Marks

by Christopher Kelly

Visions of gruesome battles and heartbreaking deaths flare vividly in Mark Simbas’ mind. They haunt him, as he discovers that each vision corresponds to a birthmark on his body. Dark reflections of the history he teaches at the local high school unnerve Mark when they appear in his own life— with imagery dating all the way back to caveman days. When the people around him in small-town Tennessee begin to notice his oddities, and his pregnant girlfriend, Reya, finds herself at wit’s end, things turn into a tangle from which Mark must scramble desperately to escape... if he can escape at all. Perfect for fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Jeff VanderMeer, Marks will take you on a thrill ride and keep you guessing right up until its pulse-pounding end.

264 pages, Hardcover

Published May 20, 2022

About the author

Christopher Kelly is the combined pen name of Kelly Utt and her son, Christopher. Together, they write pulse-pounding supernatural thrillers.

Their novels are inspired by the works of some of their favorite writers and filmmakers, including Dean Koontz, Jeff VanderMeer, H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro, and M. Night Shyamalan.

They live in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Connect at christopherkellybooks.com, and on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at @authorchristopherkelly.

Reviews

[Patricia (Irishcharmer) Yarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review is under Irishcharmer-@Amazon. But know I did like the book. Did I think it was strange? Yes,yes I did. Did I think the basis of a car crash changed him? Yes,yes I did. And yes I believe a traumatic episode would/could change anyone. I thought it was a thrilling, exciting kinda supernatural story.
Will I read more from this new to me author? Well of course I will! I kinda like the weird, the bit of supernatural thriller, the feel of that tingley, jittery not knowing what's next!
I received a copy of the book from the author(s) for an honest rating and review. Thank you Christopher and Kelly.--P/ ( also reviewed at Amazon)

[Regina Lively · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mother and son team Kelly Ut and Christopher Kelly have written a great novel. I enjoyed every word of this intriguing, character driven story. I couldn’t draw my eyes from the pages!
Their combined writing style formed a unique way of expressing the main character Mark Simbas’s thoughts and feelings that I found enjoyable.
I formed the opinion that Mark and his girlfriend Reya would not have been happy together. Reya was constantly putting him down, and belittling him. No wonder he had no confidence in himself! As long as he was doing Reya’s bidding, she was fine. When Mark did things his own way, Reya would pounce upon him with all her verbal abuse. I did not like that woman at all!
The authors used Mark’s friendship with police officer Dawn to contrast the differences between Mark and Reya’s relationship. And what a contrast!
I recommend this book to those readers who enjoy suspense and psychological drama.
I received an ARC of “Marks” from the authors, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Aparna J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marks' by Christopher Kelly is an astonishing, excellent, awesome, and one of the most exciting supernatural thriller. I thank Author Kelly Utt and her very talented son, Christopher for the advance review copy of what could be a potential Hollywood blockbuster. Wow! Every single page gave me goose bumps and I couldn't stop reading even for a moment. This book is undoubtedly one of my best reads of the year.

Mark Simbas is a History Teacher at Thirsty
Creek High School, Thirsty Creek, Tennessee,
living with his pregnant girlfriend, Reya. His life undergoes a drastic change after he is involved in a car crash, almost losing his life.

His birthmarks start troubling him and he
begins to have horrific visions of the past.The story moves at such a fast pace that you can't imagine what's going to happen next. I was almost biting my fingernails over Mark's plight.
What's going to happen to Mark and Reya?

What an amazing book! Highly engrossing, absolutely thrilling, scary and very exciting. This book is scheduled to be available for purchase on 27th May, 2022. To know more about Mark and Reya's fate, do not forget to buy this book. I highly recommend it for reading.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this unique storyline. Mark is a well adjusted man with a normal life until a car accident changes everything. His history lessons are now coming alive. This fast paced story had my heart pounding and I found some of the characters very likeable. I would recommend this book to fans of Dean Koontz and Stephen King. It is an amazing first collaboration and I am looking forward to more from these exceptional authors. I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review.

[Sentinelle23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

♥️♥️💜🔮 Totally unexpected crush!

Thirty minutes past the time he should have left for work, Mark Simbas was still looking for his pro badge.

His girlfriend and partner Reya was getting impatient.

He absolutely had to be on time for his work...

-----------------

Totally unexpected crush for this exceptional reading for me, a real page-turner, which carried me away in a story that was obvious to me.

I really liked the writing of the authors, as well as the plot of the story and especially the incredible characters of the novel.

I followed with great attention and a lot of emotions the main character of Mark so authentic.
The end, amazing, managed to surprise me...

Congratulations to the authors and thank you for this incredible journey!

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely gripping debut read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Fatherjohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a given that some authors really need a stupid hero because weak plots and weak characters could not move forward if the hero had ANY common sense or intelligence. In this work we have a hero who excels at being self-centered, emotional and totally non-communicative.

