J. Lincoln Fenn

I was really enjoying reading this book until I got to the final 100 pages and the favours for “Scratch” started rolling in. The concept of the protagonist selling her soul to the Devil is a typical theme that I’ve read about quite a bit, but that didn’t detract from the story until the author made it clear that any and all of the favours being called in were of an extremely gruesome and violent nature. Maybe I’m just too attracted to the idea of Satan as a misunderstood anti-hero show more to accept the simple concept that every single “favour” is going to be extremely negative, but making it this simple gives away the author’s true feelings (and ultimate judgement) about the characters and her acceptance of typical Christian interpretations of the mythos surrounding the fallen angel, and ultimately ended up with me being equally grossed out by the atrocities carried out in the story and annoyed with the author for being so typical. show less

I love a book that can update an old concept and make it feel fresh. Here we have the story of selling your soul to the Devil for a wish. In this take not only do you lose your soul you also owe the Devil a favor. It is not one as simple as a ride to the store or helping a friend move. This is going to be the most heinous one you can imagine. Fiona here makes the choice for invisibility in a moment of weakness and now needs to find a way to renegotiate her deal before the favor is called in. show more The tension builds until we hit that ending. Wow, I was not expecting that one. A perfect read for October as we head towards Halloween. show less

Dmitri wants to be a real writer but, so far, all he’s done is write obituaries for a local rag. When he’s given the assignment to cover a séance in an abandoned and supposedly haunted house, he jumps at the chance. However, things don’t go quite as planned and Dmitri ends up dead. Fortunately, he wakes up in the morgue several hours later and before he is embalmed. Unfortunately, things just keep getting weirder for him. He is haunted by an entity he calls Poe, he is being stalked by show more a serial killer who may really be a demon, he may be related to Rasputin, and he is falling in love with a strange girl he met at the séance. As the bodies begin to pile up, Dmitri must solve the mystery if he is to save not only himself but his new girlfriend and maybe the human race.

Poe was a fun horror tale. It wasn’t perfect. It was at times very convoluted and the story didn’t always run smoothly. However, the sense of humour that runs through the tale goes along way in mitigating these sins. Not to say there weren’t plenty of scary and/or creepy bits and lots of twists and turns but I can’t say that Poe gave me chills or kept me up at night reading. It did, however, keep my interest throughout and it made me laugh out loud more than once and that was plenty good enough for me. show less

I thought this book was going to be a lame slacker book about fooling the devil but wow was I wrong. This story is as serious as a serial killer.

Fiona Quinn is in a bar and in a really bad mood when a guy comes on to her. Buys her some drinks and says his name is Scratch. And by the way, would she like to sell her soul?

Half drunk and thoroughly unhappy Fiona says sure why not and the deal is done. She gets to be invisible and to pass through walls when she wants and he gets an unnamed favor show more whenever he wants.

Fiona meets her fellow "Dead Souls" in and around Oakland and gathers info, trying to work out a way to beat the Devil.

Watch out what you wish for.

I received a review copy of "Dead Souls" by J. Lincoln Fenn (Gallery) through NetGalley.com. show less