Published by Flame Tree Press on June 13, 2019
Pages: 304
Goodreads
Also by this author: The Siren and The Specter, The Sorrows, Old Order, The Nightmare Girl, Savage Species, Wolf Land, The Dark Game, House of Skin, The Raven, Blood Country
Cody wants to regain his self-respect. Willet just wants his father's leg back. Both of them are tracking a band of traveling actors who leave carnage and heartbreak in their wake. The dust devils. When the actors came to town and recruited his wife for a plum role, Cody Wilson had no idea they would seduce and murder her. Eight-year-old Willet Black was equally unsuspecting the night the devils destroyed his family's ranch and slaughtered everyone he loved. Now Cody and Willet are bent on revenge, but neither of them suspects the true nature of their five adversaries. For Adam Price and his actors are older than the deserts and mountains over which they ride. Feeding on the young old and alike, their taste for human flesh is insatiable, and their lust for comely young women is consuming. Even if word of their atrocities were to spread, it would take an army to oppose them. But it is 1885 in the wilds of New Mexico, and there is no help for Cody and Willet. The unlikely pair must make a stand and face an unfathomable evil. They must destroy the dust devils or die trying. But there is something even worse than being murdered by monsters. There is damnation. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
✮ My Review ✮
Gah, where do I start with this book!?! So I am kicking off the tour for another Janz tour – yup I am one spoiled blogger and I am sat here thinking how do I write this review! Do I talk about how gruesome this book was? How it was completely bat- shit crazy from the get-go? About how the “vampires” in this are not the Twilightly fancy ones but more close to the freaky deaky Fright night ones? How much I bloody loved this book – or is that just a given?
Jumping straight into the action with Cody, he has lost his wife to a horrific crime due to these Dust Devils, watching them from afar having a snack over a fire pit, and we do not need to discuss what they were actually eating, he tries to stop Willett a small boy from making the biggest mistake of his life. This act by Cody, then starts yet another catalyst for the crazy wild west as the Travelling actors hold zero bars against anyone who get in there way and especially anyone who manages to injury, mane or kill one of their own!
Dust Devils is one high octane journey in 1885 Mexico, there is zero chance of it slowing down, not until you are done with the story. Janz is not one to hide and go for a Hollywood ending for sure so there were a couple of shocks, however where his other books have been intense and creepy this was just a wild ride and at times a race against time.
It was such a belter of a book that I managed to negotiate some time with my little one to leave me some reading time and I finished it one afternoon. I did then have to play hide and seek for a while in order to get the peace but small sacrifices just to make sure Cody could survive Mr Price, the king of the travelling band of vampires.
If you come into the book with an expectation of vampires, the hot seductive lifestyle that you can have…well this is most definitely the before picture in my head… and I warn you…this is the picture you will have in your head when they show their true form…All I will say is Fright Night is an epic film (and one of my favourites!!) and I wonder how much of an influence it really had. (Skip along now if you don’t want to see)
I for one do not wish to be caught by one of these merry little men! Of course with any vampire story, you do have the seduction and the sex and this then leads us to the embarrassment of Cody as he watches his wife be seduced by this. Cody is not your typical leading man, he is deemed as weak and times a little crazy as he has constant arguments in his head with no backbone. But he is loyal to a fault and a heart of gold and to be honest if a man didn’t break down at times after experiencing what he had, I would be more afraid and looking out for my garlic!
You know when you open a book by Janz exactly what you are going get. You know there will gore, horror, sex and a lot of uncomfortable reading and Janz did not let me down here! Throw in the wild west and it was a bonus in my eyes. We have the good ole saloons, the resident Doc, men wearing Stetsons, gunfights in the street and of course a show to whet your appetite, what more do you want! I could hear the spurs clinking on the street and I could feel the dust and dirt on my face as if I was right smack bam in the middle of the action, thank the lord I was not!! To complete my journey, I just wanted to hear someone say “Howdy ma’am”
Until next time xxx
Thank you so much to Anne at Random Things Tours for the tour invite and the author and publisher for a copy of this book in return for my honest and unbiased review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Shalini says
I read one of his books. Sounds so good. Damn I wish these guys would offer me a tour spot for such exciting books. Ah well…
Fantastic review… Howdy, ma’am ??
Zoé says
Speak to Anne, she hosts them. I always keep an eye out for the tours otherwise I would miss them.
Loving the Howdy woohoo morning complete You alright y’all lol xx
Shalini says
I did. Maybe they want UK bloggers more than international ones
Zoé says
Oh boo to that! 🙁
Kelly says
Well howdy ma’am! Great review, I love it when you’re Janz-fan-girling ?
Zoé says
I am suprised I do not have a restraining order yet ha ha. Well thank you kindly ma’am lol
Toni says
Great review Zoe! I just finished this yesterday ready for my spot on the Tour next week. I don’t typically love ‘Vampire’ stories, but these vampires, YES!
I had to try and refrain from going full on fan girl in my review, I loved it too! (Spoiler alert lol)
Zoé says
I do love this spoiler alert lol
Toni says
Haha!