Midnight Everlasting (The Undercity Chronicles #2) by S.M.Stelmack-Review & Guest Post

Midnight Everlasting (The Undercity Chronicles #2) by S.M. Stelmack-Review and Guest Post

Midnight Everlasting

.99¢ or £0.77 ebook at time of posting:

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/

When a brutal massacre rocks London’s underworld, Zephanie Sweetly must uncover why the legendary Rawheads have suddenly reappeared, shattering the age old truce with her bloodline.

Ten years ago Thomas Coyle’s son disappeared, the trail leading beneath the city’s streets to a shadow world ruled by secret clans.

Now, bound by the prophesy of an ancient lineage, the two must fight their way through a web of lies to save those they love from the wrath of an unknown enemy. But sometimes the deadliest enemies are the ones closest to our hearts.

London’s Rat Queen arises, and it’s time to pay the piper.

•••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: Wow !!! What a ride

After reading the first book, I couldn’t wait to read the next book.

Tom is approached by Zephanie Sweetly, she is offering information regarding his missing son, who in turn wants his help in locating a missing client. A top computer hacker ( a twist I hear you cry )

For ten years Tom, a private detective has been searching for his son, believed kidnapped and taken into the tunnels underneath London. I liked this character, very much. Zephanie, isn’t your typical heroine. A leader of one of the most powerful criminal clans inhabiting the underground network of tunnels.

Again this writing duo knocks me off of my feet with their unique blend of Writing. This second installment in the UnderCity Chronicles takes place in and under London. And for me, it was even better than book one. There just seemed to be a so much more going on. A whole lot of new characters, and the ever present Rawheads, (these were the creatures from book one, who live underground and have recently started appearing to terrorise the underground dwellers).

It’s a fast paced book, and will keep you turning the pages until the end. (Which had me on the edge of my seat)

Who is the rat queen ? What is the prophesy ? And will the Rawheads be stopped ?

It’s a thriller, a little comedy, tons of suspense, and a dash of romance. What more could you ask for in a book ?

Highly recommended

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Julie B.

The Undercity Chronicles

Undertow (The Undercity Chronicles #1): ebook .99¢ or £0.77 at time of posting-
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble /

Guest Post-Black and Green

If All Else Fails, then It Must Be A Story

You know the old adage about doing what you love? For writers that translates into writing what you love. Easy enough when you’re one person, but when two people with different tastes in fiction come together to create a story you get…well, you get what we write—a mash-up of science fiction, horror, paranormal, urban fantasy, thriller and romance.

When we published Undertow a year and half ago, we were eager to hear what category readers would assign it, because we hadn’t a clue. Turns out neither did they. They loved it but had no idea what it was. Kind of like having a long conversation with someone next to you on a plane and parting ways without getting their name.

With our second in the series, Midnight Everlasting, we seemed to have more elements that could be construed as urban fantasy, so we’re currently marketing it as that. But our fans still don’t know what to make of it. And we can tell you that our third book, Necropolis of Light, will not be any easier to pigeonhole because the urban fantasy elements are now swinging more to political conspiracy thriller. With romance, but not like the romances in the first two. Still with horror and paranormal, but introducing more contemporary science fiction elements. Choosing category words for our Amazon listing is a nightmare because we’re only allowed two.

We don’t see things changing. The UnderCity Chronicles has taken on its own milieu and momentum, and we’re happy to report that the genre blending will continue. We tell stories. Stories that men and women enjoy equally, that romance lovers can curl up with and science fiction/fantasy fans can explore.

Read a history book and you won’t find the stories to be neat and tidy. Politics goes hand in hand with both war and peace, which in turn are inspired by courage, terror, villainy and love. The most moving tales of real life are all romances, action adventures, horror yarns. Humans aren’t simple caricatures. We all have dreams and desires. Great strengths and secret weaknesses. To be really interesting, fiction must mirror that.

That’s why we strive to make our novels the same as every other good story out there, real or imagined. We are absolutely committed to the universal principles of storytelling: unforgettable characters, heart-stopping tension and compelling ideas. Because the tale is everything, so damn the genre.

