Published by Erasehead Press on October 1 2020
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Pages: 142
Amazon UK, Amazon US
Goodreads
After becoming the suspect in the death of a young woman he was investigating, Deputy Sam Hardy is "vanished" to a town in the middle of the desert called Angels and Hope.
A company town built to support a magnificent amusement park (one to rival Disneyland) known as Captain Clive's Dreamworld.
When he arrives in Angels and Hope, Hardy begins to notice some strange happenings.
Virtually no customers ever visit. None of the townsfolk ever seem to sleep. And girls seem to be going missing with no plausible explanation.
As Hardy begins investigating, his own past is drawn into question by the town, and he finds himself becoming more and more isolated. The truth—about the town and himself—will lead him to understand that there’s no such thing as a clean escape.
If you came here today for a coherent review, erm…well you best look again! I have nothing coherent to say. This was a hot mess of a crazy story, but my god it was good! I mean, I read the blurb but still was not sure what I was letting myself in for. I just did not expect anything like this!
Hardy is a cop, he constantly beating on himself, but the reasons at first are unknown. He is shipped off to Angels and Hope, where dreams do come true. The first feeling I had when reading, is that it is all very Stepford-ish! The perfect neighbours, the perfect town, the happiest place you will ever live, well only if you don’t scratch the surface too hard. You go looking for what is going on underneath it all, well you won’t like what you find. It was something depraved and visceral and you can’t quite believe your eyes. I know I didn’t. It was shocking and brutal, so don’t come to Captain Clive’s if you want hearts and flowers because you won’t find that here! However, we are constantly drummed in that this is paradise, your dreams will come true here, yeah I am not sure about that!
It is one of those wonderful books where you have the short and snappy chapters which makes you fly through the barbaric tale, but it is also one you can’t really discuss much because it will take the magic away. When the ending happened, I wasn’t ready for it. I mean it just left me with my jaw hanging open, trying to find some missing pages because I needed to know. Man, you can’t leave me hanging like this!
I feel so many emotions reading this, the shock, the anger and the sick to the stomach, or did I just read that! When you learn of what happens to Hardy before he gets shipped off out to Angels and Hope, I just knew the twist of the tale. I was screaming inside to make it so it was not the case, but it is too late, the story has been written, the tale has been told and nothing can change that.
As awful as it sounds, I loved the depravity of it all, the lack of hope, the disgust, it made for great reading. I enjoyed the pace of the story, something mad was happening at all times and like Hardy, I needed the answers he was looking for. I will definitely be checking out other works by Mr Baseoff because the way he wrote this story, all felt very real to me and that gave me chills. Let us just hope that none of it is real! I was hooked on Captain Clive’s Dreamworld, although I can safely say this is a place I NEVER want to visit.
Until next time xxx
Thanks to Emma at DampPebbles for the tour invite and the author for a copy of their book in return for my honest and unbiased review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
damppebbles says
Thanks so much, Zoe xx
Zoé says
Always welcome x