JASMINE's THOUGHTS on The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell

Genre:

Adult

Historical Horror/Mystery/Thriller

Publish Date:

March 5, 2019

Publisher:

Doubleday Books

Synopsis:

Prague, 1935: Viktor Kosárek, a psychiatrist newly trained by Carl Jung, arrives at the infamous Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The state-of-the-art facility is located in a medieval mountaintop castle outside of Prague, though the site is infamous for concealing dark secrets going back many generations. The asylum houses the country's six most treacherous killers--known to the staff as The Woodcutter, The Clown, The Glass Collector, The Vegetarian, The Sciomancer, and The Demon--and Viktor hopes to use a new medical technique to prove that these patients share a common archetype of evil, a phenomenon known as The Devil Aspect. As he begins to learn the stunning secrets of these patients, five men and one woman, Viktor must face the disturbing possibility that these six may share another dark truth. 

Meanwhile, in Prague, fear grips the city as a phantom serial killer emerges in the dark alleys. Police investigator Lukas Smolak, desperate to locate the culprit (dubbed Leather Apron in the newspapers), realizes that the killer is imitating the most notorious serial killer from a century earlier--London's Jack the Ripper. Smolak turns to the doctors at Hrad Orlu for their expertise with the psychotic criminal mind, though he worries that Leather Apron might have some connection to the six inmates in the asylum. 

Steeped in the folklore of Eastern Europe, and set in the shadow of Nazi darkness erupting just beyond the Czech border, this stylishly written, tightly coiled, richly imagined novel is propulsively entertaining, and impossible to put down.

          

~~~~~

**About the Author**

Photo Content from Goodreads

Craig Russell is an award-winning, best-selling and critically-acclaimed author, published in twenty-five languages around the world. The Devil Aspect was acquired by Jason Kaufman, Dan Brown’s editor at Doubleday. The movie rights to the Devil Aspect have been bought by Columbia Pictures. Biblical, his science-fiction novel, has been acquired by Imaginarium Studios/Sonar Entertainment for development into a major TV series. Four Jan Fabel novels have been made into movies (in one of which Craig Russell makes a cameo appearance as a detective) for ARD, the German national broadcaster, and the Lennox series has been optioned for TV development.

source

Stay connected with Craig Russell

     

~~~~~

*My Thoughts*

Note: This review contains NO spoilers

Huh... Interesting and dark. This was a well-written read which was rich with history and detail. The synopsis/blurb alone drew me in with its dark and mysterious setting. The pacing of the story was like a slow burn of apprehension that gave me goosebumps from beginning to end. Although seems deliberate to set the "stage" of this story, I felt it dragged for my liking. However, I think this is a contemplative horror mystery that fans of this genre will definitely enjoy. And, that's just it... The Devil's Aspect is not a read that one just breezes right through it; but, this is one that is engrossing and thoughtful which adds to the rich history of the time period that this takes place in.

Although this a genre that I don't read often, The Devil's Aspect is a read that one should read be it a genre one doesn't read much. Why?!? Even I'm asking myself that. Well, all I can say is that The Devil's Aspect is a well balanced dark historical horror mystery that kept me thinking.

My rating:

BLOG TOUR: Interlude by D. Kelly

Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for D. Kelly's Interlude, an Illusion series novel! On our tour stop today, we have an exclusive excerpt to share! So... Check it out and grab your copy now!!!

Genre:

New Adult

Contemporary Romance

Series:

Illusion

Publish Date:

January 29, 2019

Publisher:

EverAfter Romance

Synopsis:

Jordan Weston is good-looking, mysterious, and sexually uninhibited, but his life is more like the name of his bar―Just an Illusion. His cousins are the bad boys of Bastards and Dangerous, but their fame hasn’t made everything rainbows and sunshine for him. He’s haunted, flawed, and the sole survivor of a homicide that wiped out his immediate family.

Allie Baker, the most recent hire at the bar, can see through Jordan’s façade. She knows he’s everything she doesn’t need, but she’s beginning to crave his cocky attitude and the way he looks at her. The more she tries to stay away from him, the more she wants to get to know him.

Jordan knows falling for an employee is a bad idea, but Allie pushes buttons he never realized he had. Even though Allie desperately needs her job, she soon decides being with Jordan is more important. Will they be able to compromise, or will she let her chance at love pass her by for the sake of a paycheck?

      

*Excerpt*

“You’re just a big ol’ loveable ball of fur, aren’t you? Why did your daddy name you Fat Bastard? That’s just mean.”

“Because that’s what he is to most people.”

I jump and grab the cat, who isn’t pleased I disturbed his resting place. “Jesus, Jordan! You scared the crap out of me.”

He leans back against the wall, a grin kicking up at the corner of his mouth. Jordan seems tired but also quite amused. “Sorry, I didn’t expect anyone to be in my house. And I definitely didn’t expect to see my ornery cat curled up in your lap. Did you cast a spell on him?”

