Social Media Icons

Thursday, November 16, 2017

#allthebookreviews: Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke @kealanburke @cemeterydance


Kin
by Kealan Patrick Burke
Cemetery Dance Publications

🍖 AVAILABLE NOW 🍖






On a scorching hot summer day in Elkwood, Alabama, Claire Lambert staggers naked, wounded, and half-blind away from the scene of an atrocity. She is the sole survivor of a nightmare that claimed her friends, and even as she prays for rescue, the killers — a family of cannibalistic lunatics — are closing in.

A soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder returns from Iraq to the news that his brother is among the murdered in Elkwood.

In snowbound Detroit, a waitress trapped in an abusive relationship gets an unexpected visit that will lead to bloodshed and send her back on the road to a past she has spent years trying to outrun.

And Claire, the only survivor of the Elkwood Massacre, haunted by her dead friends, dreams of vengeance... a dream which will be realized as grief and rage turn good people into cold-blooded murderers and force alliances among strangers.

It's time to return to Elkwood.
In the spirit of such iconic horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance, Kin begins at the end and studies the possible aftermath for the survivors of such traumas upon their return to the real world — the guilt, the grief, the thirst for revenge — and sets them on an unthinkable journey... back into the heart of darkness.

My Thoughts:






First let me say what a pleasure it is when an author interacts with his readers and makes them his fans.  Not only is his mind dark and twisted (just the way I like it), he's also hilarious and fun to social media with.  I put a little about the author and his social media links after these reviews - take a peek and stalk, stalk, STALK!



Phew - this book starts out right into the grime and horror filled story that I have always loved.  We get introduced to Claire, the only survivor of the Elkwood massacre... and this cannibalistic family is coming for her.  EEK!  The author then introduces other key characters and we see this story through various points of view.  SO MUCH LOVE FOR PETE!


What I loved about this book is that we start at her escape.  There are some flashbacks, but mostly this book is based on the aftermath and how it makes an impact a variety of people.  The gore is dispersed in pieces throughout the novel.  When the author gives it to you, he REALLY gives it to you.  I should NOT have been eating during the "rebirth" scene. 😓  Burke gives a fantastic mixture of  horror, revenge, post traumatic stress, survivor's guilt, those who just want to do "right" splattered with religious cannibals led by Papa-in-Grey and Momma-in-Bed.  **shiver**


I'm not sure what this says about me as a person, but I would've liked a little bit more gore.  The parts that were in there definitely delivered - but it also made me hunger for more of it!  It's a great conversation starter... AND stopper.  While waiting for someone, I couldn't help but pull the book out of my bag to read.  Quite frankly, drinking whiskey while reading this is highly recommended!  An old gentleman at the bar interrupts me after a couple of chapters (as readers, don't we just all LOVE that 😠) and says, "Hey sweetheart.  That must be a good book.  You seem really into it.  What's it about?"  Deadpan stare: "cannibals."  That was the end of that! 😇


This is the perfect book for those who like movies such as Wrong Turn, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and We Are What We Are.  Ed Gein elements clearly are included.  I'm off to satiate my hunger with MORE of Burke's books.  Horror fans, GET IN HERE!



4/5 Stars


Jessica's Thoughts:




When a book has a cover like this and has fellow gore fans loving it, then I knew I needed to pick up KIN by Kealan Patrick Burke. Hearing comparisons to Texas Chainsaw Massacre was enough to grab my interest! The gorier and scarier the better, if you ask me.

This book starts out with a bang! Claire and her friends are hiking through Alabama when they, unfortunately, cross paths with a family of cannibal hillbillies. Sounds great, right? Well, Claire loses more than just her friends that day - but she manages to make it out of there alive. The book starting with a mutilated Claire on the side of the road is definitely attention grabbing and the reader knows they're in for a ride. Now the cannibalistic Merrill family is coming for her.

We are introduced to more characters that are also seeking vengeance on this murderous and completely demented family. Mama-in-bed and Papa-in-gray are the heads of this twisted family and their impression will definitely stay with the readers. It's so hard to say more about what happens without giving away the gruesome events. I did enjoy the multiple view points of the different characters. We got to see through the eyes of the victims of the Merrill family, as well as some of the family members.

This book is one that fans of gore and horror will love. The comparisons to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn, and Deliverance are spot on. Burke does a great job setting the scene and pulling the reader into that house. We experience the emotions the characters do and it will leave an eerie impression.

Overall, if you like gore and cannibal horror movies, then this needs to be on your list!

I give this 4/5 stars!

About the Author:


Born and raised in a small harbor town in the south of Ireland, Kealan Patrick Burke knew from a very early age that he was going to be a horror writer. The combination of an ancient locale, a horror-loving mother, and a family full of storytellers, made it inevitable that he would end up telling stories for a living. Since those formative years, he has written five novels, over a hundred short stories, six collections, and edited four acclaimed anthologies. In 2004, he was honored with the Bram Stoker Award for his novella The Turtle Boy.

Kealan has worked as a waiter, a drama teacher, a mapmaker, a security guard, an assembly-line worker at Apple Computers, a salesman (for a day), a bartender, landscape gardener, vocalist in a grunge band, curriculum content editor, fiction editor at Gothic.net, and, most recently, a fraud investigator. 

When not writing, Kealan designs book covers through his company Elderlemon Design. 

A movie based on his short story "Peekers" is currently in development as a major motion picture.



1 comment: