reading – Page 5 – The Book Rant

JIMMY, a gut-wrenching page-turner

Jimmy is a novel that not only takes one into the psychopathic mind of its titular character, but also through the lives of everyone around him and how they are affected along the way. Thus, readers are taken on an emotional and heart-racing horror ride.

Jimmy is author William Malmborg’s most popular novel. He is a quiet, average teenage boy who takes two girls hostage in an abandoned underground shelter in his hometown. Right away, Jimmy wasted no time in kidnapping his first victim, Samantha, on page one. For most of her part in the story keeping tied-up and hanging by her wrists. It’s all part of a sick fetish for Jimmy, and while he is the main character of the story and the author tried to make him relatable through his nice family and struggles at school, there should be no doubt that this is a story told from villain’s perspective. Readers should not be rooting for him. Although much younger, this teenager is more horrifying than Dexter or Joe from You, because he does not carry out any vigilante acts in some parts of this story. They are ones of taking pleasure in terrorizing others.

Other characters in the story can be considered heroes though. Meagan is Samantha’s, best friend, and has some of her father’s sheriff courage running through her, as she sets out to follow leads and find her friend. A lot of the other people in their community believed the girl was just a runaway, while Megan and Samantha’s parents are genuinely worried. Samantha’s point-of-view is illustrated while she is held captive as well, and going through all the feelings many would not think they would have in that situation. This is truly a story where no characters are just there for the sake of being able to move the plot along.

Another strength in this horror story among its descriptions of horrified characters and graphic details out of the mind of a serial killer is where it stands in its genre. Yes, the novel is NOT for those prone to queasiness. If one is unable to watch some of Criminal Minds or Law and Order: SVU’s most graphuc episodes, this is a book one should stay away from. It is not bad, but there is the warning if one does not have the strongest stomach or are triggered. Around all that though, is a well-paced story with genunie characters that feel real.

Reading through this tale of a boy living out dark fantasies and keeping them secret, with other characters with their own motives stalking him, the monster, and find out what he is up to makes this a quick and engaging read.

3.5/5

~B.N. Muraca

Did He Do It, By Cole Baxter, a Mystery of what was the Author Trying to Write

Hello my fellow book addicts! Let’s get to some ranting.

Author Cole Baxter has written a short, yet slight intriguing murder mystery, but due to a sloppy ending and clueless characters, Did He Do It does not live up to the intensity you are made to think it will be.

The mystery of the story is whom killed Arielle’s husband, and why? Top suspect for the police is one of her friend’s, Michael Lancaster, an artist who worked in their home prior to the story. He was found a distance away from their home on the night of the brutal murder saying he did it. While not arrested at first, he is questioned and the investigation goes from there, told from the viewpoints of multiple characters whom each are following their own leads.

The story was easy to follow. This is not a mystery that one will scratch their hair out because they lost track between where each character is, and what they are doing. Therefore, points have to be given to Baxter for keeping the chapters short and flowing well-enough to keep track of the clues. After all, one of the best parts about a mystery is being given the opportunity to solve the case yourself. The issue with Did He Do It though is that the story itself is not very fast-paced or interesting. The best way it is described is a plot on the level of a Lifetime or Hallmark mystery. The writing is easy to understand, but its almost like the author tried to keep things too simple, because they thought the twists and ending would pay off in the end. Sadly, they did not.

The cops are shown only following one angle: that they believe Michael did this because he has a history of mental illness and it sounded like he confessed, not even looking at other clues. Arielle and Michael are even less interesting. They relied too much on Arielle’s private investigator friend to solve the case. A character who was not even given a big role or characterization of her own in the story. For a thriller, readers want to see all the heroes explore the crime scene, looking for witnesses, not sitting in a studio apartment going over what their friend found on the laptop.

In fact, that is where a RANT comes in. Arielle’s PI friend would had been way more interesting than the would-be couple that was Arielle and Michael. She should had been given more scenes told from her point-of-view, and put her in more risky situations and how she felt going about the case. If there is one thing that should be taught in creative writing courses, it is that a writer never just throws in a character to use as a mere plot device to figure out the things the main characters are not smart enough to. Everyone has background and a story of their own, and the PI friend was robbed of that, as were the readers.

