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Letter from Hell
A simple, routine call to 911 unexpectedly erupts into a grizzly suicide. Mike, a well-seasoned deputy is uncharacteristically disturbed by the gruesome scene. Who was this tortured soul, and why did this happen?
Innocently, most of us accept our destiny. We assume our life experiences are the result of mere chance. Few of us discover that our fate is actually an orchestrated tapestry woven from beyond our world. When that influencing weaver is from the netherworld, you may likely find yourself on a dark, terrifying, and tragic journey.
What if you discovered a letter penned by a desperate soul from beyond the grave, a literal letter from hell? What if that letter could alter your perception of reality by revealing that you are not in control? Would you dare read it?
Innocently, most of us accept our destiny. We assume our life experiences are the result of mere chance. Few of us discover that our fate is actually an orchestrated tapestry woven from beyond our world. When that influencing weaver is from the netherworld, you may likely find yourself on a dark, terrifying, and tragic journey.
What if you discovered a letter penned by a desperate soul from beyond the grave, a literal letter from hell? What if that letter could alter your perception of reality by revealing that you are not in control? Would you dare read it?
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2015
3 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
M. Lee Mendelson
2 books2 followersA first time author, M. Lee Mendelson and his wife Yvonne have six children between them, three boys and three girls. Yes–the Brady Bunch.
He was inspired and encouraged by Yvonne to write his first book after he proposed the concept to her. M. Lee never dreamt of writing anything before his first book, but has now discovered he has a passion for writing, with one idea after another pouring out of him.
A rare native Floridian, M. Lee recently retired from a career as a full-time firefighter and part-time law enforcement officer. His twenty-six years of experience on the streets have given him a vast array of experiences; some good, some bad. His recent retirement allows him much more freedom to dedicate to his newfound obsession with the written word.
His first book, “Letter From Hell,” is a complex horror novel with a little something for everyone M. Lee’s real-life experiences, coupled with an active and vivid imagination, allow his stories to come alive. Striving to paint pictures with words, he immerses the reader into his scenes.
His ambition is that people will enjoy reading his work and deem it worthy to recommend to others.
Visit him on Facebook.
He was inspired and encouraged by Yvonne to write his first book after he proposed the concept to her. M. Lee never dreamt of writing anything before his first book, but has now discovered he has a passion for writing, with one idea after another pouring out of him.
A rare native Floridian, M. Lee recently retired from a career as a full-time firefighter and part-time law enforcement officer. His twenty-six years of experience on the streets have given him a vast array of experiences; some good, some bad. His recent retirement allows him much more freedom to dedicate to his newfound obsession with the written word.
His first book, “Letter From Hell,” is a complex horror novel with a little something for everyone M. Lee’s real-life experiences, coupled with an active and vivid imagination, allow his stories to come alive. Striving to paint pictures with words, he immerses the reader into his scenes.
His ambition is that people will enjoy reading his work and deem it worthy to recommend to others.
Visit him on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 19, 2015
Short Take: Awesome Dude Is Awesome - The Super-Extended Version!
I snagged this one when it was offered for free (count frugality among my positive attributes). I thought that the idea was intriguing. A suicide, an investigator, and a letter detailing exactly how fate works.
And the first chapter was GREAT. Little known fact: I used to work with the police (not as a cop though, I don’t like guns). And that first chapter was actually pretty true to life, which was cool. No Dirty Harry heroics, no super-sleuthing geniuses, just Mike the cop doing his job, even when he’s a little freaked out. Although I never knew a cop on his way to a domestic dispute to take a minute to joke around with a security guard.