~~S.M. Stelmack~~

About The Author Black and Min

SM StelmackS. M. Stelmack is our pen name, short for Serge & Moira Stelmack.

Follow: Goodreads / WebsiteFacebook/ Twitter

We aim to give what we like in a story— gutsy men and women, high stakes and LOL lines. Serge is the storymaster who blasts out the beginning, middle and end. Moira comes behind, clucking and hemming, as the story undergoes countless rewrites till it meets our vision. She’s also the media relations manager, senior editor, marketing VP, director of operations (domestic and foreign), comptroller and the one who makes sure that Serge has a steady supply of cola while he works.

2014_RONE_Winner_mystery

 

We live with our two kids, and several other strange pets, in a land of wintertime sunshine and snow and summertime mud and mosquitoes. Actually, it’s not that bad. The snakes in the local lake aren’t venomous

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Gina Takes Bangkok (The Femme Vendettas #2) by S.M.Stelmack-Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

Gina Takes Bangkok (The Femme Vendettas #2) by S.M.Stelmack-Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

Gina Takes Bangkok

Gina Takes Bangkok
The Femme Vendettas #2
by S.M.Stelmack
Release Date: Sept/Oct 2013

Review

About the Book: NOTE TO READERS: This story follows FOX HUNT, the first in the series and where Gina Zaffini is introduced. But you can read the second before the first. It’s something Gina would do.

Before starting, here’s what you’re in for.

The last heir of the Zaffini crime family, nothing scares Gina. Not car crashes. Not death threats. Not assassins. Not even Kannon Takahama, the legendary gunman her father charged with avenging the slaughter of his best friend’s family. Set loose on the shifting underworld of Bangkok, the two must outmaneuver a monstrous clan from the nightmare jungles of Cambodia, all the while negotiating the minefield of their mutual attraction. There’s a chance they could win the first battle. As for the second, well, Gina intends total surrender from the muscled hitman. After all, she can’t be frightened, and there’s nothing more scary than love.

••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW:

GINA TAKES BANGKOK is the second storyline in S.M.Stelmack’s contemporary action-packed The Femme Vendetta series but can be read as a stand alone without too much difficulty. Our heroine Gina Zaffini was first introduced in Fox Hunt and our couple from the first storyline have a small but revealing role in Gina’s story. Gina Takes Bangkok forwards the series by one to two years.

The premise follows Gina Zaffini as she must return to Thailand to hunt for the people responsible for the attempted murder and abduction of her god-sister. But Gina’s life has not been all flowers and sunshine. As the only surviving heir to the Zaffini crime family, Gina knows a thing or two about violence and murder. It is upon her return to Bangkok that Gina will be swept into a life and death struggle for control of the gangs and the streets of the seedier side of a beautiful Asian city.

We are reintroduced to Kannon, a man we first met in FOX HUNT and the man with whom Gina will fall in love. But a relationship between members of two of the most powerful crime families is not easy, especially when death and dismemberment threaten to pull everyone apart. Their relationship is slow to build and at times you will begin to wonder if either will survive the outcome of a potential war between Bangkok and Cambodia’s powerful crime syndicates.

Gina Takes Bangkok is a gritty read. It is not a story of romance, hearts and flowers. The storyline is rife with violence, murder, torture and a realistic look at the sadistic and murderous underbelly of Asian gangs and those who find outlets using the most innocent of humans. There is no mistaking the intent of many of the storyline characters. And no one is safe from the attempted abductions and killings.

Our heroine Gina is a strong woman but also a woman with a heart. She is compassionate yet knows that there are people out there who will take advantage of a woman in power. And it will be her compassion that may prove to be her weakest attribute when the time comes to stop the rivalry in Bangkok.

