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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Review and Giveaway: Broken Hearted Ghoul (A Taxi for the Dead a Paranormal Mystery) by Joyce and Jim Lavene

REVIEW:

Once again a zombie story in which... Stop! No, it is not a traditional zombie story. You will not be dealing with any apocalypse, it is neither the end of our civilization nor the other, and it is not a race for survival with man-eating monsters pursuing the characters. Did I make you curious, isn’t?

Do you know about Faust’s tale? If there the main character, after a life dedicated to science, feels that he has wasted his life and has not tasted the joys and pleasures of it, before death he makes a pact with the devil and sells him his soul in exchange of a new chance in life, in our novel the situation is not quite so dramatic. Nobody sells his soul, and the devil's role is played by a Zombie Master (not me – for those who knows what ZM stands for in GZM :D!). Now, do not think that the Zombie Master is a naive or a benefactor. In exchange for some errands, he gives those who are dying a bonus of twenty years of life to live with the loved ones. Thus they are transformed into zombies, but not some creatures in putrefaction, but identical to the living people only that... they are dead. For this period of twenty years ... not twenty and a month, not twenty-one, to be respected, Zombie Master has, let’s call them, "drivers for zombie": the undertakers, whose role it is to collect those to whom the bell has struck. Why so strict? You'll find for yourselves why, and what are the consequences of the breach of the contract terms.

Such a “driver” is also the main female character of the novel, a former cop, who carries out her duty, with more or less reluctantly, until one day when everything goes haywire. As faddy as it was the world in which she lived gets fantastic accents and all sorts of sorcerers and more strange creatures start to populate it. How wouldn’t be enough that they are dead, the zombies wake up hunted. Yes, the zombies, who are usually the predators, here they become the main course on the menu. Whose menu? It is said that hate and love are the most powerful inputs of the human psyche. If we put them together and we will associate them with a supernatural being, eager for blood and vengeance, do you still give any chance to escape to the poor zombie? Find out the denouement reading the book by yourself and I guarantee you will not be disappointed, even you will have a little surprise in the ending.

A book that you will read with pleasure, in which the explosive action entwines with a bit of humour, in which mystery becomes thriller, the thriller gets horror accents and everything is wrapped up in a fantasy, whose limits oscillate throughout the story. A new and interesting approach of the zombie myth, a myth that, for the readers’ satisfaction, is constantly reinvented.

Happy Reading!
About the authors:
Joyce and Jim Lavene write bestselling mystery fiction. They have written and published more than 60 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, and Charter Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family, Quincy, their black cat, and their rescue 

15 comments:

Unknown said...

looks like a great novel...thank you for the chance to win :)
jslbrown_03(at)yahoo(dot)com

Unknown said...

Hello! This book sounds great and I would love to read it.
cosgrove.julia@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

thank you for the chance to win This book sounds good.email is: simpson_lori_c@yahoo.com

Alisha S. said...

sounds like an interesting read! Thanks for the giveaway!!! sienkiel1821(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Humour, mystery and horror in one tempting book! Want it :D

Anonymous said...

Ups! Forgot to let my email address:
florry_20@yahoo.com
Thanks for the giveaway!

Unknown said...

This sounds like a really good book. I would like to read it. My email is michelle_willms at yahoo dot com.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this chance to win. ^_^

RobinM said...

This sounds like a great book!

Unknown said...

I do so love zombie stories - even if my dad insists it's rather unladilike, and one of the nurses at my doctor's office thinks my immortal soul has been severely endangered. I look forward to any chance to read and review books. You could even say it's become a chronic addiction. Free reviews & freelance marketing/PR/blog tours/social network campaigns: bookwormpov (at) gmail (dot) com ...BTW, here's a fun zombie-themed review I wrote for a staff-writing position recently on WOTN: http://www.wordofthenerdonline.com/plague-town/

Kai said...

The book sounds interesting. Trying to find the relationship between the story and title. It is definitely a supernatural.

Kai said...

forgot my email address:

kmccandle (at) yahoo (dot) com

SandyG265 said...

I'd like to try this series.
sgiden at verizon.net

Unknown said...

I met my first zombie in one of Piers Anthony's books humorous but I think that your zombie is more supernatural and probably a little drool but you have peaked my interest... I will try this book series and look forward to being entertained as it sounds great! my address is kazdam1954@gmail.com
Thank you for the giveaway!

Michael Law said...

This sounds like an excellent novel.