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Sunday, May 27, 2018

BLOG TOUR: Ghost Virus by Graham Masterson @HoZ_Books @GrahamMasterton

Ghost Virus
by Graham Masterson

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for GHOST VIRUS.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for this gifted copy. 


Publisher:  Head of Zeus
Publish Date:  May 1, 2018
Kindle Edition
400 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Horror

The girl had been staring into her mirror all morning before she picked up the small bottle of sulphuric acid and poured it over her forehead.
Samira was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. What could have brought her to this? DC Jerry Pardoe and DS Jamila Patel of Tooting Police suspect it's suicide. But then a meek husband kills his wife, and the headteacher of the local school throws her pupils out of a window. It's no longer a random outbreak of horrific crimes. It's a deadly virus. And it's spreading. Somehow, ordinary Londoners are being infected with an insatiable lust to murder. All of the killers were wearing second-hand clothes. Could these garments be possessed by some supernatural force?
The death count is multiplying. Now Jerry and Jamila must defeat the ghost virus, before they are all infected... 

About the Author:

Graham Masterton was born in Edinburgh in 1946. His grandfather was Thomas Thorne Baker, the eminent scientist who invented DayGlo and was the first man to transmit news photographs by wireless. After training as a newspaper reporter, Graham went on to edit the new British men's magazine Mayfair, where he encouraged William Burroughs to develop a series of scientific and philosophical articles which eventually became Burroughsi novel The Wild Boys. At the age of 24, Graham was appointed executive editor of both Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. At this time he started to write a bestselling series of sex 'how-to' books including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His latest, Wild Sex For New Lovers is published by Penguin Putnam in January, 2001. He is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Woman, Woman's Own and other mass-market self-improvement magazines.

Graham Masterton's debut as a horror author began with The Manitou in 1976, a chilling tale of a Native American medicine man reborn in the present day to exact his revenge on the white man. It became an instant bestseller and was filmed with Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern.

Altogether Graham has written more than a hundred novels ranging from thrillers (The Sweetman Curve, Ikon) to disaster novels (Plague, Famine) to historical sagas (Rich and Maiden Voyage - both appeared in the New York Times bestseller list). He has published four collections of short stories, Fortnight of Fear, Flights of Fear, Faces of Fear and Feelings of Fear.

He has also written horror novels for children (House of Bones, Hair-Raiser) and has just finished the fifth volume in a very popular series for young adults, Rook, based on the adventures of an idiosyncratic remedial English teacher in a Los Angeles community college who has the facility to see ghosts.


Since then Graham has published more than 35 horror novels, including Charnel House, which was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America; Mirror, which was awarded a Silver Medal by West Coast Review of Books; and Family Portrait, an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger in France.

He and his wife Wiescka live in a Gothic Victorian mansion high above the River Lee in Cork, Ireland.

My Review:


I have heard amazing things about Graham Masterson so was very excited when I had the opportunity to read one of his books.  Now, I realize the synopsis speaks of second hand clothing and the possibility of them being possessed but I don't think I was quite ready for the read that I received.

This is part police procedural, part horror and part silly.  Personally, I read this as almost a satire to what we would expect from a true horror book.  The "horror" part is in the gruesome death scenes - and don't get me wrong - I LOVE a good, gory and bloody death scene.  This is where it ended for me in terms of horror.  I just can't picture clothing racing after me as scary - I find it more comical than anything.  Though to be honest, I'll probably be steering clear of second-hand stores from here on out. 

I was enraptured with the scenes and how the clothing would possess the wearer and how they attached themselves to their prey... but after a while this did get a little repetitive and I found myself skimming through certain parts.  Mindy, bar far, was the scariest part of this possession - but I always find children a bit scarier than anyone else.  

While this did get a little farcical at a certain point, I have to give credit to creating such a unique storyline.  Once I rid myself of thinking of this as true horror and took it to a more satirical side, I began to enjoy the book further.  If you can look past the fact that this is about demonic second-hand clothing, then this can be quite the fun ride.  Personally, I think this would have worked better as a novella or short story. 

Beware the clothing that you buy.  And if you're feeling hungry.... well, try not to get caught, ok? 😉

Read this for the shocking death scenes.  If you're a lover of frivolous horror, then this will be perfect for you.





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