Badfish

by Sue Rovens

BADFISH IS A TOWN DROWNING IN ITS
OWN CIRCLE OF HELL.
Misogynist motel owner Karl Demetris has an insatiable desire for money and power. In order to line his pockets, he leads an underground drug ring, but soon discovers a cheaper substance to peddle. The effects on its victims are ghastly and horrifying.

Strip club owner and public masturbator extraordinaire, Donald Bickley, is the only person in a position to stop this atrocity. Though he has his own demons to battle, the future of Badfish rests in his sticky hands. Donald will need to pull himself together long enough to save the town.

WHO AND WHAT WILL BE LEFT STANDING WHEN
EVERYTHING COMES TO AN UGLY HEAD?

Genres: Thriller

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2015

About the author

Sue Rovens is an indie suspense/horror author who lives in Normal, Illinois. She has written five novels and two books of short horror stories.

Track 9, her second novel, received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly (May 2018), her short story, “Coming Over”, from her book, In a Corner, Darkly (Volume 1) was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and another short story, “When the Earth Bled”, won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest. Her three most recent books (Buried, Rage, and Sanctum) are under Plump Toad Press.

Sue owns a blog (suerovens.com) which includes interviews with authors, musicians, podcasters, and artists. She is also a current member of both the Chicago Writers Association and the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi).

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Badfish is a wonderfully suspenseful quick read. Rovens creates flawed characters who you can't help but be invested it. It reminded me of the Coen brothers films in the story it tells.

[Leanne Huber · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 4 hours I spent reading this is 4 hours of my life I will never get back.

[S. M. Saves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Badfish is a quick read and hard to put down. If you like small town drama and gruesome deaths, this is the book for you.

The book's climax (in a literary sense, not a reference to the character Donald Bickley) comes rather late in the book and the resolution comes swiftly after.

I do wish there was more character development with the two main characters Donald and Karl. Both appear to be complex characters but what drives each man is simply stated and you don't receive a deep dive. They aren't even in the same scenes together until the end though they are aware of each other's existence. The side characters were strong and stole the show.

[Rebecca Boehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! This is the 3rd book I have read by Sue Rovens, this could be my favorite. The book does touch on several difficult to read/think about topics, read the back of the book before reading. If drug use, strip clubs, graphic violence and unsavory characters are not what you want to read about, you may want to pick a different book. But if you want a fast paced thriller, with short chapters, that keeps you at the edge of your seat until the very end ithia is the book for you.

[Shaun Filion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book I have read by Ms. Rovens. One thing I have loved so far about her stories, are the characters. She makes it easy to either really care for them or really hate them. (Despite how crazy some of their personal flaws might be.) Much like 'Buried' the other book I read of her's, I flew through this story! I would highly recommend Badfish

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book smacks a little of Stephen King. The protagonist and antagonist are both misfits in their own way. I would have liked to see theending wrapped up a little better--some characters judt disappearred.

[Brad · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only positive thing to say is that it was a quick read. Stilted writing. Underdeveloped characters. Completely implausible plot. But I did read it by the pool, so that was nice.

[Taryn Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written original story. Contains some very graphic death scenes.

[Angel Book · Rating 1 out of 5]

Writing makes it very hard to read, especially due to the fact there is a GRAPHIC R@PE scene very early in the book. Out or nowhere.

[Aly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting book! First I have to say, I hate needles so the cover of this book creeps me out! :) But the book even though it was a very dark book for me was great. I was interested in what was going to happen next. I think this author was a great surprise to me, honestly. I really love the author imagination. * I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and gave it to a friend to read and asked her for her review. The note that came back said "Do Not Read" at the top of it! She wrote, "Sue Rovens writes in an interesting style. She keeps the story moving. I probably would enjoy one of her books that didn't have such dysfunctional characters and fantasy style, gross medical episodes."