Man Made Murder: Book One of the Blood Road trilogy by Z Rider

Description from Goodreads:

“When guitarist Dean Thibodeaux tries to score weed the night before his band goes on tour, the deal ends in a brutal attack he wasn’t supposed to survive. Stiff, bloody, sore—but alive—he boards the bus with his band, determined to keep the one thing that’s important in his life on track.

Carl Delacroix failed his sister. And in the dead of night, with a gun in his waistband and nothing left to lose, he fails her again: his hesitation lets her killer get away. Short on sleep, short on cash, and determined not to make a trifecta out of his failure, he takes off after her attacker. And finds himself following a tour bus.

Dean Thibodeaux is sick. He’s changing. And the thing that caused it is coming after him, intent on fixing its mistake.

One man is hunting evil. The other is becoming it. Salvation lies in the crossing of their paths.

Man Made Murder, book 1 of the Blood Road trilogy, comes out October 13, 2015. Read an excerpt at www.manmademurder.com"

**************************************************

This is the 3rd book I have read by this author; the 1st book I read is Suckers which is not only a pretty good horror novel but an excellently written story about friendship; the 2nd is Insylum which is much more than it first appears. All 3 I have enjoyed as once again, Z Rider writes a great story with interesting characters whose stories weave together with ease.

The 2 main characters, Dean and Carl, are so different they could be on the other side of the world to each other - Dean is a member of a semi-successful rock band and Carl is a young man struggling with mourning the loss of his sister - they both have very different stories which are well explored throughout but there is an inevitability that they will become entwined with each other sooner or later. In the beginning, I didn’t find Dean the most likeable character and Carl was a bit “whiny” but they grew on me as the story developed and I became more involved in the action. Z Rider has a skill in creating great characters that mess with your head!

The story is well written, moves on at a good pace, is told from the perspectives of Dean and Carl and although this is a vampire story and there is blood and gore, it’s not overdone just for the sake of it. The story is dark, gritty, full of suspense, surprises and plot twists and overall, is very entertaining.

I get the feeling that the main purpose of this book is to introduce the characters and their backstories which will be further developed in the subsequent books in this trilogy and I think Z Rider has done this very well with Man Made Murder and I for one can’t wait to see what happens. I will say that although this is the first book in a trilogy, I feel it can be read as a stand alone because it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger which forces you to read the next book, it does however leave you wanting to know what happens next and how the relationship between Dean and Carl progresses.

I am grateful to the publisher, Dark Ride Publishing, for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

**************************************************

Author website - http://zriderwriter.com/

Twitter - @zriderhorror

Go to the publisher website here to sign up to receive digital review copies of Dark Ride Publishing books ahead of release.

Insylum by Z Rider

Description from Goodreads:

"The Last Ones In...Never Come Out

A.J. changed in boot camp, coming out all straight-backed and short-haired. His best friend Nate hardly recognizes him anymore, especially when it comes to the way he acts. His priorities. Now he’s about to ship out to Afghanistan, and despite the rift growing between them, the two decide to have one last hurrah—at Insylum, the extreme traveling funhouse they’ve been waiting for a chance at for years.

They're last in line on the last night of the show. They are the last two to go in.

And they may never come back out.

Warning: Some tentacular activity. (Also body horror. And maggots.)

Insylum comes out June 9, 2015. Pre-order now on Amazon."

**************************************************

This is one of those books that if you read it and then let it digest for a while, it becomes much more than it originally appears. Unfortunately, as this is quite a short story, I can’t go into much detail without giving the game away but I would suggest that if you want to get the most out of it, you don’t take it at face value.

The premise of the story is simple, two friends (Nate and AJ) spend their last night together in a “funhouse” before AJ gets shipped off to Afghanistan. The “funhouse” is not what you would find at Blackpool Pleasure Beach; there is no fun involved. From the entrance, Nate and AJ need to discard all their possessions in exchange for a pair of pyjamas and paper shoes and once inside, they are not allowed to go back - they become inmates/patients.

It doesn’t take long for the shenanigans to begin and we are “treated” to some pretty graphic descriptions of what befalls the participants. I’m quite a hardened horror reader but even some of the “treatments” made me squirm. There were a couple of “tutting” moments though as is usual with horror books (and films) whereby the characters do things that you really wouldn't do in real life but, on the whole, it’s pretty good.

I’m not sure that I can say that the main characters of Nate and AJ are particularly likeable as I didn’t feel myself warming to them at all or particularly caring about what happened to them but they are believable and well developed for such a short story.

I have read another book by Z Rider - Suckers: A Horror Novel - which was thoroughly engrossing and, like this book, has more to it than first meets the eye and I would recommend them both to anyone who enjoys this genre.

Thank you to the publisher, Dark Ride Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an honest review.

Suckers: A Horror Novel by Z. Rider - Thoroughly engrossing

"Mixing recent apocalyptic and zombie stories with classic vampire legends, Rider has come up with a daring and eminently readable new take on both."—Publishers Weekly

When worn-out musicians Dan Ferry and Ray Ford decide to take a shortcut back to the hotel, they pick the wrong dark alley to go down. Attacked by something neither can identify, they think they’re lucky to get out with their lives. But their lives aren’t all they get out with…

As an infection takes hold of Dan, a cramped tour bus becomes a dangerous place to be trapped. And when the infection spreads across the country, nowhere—and no one—is safe from the Suckers.

*****************************************

This is not only a pretty good horror novel but an excellently written story about friendship.

The main players in this book are extremely well developed and their different characters explored well. The story builds from the start and ends up being a thoroughly engrossing read. The characters are believable and act accordingly - they do things in situations that I would see myself doing which makes the book even more enjoyable. The Suckers are great creatures and the way their “birth” was described was a really well done “wow” moment and left me feeling quite nauseous - I love it when that happens!

The only little gripe I have, in what is a great story, is I would have liked a bit more interaction and perilous scenes with the “infected” - this is the only thing I think the book missed out on and would have taken it from a great read to a fantastic one.

Overall, a very enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys this particular genre and I would like to thank www.netgalley.com and the publisher, Dark Ride Publishing, for providing me with a copy in return for a review.