Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children

Division #4

by Lee Thompson

In this creepy Division Mythos novel phantoms from the past mingle with those of the present, all swirling in a dark maelstrom over Division. Haunted by the part he played in his brother Mark’s death, John McDonnell takes a midnight hike and stumbles across four dead girls upon the forest floor. Their severed limbs spell Repent. The coroner finds Mark’s onyx skeleton key inside one of the victims, right where her heart used to be. The last time John had seen the key it was clasped in his brother’s hand before they lowered him into his grave.

Torn between protecting his family’s name and giving the girls a proper burial, John digs into Division’s past. As lives shatter around them, and a strange woman tries to steal the key, John and his best friend, Michael Johnston, must find the tools to set things right or break beneath the pressure of these ghosts’ sudden weight.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

334 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2011

About the author

“Lee Thompson knows his horror-noir. He fuses both genres together in the turmoil of terror, tragedy, blood, guilt, and lost chances at redemption.”–Tom Piccirilli, author of THE LAST KIND WORDS

Lee Thompson is the bestselling author of the Suspense novels A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS (August 2014), IT’S ONLY DEATH (January 2015), and WITH FURY IN HAND (May 2015). The dominating threads weaved throughout his work are love, loss, and learning how to live again. A firm believer in the enduring power of the human spirit, Lee believes that stories, no matter their format, set us on the path of transformation. He is represented by the extraordinary Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary. Visit Lee’s website to discover more: www.leethompsonfiction.com

Some of my favorite authors: Clive Barker, Donald Westlake, Peter Straub, Stephen King, Greg Gifune, Lee Thomas, William Faulkner, Robert Dunbar, John Gardner, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, John Connolly, Jack Cady, Tom Piccirilli, Brian Hodge, Douglas Clegg, Jack Ketchum, Lee Child, James Lee Burke, and Cormac McCarthy.

"10 out of 10 Stars... GOSSAMER: A TALE OF LOVE AND TRAGEDY will blow you away my friends. It is that good." -- Peter Schwotzer/Famous Monsters of Filmland.

"WHEN WE JOIN JESUS IN HELL is as crazy as its tormented protagonist. Hard as nails.” – Jack Ketchum

"The voice of the deputy feels authentic: brooding, soulful, haunted. In fact, there’s a heartfelt quality to the whole grim book. Even some of the most grisly moments manage to be poetic and full of emotion, and the author’s literary influences echo loudly. At times, the mood evokes Piccirilli or Braunbeck or Gifune combined with Sherwood Anderson."-- Robert Dunbar, author of WILLY, THE PINES, and THE SHORE

“Thompson’s voice is his own — strong, hypnotic, and unsettling. Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children is a bleak fucking book, and therein lies its danger. So beautifully-constructed is Thompson’s prose, that the reader is often caught off-guard, mesmerized by a turn of phrase or a descriptive passage, until the book grabs you by the balls and rips them right off, breaking your heart and your psyche in the process.” — Brian Keene, author of GHOUL, DARK HOLLOW and THE RISING.

"I’ve said it many times and believe it more everyday, Lee Thompson is not only the next big name at Delirium Books but in the genre." – Shane Ryan Staley at Darkfuse Publications.

"The Dampness of Mourning is a riveting Thriller..." Midwest Book Review.

"Lee Thompson’s prose is electric!" — Bob Freeman, author of DESCENDANT.

"Like a dark Twilight Zone meets Alfred Hitchcock Mystery." -- Lee Thompson, author of NURSERY RHYMES 4 DEAD CHILDREN.


http://leethompsonfiction.com

Reviews

[Paul Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I’ve read 5 powerful and completely gripping novellas by Lee Thompson, Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children is a full length novel and my favourite to date, in fact I enjoyed it so much it’s easily in my top 5 best reads.

The first story of the Division series to be set in the town Division, we follow the compelling character John McDonnell as he takes an early hour’s walk through the valley trails called the Devil’s Garden, he hears a girls scream and stung by adrenaline rushes to assist, and in the moonlight John’s knocked out cold. On waking he finds he’s not alone, help has found him but the discovery of four dead girls and the ensuing cover-up, means life will never be the same again Division.

Mike Johnston returns to Division, his Mothers on death’s door in hospital and there’s an aberrant young woman living in the family home, something’s not right and she knows far more than she should, life’s about to get interesting again for John’s best friend.