S.M.Stelmack pulls the reader into a roller coaster ride through the back streets of a city known for its’ beauty but also its’ decent into gang wars and crime; poverty and death. You can almost feel the anxiety and angst of the people as they struggle to survive in a world that has become foreign and is no longer familiar. The construct of a world that is awash in a colorful façade that hides an ugly culture beneath the silk and marketable goods will pull you under until your only recourse is to come up for air and start all over again.

Gina Takes Bangkok is a story of family and loss; pain and heartbreak; revenge and the evil that resides in some of the world’s most powerful people. But it is also a story of hope and love. When everything in the world begins to crash in around you, you hold on to the one bright spot in your life, hoping that both of you will survive to see another day.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

_______________________________________

Guest Post

The Real Story Behind Our Stories

SM Stelmack

Doesn’t that photo of us make it seem as if we could spend all day wrapped up in each other’s arms, whispering naughty stories to each other? Yeah, no. That’s not us. There’s a story behind that picture, the revealing of which I divulge on my GoodReads blog.
(http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6968150.S_M_Stelmack/blog)

Follow: Goodreads / Website / Newsletter Sign Up /

Serge and I have turned writing novels into a creative slugfest in which the only true winner is the story itself. He and I swear we’re never going to write another book again (one of us swears it every page or so as we intuitively cooperate in our dissension) and then no sooner is it out the door, then we start yapping about the next one. Why?

We haven’t a clue.

It all starts innocently enough. We have a wonderful brainstorming session as we invent a situation and so engaged is Serge that he wanders off and writes the opening scene almost immediately. That’s the way it was with the opening scene of Gina Takes Bangkok. We chatted a few minutes about the kind of person Gina is, he got a glazed look on his face and tapped out the scene at the kitchen table, while I crashed around him making supper.

During the next few months, he keeps tapping out the story, and I read the scenes alongside him. As the story thickens and more is tossed in, he and I brainstorm again. Serge rewrites enough to get the story back on track and ploughs on, until the next creative roadblock occurs. Somewhere along the way, we realize what the story is really about. But even then, Serge pushes on, and I stay out of the way unless he asks for feedback. My comments stick to issues of pacing and plot holes, the big picture stuff. I let my husband freewheel, let him play out scenarios, let those imaginative juices flow. Let him be an awe-rtist. Who am I to point out that every blinking person does not need to nod every blinking time they agree to anything anybody blinking says?

Once he completes his precious first draft, he hands it over to me to edit. His take: make a few minor alterations and have it back for the final read-through in a week. My take: change every blinking word of every blinking scene. Write more blinking scenes. This is where I typically build up the romance, tighten the inner conflicts to the outer, flesh out the characters, give them their quirks, dream up the zingers. Now, I am the awe-rtist. As I write them, I turn the scenes over to Serge who is now the editor. While I’m the most genial and empathetic and nurturing of editors, he’s mean, mean, mean. He tells me my prose is overwrought and pointless. He says I can do better. I huff out and just to show him, I do better.

There is a quick breather while we send it out to an editor. Once back, we undertake The Read-through. This is the grueling stage where the kids subsist on air and the dream of the day they’ll have a place of their own. Where neighbours clap their hands over their children’s ears as they hustle them into the mini-van. Where divorce lawyers camp out on our lawn, sure that this time we’ll cave, sure that this time there’ll be a marital implosion. This penultimate edit is the most excruciating marathon two people have ever willingly submitted to. It is a deceptively straightforward exercise: I sit in front of the computer and read the manuscript to Serge. We sail along, the words rippling out in a lyrical stream, on and on until we hit line four. He stops me. ‘Vintage’ was repeated.
‘How about we take it out?’

‘Moira, your solution for every problem is to take it out.’

‘Not everything. You’re still here.’

‘Ha, ha. Can we stick to the topic?’

‘Okay, what would you suggest?’

‘I don’t know. I thought you’d gone over it. Why are there still repeated words?’

Insert long studied gaze at screen during which much is thought and ends with “How about ‘retro’?”

“Retro? It’s not the exact right word but it’ll do.”

I insert the change and continue reading.

“Could you start from the top? To see if it flows right.”

