Sandy DeLuca

Another great novella from Darkfuse. I find myself stopping whatever I am reading to read these on the day they are released.

Hells' Door is a dark and horrific painting in a noir frame. DeLuca is a writer and a painter--or a painter who writes? Actually after having read a few of her works, I think there can be no separating the two facets of her talent. She has a painter's eye for detail, color, setting, and composition. Her stories feel complete, organic, and natural. And dark. So very dark. You may find yourself turning away from the pages a few times; but there is beauty on the bloody canvas.

A story of a race against time to capture a horrific murderer before they strike again. Tense. Riveting. Set in and around a steamy club that caters to its client's darkest desires, which in many ways reflects the internal conflict of the detectives investigating the case. How deep can you go into the netherworld of vice and depravity and remain unchanged? Hell's Door is a great detective story, a character study in madness, a horror thriller, and a great work of dark fiction.

Highly recommended.… (altro)

This was a dark one.
Julia, demeaned by the constant mockery and verbal abuse perpetrated by her parents, chaffing against the restraints of her life at home and a bit lost at the loss of her brother, sets out to find her own life. Unfortunately, it doesn't turn out too well. She chose the wrong traveling partner.
Sammy is the dark, mysterious bad boy to whom Julia is immediately attracted. Almost from the moment of their first meeting, the descent begins. Julia's choices disappear. The results of which will haunt her for the rest of her life.
The story is told in a back and forth format alternating between the present and what happened 21 years ago. This forces the reader to look back at Julia's life through her eyes and experience her guilt, pain and fear.
I'm not sure if this story is about good vs. evil- be it supernatural or purely human, if it's about balance in the world or lack thereof, or if it's about a young (then older) woman coming to terms with who she is, where she's from, what she was forced to do and what she willingly participated in.
I am sure that it is partly about what it is to be a woman, and what sometimes happens to women in this world. In that respect, this is a very dark story indeed. I loved it.… (altro)