Division is a place of secrets, a place of ghosts and it’s about to become a place of shocking discovery as death walks hand in hand with the furtive.

This is a wonderfully dark and totally immersive read, there’s top notch writing here, if you've never read anything from Lee then I highly recommend you start now. Some cracking quotes, one of my personnel favourites being:
‘Life is more than pain, more than letting go, more than holding on to what we think the world should be. We don’t know who we are until we dig through all the layers we’ve accumulated to protect us over the years’ and another ‘Usually one person is the glue that holds things together. All we can do is love them like they deserve. Appreciate their heart and honesty’.

There’s a lot of feeling in this, dark as the story is, what consumes you is the characterization, they all have a story, the whole town it seems and it’s the most absorbing thing I’ve read in a long time. There are also numerous completely unexpected twists and turns, this town and these people certainly have some murderous secrets and there are some prodigious revelations here, done perfectly. Highly Recommended.

[Robert Dunbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you crave shallow genre fare, you’d be well advised to look elsewhere. But if you’ve a taste for something with a bit more substance …

Lee Thompson’s debut novel is a thoughtful and thought-provoking tale of the supernatural. From the first page onward, murders and mutilations and evil secrets abound in a small Pennsylvania town, all of which the reader experiences through the eyes of a young deputy (who is himself no stranger to guilt). The voice of the deputy feels authentic: brooding, soulful, haunted. In fact, there’s a heartfelt quality to the whole grim book. The protagonist longs for forgiveness, redemption, connection … with an intensity that seems – in its own way – as terrifying as the darkness to which his need to understand will lead him.

There are enough plot points here for a score of novels, but it’s with the tone of the book that the author really strikes gold. Even some of the most grisly moments manage to be poetic and full of emotion, and the author’s literary influences echo loudly. At times, the mood evokes Piccirilli or Braunbeck or Gifune combined with Sherwood Anderson. That’s strong praise. (There’s even a streak of the Lovecraftian: this town and its denizens are blighted by something hellish.) The dialogue sounds both sharp and rough – believably rural – just the way it ought to. Trust is important. The reader feels that the author knows these people, knows them well … and because of this we let him lead us down some very dark roads.

[Glen Krisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children. Thompson's prose is stunning, the layered plot traveling so many twists and turns. Highly recommended to those readers who like intricate, sophisticated horror.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nursery Rhymes 4 dead children is a great mystery story and a great fantasy/horror story but it is much more than those things. It is the type of book that I think of when I use the term "literary horror."

Two old friends are brought together in a perfect storm of tragedy that may have been caused by or perhaps may in turn be feeding a demonic intrusion into the town of Division. Magic, both dark and good, runs deep in this town and through generations of its inhabitants. We are witnessing the result of years of evil acts which have thinned the boundary between this world and the realm of demons as well as taken its toll on the children who grew up in this town and were in many ways used as pawns. No character is without his or her scars; no soul remains unbattered. Each person carries his personal losses; but it is how they bond together in mutual pain and need that brings out the message in this book. As one character explains, they seek to be a redeemer---that is what I feel the message of this book is: that from pain, sacrifice, even horror, it is possible to defy and defeat seemingly insurmountable odds, and that love and loyalty can bring redemption to all those with the courage to seek it.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so rich and complex! While part of me resisted starting with a book "in the middle of" a series, I'm glad that I picked this one up. There were a few times where I thought that I might be missing something, but those parts became clear as the book went on. As far as the storyline goes, I can say that there would be no problem reading this as a stand-alone, as everything that needed to be said, was, in fact, in this book. However, I will be eagerly moving on with the series, myself!

This book was richly detailed and atmospheric, the writing absolutely spellbinding at times. The blend of human emotions and undercurrent of supernatural forces made for a very engrossing read. I've read one other book by Lee Thompson so far (When We Join Jesus In Hell), and am absolutely amazed at the content of his writing.

Highly recommended!

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one deep, dark tale. Starts as a murder mystery and then spirals out of control into complete chaos, as supernatural entities invade the small town of Division. Secrets will be revealed and lives will be shattered. Nobody is safe. Not even the dead.

