water, so the people of Santa Maria are at risk if Mayhem doesn’t step up. A serial killer, the Sand Snatcher, is on the loose, and Mayhem’s first assignment is to find him, drain him, and kill him. And then there’s the problem of Mayhem’s stepfather, who isn’t ready to let go…

Interleaved with Mayhem’s story (which takes place in 1987) are journal entries and documents Mayhem has discovered by the Brayburn women who have come before her, beginning with the first, Julianna, and going through the generations: Julianna’s daughter Billie, Billie’s daughter Stitcher, and Stitcher’s daughter Roxy (Mayhem’s mother). While short, these express the individual personality of each woman effectively, and lead Mayhem to understand her part in the community of Santa Maria.

It is refreshing to see a new kind of monster show up in the horror genre. Elle’s best guess is that the Brayburn women are similar to the sluagh, but while the author may have taken inspiration from their legend, it’s been transformed into something different. The Brayburn women are monsters who must be fed, but they’re also saviors for the girls and women of Santa Maria, and while it may not be openly discussed, the town knows it. The Brayburn women exact a terrible kind of justice on predatory men that the law cannot, and for many girls and women this may be a cathartic, if disturbing, read.

 

Contains: Murder, torture, rape, violence, suicide.

 

 

 

 

Posted on July 11, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings

Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings ( Amazon.com )

Written Insomnia Press, 2020

ISBN: 978-8615415890

Availability: Paperback, Kindle

 

Two ordinary people (young newlyweds, of course) are abducted by a psychopathic torturer-killer who plans to take them somewhere and make mincemeat out of them, for his own fiendish pleasure.  You’ve seen or read that plot a million times, probably more.   It takes a writer with the skill of Michaelbrent Collings to take an old plot, jazz it up with a few twists, and make it seem totally new.  Chalk this one up as another success for him in the horror/thriller genre.  If you’ve read Collings before, you know exactly what you’re getting into.  It’s the usual rocket-sled ride of excitement. Each chapter is a dopamine hit that leaves the reader wanting more, leading to another chapter…and another…and another… until you’re done with the book and start waiting for him to publish another one.  It’s a good thing he writes fast!

Danielle and Alex Anton are a newly married couple, driving across the remote highways of America on their honeymoon, when they are waylaid and abducted by Sheldon Steward.  This Sheldon is no lovable dork like the one on The Big Bang Theory. He is a sociopath of the highest order, with zero concept of right or wrong, and is equally adept at dealing pain or using chemicals to prolong agony.  However, Sheldon has made the mistake of abducting Danielle and Alex in view of the central character of the book, a man (or is he?) known as… Legion.  Legion is a sociopath also, but he’s like The Boondock Saints, he only “kills for good”. With his ability to withstand pain and destroy enemies in seconds (often in a wonderfully bloody way), Legion makes John Rambo seem like a sissy-pants.  Legion’s abilities are on full display in the first chapter, when he intercepts a convenience store stick-up.  One of the robbers is shot dead, the other gets her jaw ripped off.   As noted earlier, when Legion teaches people the error of their ways, it’s usually quite messy.

The basic thread of the story is Sheldon and Legion on a collision course, but as always with a Collings novel, there’s a slew of curveballs in the plot.  Without giving away the rest of the story, it involves the Russian Mafia and meth labs, plus Alex Anton may not be quite the person he seems.  It adds an edge of unpredictability to the story, and keeps the reader guessing while turning pages.  That’s what makes horror/thriller novels by Collings so much fun; they never stay on the straight and narrow path.  They always veer off to add new elements, and that’s what keeps the reader hooked.  Add in all the quirks of his characters that keep them from seeming mundane, and the whip-crack speed of the writing, and you have a book that’s hard, if not impossible, to put down

Like Stephen King and the tag team of Doug Preston and Lincoln Child, Collings is truly remarkable for two reasons:

  1. he produces a high quantity of output (seems like he gets out at least one a year)
  2. it’s always high quality

There aren’t many authors like that, they’re hard to come by.  Collings is one.  When he releases anything new, it’s a red banner day, and this book is definitely cause for a red banner.   Highly recommended.

Note: this book is a sequel to his 2014 novel Strangers, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

 

Contains: profanity, graphic violence.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

 

 

Posted on June 16, 2020 by , Reply
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