And that’s how it goes for a full weekend plus weeknights plus another full weekend. Stop, start, stop, start, stop, stop, and stop. While Serge fixes my bungles (slight mishaps, I assure you) I do kid patrol and throw together meals of chips, water and whatever I can wave the flies off. Sometimes I’m doing the fixing, unraveling some particularly knotty problem while Serge gets busy with his nap. The man has been known to doze off while I’m reading. Those naps are always very rudely interrupted. An attack by a band of howler monkeys would be less rude than what I do. Finally, through sheer orneriness and because murder is too messy, we reach ‘THE END’.

The story is now worthy. It is the best we have; we poured heart, soul and bile into creating something that wasn’t there before. It, like our marriage, survived trial by creative fires. After this, I do another edit to make things as pretty as possible.

Serge and I both know that we are over-the-top and hypersensitive. We both know that calm minds ought to prevail. We both hope our children are not permanently scarred, as we try to salvage the damage by telling them that their parents are idiots who love each other anyway. Both of us wish there was a different way, and truthfully, we are getting better with each novel as we learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses—and our own, for that matter. Truthfully, I exaggerate the drama—though only a little. And truthfully, when we’ve hit it, when that piece in that scene sings high ‘C’, there’s no feeling like it.

Gina would compare it to sex. She might be right. Hmmm….

Pardon me, while I interrupt my husband’s nap. Not so rudely, this time.

Giveaway 21-30-51

S.M.Stelmack are offering an ecopy of GINA TAKES BANGKOK to one lucky reader at The Reading Cafe. The book will be delivered upon release of the novel.

1. Please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (sidebar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY

4. Giveaway runs September 23 to 27, 2013

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An Interview and Giveaway with S.M. Stelmack

An Interview with S.M. Stelmack

sm stelmack
The Reading Cafe is happy to welcome S.M. Stelmack, who are the writing team of Serge & Moira Stelmack.  They are here today to discuss two of their recent releases, as well as to tell us a little about themselves.

Let’s meet Serge & Moira.

 

Hi S.M.  Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions today. We are always looking forward to reading about the authors behind the book.

TRC: S.M. Stelmack is the husband/wife writing team of Serge & Moira Stelmack. Will you please tell us about yourselves?

Serge/Moira: We’re just your average couple with kids trying to make a living and doing the best we can. Serge is a partner at an engineering firm and Moira homeschools our two kids. We're both ambitious A type personalities, but we've also got very active imaginations which we express through our writing. Creating stories to share with others is something we love doing together, and it helps us escape all our self-inflicted stressors.

TRC: Have you always been interested in writing? How did you decide to become a writing team, and what are the challenges in writing a book together?

Serge/Moira: Serge was cutting his storytelling teeth by age ten, playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends. He did that straight into his twenties, by which point he had become a master of creating stories on the fly. Moira took a more conventional route, getting an English degree, writing for magazines and newspapers and penning several unpublished novels too embarrassingly awful to even think about. She also joined her local chapter of Romance Writers of America which enormously improved her craft and understanding of the industry. We decided to write together more or less on a whim, and, like any great partnership, found we each had what the other needed. Serge is amazing at spinning a story but bolts when the couple are left alone in a hotel room. Moira doesn’t know how to get the characters into trouble, much less out of it, but loves to get down and dirty with their emotions and attractions, really bringing them to life. Mind, Serge is always up for providing the male perspective during the sex scenes.

TRC: Is there anything (in general) you find particularly challenging about writing & publishing a book?

Serge/Moira: Avoiding divorce court. Seriously though, we have a lot of heated discussions about how to make our books the best they can be. Since both of us are very driven it can sometimes be difficult to find a happy medium between our strong opinions.

TRC:  Fox Hunt is your first book in your The Femme Vendettas series. Can you tell how you came up with the idea of this series?  What is the premise of this series, and how many books are you planning?

