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#BookReview: Lake Abandon by David Six @AuthorDavidSix @booksproutapp

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Hi everyone! Today, I have a book review for a dark, gritty, and gripping read from an author new to me. I discovered David Six and his book Lake Abandon via Twitter and received a free ARC from BookSprout >>>

Lake Abandon by [David Six]About the Book:

Three people on a collision course:
A wife and mother, teetering on the edge of sanity.
A narcissistic killer, whose brutal murders become more vicious with each victim.
A worn-out cop, trying desperately to put the pieces together.

Jody Rand is escaping her abusive husband. With seventeen-year-old daughter Beulah in tow, she flees late one New Year’s Eve into California’s snow-smothered Sierra Nevada mountains.

Eddie Swofford is a big-box home center worker who accidentally discovers he likes killing. He likes it a lot.

Harrison “HarHar” Hardy is the detective assigned to the case, which becomes more confusing with each victim found.

Jody Rand just wants to escape her old life. Eddie Swofford just wants to keep killing. Hardy just wants it to end.

Three people. One horrific evil. Who will survive?

Warning: This story examines the nature of criminal insanity, and therefore contains scenes of graphic violence that may be disturbing to some. Reader discretion advised.

My Review:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

DARK, GRITTY, AND GRIPPING

Many thanks to the author, David Six, and BookSprout for a free ARC of this book. I am under no obligation to leave a review, and my opinions are entirely my own and an honest reflection of my thoughts on this novel.

I haven’t read this author before, and all I knew to expect was that this would be a very dark read, according to the author’s warning to readers. Right from the first line, this book pulled me right in. … “Jody Rand tried not to let the metronomic swish of the wiper blades distract her from the oil-slick blackness of the road ahead.” From here, the tension just kept on mounting and mounting.

This dark tale gets gory, and I would classify it both as a Thriller and as a Horror genre. There are plenty of potential trigger points for some readers, so be warned. This book contains a bit of almost everything. We have a mother and daughter on the run and battling the elements in the mountains. We have a weird guy who spirals into complete madness … I loved watching him slip and slide exponentially into a complete nutcase. That was so excellently written and portrayed. And, finally, we have a cop with issues but whom everyone loves. He’s a good guy doing a real tough job. And he will not give up.

The writing holds a few spelling mistakes, such as ‘down’ for ‘done’, lots of instances of ‘of’ for ‘have’ within narrative, and ‘site’ for ‘sight’, etc. However, the read was so compelling, it still merits 5 stars from me. The descriptive ability of this author is awe inspiring, and the world building and characterisation are excellently done. This whole thing, dark and fantastic as it is at times, is wholly believable. Here are some lines I loved …

“Beulah let out that laugh singular to teenage girls who are letting their parents know that they are hopelessly outclassed by the intelligence of a person having lived for less than two decades.”

And …

“She’d pressed her lips together like she was flattening the wrinkles out of a shirt with them.”

And …

“… face like he fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down …”

And …

“… though he was such a bad shot, he probably couldn’t hit the lake if he was standing in it.”

I don’t usually go for reads this dark, and while some parts had me positively cringing, plenty also had me laughing out loud. There is both innocent and dark humour abounding in this story. If you love a good horror read, I would highly recommend this book, and it gets a resounding 5 stars from me. I’ll be looking out for more books from David Six.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

I’d love to hear what you think of this review. Thanks for stopping by 🙂

 

For anyone interested, here are the Amazon links …

UK … https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08R8XRTB2/

US … https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08R8XRTB2/

 

31 Comments on “#BookReview: Lake Abandon by David Six @AuthorDavidSix @booksproutapp”

  2. Great review, Harmony! I don’t read a lot of real horror these days, especially if it’s really graphic, but now and then, I give it a go, and this sounds pretty interesting. It’s a shame about so many spelling errors and misused words, though. That is so distracting and you find yourself hopping back and forth between Reader Mode and Editor Mode. Still, it sounds like it was worth the read, regardless. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it! 😊

    • A wonderful read. And the exchanges I’ve had with the author tell me he’s a nice guy, who takes his art seriously. Thanks, Sally. Hugs 💕🙂

  4. I enjoy dark and gritty. I may have to give this one a look-see. I appreciate your reviews, Harmony. They are always insightful. Thanks for sharing.

    • That’s lovely of you to say! So pleased my reviews are helpful. I’m sure you’d enjoy this read. Thanks so much, Beem 💕🙂

  5. Oooh, I’m tempted to read this one. It sounds deliciously dark. But the spelling issues will drive me nuts. I’m on the fence on this one, but regardless of whether I read it, you wrote a fantastic review. Thanks, Harmony.

  6. Sounds like a real nail-biter, Harmony. Hopefully, since what you received is an ARC, the mistakes will be fixed before publication. Thanks for sharing!

  7. Your review gave me the shivers, Harmony. It sounds like a great read for anyone who loves dark thrillers/horror. I hope the minor issues get addressed, because it sounds like the book is worth the effort. Many thanks for the recommendation!

  8. I tried to post 5 times from my tablet, but kept being told it was spam. I’ve had this problem before. I don’t know what WordPress has against tablets!
    Anyway, it is a wonderful review. The poor grammar you mention might give me pause, as it doesn’t look like typos. Still, as a book I have says ‘Story Trumps Structure’, and the story sounds amazing.

    • Some of the grammar was deliberate, such as in dialogue. But I believe the narrative needs to be clean, unless the POV demands otherwise, and in that case all of it needs to be in the same vein, not just one bit or other. For sure, this story was so good I stopped noticing the other stuff real quick! Thanks, Vivienne 💕🙂

    • Meant to also add I’m sorry it took you five goes! WP is a real mess lately. Hugs 💕🙂

  12. The lines you shared are exceptional, though I know the graphic violence would make this too dark for me. Your review was most insightful, Harmony!