Some desires are of the deepest, darkest kind.
358008
Ryan Becker is new to the literary scene, a handsome young man with a penchant for the gruesome. His list of books to date are SERIAL KILLER: 200 Gruesome yet Fascinating Facts about Serial Killers, and now Book 1 ROBERT BERDELLA: The True Story of a Man who Turned his Darkest Fantasies in a Reality At the end of his book his biography is scant though important  Ryan Becker aims to write all the stories he has read and watched and letting himself be taken into the world of true mysteries and psychological murder crime stories. He also wants to share his experience of his younger days with the readers on how he immersed himself with the dark reality of the world. He loves to tell a true story that will make you solve a puzzle on your mind. He is now living with his wife and two sons. Ideally, Ryan wants to leave a mark on the reader with his dark true crime stories.
And so in this very short (53 pages) book Ryan distills the mind and crimes of the real life Robert Berdella.
In the Introduction Ryan delves into the psychology of serial killers in general  common traits, personality defects and the accompanying shield they hold before the public to deflect suspicion, the various motivation as well as techniques used by serial killers, an then adds  A serial killer is described by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as an offender who commits a series of two or more murders in separate events, usually, but not always, acting alone. Most killers are troubled beings who have suffered traumatic childhoods and cannot live normal, decent lives without causing damage to those around them; others simply enjoy the rush of killing without being discovered. There are many, many more reasons for a human to stray into the act of serial killing, but an even worse category of killer awaits us  one which includes the particular subject of this tale. Sick individuals have always plagued humanity: monsters that have lost all empathy for their fellow humans and can not see past their own personal desires. These include the murderous dictators of recent as well as long-dead history; the leaders of organizations who have taken lives for perverted or unforgivable reasons such as political or racial preferences; and finally those particular beasts disguised by human flesh that have seen fit to experiment on their own species as if they were cattle. The subject of this book is one such figure who fits into the latter group. The press named him The Butcher of Kansas City. He was a true psychopath who sadistically tortured and killed at least six men during a three-year period. However, until he confessed and was arrested, our killer was known simply as Robert Berdella.

The story is gruesome and best summarized as follows: One mans Robert Berdella is anothers Kansas City Butcher. We may not always see what truly hides within the minds and hearts of certain people, and where we believe is a good, pure individual, lays a terrible murderer capable of the most horrible acts. Robert Berdella was one such man, a helpful and friendly individual who  in a spree separated by a few years  managed to capture and horrifically torture seven young men, murdering six along the way. Control and dominance were his tools, the pain was his method. The Kansas City Butcher had no mercy, and his victims soon learned that he had no limits in terms of defiling or humiliating their bodies, minds, and spirits once they were bound and gagged.

Fine writing, expert investigation and documentation, and a pace that speeds the reader through this grotesque tale make this a book to recommend and an introduction to a fine new writer. Incredible as it sounds, this book makes a fine novel! Grady Harp, August 17
3017635
First I'd like to say, I loved this dark book.  Like I said in my header, this is not for someone easily offended, that as soon as something happens they give a 1 star review.  There is swearing, blood, Gore, and sex.  If you can handle it you will not put this down until you are finished.  Sometimes marriages grow a part, and both parties do things to irritate the other.  But sometimes the best laid plans end with being captured by a demented cult.
226850
Wow. I'm really not sure how to describe this book. It's a very dark, twisted and disturbing story. There are points in this book that the level of depravity and cruelty is pretty hard to read. But even saying that I could not stop. I wanted to see how it all ended Ms. Wild has created people that I hope don't really exist. At times I liked both Naomi and Max but for the first time I'll admit I don't truly love either. There is just too much that occurs- they are both too flawed and dark for my taste. The twists and turns of this wicked game do keep you guessing but not always in pleasant ways. Please take the warning seriously. This is an adult's only book and even then only for some people.

Review by Cathy
2633321
Here we have a collection of four dark novellas dealing with unrequited love and deep emotion.  These are disturbing little gems and are to be savored individually.  One novella per reading is just about right.  Each one should be thought about after reading.  This is Southern Gothic at its best and is sincerely recommended for thoughtful readers.  Read, be chilled a bit, and enjoy.
4772636
There are some impulses that, simply said, should never be acted upon. Unfortunately, people act upon them all too often. What allows a person to let go of their conscience and follow their dark desires? Helen Knightly should be able to tell you.

"Morality was just a security blanket that didn't exist. All of it, what I had done and what I was doing, was not leading me perilously toward the edge of a cliff. I had already jumped."

Helen might have started out as an ordinary child, but living with other-than-ordinary parents molded her into a supremely troubled adult. Her father took himself away frequently on what he called business, but often it had nothing to do with his job. And for as long as Helen can remember, her mother suffered from severe mental issues --- so severe that Helen felt like an outcast in their town. She learned to cope in strange ways.

Helen quietly went about daily living like most people. Then one day, she quits doing what is expected of her. When she does, she does it in a big way. She tumbles into an abyss of human tragedy and takes others down with her. One thoughtless, rash act sets in motion a series of events that rush to ruin not just Helen's family but others in her far-reaching grasp. At every intersecting point, one choice will take her to possible forgiveness; another, total devastation.

During the 24 hours that THE ALMOST MOON spans, Helen makes very few good choices. In fact, she makes such unbelievably bad choices --- one after another --- that it becomes hard to care about what happens to her. If she ever had a soul, it seems to have fled. Still, it is possible that one huge sacrifice on her part might put her back on the road to recovery, but she may yet be beyond salvation.

Certainly Helen's mother, Clair Knightly, sounds like a hard woman to love, although Helen says she does. She also claims to hate her. Helen wonders sometimes if her father, a gentle but essentially spineless man, died to escape his beautiful but unstable wife. Age never softened Clair. Her inveterate meanness persisted, assaulting her daughter with constant criticism and groundless derision. Clair was a woman incapable of being pleased. Yet Helen sacrificed her personal happiness to care for her mother. Whether out of guilt, a sense of duty or merely the strength of familial bond, even she may not understand her reasons. Her own failed marriage and strained relationships with her children probably stemmed from what ultimately tied her to her mother. The urge to be free must have been irresistible.

The line between a soul that is yet redeemable and one that is lost is fragile. Has Helen Knightly gone beyond the turning point? If not beyond, she certainly teeters on the brink. She spends one day after her awful deed indulging in retrospection. She rethinks her childhood, her marriage, her own motherhood, her friendships --- as if she's replaying her life in preparation for what she now faces. If she survives, she will face a burden worse than her abusive mother.

THE ALMOST MOON is as flawed as its main character. Had Alice Sebold chosen one conflict for Helen Knightly to resolve instead of allowing her to explode in many obscenely wrong directions, the result would have been more satisfying. As it is, Helen has too many problems converging in one day for her to adequately work out. With that caveat, this novel will keep you mesmerized, from the powerful opening sentence that will hit you like a blow to the chest to the stunning ending. And when you close the book for the final time, be prepared for a long night. Sleep will not come easily.

  --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
2613153
There is something about the sold to pay a debt trope that this authour does with class! I mean, it is super-sexy, super-crazy, and definitely casting dark shadows around, but when two people haunted by the darkness in their past connect, thrive, and flourish, the darkness also gives you a warm feeling

Kill and Cilla meet when she interrupts her brothers taken down. She offers herself to save her brother, and the games begin. She has a dark past that haunts her and her brother. He has a dark past that caused him to lose his sister. They connect on a primal level, but resist giving over that part of themselves to the other

He isn't to be stopped, and she is no shirking violet, and they clash. They clash really well. The emotions run high, and you are there with them along the way. When their world implodes, he tries to be noble. He has his limits, and quickly realizes his mistake.