He has visions - and they are visions with sensory accompaniments, he feels what is going to happen through a system of scars on his body that are - we are led to believe - are birthmarks. This is a plot twist that could be interesting.

Trust me, they are not. The visions provide brief moments of distraction, but a series of casual acquaintances, stupid actions and reactions, a total inability to communicate with anyone - and a story that has no meaningful explanation, no serious plot development and and story line that simply stops - no winding down, no unraveling of strange circumstances - nothing. It just ends.

The supporting characters are weird enough - and we get no insight into their real emotions or desires or - well, anything.

I spent several years teaching Freshman high school English. In conscience, had this been submitted by one of my students, I don't think I could have brought myself to give the work a C.

[Kenneth Lingenfelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An auto accident changes everything for Mark. Birth marks that seem to cause visions and feel like Mark is in another place and in danger. His life turns into turmoil. The story line keeps you wanting to keep reading.

[Jim Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

A supernatural thriller with a unique storyline and interesting characters. An enjoyable read that was quite a page turning ride. Highly recommended storytelling by this mother-son team.

[Dianne Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing story. It has a great story line and plot
and truly keeps you intrigued the whole time.
Thrilling and gripping from start to finish. I loved the
totally unexpected ending. I feel very satisfied
whenever I can say "I never saw that coming".

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book the book description and this line that says, "Perfect for fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Jeff VanderMeer." Therefore, I was excited to check out this book. The opening scene was crazy and definitely got my attention. Sadly, I did not experience any goosebumps and my excitement went away fairly quickly. This is not to say that I did not hold out some hope that it would improve but after the halfway mark I was no longer interested in the book.

The experiences that Mark was having I did not find to be that scary. This also may have to do with the fact that the other characters did not really react to what was happening to Mark with great concern. Overall, this book did not hype me up like I wanted it to.

[Sharon Daehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several books by Kelly Utt so I was curious to see what she would do with her son for their first novel together. While the story is a much darker nature than Kelly’s books, it still had the mystery she is known for and I actually liked their writing style together a bit more. I do not want to give any spoilers so I’ll just say you need to stick with it because the last two pages will deliver a powerful punch that puts all the what is going on thoughts into perspective. The ending kind of felt like a Twilight Zone episode and that’s a good thing. I will happily read more books by this mother son duo. I received an advance, free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[TaniaRina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite an original concept. It’s kinda difficult for me to comment on it without spoiling, so I’ll just say that I enjoyed this story and would read more by this mother-son team.

[Belinda Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not entirely sure what I expected going in, but this wasn’t it. The plot was vague and the characters were so flimsy. They all felt the same to the point that there was no distinction for the main character from the supporting cast. They were all the same person basically.

Mark gets into an accident and starts having weird episodes. Does he take them seriously? No.

He runs away from the hospital as soon as he wakes up after a major surgery since he can’t afford the bills. The doctor tells him to look out for signs of trouble. He experiences them. Does he do anything about it? No.

The cops at the accident site contact his girlfriend immediately but she acts as if she does not know about the accident. Do we get more info about this? No.

Too many inconsistencies and the way people kept talking about random things while in the middle of an emergency baffles me. It was a confusing and disappointing read all around.

[Kat Dvorak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a really interesting story, I liked the overall premise of it and how it made a full circle in the end. But it felt like I was watching a really good movie with bad acting that ended very abruptly! I felt like the relationships between the characters didn't seem relatable and at times the dialogue seemed forced and unrealistic, like it wouldn't happen in everyday life. The whole time I was wondering what was going on with Mark; if he was mentally ill or just on drugs. I did really enjoy the flashbacks to the different periods in time, it was very creative and very well written with amazing descriptions. But I still don't know why he had them and I just wish the author gave more explanations to that. In the end, I didn't get any answers or explanation and was left with a lot of questions.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Simbas has a good life, Reya his pregnant girlfriend who loves him, and a good job teaching history at the local high school. A car accident on his way to work will shatter this safe, happy life. When he begins to have dangerous, violent historical visions, his normal is changed forever. Unfortunately the people closest to him will think him mentally ill, even dangerous. Is he or is something encroaching on him. Though a little slow on the uptake, the characters are good as is the storyline. It could do with a bit more editing to help with the flow. If you like Stephen King, Frank DeFelitta, Max Ehrlich, you will love this novel. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Mark really didn’t do anything for me. It was bazaar about his birthmarks doing something to his body but the story just doesn’t make it. It appears to me that he was just a guy who got into an accident and starts taking drugs. His life is miserable and he sees visions. It also stopped rather quickly, I was waiting for more.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really had a great time reading this, it had a great concept and had interesting concept. It was so good as a supernatural thriller and I was glad I got to read this. The world was what I was looking for and the characters worked so well. I enjoyed the way Christopher Kelly wrote it and looked forward to more from them.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildly imaginative! Great, multi-faceted characters. Very unique plot. Vivid descriptions. A REALLY great read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

[Anshul (stories.buddy)]

I have DNF’d the book, it’s not for me.