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Murder Squad
MURDER SQUAD is a HORROR novel from the author of DEPRAVED and SLOWLY WE ROT. Three notorious villains. One wild epic of mayhem, murder, and destruction. A powerful secret organization brings together Roxie Wallace from THE KILLING KIND and two other infamous killers. They are tasked with the mission of creating a nationwide panic by doing what they do best, killing lots of people, but on a bigger and bolder scale than ever before. There will be blood. Lots and lots of blood.
- GenresHorror
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2017
29 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Smith
104 books761 followersBryan Smith is the Splatterpunk Award-winning author of more than forty horror and crime books, including 68 Kill, the cult classic Depraved and its sequels, as well as The Killing Kind, Slowly We Rot, The Freakshow, and many more. Bestselling horror author Brian Keene called Slowly We Rot, "The best zombie novel I've ever read."
68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.
Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.
68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.
Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 21, 2025
3.5 stars. I know that it was mentioned how this used elements from some of the author's other works, but I didn't realize how heavily it did. There were a ton of spots where I felt like I was missing notes from other stories, which hurt my interest a bit. I also really struggled with an actual purpose of the story, which we sort of got at the very end, but it felt like a bit of an afterthought. Again, however, there may have been some lost elements, since I was not aware that I had to read other books prior to this one to get the full effect of everything. On the positives, there was a good amount of action, humor, and bloodshed, and it had some great fun Josh, Roxie, Echo, and, to a lesser extent, Carmen. Beyond those aspects, it was decent, but not my favorite read.
Want to read
February 19, 2017MURDER SQUAD brings together Roxie from the KILLING KIND books,
Josh Booker from THE REBORN, and
Echo Vaughn from GO KILL CRAZY!
Josh Booker from THE REBORN, and
Echo Vaughn from GO KILL CRAZY!
February 9, 2017
I'm a big fan of Bryan Smith, so I was excited to read this "team up" book featuring three of his villains from previous works. While I enjoyed it, the basic setup was quite similar to The Killing Kind 2 and it felt like I had read a lot of it before. In fairness, this is the first book of a planned trilogy, and by the end the situation had changed to something far more interesting. If you are a fan you will want to get this, but for a newer reader I would suggest something without so much backstory built in to it. Start with The Killing Kind and work your way up to this one. Four stars.
March 5, 2017
Fast Paced Bloody Mayhem
Bryan Smith is the Master of writing strong female characters who don't take any carp. Murder Squad is a wild killing spree that you wish wouldn't end
Bryan Smith is the Master of writing strong female characters who don't take any carp. Murder Squad is a wild killing spree that you wish wouldn't end
July 9, 2023
This is a fun little time-waster for the Bryan Smith fan. It works as a sequel-of-sorts to multiple books. Roxie, the fiery serial killer from The Killing Kind (1 & 2), Josh, the necrophile from The Reborn, and Echo from Go Kill Crazy are brought together in a single book that also ties into Depraved 3 by the time it's over.
With that in mind, the Bryan Smith devotee likely doesn't need a review, they're already sold. But what about new readers? Well, I think that most could just pick this up and enjoy it as is, but there are little moments that will shine more if you understand the backstory of these characters. Smith does a good job of reiterating key moments from earlier books though, so you won't be going in blind, at least.
Roxie, Josh, and Echo were drugged and transported to a remote location. As these are some of the most prolific serial killers, evading capture for years, it's a shock to wake up in a room together like this. They find that an Illuminati-style organization (The Order of the Dragon, also mentioned in a few of Smith's books) has an offer for them. If they commit mass murders, separately, they will be under their protection and will want for nothing, even after the task is completed.
Naturally, these three are on board, you had them at "mass murder". What follows are basically a selection of various murder-set-pieces. It's not going to make anyone think differently and/or provide a plot that changes the reader's life. It's just killing after killing. But it's well written and the characters are fun. Throughout some new characters come into play and we find occasional tough-situations that our team of killers (who we are supposed to cheer for, naturally) need to navigate.
So, yeah - I would not really recommend the book for those who don't already enjoy these characters from prior books. Not that it's bad, but it's just a love-letter to these characters, so you should have some idea of them to get the most of it. It's not needed, but if you choose to introduce yourself to these characters through "Murder Squad", you will not be lost, but you'll also not catch the little things, and the little things are the most important parts of the book. Read Killing Kind (two, in particular), The Reborn, and Go Kill Crazy and then come back here if you enjoyed those. It's worth it for fans.
With that in mind, the Bryan Smith devotee likely doesn't need a review, they're already sold. But what about new readers? Well, I think that most could just pick this up and enjoy it as is, but there are little moments that will shine more if you understand the backstory of these characters. Smith does a good job of reiterating key moments from earlier books though, so you won't be going in blind, at least.
Roxie, Josh, and Echo were drugged and transported to a remote location. As these are some of the most prolific serial killers, evading capture for years, it's a shock to wake up in a room together like this. They find that an Illuminati-style organization (The Order of the Dragon, also mentioned in a few of Smith's books) has an offer for them. If they commit mass murders, separately, they will be under their protection and will want for nothing, even after the task is completed.
Naturally, these three are on board, you had them at "mass murder". What follows are basically a selection of various murder-set-pieces. It's not going to make anyone think differently and/or provide a plot that changes the reader's life. It's just killing after killing. But it's well written and the characters are fun. Throughout some new characters come into play and we find occasional tough-situations that our team of killers (who we are supposed to cheer for, naturally) need to navigate.
So, yeah - I would not really recommend the book for those who don't already enjoy these characters from prior books. Not that it's bad, but it's just a love-letter to these characters, so you should have some idea of them to get the most of it. It's not needed, but if you choose to introduce yourself to these characters through "Murder Squad", you will not be lost, but you'll also not catch the little things, and the little things are the most important parts of the book. Read Killing Kind (two, in particular), The Reborn, and Go Kill Crazy and then come back here if you enjoyed those. It's worth it for fans.
April 7, 2024
Good
That this so-called Order of the Dragon was capable of things most organizations, including the FBI, were not could not be disputed. Until yesterday, no one had come close to apprehending her. Not really. Yes, there had been the occasional brush with violent death, but that was not the same thing.
That this so-called Order of the Dragon was capable of things most organizations, including the FBI, were not could not be disputed. Until yesterday, no one had come close to apprehending her. Not really. Yes, there had been the occasional brush with violent death, but that was not the same thing.
April 21, 2018
Felt similar to previous books by Bryan Smith. Maybe have more twists/turns?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2017
Three homicidal maniacs from Mr. Smith's previous writings, are recruited by a secret organization to do what they do best. Despite being despicable characters, they are interesting. I particularly enjoy the Roxie character--shame on me! I wish the story had been longer, and developed the secret organization and its purpose more. While the author says he will break his novels up into shorter novellas, I would much prefer a longer self contained novel that develops its plot. The shorter versions are not as good.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews