Fade to Black

Synopsis

 

 Book 1 of 5 in the epic paranormal suspense series. "Any minute now a hooded man will come barrelling out of nowhere and kill me. So that sucks. I know this because it has happened six times before. I wake up in this alley, hung from a post by a piece of rope lashed to one ankle, tied in a hangman's knot. After several minutes of work, I pry my bonds free, and about thirty seconds after I hit the ground, this guy in a black hooded robe gives me a pretty bad case of death. His hands are cold on my neck. And dry. I try to fight him, to claw at his eyes, but I can't reach, to scratch at his arms, but he's too strong. He's silent. I try to yell at him, but I manage more of a gurgle and some clicky noises. I don't even know what I'd say, I guess, but I can assure you that he seems like a real dick. Everything goes all fuzzy and fades to gray, then black. I die, and then I go... someplace else, I guess. I don't know. I can't remember that part just now." So it begins. One second JEFF GROBNAGGER is standing in line at the grocery store, and the next he's in an alley where a hooded figure strangles him to death. Sucks. This happens over and over again, every time Grobnagger has a seizure. Alley. Choking. Death. Repeat. What for? Why would anyone want to kill him repeatedly? Is it just a seizure dream? When a sniper's bullet shatters his apartment window, he realizes two things: he's in serious danger, and there's no way he's getting his security deposit back.

Review 

The story revolves around the character of Jeff Grobnagger, who's name is the best one I've come across for quite a while, and that he has seemingly random seizures which dissolve into the same scene where he relives his murder time after time. In the opening of the book, we find him having a seizure in a local grocery store, where he meets Glenn, in what appears to be a total coincidence. Jeff's character is great, he comes across as a loner who wants a quiet life with as little as possible interaction with others, where as Glenn has a cat with digestive problems and a missing daughter.

The book is well written, and the authors take their time to both build the characters and the story line. The use of two total opposite character traits in Jeff & Glenn, allows them to bounce off each other, which only adds to the great narration by Jeff. The story gently twists and turns, allowing the reader to enjoy and absorb the plot, unlike books with lots of twists, turns and red herrings.

I really like it when Jeff mulls over what is happening at the moment or what had previously happened, and the way in which he sees his situations and circumstances, even when he's being strangled. The way Jeff is pulled way out of his comfort zone only adds depth and humour  to his character. There is a lot of dark humour in this book, but as it came to a close, there was also a lot of sole searching. I also quite liked how the main focus of the story was Jeff and Glenn without loads of superfluous characters, that don't really add to the story, but the shadowy secrecy of an underground movement in the background of the book really adds to the depth of the storyline.

 I would recommend this tale of Jeff Grobnagger to those who like to read books a little out of the mainstream and would appreciate a fresh look at the basis of this book in a way that really hasn't been done before. One thing I will say though is that this isn't a standalone book, you will have to read the next book/s to find out what happens to Jeff, as the writers leave you hanging on at the end, wanting to know more.

I rate this book