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S. Lasher & Associates #1
The StoneCutter
Shane Lasher is a criminal attorney with a grave secret. He is a
serial killer that only kills bad guys--his own clients. Shane
has spent his life hunting one very bad killer called the StoneCutter.
The StoneCutter buries his victims alive and leaves them for dead. One year ago, he was captured and charged with murder. Shane defended him and got him acquitted.
Then he killed the StoneCutter. Or so he thought, because his murders have started over again. Now, Shane must find this cold, sadistic killer before it's
too late.
serial killer that only kills bad guys--his own clients. Shane
has spent his life hunting one very bad killer called the StoneCutter.
The StoneCutter buries his victims alive and leaves them for dead. One year ago, he was captured and charged with murder. Shane defended him and got him acquitted.
Then he killed the StoneCutter. Or so he thought, because his murders have started over again. Now, Shane must find this cold, sadistic killer before it's
too late.
ebook
First published August 2, 2013
33 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Scott Blade
48 books311 followersUSA TODAY and AMAZON BESTSELLER - Scott Blade is a Nomadvelist, a drifter and author. He writes the bestselling Jack Widow book series, two of which reached the Top 100 list on Amazon, knocking Harry Potter & Jack Reacher off the top spots, which angered one of the big publishers. Scott wears that fact as a badge of honor.
Scott Blade isn't a traditional novelist who spends his time stuck behind a computer desk in some dreary office. He truly walks the walk. He drifts around like the nomad he writes about, touring the world, writing mysteries and searching for the perfect coffee.
Scott Blade isn't a traditional novelist who spends his time stuck behind a computer desk in some dreary office. He truly walks the walk. He drifts around like the nomad he writes about, touring the world, writing mysteries and searching for the perfect coffee.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 16, 2013
One word... Witty.
This is a WONDERFUL read. All the great aspects of intrigue are covered with suspense and tension! Amazing gracefulness as it poetically flows from story building horror then bleeds intrepidly into a lustful, romantic encounter. All of which will desperately leave you begging for more-& more is yet to come! This author is intense! Love this read! 10/10 stars!
This is a WONDERFUL read. All the great aspects of intrigue are covered with suspense and tension! Amazing gracefulness as it poetically flows from story building horror then bleeds intrepidly into a lustful, romantic encounter. All of which will desperately leave you begging for more-& more is yet to come! This author is intense! Love this read! 10/10 stars!
December 3, 2019
good concept
A good concept, a serial killer hunting serial killers! The plot is fascinating and the characters very good. It reminds of course a little the story of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hayde
A good concept, a serial killer hunting serial killers! The plot is fascinating and the characters very good. It reminds of course a little the story of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hayde
April 12, 2018
I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
December 8, 2019
An intriguing story
Brilliantly written as usual from Scott Blade.It leaves me looking forward to book 2
An interesting storyline which leave you wondering what's next.
Brilliantly written as usual from Scott Blade.It leaves me looking forward to book 2
An interesting storyline which leave you wondering what's next.
August 27, 2014
Oh how I wish this had been a better book.
When I read the description, my eyebrows raised and my cynicism kicked in. "It's a Dexter knock-off," I thought. Hmmm. I began reading totally expecting to write a review blasting the author for copying the Dexter format and stealing that idea from Jeff Lindsay. I even snickered a bit through the first chapter as I tried to compare the two.
I am happy to say that the general idea of a person with a hidden darkness is really the only thing in common. It's a concept that I find interesting: killing someone you definitely know is bad and evil to better society (not that I am interested in becoming someone like this). I was really glad that the book wasn't a total knock-off.
What I did enjoy was that the story is told from the perspective of the "darkness" inside the main character. This darkness is described as reptilian, with scaly cold skin and dark black eyes, with a hunger to kill and a thirst for blood. This darkness lives in side Shane Lasher (we'll get to the name in a bit) and "controls" Shane when he needs protecting or when it's time to rid society of a monster. Definitely interesting to follow the voice of an alter ego, rather than the actual person.
The names. So the author gets a little cutesy with the names. Shane Lasher (known as S. Lasher). There's a character who kills people named Paul Verize. A witness expert names Barry O'live. Yeah yeah, cutesy. But then there are other characters who have names that I am not sure are supposed to be cutesy. If they are, I didn't get it: Detective Sun Good. And she is always referred to at least Sun Good if not her full moniker throughout the entire book. And Terrence Graves. Over my head (but the last name is a reference to something...)
Now for the weaknesses of the book. The writing is rather basic and plain. The metaphors are obvious and uninspiring. Because the main voice is of a reptilian evil alter ego, the sentences are abrupt, short, and simplistic. This is not a book with flowing writing. It's very angular and curt. There is a lot of repetition in descriptions, and word choice is also repetitive (see what I did there? That's what I mean). There is an inconsistent use of plural and singular pronouns, which gets confusing. The alter ego voice sometimes refers to just Shane, and sometimes refers to the both of them. Example: sometimes it's Shane's parents, and sometimes it's our parents. Around 70% in the book, there are a whole lot of incomplete sentences which made it hard to read. The author overuses names in dialogue which isn't the way people normally speak. The beginning is filled with over explanations about the differences between Shane and this alter ego, and the author keeps doing this up until about 2/3 of the way through. The alter ego spends a lot of time defending itself/himself, but I never feel like I really know who Shane is as a character. It's hard to relate to a reptilian alter ego that sometimes takes over a body ago kill people.
