Review: A Demon Inside by Rick R Reed (MLR Press)

It's no secret that I admire author Rick R Reed.  I've been a fan of his work for over a decade now and his writing, like the man himself, keeps getting better.

A DEMON INSIDE continues Rick's foray into combining horror/thriller with m/m romance and it does it well.  Rick slowly but surely builds the suspence while also creating a budding romance that causes great internal conflict for the protagonist.

We meet Hunter Beaumont just before the death of his grandmother.  She has been the loving, protective center of his young life and her passing sets him adrift in a world he's ill equiped to deal with.  Since the age of 5 when his parents were brutally killed, he'd lived with his grandmother and to protect her grandson from such a terrible world, she had seen to it that he'd led a very sheltered life.  He'd never went to a public school nor had any friends; she was all he had.  With her dying breath she makes Hunter promise to destroy Beaumont House, a place Hunter has never heard of.

The mystery is solved when Hunter learns of the old, decrepit house his family hadn't visited in generations.  To try to make some sense of his life and to get away from the city where he is feeling increasingly alone, Hunter finally moves up to Wisconsin to Beaumont House and comes to realize just why his grandmother wanted him to destroy it.

In THE BLUE MOON CAFE, Rick ratcheted up the tension by giving the reader glimpses into the killer's mind and it really drove the action.  Here, the build up is slower and he uses Hunter's self imposed exile to great effect; all the incidents that start to occur in the house we only get to see  from Hunter's perspective. Hunter distrusts everyone so much and keeps himself so isolated that soon he's unable to tell reality from nightmare-and so are we.  Has someone been in his house?  Is his neighbor, also living alone in this remote area, watching him from afar?  Or can Beaumont House really be haunted?

Rick makes Hunter's descent into hysteria gripping and very chilling; there are passages here that literally made me stop to catch my breath.  He keeps us guessing until the end about whether or not everything is in Hunter's mind and when the climax comes, it is both terrifying and explosive. 

Rick R Reed is on a roll, turning out some excellent work lately and A DEMON INSIDE is the latest triumph by a prolific writer and a worthy addition to the haunted house canon of horror as well.

A DEMON INSIDE is available now from Amazon here or as an eBook from MLR Press

Review: The Blue Moon Cafe by Rick R. Reed (Amber Allure)

I am loving that werewolves are making a comeback in horror fiction!  So it was with huge excitement that I plunged into Rick R. Reed's new book, THE BLUE MOON CAFE.

Terror has struck the gay community of Seattle.  Someone (or something) is killing gay men right in the heart of the gay district of the city and the murders are so violent that the authorites have no clue as to who is committing the crimes...or if the killer is even human.

Thad is unemployeed and single and is becoming dissatisfied with the recent downturn his life is taking.  Then one day, he wanders into The Blue Moon Cafe, a new Italian bistro that's just opened.  Here he meets Sam Lupino, the restaurant's owner, who is everything that Thad wants in a man-handsome, dark and passionate.  The attraction is mutual and after a dinner that satisfies one appetite and whets another, Thad takes Sam home.  The sex is rough and incredible and Thad  finds himself falling for Sam...but Sam is full of secrets.

Thad also meets Jared who is blond and sexy, and while Thad finds Jared attractive, he is too hung up on Sam and getting to the bottom of where Sam disappears to during the full moon to give in to that attraction...and the violent killings are continuing, and striking closer to home.

This was a great read and that is due in large part to Rick's expert handling and blending of the two storylines he has going here; the romance building between Thad and Sam is fraught with passion but also mystery since Thad feels Sam has secrets he's not telling him.  Then there's also the snapshots we get into the killer's mind as it continues it's bloody attacks on the gay men of Seattle.  Rick early on creates a creepy suspense and builds on it throughout the tale; he also captures Thad's confusion and insecurity about Sam equally well and as the book races to it's conclusion, secrets are revealed and more lives are put in danger when  the two storylines converge in a bloody yet satisfying climax.

I believe there is more to the story then what Rick's revealed to us so far.  There is definitely room for a sequel and then there's the question of a certain character that comes to the rescue just in the nick of time.  Let's hope Rick doesn't leave us hanging for too long and we hear more from Thad, Sam and Jared very soon. 

I highly recommend this book for you horror and werewolf lovers out there.  It will be a great addition to your library.  You can buy THE BLUE MOON CAFE here http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/BlueMoonCafe.html .

And I also remind you to keep a lookout for ON THE EDGE, Rick's forthcoming collection due out this summer!