Then I started Chapter 2, and the whole thing took a quick dive into the deepest wish-fulfilling Mary Sue depths. You see, Mike was a fat nerdy kid. He was bullied & humiliated at school. Until the day he decides to take his life into his own hands, and start working out and eating right. Within just a few short weeks, his gorgeous successful parents are suddenly proud of him for the first time, he is the star of the football team, and the hot new girl across the street - excuse me, ALL the hot girls in school - are all up on his junk. And he learns martial arts too, and wins the bully’s respect and they became best buds. College is the same. After he’s injured playing football, and his father is killed, he becomes a police officer while going to law school part-time. He graduates and marries a gorgeous ADA. And everywhere Mike goes, everyone thinks he’s amazing. (This paragraph is spread out in the book to well over 100 pages. It’s even more tedious than you imagine.)
Did I mention how awesome Mike is? Cause the author sure does. All. The. Time. I mean, when he goes to meet with a DA regarding a criminal, the book actually reads: “Unknown to Mike was the fact that all the ladies at the District Attorney’s Office spoke very highly about him. Every time he would go there for a deposition, they would secretly gather to drool over him.” But the thing is, Mike’s kind of a terrible person. His sole purpose in life seems to be basking in the glory of being himself.
Then when we finally get caught up to the present day with the incomparably perfect Mike, the narrative switches to his wife Meredith, who’s also gorgeous and perfect and we get another 100 pages of her life story including getting ready for the wedding, which is ANOTHER total snoozefest of perfect perfection. And also another way to elaborate on how flawlessly perfect Mike is.
I’m not going to dwell on the dialogue other than to say it was painful. Ridiculously stilted, every character sounds the same, none of it sounds natural, and all the guys call each other Bro or Brother. All of the characters are completely flat. None of them has a distinct voice or personality (with the sole exception of a really racist - and thankfully brief - depiction of an Asian man). All of the women are decorative and worship Mike.
The language of the book is weird. Mr. Mendelson just randomly throws adverbs in there, in ways that make no sense at all. For example, when the main character is asked if he was THE Michael Carson, college football star, we get this gem: “Mike favorably responded, ‘Yes, sir, that’s me.’” I…. don’t even know how to parse that one.
The worst though is the unending list of ridiculous details. When they are dating, Mike sends Meredith flowers. That’s nice. Do we need to know the significance of different colors of roses, or the thought process that leads to his final choice of flower? (Pink roses, should you wonder. Should that have a spoiler alert? I don’t even care anymore.) And reciting dates and times for everything is completely mind-numbing.
And the author somehow manages to not say that the cop investigating the suicide is a different Mike. For the entire book. I have no idea what the purpose of that was, other than to be “clever” and mislead the reader. I don’t even know if that’s a spoiler, as I have no idea what the relevance of it was.
I could probably go on for quite a while, cataloguing this book’s flaws. But what it all comes down to is that the author has a story to tell, but no depth at all in his writing. It’s like reading a book written by an alien who observed earth for a few weeks, wrote a story, then ran it through google translate in a few different languages. It’s a glimpse inside the mind of someone who’s never had an actual conversation, or a relationship, or spent any time at all with a human person.
The actual story (the cult investigation) was shoved in a little here & there. And by the time I reached the last 40 pages or so, when bad things started happening to Mike & Meredith, I couldn’t muster the energy to care. They had zero personality and no redeeming traits whatsoever.
I have to give credit where credit is due, though. There WERE some creepy aspects to this book - for example, the author’s fixation on the bosom of a fifteen year old girl. And his obsession with how hot Mike’s mother was. So if that’s your thing, go for it. Otherwise, skip this one.
The Nerd’s Rating: ONE HAPPY NEURON (and a big vodka drink. I seriously need one right now.)
I snagged this one when it was offered for free (count frugality among my positive attributes). I thought that the idea was intriguing. A suicide, an investigator, and a letter detailing exactly how fate works.
And the first chapter was GREAT. Little known fact: I used to work with the police (not as a cop though, I don’t like guns). And that first chapter was actually pretty true to life, which was cool. No Dirty Harry heroics, no super-sleuthing geniuses, just Mike the cop doing his job, even when he’s a little freaked out. Although I never knew a cop on his way to a domestic dispute to take a minute to joke around with a security guard.