I think this book could be a lot better. First, I would love to see chapters written in different voices. I would enjoy hearing Shane's voice and then the alter ego's voice in the next chapter. I think this would balance out the action and give a fresh perspective. Shane is the character reader's can grasp on to because he's human. Perhaps Shane's voice would have longer, more complex sentences to break up the choppy simplistic writing. The alter ego is not human, so it's harder to relate and trust and believe in it. Second, I would find a person who is really good at editing that can take out all of the repetition, restructure the chapters so that the "getting to know the characters" happens mostly in the first third of the book, and enhance the writing style with better, more sophisticated metaphors and description. A good editor would also fix the dialogue so it sounds more natural and fluid.
It's a quick read. I figured out "who done it" fairly early on, which wasn't a big deal to me. But it's just an okay book and idea that could be a whole lot better.
When I read the description, my eyebrows raised and my cynicism kicked in. "It's a Dexter knock-off," I thought. Hmmm. I began reading totally expecting to write a review blasting the author for copying the Dexter format and stealing that idea from Jeff Lindsay. I even snickered a bit through the first chapter as I tried to compare the two.
I am happy to say that the general idea of a person with a hidden darkness is really the only thing in common. It's a concept that I find interesting: killing someone you definitely know is bad and evil to better society (not that I am interested in becoming someone like this). I was really glad that the book wasn't a total knock-off.
What I did enjoy was that the story is told from the perspective of the "darkness" inside the main character. This darkness is described as reptilian, with scaly cold skin and dark black eyes, with a hunger to kill and a thirst for blood. This darkness lives in side Shane Lasher (we'll get to the name in a bit) and "controls" Shane when he needs protecting or when it's time to rid society of a monster. Definitely interesting to follow the voice of an alter ego, rather than the actual person.
The names. So the author gets a little cutesy with the names. Shane Lasher (known as S. Lasher). There's a character who kills people named Paul Verize. A witness expert names Barry O'live. Yeah yeah, cutesy. But then there are other characters who have names that I am not sure are supposed to be cutesy. If they are, I didn't get it: Detective Sun Good. And she is always referred to at least Sun Good if not her full moniker throughout the entire book. And Terrence Graves. Over my head (but the last name is a reference to something...)
Now for the weaknesses of the book. The writing is rather basic and plain. The metaphors are obvious and uninspiring. Because the main voice is of a reptilian evil alter ego, the sentences are abrupt, short, and simplistic. This is not a book with flowing writing. It's very angular and curt. There is a lot of repetition in descriptions, and word choice is also repetitive (see what I did there? That's what I mean). There is an inconsistent use of plural and singular pronouns, which gets confusing. The alter ego voice sometimes refers to just Shane, and sometimes refers to the both of them. Example: sometimes it's Shane's parents, and sometimes it's our parents. Around 70% in the book, there are a whole lot of incomplete sentences which made it hard to read. The author overuses names in dialogue which isn't the way people normally speak. The beginning is filled with over explanations about the differences between Shane and this alter ego, and the author keeps doing this up until about 2/3 of the way through. The alter ego spends a lot of time defending itself/himself, but I never feel like I really know who Shane is as a character. It's hard to relate to a reptilian alter ego that sometimes takes over a body ago kill people.
I think this book could be a lot better. First, I would love to see chapters written in different voices. I would enjoy hearing Shane's voice and then the alter ego's voice in the next chapter. I think this would balance out the action and give a fresh perspective. Shane is the character reader's can grasp on to because he's human. Perhaps Shane's voice would have longer, more complex sentences to break up the choppy simplistic writing. The alter ego is not human, so it's harder to relate and trust and believe in it. Second, I would find a person who is really good at editing that can take out all of the repetition, restructure the chapters so that the "getting to know the characters" happens mostly in the first third of the book, and enhance the writing style with better, more sophisticated metaphors and description. A good editor would also fix the dialogue so it sounds more natural and fluid.
It's a quick read. I figured out "who done it" fairly early on, which wasn't a big deal to me. But it's just an okay book and idea that could be a whole lot better.
December 10, 2014
Bad to the Bone
I loved this book! Not only was it creatively written, in the voice of an external vessel and an internal demon, it showed how both could live independently and collectively. Because of the character development, I found myself rooting for the dark side to become victorious. If I had to fact the StoneCutter's clutches, I would want a Lasher/Slasher on the case!
I loved this book! Not only was it creatively written, in the voice of an external vessel and an internal demon, it showed how both could live independently and collectively. Because of the character development, I found myself rooting for the dark side to become victorious. If I had to fact the StoneCutter's clutches, I would want a Lasher/Slasher on the case!
June 14, 2014
Very different, yet fast-paced, dark, and exciting. Quite a twist at the end that leaves you with a feeling of horror/dread with a touch of amusement mixed in. Good read! I give this one 4.4 stars.
October 3, 2013
Thrilling, twisted, creepy journey into the minds of serial killers...who are the beautiful, rich and famous people we look up to
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews