Chop Shop (Fiction Without Frontiers)

I picked up this book expecting more of a horror story. This reads like a mafia thriller. Not so much horror to me. The first half of the book felt a little slow. I kept waiting for the girls to get into their new business, selling body parts for profit. It took forever to get to this point. The first half mainly follows Frank, the mob doctor. And sets in action the blood bath that is to come.The second half was more fast paced and I enjoyed it more. Double crosses abound and characters that were nice turn out to be not so nice after all. No one escapes unscathed. If you like stories about crime families and bad decisions, this will interest you.

My Recommendation Chop Shop by Andrew PostChop Shopby Andrew PostM 50x66Lou Jacobs's review Jan 23, 2019 · editit was amazingPulp fiction meets Sam Peckinpah .... 3 worlds collide into a giant fireball! Andrew Post crafts a tour de force of black humor .. laced with wonderful gratuitous violence and gore. The main protagonist is Frank Goode ... disgraced surgeon back from prison but yet continuing to ply his trade in his make-shift dining room operating room. After all he still follows the Hippocratic oath and wants to save and fix all comers. To satisfy the taxman he maintains a legitimate job at Jerry's Organic Grocery ... once he dons his apron he taxes his skill set by forming pyramids of pears, apples and oranges. Next up, is Simone Pescatelli, niece of a Mafia boss and is inconvenienced by her pregnancy. Simone wants Frank to terminate her pregnancy so she can fit into a dress to attend a wedding as the maid of honor. How ironic is that? After the dirty deed is done he allows her to rest a few hours before clearing out. Frank's phone vibrates on his way back home ... it's Bryce Petrosky, a previous bunkmate in the pen (and now part of the competing Russian Mafia) ... he wants to bring over his cousin, Vasily, whose been shot ... it's worth $10,000 for his troubles. Frank arrives home and finds Simone still there and insists she hide in his bedroom.He spends the next 3 hours saving the life of Vasily. After Bryce leaves his house he goes up to check on Simone. Unfortunately while his back is turned she sneaks downstairs and puts a bullet in Vasily's brain. Which naturally sets into motion a series of serious convoluted problems ... getting rid of the body ... the Russian Mafia's displeasure next morning. Enter the third confounding element ... Amber Hawthorne and Joline Morris, co-owners of Hawthorne Funeral Home ... a decidingly failing business venture. To rescue their fortunes they decide to enter the black market business of selling body parts ... it seems like a natural progression of their business plan.Post creates a masterpiece of violence and gore with an exceptionally adept cinematic narrative.The denouement, when all three worlds collide is straight out of a Sam Pekinpah movie. Thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for this fun filled Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I saw the cover of this book, it grabbed my attention, after reading the blurb, I was intrigued and knew that I must read it.The story follows three main characters. Frank a struck off doctor who makes his money patching people up and Amber and Jolene, friends from college who now spend their time running a soon to be a bankrupt funeral home.As you start this book you alternate between Frank, Amber and Jolene and the more you read, the more you learn about their former lives and the lengths they are going through to survive. Whilst Frank, Amber and Jolene were the stars of the show, each character you meet all have a story to tell. It did not matter which character you were reading about as they were all described in detail. There were some characters that were larger than life and if you watch gangster films you will recognise some of the same characteristics.Even though the subject matter was dark, the story was broken up with some funny moments and if you like dark humour than this is a book for you. One scene I found the funny side to involved Cornelius and Jolene in the funeral home. Just as I thought I knew where the story was going the author added a scene that completely threw me. As I wanted to find out what would happen to Frank I could not put this book down and as there was always something going on, it made this story a quick read.This is the first book I have read by this author but it will not be the last. If you are looking for a unique horror story than give this book a read.

3.5Book source ~ NetGalleyThe Hawthorne Funeral Home finances are a mess. Why? Because Amber Hawthorne is a worthless crapmonkey who lets her friend Jolene Morris do all the work trying to keep it afloat while Amber parties and drugs it up. Morons, the both of them. So, when Amber’s dealer clues her in on a money making business (a highly illegal one of course) Amber jumps at the chance. Before she can make a decent argument to Jolene why it’s a good business decision, former physician-now-mob-doctor Frank Goode drops their first customer in their lap. Almost literally. They’re in the body part business now, for better or worse. *pssst: it’s worseOk, I know this is mostly about Amber and Jolene and how they got mixed up in a black market body parts deal, but the star of the show is Frank. Oh my, Frank. Did you ever see the CSI episode Loco Motives where the guy Max gets himself stuck in cement while disposing of his wife’s dead body? Frank is Max. Except a whole lot of mob is involved and blood. Sweet Baby Jane, this book is bloody. And that ending? Gah! While it’s a fast-paced page turner, it seemed a little too cliché at times for me. However, it is most definitely entertaining.