Their HEA isn't sunshine or roses, but it is what they need, and what they want, and in the end, that is what anybody's HEA should be - what makes them happy!
4326048
There is a voyeurism in her poetry that I sometimes find uncomfortable and it is not because Sexton publicly addresses the m-taboos: menstruation, miscarriage, masturbation, and marriage; and not because I know how her struggle ended for her: suicide by carbon monoxide in her Weston garage. No. It is in reading her pain, sharing with her the awful confrontation with her wrathful demons at the typewriter, that confrontation an indictment to me and all readers not to sit idle without cultivating compassion for those who suffer. We all suffer. Not all of us, however, have the talent to touch the typewriter's keys the way that she did.
4896276
When I started to read this novel, I didn't realize that there was 3 different stories each with it's own main character with whom you root for. There is happiness and love. Betrayal and sadness. All of it ties together to create a nicely written book with 3 unique situations that must be overcome. This dark fantasy novel kept me turning the page to see what would happen next. Nicely done.
3376868
Really horrible, terrifying, mean, cold hearted, despicable violent crimes that some people are capable of is a horrible nightmare. Why they decide to behave in such ways just puzzles me.
4652662
The writing is becoming increasingly darker and darker from a phychlogically point of view.  This ones has a great deal of converging action with respect to the character's own thoughts and activity my multiple characters all at the same time.  Thus sometimes it is hard to follow who is thinking what and what is the action context the thoughts are imbedded into.
2068706
Wow! This book is dark but it is not easy to put down. A mans domination over a woman can be good, but also very sick. I recommend this to only people that believe that love can turn dark, rather leave them in the light.
457706
This is a thoroughly disturbing book to read. Although it finally restores your equilibrium somewhat by the end it does achieve what the author no doubt wanted to achieve by creating characters that were really dark.
4177507
Gingerbread is a tale of crime, guilt, and the darkest quality that humans possess  to inflict harm on themselves just to feel what its like, just to fill that black hole inside. It begins with a simple story about two kids breaking into a candy factory out of boredom and lack of occupation, risking to get caught by the mysterious Candy Man. At first I was sure it would be just your ordinary factory worker, tired of misbehaving kids. Boy, was I wrong. The story quickly took a sinister tone, and no matter who the main characters were, kids or adults, a lot of dark questions were raised. The book that started almost as Peter Rabbit, quickly had me reading at the speed of light because of the dark undertones. I never thought such a short story could be so intense. That part with the gingerbread cookies and Rainys warm memories almost had me hoping it would turn out alright. Almost.
The ending was especially hard. I guess somewhere deep inside Id hoped for some kind of an escape from the situation for both kids, but there was no escape, really. Because no matter when and how they both left the factory, the impact of what happened would never be erased from their memory. I recommend this to everyone fond of short stories, no matter in what genre.

I got a free copy of the book from the author for an honest review.
4153487
When I began reading this book, I actually had nightmares about it.

It was THAT descriptive, to the point where it affected my subconscious on a severely disturbed level.
Irina Myshko is regularly assaulted and raped by her mother's many boyfriends, and other men who seem to find her.

What's worse is that she's pregnant with her mom's boyfriend's kid, and after leaving to get away from his abuse, she lives in the bowels of a dark theater where ANOTHER man abuses her in the broom closet where she lives. Then she falls for a sweet boy named Pavlik, who treats her so kindly and gently that she begins to fall in love. But Pavlik has a secret, one that will mean more suffering and loneliness for Irina.

The Russian references confused me at times, regarding the Stalin statue that talked, etc. But overall the darkness of the story really pulled me in, and I felt fully immersed in Irina's traumatized, childlike mind. Going back to what I said earlier; this book is not easy to read. Scenes from it still pop up in my head every so often; drowning puppies in water, whenever Irina would go into the recesses of her imagination to avoid the rape that was most likely taking place. Not an easy book to read, but an important one.
2271657
Dark, but pulls you deep into the psyche of a young soldier that has lost absolutely everything. You feel for his plight, and even sadden at the thought that this may actually be reality, that there's people living, veterans maybe that suffered hell and things like this, to give us what heavily abused freedom we have.
803704
An intense love burdened by their past. Intense driven an everlasting.
836969
The characters pull you to pieces as their torment unfolds.  The cruelty of man reaches low.  Fleeting moments of raw passion uplift your emotions, to be only replaced with despair.  Strength from within shores up the emotional fight to survive evil.  Tormented souls find redemption and .....