Michael’s backstory onto why he had blackouts and the abuse he faced growing up was a smart piece to include, because its easy to see why Arielle and Michael made such good friends and trusted so much in each other; especially after Arielle’s husband was murdered and the latter being the prime suspect. That is the thing though; do not market a thriller, murder mystery with twists and turns making one think they are going to be mind-boggled, only to have the story be about two people growing closer and talk about the problems they have had in their lives. That part of the story is good to have, but readers are robbed of some of the most essential parts of solving a mystery. On that note, another weakness is Arielle seemed way too comfortable around Michael when he was not even sure if he murdered her husband. Honestly, climbing in bed with your husband’s killer? It’s understandable her husband was not a good man either, but come on. It was like none of these characters had a sense or anything they were doing. Again, why were the police not having suspicions about different motives like if maybe Arielle or her friend were involved?

Do not paint the cops in a story so poorly if the heroes who are instead solving the case are an even bigger humdrum of detectives. The twists were easy to see coming from miles away, and a lot of a so called mystery did not live up to expectations of a thriller.

If one is looking around for a short read instead of spending ninety minutes watching Lifetime, sure, pick this book up. No one is going to walk away stunned though after turning that last page.

2/5

-B.N. Muraca

The Dead Boyfriend-By R.L. Stine (RANT)

Hello my fellow book addicts! Let’s get to some ranting.

We’re going to discuss a book I’ve been promoting on my Twitter (@BNMuraca) lately. The Dead Boyfriend, by legend of children horror R.L. Stine. In it we follow Caitlin, a young girl enjoying an average high school life, but becomes entangled in the gruesome murder, and later possible resurrection of her boyfriend, Blade.

I have to give it to R.L. Stine for this novel of the long-running Fear Street series. While the body count and details of the murders aren’t as gruesome in some of his other Fear Street novels, Stine has delivered a dark story about a girl exposed to death on a level other kids her age haven’t been. We’ve all lost people, sure, but how many saw them rise from the dead and totally insane?

“I was still gasping for breath, fighting the deep shudders that paralyzed my body…”

Caitlin and Blade are showed to have a realistic high school relationship at first; both teens are very into each other, can’t keep their hands to themselves, but then things take the dark turn when Caitlin catches Blade cheating on her. Next thing you know, Blade’s dead, feeling so shocked after unable to comprehend how it could’ve happened.

Caitlin is illustrated in a realistic tone in the darkness of this story. She’s a teenager, but she’s also going through a lot of messed up stuff. While her character seemed a bit annoying during a few scenes, coming off as a pretty and self-absorbed girl, overdramatic and who just HAS to have a boyfriend now, this book does well in getting into the head of someone so young who has been through something so traumatic.

The events that follow are easily described as terrifying, no less. Horror is only as good as the way a writer gets into the psychology of things. Stine’s climatic scene of a dead child coming back to life at the funeral in front of all his loved ones is probably one of the most well-crafted horror scenes of this series. We’ve seen people get chopped-up in other stories. Guts and blood spread around the area and all that, but reading the mother’s shaking and crying as her child, who is pale, cold, and stitched-up will really fill you with dread of, “Oh my gosh, those parents are probably petrified. Everyone reacting…how will this town ever be the same?” That scene there is what really struck me as needing to give this book credit. Though that is also something that I felt was deserving of a RANT! Zombified child rises in front of everyone, how the heck did that not make the news? How is it not talked about among everyone in school only adding to the lunacy of Caitlin? I just felt with something so climatic and that involved so many people, it would have been felt on a larger range.

Stine continued to give us a great point-of-view though from Caitlin’s mind throughout. Despite the horrible act she committed, you can’t help but feel for her since she is just a scared kid that made a mistake in the moment. The events that followed with her questioning everything and turning on others, unsure of whom to trust, all while being stalked by her zombified boyfriend is what really made this a delicious read. I never thought Stine could get so psychological in his writing, despite being a fan of Goosebumps and Fear Street for years, this one really shocked me.

His scenes are brief, but detailed to the point needed, which helps the story have a great pace. There’s no unnecessary stops or arcs,

we’re delivered what we were promised on the back cover preview, and so much more. By that I mean the murder and resurrection aren’t the only huge shocks in this story. Off the top of my head I can think of at least five more, one of which involves the gothic and disturbed Deena Fear. Her home life, is messed up on another level which adds to this story’s horror.

“All eyes were on the corpse”

So in terms of a horror book, and story in general, Stine has been in the business for decades. He knows what his readers wants. Sure, he misses the mark sometimes, but definitely not here. In terms of a horror novel, I have to give it up to him. Well done, Stine.