“He’s really that bad? I thought Sasha was exaggerating. All I did was feed him, give him water, and talk to him.”

Jordan takes a seat next to me, and I swear the temperature in here just rose about ten degrees. What is it about him that affects me like this? He’s not my type at all. Then again, my type hasn’t worked out so well for me either.

“Fat Bastard earned his name all by himself. Maybe you should have been the one to find him instead of me. I’ve never seen him take to someone like this, except with kids, but kids are pretty special in their own right, so I figured that was probably normal.”

Oh my God, he likes kids.

I’m not sure how to reply because I’m still stuck on the kid thing, but I get a reprieve when my phone rings. Jordan passes it to me and accidentally hits the speaker button.

“Hello? Allie … Christ, Allie, it’s about time! Are you finally going to talk to me?”

Shit. Evan is pissed. Jordan’s eyes cloud over like a  thunderous rainstorm as he scowls at my phone.

“Evan, I can’t talk right now.”

“The hell you can’t. The gala is in three days, Allie. We’re announcing our engagement, your father is out of his mind, and he froze your trust fund. You have no money, Allie. It’s time to stop having a tantrum and come home.”

This is so embarrassing. My gaze locks on J’s, and I mouth “I’m sorry.”

“Evan, I suggest you do some damage control. Find the trollop you were fucking and announce your engagement to her instead for all I care. As I said in my letter, I’m not coming back. I’m sorry if you were planning to live off my trust fund, but if I can live without it, so can you.”

“You selfish bitch!” Evan rages.

Jordan’s eyes widen before he opens his mouth, and when he does, I’m not sure if I want to kiss him or punch him—or both.  

“Babe, come back to bed. My cock misses your lips.”

“Who the hell is that?!” Evan screams.

Jordan nudges the cat to the floor and scoots closer to me. “This is the man Allie is currently fucking. Who are you?”

Evan sputters, and I can picture him losing his cool. “Allie, what is going on?”

Jordan flips me onto his lap, and I squeal in surprise. My eyes widen as he mouths “Go with it.”

What do I have to lose at this point?

Jordan leans in closer, holding the phone between us. “Come on, babe. Hang up the phone and let’s go back to bed.”

“Bed? That’s my fiancée you’re talking about. Allie Bear, tell me this is some kind of sick joke,” Evan whines.

“There’s no ring on her finger. Besides, possession is nine tenths of the law, and since her pussy was just wrapped around my dick, I’d say that makes her more mine than yours right now. Wouldn’t you?”

My cheeks flush as J runs his fingers across one with a lazy grin.

“Come on, Bear, tell him you’re just paying me back. A little quid pro quo, right?”

Jordan snickers. “You call her Bear? That’s adorable, but I think she’s more of a tigress myself. My little Allie Cat.” Jordan drops his mouth to my neck, and I can’t help the moan that escapes me. “Hear that, Evan? Doesn’t sound like anyone’s fiancée to me.” Jordan’s lips ghost over mine, and I whimper. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this attracted to someone, if ever.

“This isn’t over, Allie. Do you hear me?” Evan is probably redder than a beet, but when Jordan lowers his mouth to mine, it erases the image of Evan in my mind.

He kisses me loudly, like a man on a mission. Weaving his hands through my hair, he pulls me close. J nips my bottom lip, and I gasp in pleasure, his length growing beneath me as I press into him with a contented sigh. He turns off my phone and tosses it to the opposite side of the couch.

Jordan’s mouth closes over mine, and I fall into his kiss with all my senses. His tongue meets mine and claims it. This isn’t a sweet getting-to-know-you kiss. This is a sexual awakening I never knew I was missing, and I want more. Evan is already a distant memory as I press myself closer while losing myself in his kiss. As I tug on his hair, he growls into my mouth. I remember the freshly fucked look he had to him when we met, and I want to be the one to make him look that way. I want to be the one on my knees for him.

Binge read the Illusion series now...

    

(covers link to Goodreads)

      

*FREE on Kindle Unlimited*

~~~~~

**About the Author**

D. Kelly, author of The Acceptance Series, The Illusion Series, and standalone companion novels Chasing Cassidy and Sharing Rylee, was born and raised in Southern California. She’s a wife, mom, dog lover, taxi, problem fixer, and extreme multi-tasker. She married her high school sweetheart and is her kids’ biggest fan.

Kelly has been writing since she was young and took joy in spinning stories to her childhood friends. Margaritas and sarcasm make her smile, she loves the beach but hates the sand, and she believes Starbucks makes any day better.

A contemporary romance writer, D. Kelly’s stories revolve around friendship and the bond it creates, strengthening the love of the people who share it.

Stay connected with D. Kelly

     

Blog Tour Organized by