The Becoming: Revelations by Jessica Meigs

Posted on May 16, 2013 by
Amazon Kindle/paperback

Amazon Kindle/paperback

Brandt Evans is floundering. Leadership of their dysfunctional group wasn’t something he asked for or wanted. Their problems are numerous: Remy Angellette is grief-stricken and suicidal, Gray Carter is distant and reclusive, and Cade Alton is near death. And things only get worse.

While Brandt and Gray are on the hunt for supplies, a still-recovering Cade is kidnapped by a militant group of survivors. On Brandt’s return, he’s told of a conspiracy involving test subjects, pathogens, and CDC doctors.

Brandt’s race to save Cade takes him back to the dangerous streets of Atlanta, where not all is as it seems. And with a horde of infected closing in and the rescue mission in jeopardy he comes tantalizingly close to a cure that might save what’s left of humanity from the ravages of the Michaluk Virus.

The Becoming: Revelations is book 3 in The Becoming series being brought to us by author Jessica Meigs and published by Permuted Press. Yet again, readers are sent hurtling head first into the hordes. We gain friends, we loose friends and in between zombies are killed and one of the many secrets of the Michaluk Virus begins to reveal itself.

To say that Jessica Meigs has kept me enthralled in the world of The Becoming is an absolute understatement. The plot of the story keeps moving forward with very little down time. It’s kept me on my toes and only rarely did I have even a guess as to what was coming next. The characters, both new and old, continue to grow and change. The dialogue between the various characters, for the most part, is relevant to the situations at hand. There were a few times when, while I understand using humor to alleviate a stressful situation, I did not find it appropriate. This, however, may just be a matter of opinion and other readers may not feel the same.

Journeying from relative safety into the city where the Michaluk Virus was created our friends must look inside themselves to find the courage, honor and strength within to keep going and fight for their lives and the lives of those who have become family.

The Becoming: Revelations, in this readers opinion, is another action packed must read from author Jessica Meigs. The characters I have come to love and hate continue to fight for their survival with some meeting an untimely end and others find a new beginning.

Learn more about the author, Jessica Meigs, and what she is currently working on by following her blog BecomingZombies.com or stalk her Twitter feed at: @JessicaMeigs

Espresso rating: Quad

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Avery Nolan, Private Dick of the Strange: The Case of the Zombie Menace by Tony Faville

Posted on May 10, 2013 by
Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle

It’s the 1950s in New York City – the Cold War is in full bloom and the Red Scare is everywhere. Private Investigator Avery Nolan is hired by the daughter of a missing research scientist to find him. What he finds instead is the menace of the KGB, a possible U.S. government coverup, and the undead ready to tear America apart from the inside.

Equal parts detective noir and “Night of the Living Dead,” the story is carried into fascinating territory by the title P.I. and an eclectic cast of characters. Avery Nolan is a Lucky Strike-smoking, scotch-drinking, hard-fighting, straight-shooting private investigator from NYC. Sure, he takes his lumps every now and then, but he is always the first in line when payback is due. Add in a who’s-who of side characters, including plenty of dames with great gams, good-guy cops whose moral virtues may not be quite as shiny as their badges, egghead scientists who spout enough geek-talk to make Einstein’s head spin, a hot librarian with a cool hand – and, of course, the walking dead – and you’ve got yourself one killer mystery on your hands.

**Unbiased review from guest reviewer author, Tonia Brown

Hard boiled crime never looked undeader.

I must admit, I have a soft spot for the whole crime noir scene. Some of my favorite films are of the genre, but I must confess I had never really had the chance to read such a thing … until now.

Avery Nolan, Private Dick of the Strange: The Case of the Zombie Menace, is everything a gal could want in a noir story, with the added benefit of zombies. (Zombies! I know, right?) Toss this together with a well written story, superb pacing, awesome characters and amazing action scenes, and you have one hell of a tale. Faville sets out to explore the noir scene but does so much more. His characters are all typical of the genre, yet each one somehow manages to transcend the two-dimensional molds of which they were born. Especially the lead, Mr. Nolan. I have to admit, I fell head over heels for the big galoot. With his no nonsense attitude and quick on his feet thinking, Avery is the kind of guy who could have my back any day. Though, being the gentleman he is, he would probably remind me I am married and move along.

What moved me most about the story was the sense of realism. Not just the slang or metaphors remaining so true to the era, no, I mean the little touches and details I couldn’t help but feel came straight from Faville’s own personal history. The military references. The passionate concern for local characters. The well described action sequences. Even the epilogue gave me pause, and in that pause I wondered if perhaps Mr. Faville had drawn that story from his own life? Perhaps, but either way, such things gave it a memorable personal touch.

If I had one complaint about the tale, then it would be the style in which it was written— present tense. I am not a huge fan of present tense stories, but that said, Mr. Faville held his own. I can’t complain too much considering the thing, regardless of its style, was outstanding.

Thanks, Mr. Faville, for giving us Mr. Nolan. I not only recommend reading this adventure, I will be first in line for the next installment!