Serge/Moira: Serge's childhood was full of unconventional people, many of which had an uneasy relationship with the police. Though he's kept to the straight and narrow himself, there's always been a fascination with outlaws and criminal subcultures, which really comes out in the stories. We wrote Fox Hunt while one was taking a sabbatical from work and the other was pregnant with our second child. (Guess who was doing which?) The writing was more halyconic than anything we’ve ever done before or since—the manuscript was finished on Friday, and the baby arrived Saturday morning.

The Femme Vendettas are an interconnected series of stories about men and women in the criminal underworld aiming to do the right thing despite their circumstances. We’re not out to glorify crime, but feel that the choices conscientious criminals make can be tough, and often far more complex than for us who reside within the walls of the law. We’ve no idea how many books there will be. If readers continue to enjoy them, we’ll keep writing ‘em. We’re currently working on the second book in the series, Gina Takes Bangkok. It features both the hitman and offbeat office manager from Fox Hunt, and that pattern of elevating minor characters in one book to main characters in the next is something we're planning on continuing.

fox hunt


TRC:
Would you please give us a brief description of
Fox Hunt?

Serge/Moira: Fox Hunt (The Femme Vendettas) is a 70,000-word high-octane read about an ex-cat burglar who accepts the help of a stuntman in order to find out why the Yakuza suddenly want her dead. That’s about as brief as we can make it.

Link to order Fox Hunt: Amazon

 

 

TRC: Undertow, which is your first book in The UnderCity Chronicles, was recently released in April. Can you please tell us the premise of this series, and how many books are you planning?

Serge/Moira: The UnderCity Chronicles delves into the legends of underground sub-cultures that thrive beneath several famous cities—New York, London, Moscow, Paris and Berlin. We're planning five books in this series, one for each of the cities just mentioned, and there will be some overlap with the stories and characters of our other series.

undertow


TRC:
Would you please give us a brief description of Undertow?

Serge/Moira: Undertow (The UnderCity Chronicles) is an 80,000-word rescue mission into the New York underground, led by an anthropologist and his high school crush whose niece is held captive by the sub-human creatures that dwell there.

Links to order Undertow: Amazon

 

TRC: On your website, we see you have two more books coming this year, and already have one planned for 2014.  Can you please tell us about these books, and what else you are working on?

Serge/Moira: As we mentioned, we’re currently pounding out the next in the Femme Vendetta series, Gina Takes Bangkok. It’s due for release early September and we’ll be back here for a guest post about it on September 23rd! Learning about Thai culture is fascinating and explains so much about Gina’s spontaneity. Next up will be Midnight Everlasting, the second in the UnderCity Chronicles, set in London. Rats and romance. Nice ring, eh? The third one is Entrapped, the first in a series about people who have been subjected to bizarre and unethical experiments by the shadowy Hallorvorden Society.

TRC: What is your writing process, especially since you are a team?  Do you like to write at specific times, in a special place, etc?

Serge/Moira: Between jobs and family and the continual hiccups that both provide, we write when we can. Right now, I (Moira) am doing this interview while Serge is at the office writing a scene before his work day starts. Come his lunch break he'll email me his work, and over the phone I’ll read aloud what he’s written. We’ll discuss it and carry on from there. In the final editing stages, after it comes back from our editor, it’s grueling because both of us are perfectionists, and every word looms large at that point.

TRC: You write in the Romance Suspense/Thriller genre. Is there any other genre you are interested in writing?

Serge/Moira: Moira is also working independently on an historical romance set in Russia. It features a female assassin, and the Tsarist officer charged with uncovering the conspiracy she's involved in.

TRC: What are your favorite things you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

Serge/Moira: Hmmm…not sure if your site allows adult content, so we better not answer this one.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Serge/Moira: Thanks for the inviting us to The Reading Café!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Instant Noodles. (Serge) Anything she hasn't had to cook herself. (Moira)

Favorite Dessert: Sprinkle Donuts. (Serge) Stewed rhubarb. (Moira)

Favorite Novel: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (Serge) Nope, uh-uh, not picking favorites. (Moira)

Favorite Movie: Lair of the White Worm. (both) It’s sooooo bad, it’s hilarious.

