Delilah

If you enjoy gory, sadistic, bloody murder stories that are actually clever and written above the high school level, you've hit the jackpot. This is the best splatterporn I've found on Audible, add it to your list immediately if you always wish your serial killer books were more graphic. 100% kudos to the authors, they are gore-gentlemen and gore-scholars.

Without putting forth any spoilers, I will say that this was almost an awesome book, and had it gone the direction I'd hoped, I'd be raving. For the first two-thirds, I was genuinely impressed, but after the 'insanity or for-realsies or supernatural' plot resolved I was wickedly disappointed. That said, I'd read another contribution from this author, just to see what he had kicking around in his head. Also, itchy.

When two hardcore horror writers do a collaboration "just for fun," you get a no-holes-barred (there's a dirty pun in there) sexy, crunchy, bloody, twisted, good time. I wanted ten more of these stories.

Kudos to the author for doing the scientific research necessary to allow suspension of disbelief to be a background concern on this one. Creepy and grotesque but also raunchy with some great visuals to make you shudder, this book delivered what I want in my horror pulp.

Perhaps because I recently listened to Kilborn's Endurance, which was fantastic, this one fell pretty short. Kilborn is a master of sadism and gore, and Afraid delivers, but the pacing and story aren't as solid as in Endurance and it was sorely missed. I didn't care about the characters much, although I admit there was a scene toward the end that involved a monkey that had me actually crying boo-hoo tears of sadness, but I'm a sucker for critters. The bad guys are some kind of military creation, leave it at that, which somehow isn't as much fun as accidents of nature. That said, I couldn't stop listening until the end, so not bad at all, if you're a fan of the genre!

Kilborn has the unique ability to combine gorgeously horrific visual imagery, antagonists, and setting with consistent and enthralling action and character development. Too often, authors simply can't deliver any semblance of plot within the genre of graphic or dark thrillers, and never have the elements come together so well as in Endurance. The setting alone was so wonderfully flushed out that an entire novel could have been written about coming across the area later on - even without the deformed and twisted inhabitants that brought it to life (and death! Muhahaha!). Christopher Lane delivered the performance of a lifetime in this book, I listened to it twice just to marvel at his vocal characterizations.

While the mystery itself relied on standard tropes, the author did a beautiful job painting the atmosphere and culture of Torah Judaism. That element alone made this a very unique mystery novel, and I will read at least one more in the series to see if the author's skill in plot development can improve. Very well-researched and delivered, it almost didn't matter what genre of book Ritual Bath was, as I found myself learning a good deal I did not know about another culture, even inspired to do some research on the side.

Lightning is 1980's sci-fi canon, so although I'm more of a horror-lover I wanted to make sure I'd added it to my collection. There is a mystery to the tale that keeps you progressing through. I personally found the resolution and revelation lacking and rather disappointing, I'm surprised it's so well-touted given the less than original plotline, but it's worth a listen.

The books are getting better and better as I wade into the series, and despite not being totally sold on Bosch I can't seem to stop reading them now! I maintain that the author has a poor sense of character development when he's writing women, a stark contrast to his male characters which are fairly well flushed out. Regardless, as mystery novels go, these are candy, I really couldn't seem to put Coyote down until the case was solved, and Michael Connelly has a great sense of pacing.

First, the good: an author that doesn't shy away from the dark thematic realism of our country. There are awesomely gritty elements to the protagonist's uncovering of her past that would make your more sheltered reader cringe. Personally, I didn't bat an eye at the abuse and incest elements, which are horrible but real parts of our world I'm familiar with - but the segregation and racism depicted in modern American are jaw-dropping. Even the idea that this story was told in our modern world, not in an alternate timeline, was so difficult for me, although I know the Southern US is very different when it comes to race relations, especially in rural areas. That said, the most difficult part of the experience was listening to the narrator's accent, which grated on me like nails on a chalkboard. I wouldn't have minded the southern accent in the dialogue since the characters were southern, but the narrator herself had the accent which I personally find unpleasant.