Genre: Horror
Publisher: Wicked Run Press
Publication Date: 8th Feb 2016
Pages: 151
MY REVIEW:
A copy of All Smoke Rises: Milk Blood Redux was
sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Mark Matthews, in exchange for
an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Wicked Run
Press.
I have only read
one other thing by Mark Matthews. It was the first part to this story, Milk-Blood. I found it harrowing and
disturbing to say the least and to be honest, had no idea what to write in the
review for it and sat staring at a blank screen for ages before it came to me.
Mark contacted me to see if I fancied a go at the sequel. I thought this was
incredibly brave of him to do considering my last review was a bit odd.
It
wasn’t a scathing negative review but after just reading it back, it didn’t make
much sense either. You can read the review here. Offering me a second pop at
his work wasn’t an opening I was expecting so how could I refuse?
Let’s see what I
thought of this one.
Lilly’s story has
been told in Milk-Blood. But is it
just a story. The person who wrote it has just broken into your house and left
Lilly’s body in your kitchen along with the manuscript for the story.
You must read it
and decide for yourself what needs to be done with Lilly’s body.
Like many of
the decisions made for Lilly during her life, this is one you cannot take
lightly.
OK. This review
is going to be a bit different. I think I said that at the start of the review
of book one. I’m not going to give you characters. There are quite a few
involved in this story but to give you any insight to their make-up would give
you some sort of feel for them and I do not want to do that. I’m not going to
give you the plot. Trying to do that in a review would be both confusing and,
well, to be honest, bad of me to try and do because the execution of the story
in this one is like nothing else I have ever read.
So what can I
tell you? Well the first thing that I should highlight to you is that this
story is probably one of, if not the
most harrowing, horrific and thought provoking urban horror stories you will
ever read. For so many different reasons.
This isn’t a
monster horror story. Well, not in the thing from the swamp style anyway. I
suppose it shows the monsters that are inside all of us off to perfection. It’s
not a slasher horror story. Well, not in a Jason or Freddy style but again it
does show what some people are capable of doing with a weapon in their hand.
It’s not a jump out of your seat horror story. Well, not in a BOO sort of way but again you will jump
out of your seat and squirm in it quite a lot at some of the sickening goings
on in it.
Can you see where
I’m going with this? It is all of the above rolled into a story with only human
characters in it, caught up in a world of drug abuse and all the other bad
things that go along with it. Health issues. Wealth issues. Mental health
issues. The list goes on.
This story will
certainly pull at your heart strings. Some of it you may think, I’m not sure
that would actually happen, but Mr Matthews has worked in this area for a
number of years and should know his stuff. Some of it you may think is, a bit unnecessary.
It can be graphic at times and a bit sickening. Horror fans like gore and blood
and guts but when it is presented to you in such a realistic way then, that’s
when it seems more real and in your face. That’s when you think to yourself,
hang on a minute, this is bloody scary stuff.
This story is
written in such a way that it could be one hundred percent true. It could be
one person’s memory of actual events. That is how it is supposed to come across
and believe me, it does. It does switch between characters telling different
parts at different times and a couple of those times I got a bit confused as to
who said what, but thankfully it didn’t spoil anything for me.
I don’t know what
else to say about this story. If you like horror you will like this book. It
will probably prove to be scarier than most things you have ever read in the
genre. Purely and simply because it could be real.
Mark Matthews
completely sucks you into the world he is writing about. You can almost touch
it. You can almost taste it. You can most definitely smell it. This is writing
of the highest quality. To make you totally lose yourself in a story as dark as
this and believe every word of it is no mean feat.
I think I get
this world he lives in now. I certainly understand it a little bit better.
It
scares the hell out of me though!
To summarise:
Urban horror at the top of its game. Brutal and graphic at times, this is
definitely not for the feint hearted. As with Milk-Blood, All Smoke Rises
will stay with me for a very long time.
General rating:
★★★★★ deserves no less.
Horror rating:
★★★★★ horrific.
If you would like to help support Confessions of a
Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy All Smoke Rises or any other books from Mark.
This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like
to buy books after reading my reviews.
Thanks.
Book Synopsis:
Ten-year-old Lilly is the victim of a terrible house fire
and a wretched family. Her father is an addict with mental illness, her mother
was murdered and then buried across the street, and her uncle got her addicted
to heroin.
Lilly’s tragic story has been told in the book ALL SMOKE
RISES, and it may be true, for the author has broken into your house, and
placed Lilly's body on your kitchen counter. He demands you read the
manuscript, before cutting his own wrists and bleeding out on your floor.
Now you have decisions to make, for Lilly's body may not
be dead, and her family is coming for her.
Mark Matthews has a
B.A. in English Literature from the University of Michigan, and is a licensed
professional counselor who has worked in mental health and substance abuse
treatment for over 20 years. His novel MILK-BLOOD, along with its companion
short story, The Damage Done, have been optioned for a full length feature
film. ALL SMOKE RISES: MILK-BLOOD REDUX is the sequel and will be available in
February of 2016.
He
is the author of On the Lips of Children, from Books of the Dead Press, which
was nominated as a semi-finalist for the 2014 Best Kindle Book Awards. Matthews
has run 13 marathons, and has two running based books, The Jade Rabbit and
Chasing the Dragon, also available on amazon. He lives near Detroit with his
wife and two daughters. All of his books are based on true settings.
And
for more about Mark, visit his site or find him on social media:
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page
Thanks Nev!!
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