Then I started Chapter 2, and the whole thing took a quick dive into the deepest wish-fulfilling Mary Sue depths. You see, Mike was a fat nerdy kid. He was bullied & humiliated at school. Until the day he decides to take his life into his own hands, and start working out and eating right. Within just a few short weeks, his gorgeous successful parents are suddenly proud of him for the first time, he is the star of the football team, and the hot new girl across the street - excuse me, ALL the hot girls in school - are all up on his junk. And he learns martial arts too, and wins the bully’s respect and they became best buds. College is the same. After he’s injured playing football, and his father is killed, he becomes a police officer while going to law school part-time. He graduates and marries a gorgeous ADA. And everywhere Mike goes, everyone thinks he’s amazing. (This paragraph is spread out in the book to well over 100 pages. It’s even more tedious than you imagine.)
Did I mention how awesome Mike is? Cause the author sure does. All. The. Time. I mean, when he goes to meet with a DA regarding a criminal, the book actually reads: “Unknown to Mike was the fact that all the ladies at the District Attorney’s Office spoke very highly about him. Every time he would go there for a deposition, they would secretly gather to drool over him.” But the thing is, Mike’s kind of a terrible person. His sole purpose in life seems to be basking in the glory of being himself.
Then when we finally get caught up to the present day with the incomparably perfect Mike, the narrative switches to his wife Meredith, who’s also gorgeous and perfect and we get another 100 pages of her life story including getting ready for the wedding, which is ANOTHER total snoozefest of perfect perfection. And also another way to elaborate on how flawlessly perfect Mike is.
I’m not going to dwell on the dialogue other than to say it was painful. Ridiculously stilted, every character sounds the same, none of it sounds natural, and all the guys call each other Bro or Brother. All of the characters are completely flat. None of them has a distinct voice or personality (with the sole exception of a really racist - and thankfully brief - depiction of an Asian man). All of the women are decorative and worship Mike.
The language of the book is weird. Mr. Mendelson just randomly throws adverbs in there, in ways that make no sense at all. For example, when the main character is asked if he was THE Michael Carson, college football star, we get this gem: “Mike favorably responded, ‘Yes, sir, that’s me.’” I…. don’t even know how to parse that one.
The worst though is the unending list of ridiculous details. When they are dating, Mike sends Meredith flowers. That’s nice. Do we need to know the significance of different colors of roses, or the thought process that leads to his final choice of flower? (Pink roses, should you wonder. Should that have a spoiler alert? I don’t even care anymore.) And reciting dates and times for everything is completely mind-numbing.
And the author somehow manages to not say that the cop investigating the suicide is a different Mike. For the entire book. I have no idea what the purpose of that was, other than to be “clever” and mislead the reader. I don’t even know if that’s a spoiler, as I have no idea what the relevance of it was.
I could probably go on for quite a while, cataloguing this book’s flaws. But what it all comes down to is that the author has a story to tell, but no depth at all in his writing. It’s like reading a book written by an alien who observed earth for a few weeks, wrote a story, then ran it through google translate in a few different languages. It’s a glimpse inside the mind of someone who’s never had an actual conversation, or a relationship, or spent any time at all with a human person.
The actual story (the cult investigation) was shoved in a little here & there. And by the time I reached the last 40 pages or so, when bad things started happening to Mike & Meredith, I couldn’t muster the energy to care. They had zero personality and no redeeming traits whatsoever.
I have to give credit where credit is due, though. There WERE some creepy aspects to this book - for example, the author’s fixation on the bosom of a fifteen year old girl. And his obsession with how hot Mike’s mother was. So if that’s your thing, go for it. Otherwise, skip this one.
The Nerd’s Rating: ONE HAPPY NEURON (and a big vodka drink. I seriously need one right now.)
