Monday, December 31, 2012

Horror Review "Tortured Spirits" by Gregory Lamberson

Title:  Tortured Spirits (Jake Helman Files #4)
Author:  Gregory Lamberson
Publisher:  Medallion Press
Publication Date:  October 1, 2012
Genre:  Horror
Format:  Kindle 1073 KB  |  Paperback 480 Pages

Buy this book on Amazon:  Kindle Edition  |  Paperback
Author's Website:  http://www.gregorylamberson.com/
Author's Goodreads Profile:  Gregory Lamberson

Synopsis from Goodreads:
The sign on Jake Helman’s office door says Private Investigator, but this ex-cop’s profession is more complicated than spying on cheating spouses. Over the course of two years, Jake has battled demons, zombies, even a cosmic monster—and he has paid dearly, both physically and emotionally, for his exploits.

Now on a quest to save his best friend’s soul, Jake embarks on his greatest and most terrifying odyssey yet: from the streets of New Orleans to the nightclubs of Miami to the jungles of Pavot Island, where undead slaves harvest narcotics for a ferocious dictator.

But this time Jake isn’t alone. Maria Vasquez, a beautiful NYPD homicide detective, joins him to rescue her former partner. With no backup and limited resources, Jake and Maria battle voodoo overlords, military troops, and an army of zombies. What will prove deadlier to Jake: the addictive drug called Black Magic, the return of an old enemy, or a vengeful demon plotting against him? Tortured Spirits is an action-packed, gore-soaked, supernatural thrill ride that will leave horror fans gasping for Jake Helman’s return.

My Thoughts...

Ok, I know that for the most part I tend toward romance, but I gotta say that this series is probably one of the best I have read this year and I have read a lot of books!  I do like horror and when you throw some paranormal/supernatural in there then I love it even more.  The one thing that I love about book blogging is that I have been introduced to some really great authors and books that I would never have found on my own.  Gregory Lamberson has definitely been added to that list.  I read all four of these books in less than a week, some in less than a day and they are long books!  Mr. Lamberson contacted me to review this book, which is the 4th in the series and was kind enough to send me all of them so I wouldn't be lost as far as the story is concerned.  Oh, and he signed them all to me so they have a special place on my book shelf along with my other signed books!

I do think that if you want to read these books you should definitely start at the beginning of the series.  The first book sets it all up and they all tie in to that original story in some way, at least they have so far.  You could probably get along without reading the previous ones, but I wouldn't skip them.  Here are the links to the books on Amazon and to my reviews on Goodreads.  I did mini reviews on all of them instead of doing them all on here.
This 4th book was my favorite of the series, so far.  I have a feeling by the way this one is set up that I may like the next one even better!  It's going to be really hard to do a proper review of this book with out posting any spoilers but I am going to try.

This book finds Jake in New Orleans, Miami and then to Pavot Island as he tries to help one of his friends.  This book is really almost like a sequel to Desperate Souls.  Maria is with him almost every step of the way in this one.  She's been following him trying to find out what happened to Edgar.  Earlier in the series Edgar tried to set Jake and Maria up, but Jake wasn't quite ready to be with anyone.  It was clear that Maria was into Jake even then, but when Edgar disappeared she stepped back because she suspected that Jake had a hand in his disappearance.  Now they are both at a point where they are ready and it's about time too!

In this installment we see a re-occurrence of Black Magic.  Jake and Maria make a deal with a vodou practicer, in exchange for what they need from her they will rescue her husband from prison.  He is a political prisoner on Pavot Island and has been for 30 years.  Pavot Island is being run by a dictator who has a black Vodou Priestess working with him.  Together they run the island and the slaves who work their drug crops. They are using Black Magic to control the Zonbies just like the priestess in Book 2 did.  There is just one catch though, Jake and Maria know how to kill their Zonbies.

Jake and Maria find themselves smack in the middle of an uprising, thankfully they have people on the island who are helping them.  There is a whole faction on the island that wished to see this prisoner liberated, but this doesn't mean that things are going to go smoothly for them.  This book is more action packed than all of the last 3 books put together.  It's pretty much non-stop from the moment they land on Pavot Island.  Jake has been through a lot in the last couple years and doesn't let up in this book.  There is a reason that this book is called Tortured Souls and unfortunately for Jake he learns this firsthand.

This book does have a little romance story line running through it and I think it's nice that Jake is able to have something nice a long with all the crap that gets thrown his way.  I am anxious to see how thing progress for Maria and Jake as the series continues.  This part of the story didn't have many return characters, but this one, like all the others does tie back to Tower Industries and some of the things in the very first book.

I highly recommend this series if you like horror.  I don't think I would classify this horror as in a scary sense, but it does have the gory, creepy thing going on.  It's unbelievable at times, but that's what makes a really great paranormal series.  One thing is for sure, it's well written and Mr. Lamberson has a wild and vivid imagination and that shows through in every page of this series.  I will be waiting on the edge of my seat for the next installment in Jake's story!

*Disclaimer:  I was provided with a copy of this book courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.*

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