Rayne some Havok on your bookshelves!
↑ Yeah, Xavier... maybe they should have!!Xavier: "I escaped from prison, hauling ass in a stolen car, putting space between me and that barbed wire fence- when the damn thing runs out of gas. Luckily, I come across an old farmhouse that looks empty, even luckier, it is not. The threats about daddy coming home don't scare me... maybe they should have."
'XXX' is my first book by Rayne Havok, (what a kick-ass name!). I hate to say this, but I don't think I'd heard of her until I read Shaun Hupp's Maniacs with Knives last week. Her blurb for Shaun was so awesome that I had to meme* it for the book's review! Last night, as I was frantically trying to find out what happened to Tim Miller's newest release (Snuff Film - it was missing from Amazon last night - boo!!) (UPDATE: I JUST read that Snuff Film is banned from Amazon - is there any better advertising than that?! I compare it to the recommendation, ahem - I mean warning labels on Rx bottles.) , and I saw on Goodreads that Tim is currently reading her books. (Our circles definitely overlap. I don't know why I haven't read this until now.) I recognized a few other names in the reviews, too, but I was already sold. At that point I was just trying to figure out which book I wanted to read first.
Back to the story!
Like most of her books, XXX is a short story, (appx 67 pgs), so when I first started reading I thought I was in for a story that I've read dozens of times already... 'escaped prisoner on the run terrorizes family in secluded house in BFE...' . That is NOT a bad thing! I like those stories and was looking forward to seeing how this author spun it. But I was WRONG! Holy shit, what a ride. It was hard to read at a couple points -
"TORTURE: NEW AND IMPROVED!! Now, with sprinkles!"
When I was about 3/4 into the story, Rayne snuck** up behind me and whacked me in the back of the head with it! It's a great, twisty ending - and... one that I didn't see coming. I'm looking forward to reading her other books. I trying to decide which one to read next - I think it's going to be either The Embalmer, or Degenerate. Keep your eyes peeled... there'll be more reviews to come!
P, L & N ♥
~sg
Rayne Havok ~ a little psychotic, and a little sweet. She's all about the bloody and gruesome, but also loves to sprinkle it with gratuitous sex.
Check out my review of MANIACS WITH KNIVES, with author & book links. You can visit the Official website of TIM MILLER to have a look at SNUFF FILM, and view your buying options. Be sure to check out all of his titles while you're there - if you haven't done so already.
Just for fun...
I Googled 'RAYNE HAVOK' to look for an author site, and this came up - Torrential rain causes havoc on the roads , so if you're in the UK - watch out for floods!
* From Rayne's review of Maniacs with Knives...
** snuck: Yes, it is a word! Sorta... ;)
