REVIEW: J.G. Faherty - Death Do Us Part

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd

Publication Date: 5^th Jan 2016

Pages: 84

MY REVIEW:

I received an advance copy of Death Do Us Part, by J. G. Faherty from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Samhain Publishing Ltd.

J.G. Faherty. Another name I have seen a lot of on Facebook and Twitter, but have never read. Spotted this little novella on NetGalley and thought it would be a good way to introduce myself to his work. I made the mistake of noticing some ratings on Goodreads for it. I generally don’t like to do that before reading a book. Although some of them seemed to be lowish scores, I went at it with a very open mind.

This is what I thought.

Art Stanhope’s wife, Catherine, commits suicide. He finally thinks all of his troubles are now over. It wasn’t the best of marriages and was on the verge of total breakdown.

When he gets together with Catherine’s sister, Missy, his life changes direction and the living hell turns into a hell after death for himself, Missy, and his son Connor.

Our characters in this one all seem to be normal everyday people. Art is a cop and seems to be a pretty decent person. Apart from his little misdemeanour with Missy. Missy is also a cop and again seems to be a decent enough lady, just wanting to live her new life in peace. Connor is a young boy trying to get over the death of his mother and major changes in his life. Catherine, before death, seems to have been an evil witch. Her presence after death is ten times worse.

The only other significant character is a psychic called Madam Prioleau who is mysterious in a stereotypical psychic way.

The plot is something I don’t want to tell you too much about in fear of spoiling things for you. I will however hint at the fact that it follows the path of someone maybe wanting revenge after they are already dead.

I said earlier that some of the ratings I saw for this one were quite low. I don’t bloody know why! I absolutely loved and adored this story.

It’s a quick read at about eighty pages. I read it in one sitting but that isn’t necessarily because it was a short read. It was because I couldn’t put it down. This is old school horror at it’s very best. It’s the good old someone dies in mysterious way-comes back from the dead for revenge-everyone better run very very fast-how do we actually kill this thing and live happily ever after - type scenario. The perfect recipe for the horror from the seventies and eighties.

This is what I was brought up on. This is what made me fall in love with horror all those years ago. The thought that when someone dies, they can come back and run amok with everyone from their past, trying to kill everyone they didn’t like. It stinks of Tales from The Crypt. It stinks of hiding behind cushions when I was really too young to be watching horror. It took me back to places I dearly miss.

Mr Faherty’s writing is excellent. The pace is just right. It’s fast and punchy and doesn’t drag on any page at all. It keeps your blood pumping and keeps your interest up and keeps you guessing right up to the final few pages.

There is a twist in the plot that becomes very apparent very early on in the story. The problem with it is, you don’t know who is responsible for the twist, then through an admission, you think it is all resolved then it all turns on its head again and you have no idea where you are going with it.

If this is the sort of stuff J.G. Faherty writes all the time, then I am going to be getting much more of his stuff because this is right up my street and the sort of writing that some horror writers out there should be reading as a reference point for starting their own writing careers.

To summarise: good old fashioned old school horror that keeps you turning and turning the pages until you reach the end and turn looking for more. Brilliant stuff.

General rating:

★★★★★ excellent!

Horror rating:

★★★★★ as above!

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Thanks.

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Book Synopsis:

"Vengeance never dies."

When Art Stanhope s bitter, vindictive wife commits suicide, he believes all his troubles are over. Instead, they’re just beginning. For Catherine s fury transcends even the grave, turning Art s world into a living hell as he struggles to keep his son and new fiancée safe from her lust for vengeance.

But there are secrets behind Catherine s death that Art doesn’t know secrets that could prove deadly for everyone involved as they learn too late that death is not always a permanent condition, and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice can be too great a price to pay."

JG Faherty is the Bram Stoker Award®- and ITW Thriller Award-nominated author of five novels, seven novellas, and more than 50 short stories. He writes adult and YA horror/sci-fi/fantasy, and his works range from quiet, dark suspense to over-the-top comic gruesomeness.

A lifelong resident of New York's highly haunted Hudson Valley region, JG grew up amid Revolutionary War graveyards, haunted roads, and woods filled with ghostly apparitions. His varied professional career includes working as a resume writer, laboratory manager, accident scene photographer, zoo keeper, scientist, and salesman. He began writing fiction in 2001, and his short stories, poetry, and articles have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies.

And for more about J.G., visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page