Bed Of Nails

Special X #10

by Michael Slade

Isolated in Ashworth House, an asylum for the criminally insane, is the Ripper. He believes he's the notorious butcher who terrorized Whitechapel more than a century ago. He talks of time travel, infinity, and the occult. In the black hole of his imagination, he reenacts the crimes. In the darkness of his heart, he still craves the thrill of the kill. Thank God he can't escape.

But with such an ingenious mind for murder, the Ripper doesn't have to -- and the ghastly crimes he can manipulate from his padded cell are taking Zinc Chandler and the Special X investigators on a trail of unspeakable carnage that leads to the idyllic Cook Islands, where human sacrifice and cannibalism is more than a dark and perverted chapter in its history. It's tradition.

Come and get it.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Crime, Mystery, Horror Thriller

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Slade on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MountieNoir

Slade on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MountieNoir

Criminal lawyer MICHAEL SLADE has acted in over one hundred murder cases. His specialty is the law of insanity. He argued the last death penalty case in Canada’s highest court.

Backed by his forensic experience, Slade’s Special X and Wyatt Rook thrillers fuse the genres of police and legal procedure, whodunit and impossible crime, suspense, history, and horror.

Slade was guest of honor at both the Bloody Words crime convention and the World Horror Convention. As Time Out puts it, “A thin line separates crime and horror, and in Michael Slade’s thrillers, the demarcation vanishes altogether.”

Slade was guest speaker at the international Police Leadership Conference and several RCMP regimental dinners. As Reader’s Digest puts it, “The Slade books have developed a strong following among police officers because of their strict adherence to proper police procedure.”

For the stories behind his plots, visit Slade’s Morgue at www.specialx.net.

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gruesome, demented, truly psychotic story line. Not even in my most terrifyingly crazy thoughts could I come up with this type of story. Which I suppose is a good thing for me. Never have I been so disgusted and shocked at the capabilties of the human mind. But it sure made for a great story! Just when I thought it couldn't get any more gross, it did. And there was a good mixture of violence, gore, sex, and mystery to keep the reader interested. Too much history though. I didn't really see the purpose of a lot of the history, and the parts that had a purpose could have been condensed. It was interesting, but distracted from the point of the plot; making the book a cross between a thriller and history of cannibalism. I would recommend this book if you want to be shocked and are trying to go vegetarian.

[Fred Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always a great read. The Ripper is back. Even though he's still locked up his influence is all over this story. A real page turner set mostly around a horror convention. Will keep you guessing.

[Elly Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bed Of Nails,"Michael Slade","0451411153","review","Gory. Violent. Filled with many Oh my"" moments. A great read. This book actually contains great advice for would-be writers. Worth the read on many levels. It's being moved to my reference section' in our home library."
Bed Of Nails,"Michael Slade","0451411153","review","Gory. Violent. Filled with many Oh my"" moments. A great read. This book actually contains great advice for would-be writers. Worth the read on many levels. It's being moved to my reference section' in our home library." Gory. Violent. Filled with many "Oh my!" moments. A great read. This book actually contains great advice for aspiring writers. Worth the read on may levels. It's been moved to my reference section in our home library.

[Dean Lombardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Slade, the pen name of Jay Clarke and his daughter Rebecca, is a master at blending extreme horror with mystery. Readers who are strictly in it for the blood-curdling twists and turns may not be able to emotionally and psychologically handle Slade's brand of graphic horror.
But for Slade's loyal fans, I believe Bed of Nails doesn't disappoint. Once again Royal Canadian Mountie Zinc Chandler is lured into a deadly trap by one or more suspects' bent on revenge. It takes him to a lonely island in the South Pacific where a small cast of conventioners play a lethal game of who's the psycho. Although Bed of Nails may be a notch or two under Slade's Ghoul, this reader is pleased that Slade continues to produce satisfyingly hair-raising graphic thrillers.

[R Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book 10 of the Special X crime thriller/horror series by Michael Slade.

As usual, a lot of research went into this one. This has history of the Cook Islands , cannibalism and various rituals and tribes, more Jack the Ripper history , the ins and outs of some Horror Conventions and a lot more.

We have the return of the psycho from the Ripper book ( book #4 in the series) and while locked up he has access to his lawyers and recruits someone to help him achieve his goal of getting revenge on Inspector Zinc Chander who is still struggling with the loss of Alexis.

there were really only 4 possibilities for the Killer/ Killers but the author did a good job of settingthings up where it made you guess and change your mind along the way. At the end of the day I knew atleast 1 of them but I didnt guess that ending.

It was a fun read. Its not on the top half of this series though.

3-3.5 Stars.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some ways I'm glad I read ripper before this one as in some ways this acts as a sequel.
Not wholly I think you would get along fine not having read previous books some which are referenced throughout...in fact it's probably the usual thing of giving a nod to the past for the faithful and also for new readers to check bits out.
Maybe my least favourite of the Slade books out of the four I've read so far...it's fine but I think suffers from a slower pace and lots of historic detail that though impressive I didn't always find was necessary.
Anyhow I will read on when I chance upon these books a mediocre Slade book if this is an example is still a decent read

[Frizzy Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a page turner. Not for the faint of heart as it does depict gore vividly. However, I enjoyed the twist in the tale of the Ripper. It is a fun fictional piece of work and towards the end, I could not put the book down. If you are able to get past the gore, I highly recommend this book.

Read at your own risk!

[Marti · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was asked by Barnes and Noble to read this book, otherwise, I would have stopped after a short time. One character thinks that he is the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper. There is weird sex. One practice is pounding short nails into a victim's head while he is still alive. A Mountie is tortured and survives his ordeal. I should just have said that I refuse to review this. I did that once with a story with animals being tortured.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a nightmare book. If you like Jack the Ripper or stories from Whitechapel, this book is for you. I didn't like it much.. I put it down a couple times but decided to finish reading it as I had nothing else to read.

[Dale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utter garbage. What started out as a great series with Headhunter. The subsequent books slowly devolved into farcical crap. Note to author: Quit before you totally cheapen what was an impressive start.

[Andrew Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tough for me to read.too much about cannibals.

[Craig "NEEDS MORE DAMN TIME TO READ !!!!" · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ripper returns! Good follow up but not as good as Ripper.