FLESH GOTHIC - Edward Lee

[Cal_Noble]

Title: Flesh Gothic
Author: Edward Lee
Publisher: Leisure Books
Copyright: 2005

Summary:
After porn mogul Reginald Hildreth and a couple dozen people die in a bloody orgy at his mansion, his widow hires a team of psychics and an on-the-wagon newspaper man to find out what happened. She’s convinced that Reginald is not only alive, but has something sinister planned for the future.

Pros:
Edward Lee has a great voice. I loved his descriptions most of the time. The flow of his prose and the high energy of the storyline make it a difficult book to put down.
Lee did a wonderful job with the characters as well.

Cons:
There were only a couple of instances where I found myself losing the suspension of disbelief. At one point in the novel, there is a string of “saidisms” running for roughly two pages. I found myself trying to anticipate what the next one would be. When I got past them, I couldn’t help but go back and reread them.
The only other thing that yanked me from the story was a technical error. At some point, a character pulls a wallet from his pocket and sets it down. I don’t remember why. But shortly after walking away from his wallet and entering another room, he reaches into his pocket and retrieves his wallet. I had to go back and reread that passage, because I thought I missed something.

Could Go Either Way:
Some people will love this, others will hate it, so I set it here. There are a good deal of erotic, sexual scenes in the book. With Hildreth’s mansion being the place they made the pornos, it’s to be expected. Also, there are some gory scenes. Fans of splatter punk may wish there were more. People who prefer their horror a little less bloody may find it overbearing. I didn’t find either of them lacking or over the top. It was a good balance for me.