Finally cracked this open.

Rather dark in tone - but enjoyable all the same. Set in the Australian outback, a faded singer is getting away from it all prior to a come-back concert. Something is lurking in the darkness…

A frisson of a story. Recommended.

THE RUSH THIS BOOK GAVE ME?!?? UNSPEAKABLE!!! 😭😭 I never realized that I still haven’t given this book a review, but I’m here now and that’s all that matters!! I don’t know if there is a paperback version, but I. Want. It. And I want it nowwwww ( )

Jules is a musician who struck it big some years ago, based on songs detailing his despairing love for Coreen, first the girlfriend and then the wife of his friend Ben; she is the only person who “gets” him, while Ben is the only person who will put up with Jules’ extremely self-involved ways. His fame far behind him now, Jules travels to Australia for a “comeback” tour, consisting of one solo gig, but when he learns that Coreen has died, the little hold on real life that he had begins to spiral out of control…. This is a novella, fast-paced and drawing on both romantic melancholy and out-and-out horror story lines, both well-evoked by Mr. Ashley-Smith. My problem with it is Jules, who is one of the most thoroughly unlikeable characters I’ve ever met: massively self-involved, careeningly alcoholic and utterly incapable of seeing the damage he’s doing to everyone around him. So, actually, what happens to him in the end is probably just what he deserves. ( )

I found this story (novella, to be exact) entertaining and unusual. It was part love story and part horror, which I wasn't expecting. I do wish there had been more character development & backstory so that I was given the chance to become attached to the characters, but that's hard to pull off in a novella or short fiction. Overall, I enjoyed the story and was happy I decided to read it. It was definitely original and included a mix of genre's you don't usually come across. ( )

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy for review*

The short length works in the stories favor, forcing you directly into the weird, damaged mind of Jude, who is in a bad place after the death of his best friends wife Colleen. We find out in quick succession that Jude was in unsuccessful and unhappy before he met Colleen, but then had a short and meteoritic rise to fame. Now that that's over, Colleen is dead and Jude is determined to self destruct.

We're right there with him as he struggles to right himself and come to terms with his relationship with Colleen, but the dark almost fetid atmosphere that hangs over him doesn't let our hopes get too high. A weird, trippy little ride. ( )