Blog Tour: Cry of the Fallen – Book Review

Media Type: Print Book
Title: The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen
Author: Joel M. Andre
Publisher: Darkcountry Publications
Pages: Paperback; 216
Release Date: September 8, 2010
Source: Pump Up Your Book Promotions
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Genre: Thriller / Mystery

HDB Rating: 3 Keys to My Heart

Recommended to: Readers who appreciate blood and gore mixed in with their mystery.

Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N

On a warm summer afternoon, in Northern Arizona, a double homicide stains the ground with blood. Detectives are called out to handle the investigation, each plagued with their own internal demons, and aren’t prepared for what they are about to find.

Detective Lauren Bruni, faces a world of darkness and evil, as a demonic force begins to leash an attack on a small town. As the stakes begin to rise, so does the stunning truth, that not even Lauren can imagine.

In a world where her life had started to fall apart, she must pick up the pieces and push forward in an effort to save those that she loves the most.

Joel M. Andre takes the Horror genre and pushes the boundaries in a tale full of suspense, dark comedy and genuine horror.

I debated a good long time about what to write about this book, mainly because it was a difficult read for me. It wasn’t the copious amounts of bloodshed (we all know I’m okay with that) and it wasn’t even the gory ends that the people in the story met. No, what was most difficult for me to fathom while reading was what precisely was happening in this quiet town. When a book begins with a mystery, I am hooked. However when that mystery becomes one that progresses slowly, I tend to get a little confused.

Let’s begin with what I liked about this book. Definitely loved the setting! What better place to host a horror novel than in a sleepy town in the outskirts of Arizona? A desert scene added that perfect amount of isolation to the storyline. Also, I absolutely became enamored with the descriptive writing that is found throughout the story. Although most of it is used to describe grisly murders, a lot of it is used to describe the scenery in the desert. As a girl who grew up in the desert for the first half of her life, I liked being able to close my eyes and know that the author was spot on in his descriptions.

Now, to tackle was I didn’t enjoy so much. The characters in this book were all very flat to me. Even Lauren, who I really wanted to like, didn’t have much depth to her. I had a hard time becoming invested in her struggle to find out what was going on. As for the other characters? Well they all died so quickly that there wasn’t much of an opportunity to get to know them in the first place. On top of that I was a little confused by the way that the plot moved along. The story was mainly narrated by Lauren herself, but there were times when it would flash to other characters and I would be confused as to what purpose they had in the story. Marshall and Grant were a good example of this. It just made my reading of this book slow, since I had to flip back in the pages sometimes to see if I was missing something important.

I have to say that, although I went into this book not knowing much about it, I was still happy with the overall story. There was just enough mystery to keep me involved, the right amount of gore, and the ending left a nice cliffhanger for the next book. Reader be warned, as I’ve mentioned above, there are some rather grisly scenes in this book. If that isn’t for you, then this book is probably not one that you will want to put on your TBR. If that is for you, well then by all means dive right in! You might find yourself pleasantly surprised.