November 24, 2015
M. Lee Mendelson is a sick and twisted individual - BUT then so are Stephen King (author) and M. Night Shyamalan (filmmaker) - two masters of the horror genre. The story is so frightening that it should come with a warning, like you might find on a particularly exciting amusement park ride: "Do not ride if you have a heart condition."
That being said, if you are a fan of the horror genre and adore things that go bump in the night, you should be addressee of a "Letter From Hell".
Lots of people talk about writing a letter to their 'younger self'. I suspect many of the 'younger selves' walking around today would take a look at such a letter from their 'future selves' and think, "Ye-e-e-e-ah, right," crumple up the letter, maybe burn it, visibly shudder and then go watch some episodes of The Smurfs. Silly, silly, younger selves!
I felt a LOT of sympathy for 'young Mike'. Bullied relentlessly in middle school, he vows one summer to work out a lot and buff up before starting high school. His father, a former college sports hero, and his mother, a former college cheerleader, had previously I think 'given up' that they would get a repeat of their glory days through the efforts of their son. But when they see he is serious about getting in shape, they start to take notice and an interest in their flesh and blood.
I could have done with much less description of episodes of his *ahem* daydreams in his bedroom and the numerous references to "Mr. Crunchy" definitely made me uncomfortable. Especially in this case, the term 'crunchy' brings up a whole lot of visuals that killed my appetite for a while.
And the summer between middle and high school, he starts catching the attention of young ladies, including the daughter of the family newly moved in across the street. She is less than happy when she notices other young ladies noticing Mike when the school year starts up.
I don't think it's giving too much away to remind people of a little movie from a while back called "Fatal Attraction". Hmmmm?
Mike goes on to have a brilliant college sports career until an accident ends that future for him. So he turns to police work. As time wears on, he becomes a detective and just happens to catch the really disgusting, grizzly crimes, especially child abductions and ritual murders and the like.
The 'bad guys and gals' in Letter from Hell make Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers, Frankenstein and most others of their ilk look like the "Little League of Horror".
This book is definitely disturbing and riveting as....well, ... h-e-l-l!
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my objective review.)
That being said, if you are a fan of the horror genre and adore things that go bump in the night, you should be addressee of a "Letter From Hell".
Lots of people talk about writing a letter to their 'younger self'. I suspect many of the 'younger selves' walking around today would take a look at such a letter from their 'future selves' and think, "Ye-e-e-e-ah, right," crumple up the letter, maybe burn it, visibly shudder and then go watch some episodes of The Smurfs. Silly, silly, younger selves!
I felt a LOT of sympathy for 'young Mike'. Bullied relentlessly in middle school, he vows one summer to work out a lot and buff up before starting high school. His father, a former college sports hero, and his mother, a former college cheerleader, had previously I think 'given up' that they would get a repeat of their glory days through the efforts of their son. But when they see he is serious about getting in shape, they start to take notice and an interest in their flesh and blood.
I could have done with much less description of episodes of his *ahem* daydreams in his bedroom and the numerous references to "Mr. Crunchy" definitely made me uncomfortable. Especially in this case, the term 'crunchy' brings up a whole lot of visuals that killed my appetite for a while.
And the summer between middle and high school, he starts catching the attention of young ladies, including the daughter of the family newly moved in across the street. She is less than happy when she notices other young ladies noticing Mike when the school year starts up.
I don't think it's giving too much away to remind people of a little movie from a while back called "Fatal Attraction". Hmmmm?
Mike goes on to have a brilliant college sports career until an accident ends that future for him. So he turns to police work. As time wears on, he becomes a detective and just happens to catch the really disgusting, grizzly crimes, especially child abductions and ritual murders and the like.
The 'bad guys and gals' in Letter from Hell make Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers, Frankenstein and most others of their ilk look like the "Little League of Horror".
This book is definitely disturbing and riveting as....well, ... h-e-l-l!
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my objective review.)