Favorite Literary Character (Male or Female) Not your own: Winston Smith from Nineteen Eighty-Four. Nope, uh-uh, not picking favorites. (Moira)

Milk or Dark Chocolate: Milk for both. It goes so well with so many other good things!

Thank you Serge & Moira for answering our questions. The Reading Café wishes you the best of luck with Fox Hunt & Undertow.

Giveaway-gold/purple

S.M. Stelmack has graciously offered one lucky member of The Reading Cafe an e-copy of both of their recent releases, Fox Hunt and Undertow.    Because this is Kindle only, the winner must have a Kindle reader or use the Kindle app.BONUS story. Dear Delta Letters (Delta Fox from FOX HUNT) a bonus story to be added to giveaway..

1.  You must be a member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the Log-In at the top of the page, or by using one of our social log-ins.

2.  If you are using a social log-in e.g. Twitter, please leave your email address along with your comment.

3.  Giveaway open to US & Canada Only

4.  Contests runs from June 28 to July 1, 2013

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Fox Hunt (Femme Vendetta #1) by S.M.Stelmack-a review

FOX HUNT (The Femme Vendettas #1)by S.M. Stelmack- a review

fox hunt

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca

RELEASE DATE: March 2013

No good deed goes unpunished. Brian Chanse, self-diagnosed adrenaline junkie and all-round good guy, is driving through a freak rainstorm in New Mexico when he takes pity on a hitchhiker. Little does he know that his passenger has loads more problems than mild hypothermia. It turns out that ex-cat burglar Delta Fox is running for her life. Why and from whom, she doesn’t know, but the answers lie in her old stomping grounds in L.A.

After Brian outmaneuvers the Yakuza in a high-speed car chase, Delta appreciates his talents but resists his offers of help. But when the Yakuza threatens his staff, Brian insists they team up. So begins their partnership into the L.A. underworld, into a twisted place of murder and seduction, betrayal and revenge. Between her stealth skills, his stunts and their compulsion to watch over each other, they just might survive the hunt.

•••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: FOX HUNT is the first storyline in The Femme Vendetta romantic/suspense contemporary series by the writing team of Serge and Moira Stelmack.

The storyline focuses on Brian Chanse and Delta Fox. Like the blurb says, one rainy night Brian picks up a lone stranger and his life will never be the same. Delta is on the run; as a proficient cat-burglar who steals back from those who have stolen from others, Delta learns she has been framed for the murder of a young teen. There are hit men after her and everyone she knows is either dead or lying to protect themselves. And to complicate matters, the law has caught up with her endeavors and she is facing prison time.

The relationship between Brian and Delta is interesting. Delta is ill when Brian first discovers her on the roadside to nowhere and he must nurse his ailing passenger but he soon finds himself falling for the beautiful thief. He is quick to accept her quirks and life-style, as he too, is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Hoping to be of some assistance, Brian agrees to help Delta prove her innocence but along the way he will lose his heart and almost his life to the woman with whom he is falling in love.

Fox Hunt is a well-written storyline. I enjoyed the relationship between Delta and Brian very much. I also like the fact that although Delta is a strong, independent heroine, she wasn’t above asking for help and she had the ability to feel. Her emotions were not closed off or hidden behind what I call ‘the b*tch with attitude’.

The character building is fluid. There are no missteps with the background information to many of the secondary characters. But they are plenty of secondary characters involved in the action and chase scenes as well as throughout the building of the storyline.

We are introduced to several secondary characters including Brian’s assistant Gina and his manager Ursula aka The Nun. There are many humorous moments involving Gina and Ursula, especially when one is the polar opposite of the other and they butt heads at every opportunity including how to take care of their boss. The reader will be happy to know that Gina will have her story told in the next installment-Gina Takes Bangkok.

