Review: Don't pick up strangers!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2014
When a showgirl named Kitty accidentally kills her boss, she quickly finds herself on the run with a petty criminal named Rex. When two more people wind up dead, Kitty, Rex, and an odd young boy named Harvey head for Mexico...I got this from Netgalley.The DarkFuse novella series continues to impress. Ceremony of Flies is a road trip novel through the American southwest, from Las Vegas to Mexico, with lots of killing and creepy stuff along the way.Even though it's a pretty slim story, there's a lot going on in Ceremony of Flies. Kate Jonez does a great job of pacing, both in action and how she doles out the backgrounds of Kitty and Rex is small morsels. I liked how Kitty gradually made Rex and Harvey her family, despite Harvey being one creepy little kid. Although, when you pick up a strange kid at the crossroads, you're pretty much asking for it.Kitty is a pretty good narrator, her black humor a nice counterpoint to the generally icky feeling the book gradually acquires along the way. Oddly enough, the part of the book I found most revolting was the swim in the Salton Sea, one of the foulest lakes on Earth from what I'm told.I'll be watching for more Kate Jonez books to pop up.