October 18, 2015
This book was interesting. It was definitely entertaining and more than a little eerie. There were a lot of confusing bits but it all gets cleared up at the end.
I liked the premise. I didn’t know it until the very, very end but the whole book is meant to be the ‘letter from hell.’ Anyway, it wasn’t a linear letter at all. Time jumped around A LOT. Sometimes it would be someone’s backstory. Then it would be someone else’s, but shorter and much more sped up. Other times it would be shorter events that happened previously. And then you would jump to the beginning again. Once you got used to that style it was fine though.
I was also REALLY CONFUSED by the fact that the cop who found the body was Mike, and the body was Mike. This confused me for almost the entire book until it was revealed that they just happened to have the same name. Just, please know that if you’re going to read the book.
As for the plot, it wasn’t too predictable. It wasn’t average either, by any means. Most people’s lives have some lows and some highs, all around the same level of intensity. For the two main characters, the highs AND lows were extreme. So it did balance out, but still ended unfortunately. That’s not a spoiler, right? The book’s not supposed to be one of those happily-ever-after books. ANYWAY, it was interesting. I liked reading about the course of people’s lives, given that my own is still ahead of me. Some good advice in there too.
The characters were very likable, even if they made stupid decisions sometimes. It wasn’t entirely their fault. You know how supernatural manipulation is.
All in all, if you’re looking for an entertaining, creepy, and gruesome read (you might even get PTSD by association) without a happy ending but with a cool premise anyway, this book is for you.
See the full review on my blog, Awesome Book Assessment.
I liked the premise. I didn’t know it until the very, very end but the whole book is meant to be the ‘letter from hell.’ Anyway, it wasn’t a linear letter at all. Time jumped around A LOT. Sometimes it would be someone’s backstory. Then it would be someone else’s, but shorter and much more sped up. Other times it would be shorter events that happened previously. And then you would jump to the beginning again. Once you got used to that style it was fine though.
I was also REALLY CONFUSED by the fact that the cop who found the body was Mike, and the body was Mike. This confused me for almost the entire book until it was revealed that they just happened to have the same name. Just, please know that if you’re going to read the book.
As for the plot, it wasn’t too predictable. It wasn’t average either, by any means. Most people’s lives have some lows and some highs, all around the same level of intensity. For the two main characters, the highs AND lows were extreme. So it did balance out, but still ended unfortunately. That’s not a spoiler, right? The book’s not supposed to be one of those happily-ever-after books. ANYWAY, it was interesting. I liked reading about the course of people’s lives, given that my own is still ahead of me. Some good advice in there too.
The characters were very likable, even if they made stupid decisions sometimes. It wasn’t entirely their fault. You know how supernatural manipulation is.
All in all, if you’re looking for an entertaining, creepy, and gruesome read (you might even get PTSD by association) without a happy ending but with a cool premise anyway, this book is for you.
See the full review on my blog, Awesome Book Assessment.
February 22, 2016
I feel really bad for only give this book 3 stars, but it just felt like it was soooooo long. Seriously....it took me a week to finish this book and it never takes me that long to read a book if I'm really into it. I enjoyed the story line in this book, but I kind of felt like some of the dialogue between the characters was a bit cheesy. When I read, I picture everything playing out in my head like a movie. I had a bit of trouble doing that with this book just because I kept getting stuck on the dialogue. It didn't flow very smoothly for me I guess. The book was decent. I definitely got into the weird-ness in the story line. But overall.....it just wasn't for me.
December 24, 2017
I'm a reader. I love reading, I read fast, I read a lot and I can't even begin to imagine how many books I've read over the last few decades. This could very well be the single worst book I can remember reading and after the first couple of chapters, I think I continued partly out of disbelief that it could genuinely be so bad, and thinking there must be some kind of joke or reveal that would make it better. Of course, in fiction, a character can have good luck, more than good luck, they might even have amazingly good luck. But in this book, the protagonist had such excessively good luck in his life that it was really not even remotely believable, and worse, it was so dully written too. And to make it all worse, half the book is the same damn events repeated through the viewpoint of protaganists love interest. And of course, the big reveal is exactly what anyone would guess it must be from the very first chapter (or is it the beginning of the second one?) I know this is really harsh but I'm still in shock that a book so bad could ever make it to be published.
