Moontown

I met Peter Atkins several years ago at the group signing event Del Howison put on in Burbank for the Dark Delicacies charity anthology FRAMED. I ended up seated next to Peter and as a result, spent an afternoon laughing my ass off thanks to his witty sense of humor. I’d never read anything of length by him prior to receiving my reviewer’s copy of MOONTOWN and so I was anxious to see if his writing lived up to his personality.

Happily, I can say without hesitation that MOONTOWN is a chilling little tale and one perfectly suited to be this year’s selection for Earthling Publications’ Halloween series. Even better, it is an excellent introduction to a fabulous writer.

MOONTOWN is the story of Shelley Campbell, a graduate student running a new type of group therapy program to help individuals get over their fears. Shelley also happens to be a pretty powerful empath and as her patients sink into a dream-state to experience and conquer their fears, Shelley’s right there with them; doing what they do, seeing what they see, experiencing it all for herself in an effort to guide them to recovery.

The trouble is, some things should simply stay buried. Exposing them to the light can have terrible consequences, as Shelley soon discovers.

I found the cast of characters that populate the book, particularly the villains, to be both interesting and imaginative. I mean, with names like the Ragman, Jimmy Midnight, King Shadow, and the hilarious duo of Mr. Sponge and Mr. Scrotum, how can you miss, right? Shelley herself is as wounded as her patients and it is her need for redemption that drives her on to help others, which I saw as plausible motivation. Atkins handles the set-up and validation of his characters nicely, especially when dealing with how childhood fears can linger on through the years and cripple us as adults.

There are some absolutely beautiful turns of phrase within MOONTOWN that bear noting, phrases that as a fellow writer I can envy for the success with which they evoke the emotions they are intended to. I found this to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book – Atkins has an excellent command of the language and knows how to use it to good effect. An example I particularly like was this one:

Taylor stood still for a moment, feeling the emptiness, listening to the silence, looking at the darkness. He understood something now.

When grownups talked about midnight, he’d always thought it was a time, a place on the clock like any other. But it wasn’t.

This was what they meant by midnight. This feeling.

There are plenty of others, but I’d rather you discover them yourself rather than having me spoil all the fun.

Now, MOONTOWN did have the occasional hiccup for me, including a minor character I felt to be entirely superfluous and an unnecessary final chapter that didn’t do anything to advance the story for me. However, those are minor quibbles and did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the work.

MOONTOWN was available in two states from Earthling Publications, a limited and a lettered edition, but I believe the slipcased lettered editions have already sold out.  You can still get one of the 500 limited edition clothbound hardcovers signed by Peter Atkins by going HERE.

I give MOONTOWN a hearty four out of five stars.

First, let me state right up front that I’m a friend of Tom Piccirilli’s. He was one of the first folks I met back in 2001 when I started in this business and he has always been willing to lend a hand or provide a piece of advice whenever I’ve asked for it. I’ve enjoyed his work for a number of years now. and he was one of those folks who helped me out when I first came into the business.

With that out of the way, I can say this without any reservation whatsoever…

Tom? You suck!

THE FEVER KILL is not only the best book I’ve ever read by Pic, but perhaps one of the best books I’ve read in the last few years. I devoured it in a single sitting, regretting only that I didn’t have the willpower to slow down and make it last. But THE FEVER KILL is not one of those books you can linger over and savor. No, it demands to be read, forcing you to move along, to hurry toward the conclusion just as its protagonist, Crease, rushes toward a confrontation that has been building for ten years.

You see, Crease is going home again. Back to the place where his father, the sheriff, shot a little girl in the midst of a bungled kidnapping. Back to the place where Crease himself was beaten, jailed, and kicked out of town. Back to settle old scores and maybe create a few new ones.

But the thing is, Crease isn’t going alone. For the last ten years he’s been working as an undercover cop, playing second fiddle to a drug-dealing, knife-wielding psycho named Tucco, and in the process managed to get the man’s mistress pregnant. Now Tucco wants revenge. And with Tucco comes all the ghosts from Crease’s past, just waiting for a reckoning of their own.

While I’ve always enjoyed Pic’s work in the horror genre, THE FEVER KILL makes it clear where his true talent lies. Rather than slaving away in the publishing sub-basement that is home for those of us who dabble in the realm of the supernatural, Pic should be soaring among the clouds with the rest of the bestselling writers working in crime fiction today. THE FEVER KILL certainly proves he has the chops to do it.

Mention also has to be made of the phenomenal production job carried out by the publisher, Creeping Hemlock Press. This trade paperback is a wonderful edition, with a cover that screams noir and a beautifully laid out interior. It is a welcome addition to my collection and I know I’ll be buying more of their works in the future.

First of all, full disclosure – Eric Wilson, the author of A Shred of Truth, is one of the contributors at Storytellersunplugged.com. But I don’t hold that against him <grin> and it certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying his latest thriller.

A Shred of Truth picks up after the events of The Best of Evil. Our hero, Aramis Black, is back for another suspense filled adventure. In the opening scene, he finds his brother unconscious and tied to a statue in the center of Nashville. The letters AX have been carved into his brother’s back.

A shadow from his former life has reappeared, casting threats of violence and retribution. Soon the attacker is swinging his blade of self-righteousness directly at Aramis, challenging him to “face his sins.”

The story is full of action and Wilson does a good job of pulling it all together. Nor are the faith-based elements overpowering. Having read and enjoyed Wilson’s freshmen and sophomore works, Dark to Mortal Eyes and Expiration Date, I was prepared to like this one, despite not having read the first book in the Aramis Black series. Not doing so left me at a slight disadvantage, however, for there are a lot of references, particularly early on, that tie back to that first volume. That said, I was able to follow the storyline in Truth without difficulty so reading The Best of Evil is certainly not a requirement.

Publisher Waterbrook delivers an attractive package, with an intriguing cover and a typeface that’s easy to read.

Overall, I give A Shred of Truth a solid B+.