I am a big fan of Lee Thompson. Lee doesn’t mess around in any of his stories. They are always emotional and well drawn out. I think that Lee gets a perverse joy out of putting some of his characters (and readers) thru the emotional wringer. And I mean that in a good way.

Solid 4+ Stars! Highly recommended!

[K.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Thompson’s debut novel, Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children, is about redemption and whether it is possible to live with our crimes. It is a damning argument that the past and our sins cannot be forgotten, that they shape us and someday come to call. Pain-warped memories lead Thompson’s characters onward into the dark. Petty transgressions of the everyday are showcased beside deeper evils buried behind frozen lips. When the dead speak, who do they accuse? Who do they redeem?

From the get-go, Thompson plunges the reader into a world where the very fabric of reality is suspect. Written around John McDonnell, the new deputy of Division, Pennsylvania, the story opens the eve of John’s first day on the job, as he struggles to contend with the death of his brother and the millstone of his own guilt. The reader immediately has cause to question his stability. John is seeing things. He carves “the words of the dead” into his chest.

Division is filled with secrets. Its leaders hide their true selves behind wholesome facades. The results of their sins simmer under the surface, waiting for the right people to exploit them. Or the right demons.

Bring four teenage girls, murdered and mutilated, into it and matters get worse for John. Add a cover-up and the will of ghosts and demons, and things manage to degrade even further.

The characters of Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children are multilayered and rarely what they seem. From the beginning, every action, every word, is questionable. John is angry, confused and hurt--about his family, his lover and his life. He seeks forgiveness, but has little hope of finding it. He doesn’t know who to trust and his friends, as well as his enemies, guard their own secrets.

Thompson’s style is intoxicating, bending reality with a subtle touch. Unsure what was real and what was specter, I questioned the sanity of nearly all the characters, but never lost my grip on the plot. He conjures hallucinatory apparitions to decorate his characters’ experience, and takes grim walks through dreamscape. In rare moments of humor, I found myself smiling, only to feel my lips twist into a grimace as the next ghoul slipped into my vision, another insidious reminder that little stands alone in Thompson’s universe.

Every time I search for a word to describe Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children, ‘intense’ rises to the surface. I spent most of the book with a taut neck, waiting for the next blow to fall. The prose holds on, dragging the reader through the gruesome sideshow of horrors residing in the depths of Division. The plot works on a personal level, playing on childhood traumas and individual crosses, and on a larger scale, dealing with the balance of Heaven and Hell. Fusing supernatural horror with crime fiction, Thompson leads us into the murky shadows of this world with the deft hand of a more experienced writer. Despite being one of the more disturbing books I’ve come across, the plot and prose never felt heavy or gratuitous. A remarkable feat in the genre.

Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children will go on my reread list and I look forward to more of Thompson’s titles.

[Dave Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

You think you know what you're getting into with a title like "Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children": a world where nothing and no one is safe, everyone is suspect, and the violence is horrific. And let's face it, this book is all of those things, but so much, much more.

The little Pennsylvania town of Division (which is almost a character in and of itself) is the scene of a brutal ritualistic murder involving 4 teenage girls. John McDonnell, a newbie sheriff's deputy, discovers the gruesome site while taking a midnight stroll. All of the bodies have been decapitated and arranged to spell REPENT. Inside one of the victims is an onyx key, which John last saw in his brother Mark's hands...inside Mark's coffin...three days earlier.

Enter a corrupt sheriff, a mysterious naked redhead, a "crazy old uncle" who always wears gloves, hellish demons, and a creepy-ass manor on the hill, and you can almost begin to scratch the surface of the depth of this novel. It is a story of small towns, buried secrets, murder, and redemption.

Division calls to mind King's Derry, or Koontz's Pico Mundo, but to equate Thompson's work with another writer would be a disservice. His voice is his own, his style is unique, and his prose will kick you in the gut, tear your heart out, and have you turning the pages wildly to see what twist is coming next.

Every once is a while you pick up a book that really knocks your socks off, a book that when you pass by it on your bookshelves, you can't help but stare at the cover a second too long, remembering what it felt like to be in that world, if only for a while. This is one of those books.

[Shaun Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee Thompson's debut novel does something I look for in a novel; it makes you think even as it entertains. A story about small towns and buried secrets, NR4DC digs beneath the surface of these common themes as well as the world we live in and how we choose to perceive it. Thompson has a knack for taking the common and well worn theme of good vs. evil and turning it inside out, standing it on it's head, and making it personal. His talent for blurring lines we like to think are well defined makes his fiction memorable and left me pondering the questions he raises long after the last page was turned.

