Synopsis
Tilda, Ford and Neuland hit NYC to hunt a flesh-eating monster in this bloody, macabre and witty supernatural noir packed twists, turns, betrayals and showdowns. Perfect for fans of Cassandra Khaw, Nat Cassidy and Chuck Tingle.
Ford, Neuland and Tilda return home after the events of The Pale House Devil to try and make peace with the NYC crime syndicates. Then they’ll only be welcomed back if they take on a job for free – hunting down, and killing, The Flesh King, a gruesome killer who is stalking the city, leaving a macabre and bloody trail wherever he goes. Caught up in a twisted set of conspiracies and bloodletting, the monster hunters step up to do what they do best once more – take down the unstoppable evil.
Review
Huge thanks to Titan for the physical ARC of this one. This is book 2 in the Discreet Eliminators series, and I think that is just about the most perfect name ever. Read my review for book one here!
Ford and Neuland are back and better than ever…because they’ve brought Tilda back from California with them! There’s still this kind of buddy-cop feel to the way they behave, but I enjoyed how Tilda was immediately accepted in and they because a family unit. She offers them an edge they didn’t have before, and the author did well to make her a necessity, rather than an accessory character.
Back in NYC, they’re still being ostracized for the moral decision they made in book one…apparently killing the person that hires you is bad for business. But then several of the crime bosses show up with a proposition: find and stop the flesh king and be welcomed back into the fold with open arms. A job is a job, and one that also cleaned the slate for them was a big win, but something seemed off. Still, it wasn’t exactly an offer they could refuse.
The interlude chapters that I ended up loving in book one continued here and were even better. While this is a kind of body horror-y creature feature still, the flesh king is at least humanoid. They can blend in and disappear (though they were creepy as hell). That made this feel a lot more like a detective story, which I love, although the author did great on keeping up on the otherworldly too. Readers learn even more about the undead, magic, and some of the possible creatures at large. One of my favorites being a tainted/poisoned undead person being driven to madness in a much more familiar version of a zombie.
The author really does well with his main characters here. Somehow all three mains are super nice and considerate, and yet they stand apart as their own creation still, there’s separate personalities. They continue to bump into this abrasive underground world of criminals and killing, yet they remain the same and steadfast in their, “that’s not how we do things.” There is also a continued level of humor throughout the book that allowed for it to be a tad less serious in a way that I feel is beneficial. I would read 15 more novellas written in this style to be honest.
Again though, its shortcoming is the ending. This one handled the mystery and research side better than the last one in my opinion, but the ending still felt a little short. It truncates how climactic it can feel, and also makes the big bad once again not feel all that dangerous. Not that I need any of these characters I love to die or anything, but a longer struggle would help push these just that bit further into being a full 5 star read for me.
Perfect fans for lighter horror, mystery, urban fantasy and creature features. Quick, fun, and easy to dive into.
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