Tag: Pendergast

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#BlogTour: Her Last Hour by B.R. Spangler

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a compelling police procedural with a crime so horrific it would make even Aloysius Pendergast gasp. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Her Last Hour by B.R. Spangler.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Continual Innovation Compels Series Further. This is the first book in this series in a while to have some real innovation both in how the crime happens and in the domestic side of the police procedural format, and both the book at hand and overall series are that much stronger for it. This is one of those tales that tells a complete tale… and yet you’re going to be clamoring for the next book immediately, though in a very different way that prior books, including Their Resting Place earlier in this series. Truly one of the more horrific crimes of a series that has had some particularly innovative and horrifying crimes, nearly on a level that would make even Aloysius Pendergast gasp. And yet as always Spangler does a remarkable job balancing the crime and investigation with the domestic elements, and here makes both sides of the story equally compelling and exciting.

Overall yet another strong entrant in a strong series. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Her Last Hour by B.R. Spangler”

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#BookReview: The Girl’s Last Cry by Alison Belsham

Pulse Pounding Criminal Innovation. This is the book that cements the Lexi Bennett series as must read, as it starts off feeling a touch like a disaster flick – everything is normal-ish, except that someone has jumped from a tall building seemingly intentionally. Then the deeper into the story we get, we find an almost Kilgrave level villain (though to be clear – just a human, no superpowers)… and this is where the story *really* takes off, becoming ever more inventive, ever more cat and mouse almost perfect spy thriller type… except that this is a police procedural where murders are being investigated. The ending sequences are some of the most inventive and innovative of all, going particularly dark even. As in, I’m not sure even Preston and Child get *this* dark and twisted, even with Diogenese Pendergast. Which is high praise in that particular arena, because if you like that particular style… you *know* how good Preston and Child are there. Belsham here *may* have truly bested them. Seriously.

Ultimately, this is one of those tales that you’re going to need and light and funny comedy to bring back your mental balance from, and for those that struggle with suicidal ideation… perhaps not the book for you until you deal with those issues. Still, very much recommended.

This review of The Girl’s Last Cry by Alison Belsham was originally written on June 30, 2023.

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#BookReview: Forsaken by Michael McBride

Read Book 1 First… And Be Glad You Have This Book On Hand. This is one of those sequels that picks up from the first book and directly uses its base to tell this book’s story. So if you haven’t read Book 1 (Subhuman) yet, start there first. But go ahead and buy this book so you have it on hand when you finish Subhuman.

If you like classic horror/ scifi tales along the lines of Aliens, The Thing, or even Jurassic Park… you’re gonna want to pick up this series. If you’re looking for a Crichton-esque technothriller or a Preston/Child-esque dark mystery or a Brett Battles-esque tale of global peril… you’re gonna want to pick up this series.

Indeed, my *only* quibble here, and I happen to be in somewhat of a rare/ possibly unique position to have it, is that here, in this ostensibly horror/ scifi tale, McBride creates a bigger and more ominous global threat than his alter ego Michael Laurence has created by the end of his own Book 2 in the Exinction Agenda series (which is still awesome in its own right, as more of a police procedural/ scifi action thriller). That noted… I happen to be glad I have an ARC of the next book in this series, Mutation, which releases in just 10 days from the time I write this review. Very much recommended.

This review of Forsaken by Michael McBride was originally written on September 20, 2020.