April 1, 2016
Despite its dramatic title, this novel is not a horror. It's just a story of one man's life, told with a bit of supernatural twist.
It's narrated from a changing perspective of different characters, whose stories overlap in time. As the result, it often jumps back and forth in time, and some events are described twice, from two different points of view. This technique makes the book really interesting, and in spite of it mostly describing ordinary, everyday events, it's almost impossible to put it down.
Despite the fact that it's by no means my kind of book, I enjoyed reading it and it kept me on the edge of my seat.
It's narrated from a changing perspective of different characters, whose stories overlap in time. As the result, it often jumps back and forth in time, and some events are described twice, from two different points of view. This technique makes the book really interesting, and in spite of it mostly describing ordinary, everyday events, it's almost impossible to put it down.
Despite the fact that it's by no means my kind of book, I enjoyed reading it and it kept me on the edge of my seat.
October 20, 2015
This story follows the life of Michael Carson, a decorated police officer who later became a lawyer, following the path of his late father, who was a defense attorney himself. I would love to give a synopsis of this beautiful yet creepy and enticing story, but I think I would do it no justice. I don’t even think that the synopsis provided by the book did it justice. So I will just talk about the story (sorry if there are spoilers, which I will hopefully keep to a minimum) and give my thoughts on what transpired.
I split the book down to three acts. The first act is the introduction. This is where we meet and get to know the background story of Mike. His early years don’t start off so good. We learn that Mike was a social outcast in his middle school. He was overweight, suffered from acne, and got bullied on a regular. So, before he entered high school, he made the drastic decision to change his outer appearance and hoped that it would gain him a little noticeability. This succeeds and he goes on to become quite popular in school, becoming the football quarterback, getting a scholarship to a great university, and even befriending his once known bully from middle school. Life was looking up for him. In this introduction, we also briefly meet Sarah, a new neighbor of Mike’s, who witnesses his transformation and grows to like him… a little too much, maybe? She becomes a little too emotionally attached to Mike and gets locked up for mental reasons. Mike moved on, not really paying too much attention to notice her, and began his new brighter life.
Act two is the meat and potatoes of Mike’s adult life. He goes from football star to one of the most respected police officers in the county he worked for. But his life wasn’t always so glorious. Those perks came with a lot of downers and sadness, but I won’t spoil the fun of those events. And act three is the “when stuff hits the fan” act to me. This is when all the craziness happened that had my jaw permanently dropped down to the floor. Let me just say here that I tip my hat off to Mr. Mendelson because man! Nothing about what you threw at your readers was predictable. Even the insane twist ending, which I kind of guessed, but only really late in the game, blew my mind away. When I say my jaw was permanently dropped, I wasn’t joking. Thank God my nephew’s bib was next to me so I could sap up the drool. Reading what happened in the final act was intense. I mean now when I think about it, there were obvious signs that the characters should have known to pay attention too. I found myself yelling at the book, like I would a movie, when something suspicious happened that the characters should’ve been cautious about. The book wasn’t overly scary and terrifying, but boy did it send chills up my spine. And my emotions were all over the place. One minute I’m so happy for the characters and find myself smiling and laughing like a goof, and the next minute I’m jaw dropped, sad and gloomy. When my emotions run wild like that, I know I’m reading a good book, and Mr. Mendelson, this here is a great book. And the fact that I couldn’t predict any of your next moves only heightened my opinion. Kudos to you good sir!
