Russell James (2)Recensioni

I love to read books about witches and dark books too and this was definitely for me. After reading Dark Inspiration which I thought was fantastic I was worried the sequel would not be as good but Russell James penned a fantastic sequel in fact I would lean towards saying this one was even better than the first.

The character development was great and there was never a dull moment. I was utterly hooked from page one.

If you like reading things that are scary, you will love this series.

The Woodsman is taking children and the only ones that can see him are the friends in the Half Dirty Dozen. They try to tell their families and their peers about the Woodsman, but no one believes them as they think the friends are just making it up to get attention. The kids are now adults and they decide to have a reunion of sorts to take care of the Woodsman once and for all.

What to say about this book....well here it goes:

This book has a lot of reminders of the book IT by Stephen King as just like in that book, there is a monster killing kids and only kids can see the creature. Except like in the King book instead of the Losers Club there is the Half Dirty Dozen. There is a lot of similarities between the two books as in IT the friends in that book came back after 30 years to defeat the monster and also had become succesful which this book tends to go down that road too.

It is still a pretty good book, but it would have been better if not for so many reminders of the King book. Also the book goes back and forth between the past and the present every few chapters which was kind of annoying as it would have been better to just give a back story on the Woodsman in just a few chapters, then give the story of the friends as adults and their plan of what they are going to do to defeat the creature. It has some creepy parts here and there throughout the book, but nothing that really scared me.

This book would have been more closer to four stars if not for the King reminders, so giving it three stars.

THE PLAYING CARD KILLER was one twisty-turny thriller of a ride!

Brian is tired of taking anxiety meds as he's been taking them his entire life. He decides to quit them cold turkey and see what life is really like. Unfortunately, his panic and anxiety attacks return and they seem worse than ever. Also, he can't sleep without having terrible nightmares wherein he's strangling people. When Brian learns that the victims he's seeing in his dreams are actually being killed, his anxiety ramps up to a previously unknown level. Is he murdering people while he's asleep in some kind of sleepwalking trance? How could he do such a thing? You'll have to read this book to find out!

It's hard to talk about this story without spoilers, but I'll give it my best shot. While I don't think this tale added anything new to the thriller genre, I do think it gave an unflinching look at anxiety and panic attacks. In fact, it personified them in the form of Mr. Jitters and that WAS new. To be honest, Mr. Jitters freaked me out. I've had personal, close up experience of what panic and anxiety attacks can do to a person and I've seen what the meds can do as well. There's nothing good about any of it and this book addresses those facts head on.

I loved the characterization in this book, especially that of Brian and Detective Weissbard. They came across as real to me, with real life concerns and problems. I could understand why Brian wanted to be off of his meds and why it was so important to him. The only problems I really had with this story was that Weissbard's boss was a caricature of a "bad cop" and I thought that came across as a bit silly, even though I did hate the guy. Also, the real antagonist of this story didn't seem quite real to me at first, but as the tale progressed, I warmed up to him and I could see where he was coming from.

Overall, this fast paced story flew by and I enjoyed it. I think fans of psychological horror, serial killer stories and police procedurals would enjoy THE PLAYING CARD KILLER as well!

Recommended!

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2EipCDL

*Thank you to Flame Tree Press for the paperback copy in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

Well, I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of this cracking crime/thriller!

I loved that, straight-away, Russell James introduces Brian Sheridan, who is currently on medication for anxiety-related problems. Brian decides to stop taking his medication as he thinks that he is living life through fog and haze which he hates. As a result, he is tormented by dreams of women being strangled, then left with a playing card tucked in their corpse. When he sees an apparent victim on the news, dead, Brian fears he may be the unwitting killer. Detective Eric Weissbard thinks the same thing and starts to build a case to get Brian convicted. But there's so much more to these murders…

Brian discovers that he has a brother, Tyler, with a penchant for murder. Tyler is willing to frame Brian for the crimes unless Brian wants to join Team Playing Card Killer.

Russell James’ sympathetic portrayal of the immensely likeable Brian was wonderful to read as his neuroses and delusions were laid bare and there was no hidden side to him. Brian is a troubled young man with an adoptive family with whom he barely has any sort of relationship. His girlfriend, Daniela, by contrast, is confident, and self -assured and she delivers Brian an ultimatum - either he continues with his medication or she will leave him.

I also liked Russell James’ fantastic character portrayal of Detective Weissbard who is talented, analytical and operates mostly and very successfully on gut instinct. However, he is disrespected by his colleagues and is assigned to chasing all the non-eventful leads and red herrings. That is until a jittery young guy arrives at the station, claiming to have detailed knowledge of the investigation that hasn't been revealed.

For me, THE PLAYING CARD KILLER explores some freaky imaginings and is full of creepy vibes. It's a fantastic thriller that surprised me with a mystery that borders on a grim horror novel. I was never quite sure exactly how far off the rails Brian had gone or where the author was going next with this disturbing but exciting story. The suspense was so great that I was on the edge of my seat because I was so absorbed with Brian and Detective Weissbard.

