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Title: Life After Dane

Author: Edward Lorn

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 268

Rating: 4.5/5

I’m probably quite biased here because this book was written by a BookTube friend and because my name’s in the title, so I guess it would almost be weird if I didn’t like it. I was also given a copy as a gift from someone who’d seen my wish list. But it also has a lot of the themes that I like, and the story line itself is cracking, a sort of paranormal thriller following the weird stuff that our narrator starts to experience after her son, the Truck Stop Dentist serial killer Dane Peters, is put to death by lethal injection.

This was very, very good for an indie book, although I don’t like the cover much. But covers don’t matter, and I was impressed by everything from the quality of the writing to the interior layout. I was also a big fan of the way that Lorn told the story using Dane’s mother as a mouthpiece. She’s perhaps the only person in the world who knows why he turned out like he did.

And then there are the religious themes, as well as the recurring motif of the hymn Amazing Grace. It’s funny because while I’m not religious myself, I’ve always found it interesting to read about religion in fiction. I’ve even dabbled with writing about it myself. The bottom line is that I’d recommend this if you’re interested in thrillers in general, but especially if you’re keen to support indie authors in a difficult marketplace.

Learn more about Life After Dane.

Stevyn Colgan – A Murder to Die For | Review

Title: A Murder to Die For

Author: Stevyn Colgan

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 334

Rating: 5*/5

Stevyn Colgan – A Murder to Die For

I was super excited for this book because Mr. Colgan is a local writer and he’s even been a guest speaker at a writing workshop of mine. This release came out through Unbound, which is a pretty innovative new publisher, and so I pledged some cash to support the book in exchange for a pre-release copy, which is why I’m able to read this now and why you’ll have to wait.

Sucks to be you, ’cause this is a cracker. It’s basically a fun take on the classic cozy detective novel, and I love cozy detectives and have even written my own, which is due for release in 2018. But this takes that a step further, satirising detective novels while simultaneously being one. It gets super meta, and I liked that.

Basically, the book is about a murder that happens during a festival held each year in honour of fictitious crime writer Agnes Crabbe. Her fans flock to the small village of Nasely and dress up as her characters, attending talks and hobnobbing with the actors who play her characters on the TV adaptation. Unfortunately, in this particular year, a real-life murder takes place – and the subsequent investigation fills up the majority of the narrative. But I won’t talk about that because, you know, spoilers.

What’s great about this is that it gets the balance just right, making me laugh as a reader whilst simultaneously delivering a plot that kept me gripped until the end. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to both die-hard murder mystery fans and to people who only ever read “funny” books. Hell, I’d recommend it to anyone, but if Agatha Christie and the other Queens of Crime are your jam then this is sure to give you the warm fuzzies. But if it is your jam, don’t eat it. It might be poisoned.