Book review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

I knew exactly what I wanted when I went in search of my last book to read.  I wanted something dark and atmospheric, preferably with a paranormal or supernatural element, that would leave me breathless and swept off my feet.  I’ve read a lot of good books this year but it has been months since I was absolutely devastated by a book.  When I picked up Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood, it certainly seemed to meet the requirements with its gorgeous cover and a title that just rolls off the tongue.

Cas Lowood is a ghost hunter who inherited his skills from his late father. He kills the dead using his father’s athame, relieving the world of vengeful, restless and violent ghosts.  When Cas and his mother travel to Thunder Bay, Ontario, neither of them expect that this will be anything other than a normal assignment.  But “Anna Dressed in Blood” is no normal ghost.  She is more violent and furious than any ghost Cas has ever encountered and far more powerful than he could ever have imagined. 

As Cas unravels the horrific story surrounding Anna’s death, he finds himself confronted with the circumstances surrounding another murder: that of his father.  With the help of his mother, a powerful witch, and his friends Thomas and Carmel, Cas must complete his task and come to terms with his growing feelings for Anna.

Anna Dressed in Blood is absolutely terrifying in parts and has all the elements of a truly disturbing ghost story.  There are scenes that are absolutely shocking and Kendare Blake certainly resisted the temptation to sugar-coat any part of this book.  Her description of Anna is spectacular with the electrified, inky tendrils of her hair, her brute strength and her white dress dripping in blood.  

The book is written in the first person from Cas’s point of view and it is easy to relate to this likeable, witty and intensely self-aware character.  It is a long time since I have liked a protagonist this much.

Most importantly, Anna Dressed in Blood is beautifully written with many of the passages as lyrical and poetic as the title. 

“I like it more to come to a place like this, where the scent of death is carried to you on every seventh breath”.

I was hooked from the first and enjoyed every single page of this book.  It is the type of book that I can imagine reading time and time again and has me wondering if I don’t just prefer books with male protagonists.  It was everything I had wanted: dark, atmospheric, dramatic and utterly devastating. 

I would certainly recommend this book to fans of paranormal, young adult fiction or, indeed, fans of Supernatural or The Secret Circle.  In fact, Anna Dressed in Blood was recently voted one of the YALSA 2012 Quick Picks for reluctant Young Readers making it an inherently readable book that readers would pick up and read for their own pleasure.

It has been announced that Anna Dressed in Blood will be followed up with a sequel, Girl of Nightmares but for once I can honestly say that it doesn’t need it.  The story was perfectly wrapped up in this instalment and Anna Dressed in Blood works well as a stand alone novel or as part of a series.  This might be of interest to readers suffering from young adult series fatigue!

I happily give Anna Dressed in Blood five out of five stars and will certainly be both reading it again and seeking out the sequel when it is released. 

Anna Dressed in Blood will be released in paperback in the US on July 3, 2012 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com. Readers in the UK can pre-order from Amazon.co.uk where it will be available from July 5, 2012.

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Article first published as Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake on Blogcritics.

An advance, electronic copy of this book was provided to me for the purposes of this review and all opinions contain herein are my own. This review contains affiliate links.

Book Review: Koontown Killing Kaper by Bill Campbell

Koontown Killing Kaper by Bill Campbell is the type of book that I normally wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.  It wasn’t just the offensive title (misspelling and all) or the equally offensive cover, but the fact that it is described as satire and I am well known for having no sense of humour at all. 

Still, I was intrigued by the fact that DJ/rapper/producer Triple Threat (a.k.a. Nina Miller) was working to produce a soundtrack for the book, the first time a hip-hop soundtrack has been dedicated to a novel.  When asked how she came to work on this project, when just the name “Koontown Killing Kaper” would be offensive to most people, Triple Threat replied, “I liked the thought of being a part of a project that would cause an immediate reaction and emotion from the listener. Hip-hop’s focus on money, clothes and hoes has made it boring and unoriginal. We need more concept projects like Koontown to break the predictability.”

