Yet another outstanding book by Mr. Inman that is up for a Lambda Award. Written with Inman's smooth narrative style, the pace and the creep factor quickly pick up as Jim, a writer himself, buys what is supposedly a haunted old mansion in the San Diego mountains. Not only is Jim's mansion inundated with the ghosts of dead boys, it is quickly inundated by several of Jim's friends up from L.A. for a party time. The party soon turns bizarre as the ghosts of the boys killed by the original Hollywood legend begin to make themselves known along with the malevolent ghost of the serial killer himself. Inman handles the large cast of characters, both dead and alive, flawlessly as the story grows more complex. The diversity of the characters gives some levity to a story that could have been just a slice 'em dice 'em affair. This book is one that will hold the reader to the end. Highly recommended to any lover of the paranormal. ( )

Seriously creepy, laugh out loud funny & an OMG ending. 4.5 stars. ( )

Wow! My first John Inman and certainly not my last. I'm kinda in awe at this point over what transpired and what we as readers underwent emotionally while reading this book. From gut wrenching torment to roll on the floor laughter I was hit from all angles but what a balance...truly a talented writer at work!

I enjoy some horror and yeah I'm a sucker for some good gore but this pushed me to the brink several times...because yeah this one was quite descriptive...but oh how I loved it. Now I will say that there was one scene early on that I had to skip/skim...I mean momma here does have her no-no's torture, rape and murder of a 12 year old boy from the victim's point of view...yeah that's pretty damn high on my list...and at the time I was so upset not to have been warned properly in the blurb. But thankfully I was not...as I'm afraid I would have elected not to read this book at all...and how terrible that would have been. The descriptive nature of some of these murders was brilliantly told leaving the reader totally immersed in what our MC Jim is experiencing.

I ran my thumb across the yellowed photograph. In my imagination, I felt the smoothness of the boy’s cheek. The warmth of his skin against my own. I felt his mouth open wide in a bellow of torment and pain. And slowly, I felt his eyes close forever, the tears and the suffering at last extinguished. He grew still beneath my touch. “I heard him die,” I said, and I closed my eyes…

“I don’t want to see any more images like I just saw. This all started out as sort of a lark. A game. I’ve spent my life writing novels of the supernatural, and suddenly I find myself living it. I thought it was exciting at first. But no more. I’ve seen enough. Too much. I don’t want to relive every one of those boy’s deaths. I don’t think I could stand it. If you had seen what I saw, what Nigel Letters did to that boy, you wouldn’t want to see any more either.”

We feel it all and yet if we didn't we would never truly understand how Jim decides to do what he does.

But again...thankfully the humor was just the perfect balance...with Jesse holding center stage...I laughed A LOT!!

Jesse alone stood out from the crowd. Dubious fashion icon, as always, he was wearing a pith helmet, hot pants,
and a magenta pullover with the words “The Fruit Never Falls Far From The Tree” emblazoned across his chest.


Truly hilarious and witty dialog...plus throw in a smartass dog and plenty of alcohol...perfect entertainment.

Now there were things I wanted...more with the grandmother and the flashback of Nigel's death for starters and certainly there were things I'm glad we did not get...Arturo's torture ranks high up there for me. And yes I do wish a few things towards the end had played out a little differently. But disappointed, I was not.

Now that ending!?!?!? Well, you'll just have to read it for yourself and experience this crazy ride for yourself.

A fantastic BR with Marte and Marco.

“BY THE time this house is despooked this book is read we’ll all be at Alcoholics Anonymous memorizing the steps and waiting for our liver cells to rejuvenate.”

Bwahahahaha!!!

Yeah...I could have filled this review with some classic horror gifs but I have to be honest...nothing comes close to the visuals in my head that will stick with me for some time to come. Again...wow!


*****

They said I could join them...



BR with Marco and Marte on 6/20" ( )