I will say this though; this book is not a personal preference for me. I don’t like reading about crazy cult fanatics or reading about intense murders or sacrifices, but imagine that even though I don’t fancy this genre, I liked this book. So it gets 5 fangs from me! I recommend it to horror readers, readers who do like reading occult mysteries, and crime/murder drama readers.
Reviewer for Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock!
I split the book down to three acts. The first act is the introduction. This is where we meet and get to know the background story of Mike. His early years don’t start off so good. We learn that Mike was a social outcast in his middle school. He was overweight, suffered from acne, and got bullied on a regular. So, before he entered high school, he made the drastic decision to change his outer appearance and hoped that it would gain him a little noticeability. This succeeds and he goes on to become quite popular in school, becoming the football quarterback, getting a scholarship to a great university, and even befriending his once known bully from middle school. Life was looking up for him. In this introduction, we also briefly meet Sarah, a new neighbor of Mike’s, who witnesses his transformation and grows to like him… a little too much, maybe? She becomes a little too emotionally attached to Mike and gets locked up for mental reasons. Mike moved on, not really paying too much attention to notice her, and began his new brighter life.
Act two is the meat and potatoes of Mike’s adult life. He goes from football star to one of the most respected police officers in the county he worked for. But his life wasn’t always so glorious. Those perks came with a lot of downers and sadness, but I won’t spoil the fun of those events. And act three is the “when stuff hits the fan” act to me. This is when all the craziness happened that had my jaw permanently dropped down to the floor. Let me just say here that I tip my hat off to Mr. Mendelson because man! Nothing about what you threw at your readers was predictable. Even the insane twist ending, which I kind of guessed, but only really late in the game, blew my mind away. When I say my jaw was permanently dropped, I wasn’t joking. Thank God my nephew’s bib was next to me so I could sap up the drool. Reading what happened in the final act was intense. I mean now when I think about it, there were obvious signs that the characters should have known to pay attention too. I found myself yelling at the book, like I would a movie, when something suspicious happened that the characters should’ve been cautious about. The book wasn’t overly scary and terrifying, but boy did it send chills up my spine. And my emotions were all over the place. One minute I’m so happy for the characters and find myself smiling and laughing like a goof, and the next minute I’m jaw dropped, sad and gloomy. When my emotions run wild like that, I know I’m reading a good book, and Mr. Mendelson, this here is a great book. And the fact that I couldn’t predict any of your next moves only heightened my opinion. Kudos to you good sir!
I will say this though; this book is not a personal preference for me. I don’t like reading about crazy cult fanatics or reading about intense murders or sacrifices, but imagine that even though I don’t fancy this genre, I liked this book. So it gets 5 fangs from me! I recommend it to horror readers, readers who do like reading occult mysteries, and crime/murder drama readers.
Reviewer for Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock!
October 8, 2015
This is the story of Michael Carson Jr. We meet Michael the summer before he starts high school. He's chubby and unpopular so he decides to change his life.
Sarah Shilling moves in the neighborhood that summer and meets Mike and falls hard for him. Only one problem Mike doesn't fall for her the same way. Sarah has serious emotional problems and ends up being locked away and Mike forgets all about her.
Years later Mike becomes a policeman in a small town in Florida and starts investigating a cult devoted to a demon called Moloch.
He meets the love of his life and seems outwardly to lead a blessed life, but occasionally he sees snippets of the supernatural.
What happens through the story leads up to a WOW ending that I never saw coming, the author lulls you into a sense of safety and then hits you between the eyes with a major twist. I really really enjoyed this story and will definitely be looking forward to reading more from this author.
Independent reviewer for Paranormal Romance & Authors That Rock
Sarah Shilling moves in the neighborhood that summer and meets Mike and falls hard for him. Only one problem Mike doesn't fall for her the same way. Sarah has serious emotional problems and ends up being locked away and Mike forgets all about her.
Years later Mike becomes a policeman in a small town in Florida and starts investigating a cult devoted to a demon called Moloch.