His characters are well fleshed but not overdrawn; Thompson leaves you guessing just enough to want to get to know them more, and yet does it in a way that leaves you wondering whether you really do, whether you might get a glimpse of something you avoid looking at in yourself.

If you like character driven suspense with a dark atmosphere and a simultaneously cynical and hopeful view of what it means to be human in a world we choose not to look too deeply into, this book is for you.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes, it's hard to find the right words for an adequate review, so I'm going to let Bill Bailey do it for me instead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJdq-U...

And that's the best I can do!
Other than that; very eerie and atmospheric, but I did get lost at times, though admittedly this was probably because I was reading other books at the same time, and this is the sort of book that deserves one's undivided attention.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good dark fantasy. There's enough going on to maintain interest and a good amount of suspense. Hard to follow in some places and suspension of disbelief gets strained a couple of times but no book is perfect. I would recommend it to any fan of supernatural horror.

[Sheri White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book; review to come at Xomba for Delirium Books.

[Scott Tyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep, emotional, extremely moving book. If I didn't know better, I would've thought Lee had been writing for a very long time.

Highly recommended novel from this up-and-comer to watch.

[Benjamin Uminsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm,

This was an interesting debut for Lee Thompson. I have never read Thompson before, so this was a debut for me as well. I think I liked many parts of the book, despite some serious flaws that I really felt detracted from the overall enjoyabillity of this novel.

Overall, I think there was just about enough positives to outweigh the negatives on this debut... ultimately meriting both three stars and my attention at perhaps another Thompson offering in the future.

Positives:
The mood was phenomenal in this novel.. reminded me a lot of Giffune's most recent novella, DREAMS THE RAGMAN. Likewise, character development was well above average and combined with great dialogue, all of the characters felt real and accessible. The only character I really disliked was Cat... talk about a wet blanket. In fact, I think the best way to describe the dialogue is organic. Nothing felt hackneyed, trite, or even forced... you really got a sense of how these characters are living their lives and trying to make their way in the world. Major props to Thompson on this account. I was definitely drawn in by the characters, accented nicely with a fairly oppressive mood that switched on and off between menacing and frantic to a dream/nightmare-like haze.

Negatives:
Here is where the book felt pretty inaccessible to the reader... there was WAY too much going on. This novel felt like there were two completely unrelated stories that so happened to have the main characters participating in both plot lines. In fact, as we drew down to the conclusion, I was left struggling with how Thompson was going to provide any kind of explanation as to the relevance of the first storyline, which was the mystery of the butchered dead girls found in the forest. While this mystery could have served as a fine foundation to this novel, as it turns out, it had very little relevance to the real plot line, which ended up being a rather interesting battle of the supernatural. I'm still a little bewildered as to why the author spent about 200+ pages on the first plot line. Oh well, I'll chalk the first 200 pages up to mood building.

One other distraction was the shifting of the main character's POV (John) from first person POV to thrid person POV. I'm not sure if this was poor writing or if this is a new approach to story telling, but it was really disorienting when the shifting POV occured... and it occured on multiple occasions. The other kind of shifting in narative was from the real world narative to the hazy dream narative, which was fine. It felt like you were piercing the veil into a hidden reality; however, I would recommend the author perhaps do a little more in preparing the reader for those shifts... they were fairly abrupt and ultimately forced me to re-read a couple passages to make sure I understood which reality the narative travelled into and at what point the shift occured. I found a similar effect used in DREAM's THE RAGMAN and also Sandy Deluca's MANHATTAN GRIMOIRE... but those shifts were much more nuanced and the transitions were a bit smoother.

Overall, decent enough first attempt, but really needs some re-tooling to be a much more literary success.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 21, page 26 of 44. This is just not grabbing me, and I am done.

Think the style of description just does not suit me. Kind of curious to find out the rest of the story, but not enough.

[Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually enjoy Lee Thompson's Division Mythos novels but this one for me went completely off the rails. Maybe it was the audiobook narrator's delivery and voice, I'm not a fan of either.

[Karl]

This is copy 65 of 150 Hardcover copies printed and signed by Lee Thompson.