The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampiresf

Novel by Grady Hendrix

Well I didn’t expect to like this novel. I listened to it via audiobook to be fair (I love the traditional medium usually). 

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires starts off fairly slow. Intro-ing to the book clubs first meeting. The suspected vampire is living in the neighborhood preying on the poor neighboring black communities children. No one believes our main heroine as she is labeled ‘crazy’. She sits on what she discovers for a few years until she is pushed by a ghostly relative. As she journeys through, she confronts the biggest devil she has ever faced. 

The book was delightful once getting past the opening 2 chapters. It was a little of an anticipation of what was next but was a bit predictable in the sense that we all know what happens when vampires get to your neighbors. I was pleasantly surprised at the ending of the book. I also felt the ending did set up for a very nice sequel if the author desired. 

My Rating: **** Recommended Read

The Late Bus

By: Rick Jasper 

Short stories are some of my favorites to read. They get straight to the point. Short stories give so much in such little time. This short story is no different. 

The Late Bus is a young adult horror story about a young man who can see supernatural demonic beings. He tries to help with the finishing of the business left over by the dead. The dead may cause the death of the living.

While the story seems ominous at first it definitely has a better outlook than expected.

I would rate this as a **** Recommended Read.

The Burning Room

Author: Michael Connelly

Generally i wouldn’t out right have a negative criticism of a crime novel. I usually enjoy these types of books thoroughly. However i was not entertained by this whatsoever. The burning Room was some what dry in its delivery of the story, very predictable in what will happen next with no ups and downs in the story that would make you think otherwise. The book was equivalent to eating a luke-warm plate of food. I finished the book in no time but i also was able to figure out the who done it very early on in the book so reading the rest of the book was irrelevant to me.

The book starts out as any other cop crime book. Veteran cop gets rookie partner. Partner is connected to a gruesome crime that has never been solved and thus they are thrown into gathering the facts and solving the crime. Standard right? Well yes. I mostly like that part about it. What i didn’t like was the delivery. It's just unreasonable dry.

I have got to rate this book as **Not interesting. But judge for yourself and let me know what you think.

Alex Cross: Hope to Die

Author: James Patterson

This Alex Cross story is a nail biter. It speaks to anyone who has ever lost someone to a traumatizing situation. Kidnapping and torture and possible senseless death. Alex is faced with having to find his family while being tortured with the idea of his family being murdered. Within a short period of time a madman has kidnapped and "executed" some of his family. What is Alex to do?

I have to say 'Hope to Die' is a bit of a tear jerker. From the start you are engulfed in a world of grief, despair and anger. Since Reading the first book in the Alex Cross series, I have grown attached to the character. Feeling what they feel through all the pain and also their joy. James Patterson displayed some tumultuous and unsettling situations that only a veteran Like Alex could navigate through.

I would rate Hope to Die as a "Need to Read".

BookShots: Cross Kill

Author: James Patterson

Alex Cross is one of my favorite characters. James Patterson makes each story of Alex intriguing. This is one of the shorter stories that fill in some of the gaps in Alex Cross's career and life. Cross faces off with a foe he had thought he defeated.  

Cross is immediately put into a situation of having to find the person he thought was dead, and defeat the occult like following that the man has a massed since his death. 

This is a great quick read if you are looking for something in between your regular readings. I would recommend it.