Also, little RANT on the editor of the book’s description for the cover. So if you look up the book, it’s going to say the boyfriend’s name is Collin. Not sure why, I guess that editor needs a new pair of glasses, but Blade is the boyfriend. No Collins in this story at all, nor are a lot of happy parts, but it’s R.L. Stine! You’ll enjoy some cute teenage awkwardness here and there, but you’ll have to look for it between the blood splatter and dread.

While some opportunities were missed, this is well-worth short, fun, read that will scare you.

4/5 for a score.

-B.N. Muraca

The Kult, by Shaun Jeffrey-RANT EDITION

By B.N. MURACA

Welcome my fellow book addicts to the first article of, The Book Rant. Including the number one or cutting some large tape to introduce my first post does not seem to be needed as from the poor-cropped image you can see to the left, which shows my bed covers in the background, I’m sure we can all tell this blogger here is just getting his feet wet 😉

Anyways, I wanted to talk about The Kult, a crime novel by Shaun Jeffrey. A brilliant writer in my opinion. I messaged him a while back and sadly he’s left the world of writing for sculpting. Best of luck to him, great man. However, if you devour this novel as fast as I did, I’m sure you will be cheering for him to hopefully write again too on day.

The Kult, as said, is a crime novel. It hits the darkest parts of the noir checklist. Its lead, Detective Prosper Snow, is entangled in a serial killer case, the criminal known only as the Oracle. Before you even meet Prosper, Jeffrey does us the honor of transporting us into the mind of a madman. The first few chapters are from the Oracle’s perspective, as he or she follows, learns the daily rountines, and ultimately captures and brutally murders their victims, leaving no bodies, but instead a photograph to send the public and police into outcry. The details of how the Oracle tears apart their victims and how they and the victim feels in the process are laid out. No victim, no matter how short their time was in the story, was just some cold body to add to the Oracle’s count to make him seem scary. You feel for each victim as the Oracle gets to know them while watching them, learning who they are, making their deaths for terrifying because when it finally happens, it’s almost as if you’re stuck screaming at them to run and they can’t hear you. The gory details themselves are graphic as can be, so this is NOT a book for the faint of heart.

Having a young son and injured wife only increases the stress for Prosper knowing his own family could be in the crossing fires of a serial killer. Things only get worse when his old group of childhood friends are called together. One of his friend’s wives was assaulted by a member of organized crime, and the group, against Prosper’s rejections, decides to kill the man, and leave his brutalized body in a way for the Oracle, who is still at large to be blamed.

Things only get worse for our compromised and anxiety-ridden detective as his friends are slowly hunted down by the Oracle, with the line of fire closing in on Prosper and his family. I’ve always loved antiheroes more than the classic good guys who just come in to save the days. To have our protagonist covered in so much darkness and having to keep these secrets of what he’s done will make any fan of Showtime’s TV show Dexter (thank GOD for the revival) a fan of Prosper Snow. While not a sociopath or addicted to killing, Prosper is hiding a very dark secret in that he helped kill and dismember a organized criminal man, thus making him someone who should be arrested for murder. We do get to learn about Prosper’s childhood early on, and what may have led him to becoming an officer of the law and defending others in the first place. To have that part of him twisted from hero to antihero, makes one feel both sympathy and interest in what is going to happen here.

Prosper’s internal struggles do not cause take away from the enjoyment of the story. We still get tons of times with other characters and their viewpoints. Such as the other friends at the murder, Prosper’s suspicious partner who closes in on him, as well as the Oracle themselves, and more. Like I said, although many die in this book, NO ONE is a cold body. Everyone has a relatable, and somewhat likeness to them, even the Oracle when you learn the source of their madness. If you enjoy psychological, well-worded stories about a hero who is FAR from being a good-guy, yet going against and even greater evil than himself, this is the book for you.

Having read it once years ago, and again, both times were just as enjoyable which is rare in my reading world. The Kult gets a 4/5 for me, with the only complaint, as others who have reviewed the book have agreed, is that Prosper himself could have been more likeable since he is the one we’re suppose to root for here. His grumpy attitude against a wife who is so forgiving and loving, as well as police partners trying to help (although they don’t know the whole story) the guy could have been a little nicer.

Hope you enjoyed this rant. Hopefully as I continue these posts and find a way to break my “rant voice” out of its box, things will get better. Until next time!

–B.N. Muraca