Shiftyj1

The perfect sequel to Mark Matthews urban horror tale of drug addiction and extreme dysfunction, “Milk-Blood”.

I didn’t think it could get much bleaker than MB. I was wrong. Lilly is back. So is the heartbreak, tragedy and shear brutality. There are no rainbows and unicorns in this one and there shouldn’t be. It’s not that kind of tale. There is redemption here, but don’t expect to go tiptoeing thru the tulips after reading this one. Under the desk, curled up in a ball, sucking your thumb, is more like it.

It’s easy to get terrified by the urban inner city horror fiction that Mark brings to life with All Smoke Rises while I sit on my couch in a middle class neighborhood with my 2.5 kids and company car in the driveway. It’s easy to ignore the mental illnesses and addictions, the dilapidated living conditions and brutal realities kids born of addiction face every day. It’s easy to be desensitized and look away from the horrific living conditions and circumstance 40 minutes down the road from my little American dream. Mark shatters all that shit. Shatters it. That’s what Milk-Blood and All Smoke Rises do. That’s their job and they do it very well.

A Solid 4.5 Stars and Highly Recommended!

*I was given a review copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review and this was it.

P.S. I failed to mention the excellent quality of the audiobook of this one. Lori Faiella killed it. I sometimes struggle with women narrators and I don’t know why, but Lori was absolutely fantastic.