THE PLAYING CARD KILLER held my interest from start to finish and the way in which Russell James brought everything to a conclusion was just fabulous. I loved it and it has left me eager to read more from this author. I would recommend THE PLAYING CARD KILLER to anyone who likes this genre.

[Thank you to NetGalley, Flame Tree Press and Russell James for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.]

This is an intriguing book, a crime story with a bit of a paranormal twist. It's gritty and dark, but not to the point of being depressing. The direction of the story was never quite predictable, although it may have had more impact without mentioning the brother in the blurb.
I enjoyed how it wasn't a straight forward police procedural novel. The other elements made it a more unique and interesting read, but not all readers would probably agree. For me, it was a plus.
The ending was well executed. I won't say anything about what happens but it was a satisfying conclusion to the story.
Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC.

Return to Q island is the story about a brother and sister who have been split up due to an outbreak of a virus on Long Island, New York. The island has been quarantined by the government and those who have been left on the island have to fend for themselves against those that have contracted what is known as the paleo virus. This plague causes it's victims to develop glowing red eyes, black bulging veins, superhuman strength and the rage to kill every living thing around them.
The story starts with Kim and the birth of her daughter Charlotte. Rumor was that all babies born on Q Island would be born infected and while in the clinic holding her baby she misses seeing a moment on Charlotte that lets the reader know that something may be amiss with her seemingly perfect daughter. Meanwhile her brother Patrick is working on the mainland and has not heard anything from his sister and mother in months and decides to find a way to get onto the island which is strictly forbidden. He finds a way by joining a group on what he is told is a "hunting trip" where rich people pay to get smuggled onto the island for the thrill of killing paleos. Patrick quickly finds out that he is basically now a slave to the group and will not have a way to get to his sister who has started showing signs of the infection.
After everything goes wrong on the hunting trip he manages to escape and make his way back to his family only to stumble into a plot that his relatives have made to steal his niece and sell her off to a gang. The gang is killed by a group of paleo's who take Charlotte to a campground they have taken over. Charlotte is somehow psychically linked to the paleo's
Overall I really enjoyed the story. It had a unique story line and an unusual setting. The author stated it was written as a stand alone story but that another book could be coming. I would definitely read the next story since this one did have some plot points I would like to see follow up on.

My original Black Magic audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Black magic is the name of the game in this entertaining horror story from Russell James. Dark magician Lyle Miller has set up shop in the downtown portion of the dying Citrus Glade, Florida, where his magic shop draws the attention of four teenage misfits and a priest who suspects devilry is afoot. Such is the opening of Lyle's Grand Adventure, which promises to deliver plenty of bloody murder alongside an apocalyptic storm that will wipe Citrus Glade and all its inhabitants clean off the map.

Black Magic was a nice surprise to discover. At first, I had thought the story lacked focus as much of the first hour of this 8 1/2 hour listen is devoted to introducing the book's major players, of which there are many. James assembles a large cast to wreak plenty of havoc upon, ranging from the mayor of Citrus Glade to the town's sole DPW worker, a citrus farming family, a drug mule, a handful of retirees living in an old folks home, and more. Thankfully, Black Magic rewards the patient listener and James draws his diverse cast together in a few surprising ways, drawing them all into various energetic and action-packed set pieces. This book also served as my introduction to Russell James, and I was pleasantly surprised at his ruthlessness as he dispatched characters in some rather unsettling, and magically showy, ways (it's only after having listened to Black Magic that I now realize I have several other titles from this author on my Kindle, which I'm now forced to move up the reading queue a bit!). The classic trick of sawing somebody in half gets a gory, gut-twisting workout in a scene I won't soon forget, and James riffs on several other well-known magic tricks along the way in wonderfully gruesome scenarios. James doesn't pull any punches and, frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

On narrating duties is David Stifel, whose baritone voice gives this book's various horrors rich gravitas and plenty of weight. Having listened to a few of Stifel's other readings, I knew what to expect from this reliable narrator and wasn't disappointed. Black Magic is a fun work in its own right, but Stifel makes it an easy listen to sink into. He's a pro, delivering a well-finished audiobook with no noticeable flaws in the production.

Russel James delivers a highly enjoyable and engaging magic-based horror thriller. Black Magic is more Wes Craven than Charmed, so if you're looking for a fun, pulpy romp with plenty of darkness and savagery, this should fit the bill rather well. And if that doesn't sell you, there's some mean alligator action as a nice bonus!

Audiobook was provided for review the narrator.

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2016/09/foodfic-please-welcome-russell-james.html

I love horror and I love ghost stories. Ghost story this was, but not necessarily horror. A quaint little community in the south that has a not so pretty history with Galaxy Farm and its former occupants. A young couple who transplant themselves from New York City to the south and discover that things can be just as dangerous in the sticks as they are in the big city. Ghostly twins and the mad spirit of their uncle. It's all been done before. But Russell James did keep me interested in reading his book. I enjoyed, but found the ending to be just a little bit of a let down.

My only complaint with the book falls on the editor and publisher, not the author. There was an obvious character name change at some point in the story and the editor didn't pick up on it and allowed several instances of the old name to go unnoticed. Perhaps that was because of small publishing, but it should have been caught and corrected.