Title: Will Haunt You
Author: Brian Kirk
Publisher: Flame Tree Press
Pages: 288
Release Date: March 14, 2019
You don’t read the book. It reads you.
Rumors of a deadly book have been floating around the dark corners of the deep web. A disturbing tale about a mysterious figure who preys on those who read the book and subjects them to a world of personalized terror. Jesse Wheeler–former guitarist of the heavy metal group The Rising Dead–was quick to discount the ominous folklore associated with the book. It takes more than some urban legend to frighten him. Hell, reality is scary enough. Seven years ago his greatest responsibility was the nightly guitar solo. Then one night when Jesse was blackout drunk, he accidentally injured his son, leaving him permanently disabled. Dreams of being a rock star died when he destroyed his son’s future. Now he cuts radio jingles and fights to stay clean. But Jesse is wrong. The legend is real–and tonight he will become the protagonist in an elaborate scheme specifically tailored to prey on his fears and resurrect the ghosts from his past. Jesse is not the only one in danger, however. By reading the book, you have volunteered to participate in the author’s deadly game, with every page drawing you closer to your own personalized nightmare. The real horror doesn’t begin until you reach the end. That’s when the evil comes for you.
Review
| I would like to thank Flame Tree Press, Brian Kirk, and Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review. The premise for this book sounded abs-freaking-lutely amazing!!! I was all for it. However, I feel it didn’t quite hit the mark. It really started off very suspenseful and downright creepy…but then it got weird, and it kept getting weird. It was so bizarre I occasionally had some trouble following the story. I just couldn’t understand what was happening or why. There didn’t feel like any rhyme or reason for why the author was taking the story in a particular direction other than it was weird. Which would have been fine but I also felt like I was missing something throughout the story. Kind of a ‘had to have been there’ thing, which was also kind of weird and I wonder if it’s just me? I really don’t quite understand the concept of the villains here. There was a lot of philosophy (which I don’t like) which could have been the problem too. I could not tell in which direction anything was headed. I spent the majority of the time not trusting a damn thing as hope is dangled above Jesse like a carrot so often that it begins to feel so flimsy every time. That alone kept the story pretty suspenseful. Other than the bizzaro occurances, that I still don’t understand, this was a pretty well flushed out book. The characters were the highlight for me. Jesse, the main character, was both incredibly abrasive, ridiculously heartwarming, and down right unlikeable…almost all at once. I love a good antihero! I will say though that Kirk did a stupendous job on that ending! The ending made the book. |
Brian Kirk is a Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author of dark thrillers and psychological suspense. His debut novel, We Are Monsters, was released in July 2015. In addition to being nominated for a Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a First Novel, We Are Monsters was optioned for film development by Executive Producer, Jason Shuman.
During the day, Brian works as a freelance marketing and creative consultant. His experience working on large, integrated advertising campaigns for international companies has helped him build an effective author platform, and makes him a strong marketing ally for his publishing partners. In addition, Brian has an eye for emerging media trends and an ability to integrate storytelling into new technologies and platforms.
While he’s worked to make this bio sound as impressive as possible, he’s actually a rather humble guy who believes in hard work and big dreams. Feel free to connect with him through one of the following channels. Don’t worry, he only kills his characters.
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