Learn more about Tony Faville and his other works by visiting and hitting the LIKE button on his Facebook fan page (HERE)

Espresso rating: Triple

Doubleshot Reviews wants to extend their appreciation to Ms. Tonia Brown for taking time out of her busy schedule to read and review Avery for us. Several of her books have been reviewed by this blog and I highly suggest you hunt down a few for your own reading pleasure. HERE is the link to her blog where you can find some of her books

Posted in Mash-Up, Mystery, Noir, Supernatural, Uncategorized, Zombies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Contest! Win a copy of The Resurrectionist

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

ResurrectionistWant to win a copy of E.B. Hudspeth’s The Resurrectionist?

Choose one of the reviews from this site of a book that sounds interesting to you and share it on your Facebook wall stating why. Don’t forget to tag Doubleshot Reviews Facebook page (HERE) so I can keep track. If you prefer Twitter over Facebook, then share your review of choice on Twitter with the hashtag #DoubleshotReviews. Share on both Facebook AND Twitter and you are entered to win twice.

Winner will be randomly selected on May 15, 2013 at 6pm PST.

(This, hopefully, will generate some traffic on my blog AND get one lucky person a pretty awesome book)

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The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E.B. Hudspeth

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

ResurrectionistPhiladelphia, the late 1870s. A city of gas lamps, cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages—and home to the controversial surgeon Dr. Spencer Black. The son of a grave robber, young Dr. Black studies at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs—were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind?
 
The Resurrectionist offers two extraordinary books in one. The first is a fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black, from a childhood spent exhuming corpses through his medical training, his travels with carnivals, and the mysterious disappearance at the end of his life. The second book is Black’s magnum opus: The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy for mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed anatomical illustrations. You need only look at these images to realize they are the work of a madman. The Resurrectionist tells his story.

This book was received as an ARC (Advanced Read/Review Copy) from Quirk Books. It is set to be released on May 21, 2013

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black is essentially two books in one, the first being The Life of Dr Spencer Black.  Believing that mythological creatures are our (human) ancestors, Dr Black proceeds to embark on a journey of scientific discovery. A journey that seems to slowly drive him into madness and ruins any credibility he may have had within his field of study. I will give word of warning, this section is most definitely not for someone with a weak stomach. It is very descriptive and there is a good portion dealing with vivisection, which is essentially surgery/dissection of a living creature. While it is very descriptive and gruesome, I found it also very intriguing and actually wish this section was longer.

The second section is The Codex Extinct Anamalia in which Dr Black documents and illustrates his findings of the lesser known species of the animal kingdom. This section is mostly illustrations of various species muscular and skeletal structure done very similarly to Gray’s Anatomy. It is well done artwork and for those with great interest in the structure and anatomy of mythological species this is a wonderfully detailed and well done section. I could even see tattoo artists using this as inspiration for pieces.

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black is a very unique piece of work that would fit very well as a coffee table book in the right household. Filled with highly imaginative and detailed illustrations and a disturbing view into the psyche of what I view as a highly intelligent doctor turned mad by his obsession.

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black is available for pre-order by clicking the cover image above to be directed to Amazon for either a Hardcover copy or to purchase for your Kindle. Release date is May 21, 2013.

—OR—

Want to win a copy of The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black? Head over to Doubleshot Reviews Facebook page (HERE) and give it a LIKE. I will post how to win your very own hard copy of The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black in the next day or so.

Espresso rating: Triple

Posted in Art & Photography, Supernatural | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Americans by Jake Bible

Posted on April 29, 2013 by
Amazon Kindle/paperback

Amazon Kindle

Hundreds of years after the United States is turned into a radioactive, zombie infested wasteland, the descendants of peacekeeping troops stranded abroad are now the world’s marshals, keeping law and order in a futuristic landscape of high-tech feudalism and raw, bioorganic metal.

They are known simply as: The Americans.

The exciting sidequel to DEAD MECH takes you on a hellride through Europe, Asia and beyond as American Ghost Heather Walton must save her family, her friends, and an all important cargo, as all Americans struggle to maintain their place in a world where the powers that be no longer want them. And will stop at nothing to put an end to their standing and their very existence!

Haven’t read DEAD MECH? Not a problem! The Americans is a stand-alone novel that takes place at the same time as the events in DEAD MECH. Read either one first then get ready for the third and final book in the Apex Trilogy, Metal And Ash
(which Doubleshot Reviews will be reviewing soon)

Man, am I behind in the times. I read DEAD MECH back in March of 2011 and loved every second of it. (See my full thoughts HERE) But, work, life and a crap ton of review requests kept me from reading it’s “sidequel”, The Americans, until now. Yes, that read sidequel…meaning it takes place at the same time as DEAD MECH , but with different characters and in a different location.

The Americans continues with the author’s tradition of colorful language, fun and engaging dialogue and action….lots and lots of action. The characters are well fleshed out. And while there are a plentiful number of characters, I did not feel as if I struggled to keep them squared away in my head as to who’s who and what role they played in the story. As I mentioned, Jake Bible, has a knack for fresh and captivating dialogue which aids in keeping the narrative flow going thus keeping the reader in the story.