He meets the love of his life and seems outwardly to lead a blessed life, but occasionally he sees snippets of the supernatural.
What happens through the story leads up to a WOW ending that I never saw coming, the author lulls you into a sense of safety and then hits you between the eyes with a major twist. I really really enjoyed this story and will definitely be looking forward to reading more from this author.
Independent reviewer for Paranormal Romance & Authors That Rock
November 6, 2015
**SPOILER FREE**
WOW!!!! And to know that this book is the first for this author to write. Amazing! Page gripping, seat turning (ha ha ha)! But yes, this book is that good! Will captivate you right from the start, and try putting it down if you can, there's no way once you start reading this book!
*Received for an honest review*
WOW!!!! And to know that this book is the first for this author to write. Amazing! Page gripping, seat turning (ha ha ha)! But yes, this book is that good! Will captivate you right from the start, and try putting it down if you can, there's no way once you start reading this book!
*Received for an honest review*
February 29, 2016
I got this book because the cover appealed to me. I was not deceived. It's a great horror thriller suspense book. Loved the characters and the story line. The only reason that i only give it 4 stars, is because i felt that the end was rushed. Besides that i loved it and i recommand it.
May 11, 2016
Extremely variable writing quality through the book. Exposition often handled poorly. Extreme lack of details in many descriptions. It seemed like the book good have used a better editor. Some scenes were well done, however, and the overall plot was somewhat interesting.
March 23, 2017
I have been struggling through this utterly hopeless book, skimming and skipping when it gets too tedious only to find myself in yet another round of tedium. This is absolute drivel. There is no other way around it. The characters are two dimensional and poorly characterised, the writing is shoddy and the dialogue is constant and stilted. Nearly all of the plot is told either through dialogue or 'he did, she did' and it's so poorly written as to be actively painful.
The idea intrigued me to start with but within the first chapter I was growing tired of the writing style and by the time we hit the second chapter and it decided to wander back in time to witter through the main characters life story in chapter 2, my heart sank. It was pointless, meandering, wittering and it wasn't even well written! The story is sold on the premise of it being the tale of an investigation into a suicide and a literal letter from hell; let me save you the trouble right now. It's not. It starts with a suicide and then it wastes approximately 300 pages on teenage backstory written so blandly it hurts.
There is no real mystery, no real suspense. Instead you just want to skip ahead to find out what might have happened if anything interesting did actually happen because this book is boring you stupid. Once you grind through well over half of the novel you do get to some other crime scene bits but everything is just skipped over in favour of telling Mike's life story and expressing how awesome Mike is. And then when it's finished bringing you up to the present day with Mike it starts all over again with his wife Meredith... It's mind numbingly tedious! Seriously, do yourself a favour and read something distinctly better than this because I can't think of much that is worse.
An interesting premise that has been mutilated in the execution. Stay well, well clear.
The idea intrigued me to start with but within the first chapter I was growing tired of the writing style and by the time we hit the second chapter and it decided to wander back in time to witter through the main characters life story in chapter 2, my heart sank. It was pointless, meandering, wittering and it wasn't even well written! The story is sold on the premise of it being the tale of an investigation into a suicide and a literal letter from hell; let me save you the trouble right now. It's not. It starts with a suicide and then it wastes approximately 300 pages on teenage backstory written so blandly it hurts.
There is no real mystery, no real suspense. Instead you just want to skip ahead to find out what might have happened if anything interesting did actually happen because this book is boring you stupid. Once you grind through well over half of the novel you do get to some other crime scene bits but everything is just skipped over in favour of telling Mike's life story and expressing how awesome Mike is. And then when it's finished bringing you up to the present day with Mike it starts all over again with his wife Meredith... It's mind numbingly tedious! Seriously, do yourself a favour and read something distinctly better than this because I can't think of much that is worse.
An interesting premise that has been mutilated in the execution. Stay well, well clear.
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