Hip-hop might be boring but something is not quite right in Koontown, the fictional setting of Bill Campbell’s third novel.  Someone or something is killing rappers in Koontown in the most horrific manner.  Naturally, the police really sit up and pay attention when a published author and respected member of society is added to the growing pile of corpses.  There are rumours that vampire crack babies are doing the killing but that would just be science fiction, right?

Enter Genevieve "Jon Vee" Noire, a former super model and homicide detective, now working as a private detective.  Noire teams up with her former partner in the police force and together they navigate the seediest parts of Koontown’s hip-hop underworld to find out just how far up this conspiracy really goes. 

This is a town where the deaths of gangsters, grandmothers and straight-A students are so prevalent that bodies are processed on an assembly line that would make Henry Ford proud.  In Koontown, gangster rivalries are really just for show, record label flops work as slaves to pay off recording costs, and Cold War biological warfare never really went away. 

The charm of satire is that it can get as ridiculous as it wants and once it is done closely mimicking the ridiculosity of real life, it can descend into the downright bizarre. And Koontown Killing Kaper really does get bizarre at times.  I initially thought that Bill Campbell might be introducing a touch of the paranormal to his book but it turns out that the evil-doers were far more human and real than I imagined.

At its core, Koontown Killing Kaper is a social commentary on the wrongs that were committed against the black urban population historically: the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, the portrayal of minorities in media, the manipulation of data and statistics to suit the ruling ideology and the insistence of focusing on race when class issues are really at play.

This is a contemporary novel set in the Obama administration.  It is chaotic at times, mirroring the mayhem of a city being torn apart by drugs and violence.  Is it gratuitous? Sure, some readers might find the violence, blood and gore to be excessive but on the whole, it is no more so than you might expect on adult television.   In the end, I’ll borrow Campbell’s tongue-in-cheek description of one of his character's books and say that Koontown Killing Kaper portrays “the gritty reality of America’s inner city streets – the pain, the despair, and, ultimately, the hope that burns within all of us”.

I give Koontown Killing Kaper four out of five stars and will certainly read more of Campbell’s work.

You can purchase Bill Campbell’s Koontown Killing Kaper from Smashwords, Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.  You can also download the Triple Threat soundtrack at Bandcamp or visit the koontown.com website for merchandise.

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Article first published as Book Review: Koontown Killing Kaper by Bill Campbell on Blogcritics.

An advance, electronic copy of this book was provided to me for the purposes of this review and all opinions contain herein are my own. This review contains affiliate links.

Dance Your Way to Euro 2012 With the Kia Dubstep Competition

When was the last time you really let you hair down and danced like no one was watching?  Well, what would you say if I told you that you can dance your way to the opening ceremony of the UEFA Euro 2012 or even win yourself a new Kia Picanto?

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship is taking place in Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July this year.  It is a massive competition that takes place every four years and this year, Kia have decided to create hype around the tournament by combining two of Europe’s best exports: football and dubstep.

Now I love dubstep and and look forward to massive hits every summer from bands like Chase & Status and Labrinth.  It all started when two members of one of my favourite bands, Pendulum, went on to form the dubstep group Knife Party.

The question is: do I love dubstep enough to make a complete fool of myself dancing to Flux Pavilion’s “I Can't Stop”?  More that that, am I crazy enough to film myself doing it?  For the chance to win flights, hotels and tickets for two to watch the Euro 2012 opening match in Warsaw, plus the chance to win a brand new Kia Picanto, of course I am!

This is my competition entry.  I like to think that my pure energy and enthusiasm will get me a spot in the final 8, even though I wasn’t quite dancing in tune in places.

To enter, all you have to do is visit the Kia Dubstep Competition Facebook page and upload a video of you dancing to the dubstep tune “I Can’t Stop” by Flux Pavilion.  I’d really recommend visiting the page or the Kia Buzz YouTube channel because there are some truly excellent entries!

Entrants must be over the age of 18 and teams can participate in the videos although a maximum of 2 can claim the prize.  Videos must be uploaded by May 13, 2012 so hurry up and do you video today!

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Post but all opinions are my own.  And yes, that is really me dancing in that video!