S.M. Stelmack (Serge and Moira) have written a fascinating storyline of action, suspense and romance where the reader becomes part of the action. The connection between Delta and Brian evolves throughout the storyline. Brian falls hard for the feisty female, but Delta holds back knowing that she will be placing Brian’s life in danger as the hunt for a killer, unfolds. In the end, Delta must accept the consequences of her actions and Brian will be waiting with open arms and an open mind.

Copy supplied by the authors.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Undertow by S.M. Stelmack – a Review

Undertow by S.M. Stelmack – a Review

undertowLinks to order Undertow: Amazon

Book Description:
Lindsay Sterling’s niece has gone missing in the New York underground and the cops do nothing except pass along a name. Jack Cole. Twenty years ago they were good buddies but horrors have changed them both. Lindsay lost her entire family except for her niece in a car accident, and Jack was held captive in New York’s underbelly for nearly two years by demented sub-humans. It was a soul-sucking experience that’s left him a shell of a man. He refuses to descend into that hell again, especially for a girl who’s probably dead anyway. But when Lindsay is nearly killed there after going it alone, Jack feels compelled to save her skin. Jack navigates Lindsay through a strange territory, populated with the eccentric, the insane and the desperate. Each encounter takes them closer to Lindsay’s niece but also closer into the clutches of the mad creatures that will enslave them.

Review:
Undertow by S.M. Stelmack was an excellent adventure. I give it a 4/5 rating  This book is full of danger, intrigue and friendships.  Imagine a city under a city, levels of this city divided, until we get to the lowest of the low. Each level has their hierarchy, rules and laws. At the top we have running water and electricity. Each level goes deeper and deeper, until we hit total darkness. And the monsters.

Lindsay once had a friend called Jack, they were inseparable. Jack was the ultimate adventurer, he would travel underground searching for treasures and stories to tell his avid follower.  An incident in their past puts a strain on their friendship. Then Jack and his father have to move away, this is the end of the dynamic duo. But they keep in touch, postcards, letters and birthday phone calls. Then a blow rocks Lindsay’s world, and she cuts Jack out if her life forever…..

We jump ahead eighteen years. Lindsay’s worse nightmare comes true, she loses her remaining family member underground. The police can’t help, due to lack of funds and manpower. She is given a name and number to contact, to her shock, it’s Jack’s name looking back at her. 

Tracking him down, she arrives at a rundown building, where she meets a mountain called Reggie. Getting past Reggie to see Jack is a challenge in it’s self.

Their meeting doesn’t go as planned.  He is cold, distant and totally disinterested in her plight. Undeterred, Lindsay plans to go underground and look for her niece. Packing a rucksack full of things she will need, Lindsay ventures to Grand Central Station, in search of a guide, to take her underground. She meets a bunch of youths who promise to take her to the people she needs to see. Only trouble in the shape of a knife is what she gets. Reggie rescues her, and takes her back to Jack.   Jack relents and tells her that he will take her underground, and to be ready the next morning. 

Along the journey, we meet characters, who know of Jack the legend. (it seems Jack has his own underground story to tell, which we get to see in flash backs)

Jack has loved Lindsay since childhood, but Jack is broken. The moles (who are at the bottom of the underground social network, but are feared by everyone) broke him, tried to remould him into someone else. Jack’s flashbacks are very important to the story, we get to see them try to break him, and all the horrors he was forced to endure. 

The moles want their property back (Jack being theirs), and will do anything to keep him from returning to the surface.  Jack and Lindsay reconnect and their love for one another begins to grow, from the child worship to adult love. The story is fast paced and nail biting, right up to the ending.              

What I liked about this book was the adventure, I could see this as a movie, the monsters scary enough for any horror fan. It flowed really well. And it felt like real time, as there was the sleep, eating, fighting and escape. Do they rescue her niece ? Do they find happiness, or will reality set in ? Well I’m afraid you will have to read this amazing book yourself. 

My only niggle, the end felt a little rushed, I thought there would be a meeting, or a showdown. I see there is another book due out 2013, I will be putting it on my kindle list. I can’t recommend it enough. It really was a ride a minute. 

Reviewed by Julie B.

Copy provided by Author

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