Review: A Dark and Twisted Ride!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 8, 2011
Official snapshot:"The City of San Francisco is locked in a grip of fear. A series of occult murders has led, Inspector Thomas James, to a crime scene similar to a murder committed 90 years ago in the once grand Aleris Hotel. A place where power barons of the early 20th Century engaged in witchcraft. And silent film stars indulged in the most wicked of sins.A place where no one questions the black smoke that rises from the hotel's incinerators in the middle of the night."Literally, that is just the beginning. When Thomas James goes to the Aleris Hotel, he finds most of its inhabitants dead and what comes next is mind boggling.This novel touched on everything from serial killers such as Manson (ok, arguably just a ring leader), The Black Dahlia, and Jack the Ripper to Nazi Germany and the scandalous days of Fatty Arbuckle.I have to be careful not to drop any real spoilers here, but the story was evocative of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in its wide cast of characters and their eventual relationships to one another. There are ghosts, a set of wicked twins who are beyond supernatural, and symbolism akin to a dark Dan Brown.The pace, the style, the characters were so well written that I finished this book in one sitting. I can't wait to find out about Zoe and will be at the front of the virtual line for the follow-up.If you're looking for a dark and twisted ride, this book is for you.