Wrong Place, Wrong Time: A violent thriller

by Tom Stearns

Two maniacs who live to brutalise and defile are looking for new playthings.

Four friends vacationing in a remote coastal cottage will learn the true nature of evil, and what is needed if you want to survive.

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk

132 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2018

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still fairly new to Tom Stearns writing, only having one prior experience before this. However, I really didn’t care for this story. And I honestly wouldn’t call this a thriller, either. The pacing was way too fast, causing every character to lose a ton of momentum, as development was sacrificed for action and body horror. There is a ton of rape and violence in this short story. And I am not prudish, as anyone who follows my reading choices already understands. I read horror almost exclusively, and some very gritty subgenres, which includes a lot of body horror, sexual assault, and stuff that makes your stomach turn and soul cry. And there is a certain way to finesse a story to include some intense plot points and creative directions. This missed the mark, resulting in a story that just felt very disjointed. We had our two couples on vacation, who encountered Simon and Marc, who are two young men with traumatic childhoods who now spend their times murdering and raping whoever they please. Most of the story is spent on their heinous acts towards faceless victims, rushing through their backstories, which was a huge missed opportunity. And when we finally incorporate them with Keith, Martin, Anne, and Marilyn, its the very last portion of the book. There is some internal strife between the two women, which didn’t feel fully fleshed out, including the very ending, which should have aimed to be the big culmination of their rivalry now turned to friendship. But that also didn’t happen. The men felt like placeholders, and everything just came across as generic and glorified placeholders, again, with the primary focus on the rape and gore. I don’t think that the premise, characters, or even the writing quality was bad here, but the story desperately needed to be retooled a bit and everything expanded upon, to make it feel like a connected, sensible horror tale.

[Lindsay Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

This was a great read full of violence and some dark humour. I loved the character build up of Marc and Simon who were both so dislikable I wanted to reach in the pages and kill them myself.

[Kimberly Dent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Read!

This is my first time reading a Tom Stearns book and I couldn't put it down. Though very graphic I was amazed at his ability to get inside the heads of each character and fully develop each one. I was so impressed! I'm guilty of often starting one book then leaving it to begin another but I couldn't put this one down and finished it in just a few hours. It was intense and extreme, suspenseful, realistic and jaw dropping all at the same time!! I'm a Stearns fan for life!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das ist mein erstes Buch von Tom Stearns und ich habe es fast in einem Rutsch durchgelesen.
Obwohl viele Szenen sehr brutal waren, hat es der Autor geschafft, dass man einen Blick in die Gedankenwelt der beiden männlichen Täter werfen konnte, fand das sehr beeindruckend.
Spannend, atemberaubendes Tempo und natürlich extrem – und das alles in einem.
Im Grunde genommen ist es zwar keine sehr innovative Geschichte, aber der Schreibstil war sehr flüssig und qualitativ hochwertig.
Einzig die Charaktere der Urlauber gingen mir irgendwie auf den Wecker mit ihren Luxusproblemen, das hätte der Autor nicht unbedingt so ausschweifend beschreiben müssen, dafür kriegen die Übeltäter hier aber endlich auch mal ihr Fett weg.
Insgesamt dennoch empfehlenswert, besonders als Einstieg in die Festa-Extrem-Reihe.

Nur zur Info: Ich habe die deutsche Ausgabe aus dem Festa-Verlag unter dem Titel "Am falschen Ort zur falschen Zeit" gelesen.

[ecto · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting story and characters that gets you emotionally invested. it might just be a personal taste thing but it slightly bothered me how the writing would sometimes switch from third person to first person in random bursts for whatever character was the focus of that section but it wasnt enough to make me dislike the book. i read this one shortly after reading assignment 432 and i do generally enjoy the authors writing style

[Shona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read knowing it was going to be brutal but it just didn’t make me squirm reading it, more a case of lets just rape and defile in a disgusting way but I found it boring. No real tension or shock factor. Didn’t make me scared, sad, sick. Nothing, it gave me nothing! Yawn.
Do not read this if you are delicate.

[Kris Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every minute of this sick, twisted tale!

This extremely disturbing story grabbed me from the first page until the very last. The two psychopaths will give you nightmares and make you second guess your next holiday trip. I highly recommend this book, but watch for the trigger warnings. Definitely 5 stars for me! I look forward to reading more of Tom Stearns work.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad

This wasn't a bad read for this genre but I had to remove a star for the completely predictable ending.

One star removed for the sloppy proof reading which irritates me no end.

[Jack McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quality is there, but the subject matter is far too rapey for my taste. Still, I look forward to reading more from the author.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifying

Gross, but couldn't stop reading. Be prepared to be shocked. I've found a author besides Stephen King who can terrify me between reading romance, and mysteries.

[Doghouse Gav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thumbs up

Good characterizations in this book. Nice free flowing writing style with plenty of twisted descriptive settings. Thumbs up from me.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by this author and won’t be my last.
A very good but brutal story. Ready enjoyed it.

[Tara Losacano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal read.. I loved it! 4/5 psychopath skulls 💀

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

i hope the dogs survived 😭

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[Beth Keeling · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ginnie Mays · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow

Wow. Wow.. wow! This is definitely a good horror book. Gore. Hardcore. Very hardcore. I loved it!! Not for the weak

[MR ALEXANDER DICKINSON · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Serial killers get their eventual comeuppance.

[Sharon Leung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This is the 2nd book I have read from this author and I must say it was another good read. It's not as extreme as most of the books I read but still a very good book. It is well written and a good storyline to it. A good amount of blood gore and horror to it. I enjoyed how you read from both Simon's nd March point of view and how they started out. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.