Friday, 23 March 2018

HAMMERS ON BONE by Cassandra Khaw

Hammers on Bone (Persons Non Grata, #1)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was intrigued by this novella since the moment I picked it up. I was hooked from the start, and it didn't disappoint.

John Persons is a PI and gives off the noir detective vibes in spades. He's also a monster, which certainly comes in handy when a ten-year-old kid hires him to kill his stepdad. McKinsey is an abusive, violent asshole and not really much of a man.

As Persons starts his investigation, he finds something horribly wrong. A monstrous thing is spreading fast, but that's not all he finds. The deeper he gets into this case, the more he finds out about himself with some very surprising consequences...

Wow. What a great story! This turned out to be such a great detective noir narrative mixed with very creepy Lovecraftian horror. So much of what happens is steeped in mysterious darkness that swept me under the murky surface of what was happening, until everything slowly got clear enough to push me to the surface.

It's so creepy, and visceral and the imagery is detailed so clearly that it drills its tentacles into your brain. Yeah, my most favourite thing about this book is the excellent writing style.

I'm looking forward to reading more PI John Persons adventures. And more stories written by this very talented author.