Our journey takes us to various locations from America through Europe and into Asia. All locations are given the detail needed to allow the reader to paint a picture in their mind of what the areas look like without being too wordy, which is a problem I have with many authors. Detail is great, but sometimes there can be too much and it can come off as having too much flourish. This is not the case with The Americans.

Essentially, my two cents is this, if you like a story involving good sci-fi technology,  the survival of a race and the conspiracy behind their attempted destruction, then The Americans will have you buzzing with enjoyment. So go pick up a copy today!

The Americans can be purchased for Amazon Kindle by clicking the cover image above or by heading over to Barnes & Noble (HERE) for you nook owners.

Learn more about Jake Bible over at his blog Brain Squeezin’s . By following him on Twitter @jakebible or “liking” his author page Jake Bible’s Wasteland

Espresso rating: Triple

Posted in Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi, Zombies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nurse Blood by Rebecca Besser

Posted on April 26, 2013 by

NurseBloodSonya Garret is a nurse at the local hospital, but she has a side job trafficking in human ‘parts’ – what she makes in blood pays more than any salary. Hearts and livers, bone marrow and brains; they all sell great on the black market.

Drunk men at bars, prowling for any willing woman, are easy pickings when she goes looking for victims to chop up and sell.

One lucky night she picks up a man with a rare blood type, and after her team cashes in on him, they decide to go for the big money and ‘harvest’ his entire family.

Will the F.B.I. – who is hot on the trail of Sonya and her team as they cross the U.S., leaving a trail in blood and death – be able to catch up with them in time to stop the ongoing slaughter? Or will Nurse Blood get her money…again?

As I was reading, Nurse Blood, I went to the author’s, Rebecca Besser,  Facebook page, and told her that she has some of the most fucked up characters I have read in a long time (or something like that)….yeah, she LIKED my comment. Seriously though, the characters Besser has created are really out there. They are messed up in the head and one  really can’t say they like any of them, yet there is that aspect of  loving to hate them. Even though some have a twisted past that may have led them to the life they choose, it is sometimes hard for me to feel pity for them. However having a slew of characters that one loves to hate was definitely a different twist.

One thing that I have come to greatly enjoy with this authors writing is her dialogue. It feels real. Her dialogue flows very smoothly where it feels like a conversation that I would  have with  good friend. Not that I’m going to plan the murder of someone so I can harvest their organs for money, but you know what I mean. Along with witty dialogue, the author excels at simplistic setting which are used to keep the reader easily focused on where things are happening, but without a long drawn out description of their surroundings, which can be very off putting in particular types of stories.

So, put Nurse Blood into your MUST READ pile and enjoy a wickedly, funny, sick and twisted tale of blood, betrayal and just a bit of boobs.

Learn more about Rebecca Besser over at her blog (HERE), like her author page (HERE) or stalk her, I mean, follow her on Twitter: @BeccaBesser

Espresso rating: Quad

Posted in Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Love Lies Bleeding by Meghan Ciana Doidge

Posted on April 24, 2013 by
Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle

Pamela just wants to reunite in the afterlife with her dead fiancé, Grady. Problem is, Grady was a secret agent, and his coded emails have infuriated both his employers and his enemies. They need Pamela alive. So, instead of her planned suicide, she is kidnapped by black ops agents, tortured by mobster warlords, hunted by a psychotic killer, and chased by zombies … all necessary evils in order to ultimately walk into the sunset with her true love.

This novella (approximately 28,000 words) is adapted from a screenplay written by the author. As such, it is best to let the story wash over you … like you would watch a movie. As an added bonus, this version includes a twelve-chapter excerpt from the novel, After the Virus. (Which Doubleshot Reviews really enjoyed giving it a Triple espresso rating HERE)

WARNING: Love Lies Bleeding is a darkly comedic, bloody romance about love conquering all, even death. This is NOT a young adult novel. It contains graphic violence, nasty language, and more than a little bit of flesh-eating. There are no soft kisses, soulful stares, or moonlit rainstorms.

With Love Lies Bleeding initially being written as a screenplay, it started off a bit slow as there is quite a bit of world building and I was a little confused as to where things were headed. However, once the action started it was practically nonstop. I have to admit that no one character really struck me as fantastic. I am by no means saying this story had poorly written characters, Doidge has created several very interest and fun characters. I just didn’t connect with them as much as another reader might. I was more taken in by the environment and action, which includes the actions and interactions of the characters amongst each other.

A few descriptor words I would use to give an idea of the range of feelings Love Lies Bleeding can leave you with would be: odd, funny, tense, confused, cute, disturbing, heartbroken, happy and the best adjective….quirky. It was a highly enjoyable read, definitely worth the time. It’s not your typical zombie story, but there are definitely zombies in it.

Short review, but as Love Lies Bleeding is a novella I don’t like to get too in-depth, plus the synopsis above gives all the information that is needed. So go buy yourself a copy today!

You can learn more about Meghan Ciana Doidge by checking out her blog MadebyMeghan , ”Liking” her Facebook author page (HERE) or by following her tweets at: mcdoidge 

Love Lies Bleeding is available at Amazon by clicking the cover image above.

Espresso rating: Triple

Posted in Horror, Humor, Zombies | 1 Comment