Alex Review #GoddessFish

 

ALEX

Dianne Hartsock

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GENRE: psychological thriller

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BLURB:

Alex is twenty and confused. He always is. The world presses on him with its horrors and pain, with scintillating auras that bewilder his eyes and drive the migraines deeper. He hears the cries of the children, sees the brutal images of tortured victims. He feels out of control and his mind slips…

Severely abused as a child, he is left with horrible scars on his body and even worse scars within his mind. Even though it puts him in danger, he’s compelled to help those who call to him. He’s driven, motivated by his visions to rescue them and hopefully uncover the killer. When he can, he helps the police; yet some detectives suspect he’s involved. Often, Alex finds himself alone and afraid in a world he doesn’t always understand.

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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

Alex came awake suddenly. Panicked, he threw himself against the car door, reaching for the handle. He couldn’t open it. He pounded on the glass, and with a desperate breath, smashed his elbow into it. The safety glass held, but he tried again, despite the splintering pain. A crack ran up the window and blood smeared the surface.

“Dad, stop the car!”

Kramer swore and pulled the car into a ditch. Alex found the lock and flung the door open. Shaking off Helen’s grabbing hands, he spilled onto the ground. He scrambled up and bolted into the woods as Kramer shouted after him. The terrain slowed him and he wasn’t able to lose Kramer as he dodged through the trees and underbrush.

He stopped in disbelief at the edge of a wheat field. Wild laughter rose up inside him as he felt his mind slip into chaos. He dropped to his knees and covered his mouth, but laughter poured out anyway. Tears streamed from his eyes and he wiped them away. He wanted to see! It was all too damn funny for words.

Kramer grabbed him and yanked him to his feet. He tried to see around the distorted face that mouthed words he couldn’t hear.

“Will you move?” he asked and tried to walk around him.

Kramer backhanded him and Alex dropped to a knee. But he bounded up with a shout, springing out of the detective’s reach. He laughed in Kramer’s face and turned on his heels.

Kramer yelled after him, “Where are they?”

Alex opened his arms. “Everywhere!” He brushed the golden stalks of wheat with his fingertips as he strode toward the white farmhouse.

Kramer swore at his back, then caught up. “Do you know where Mariam is?”

Alex stopped and looked around, then shrugged. “Her bones are here somewhere.”

He continued toward the Gibson’s house. They passed the open doors of the storm cellar and Kramer gripped his arm.

Alex giggled as he looked down into the darkness. “I’ve been here before,” he confided with a sly smile.

“Tell me where Mariam is.”

Alex put a finger to his lips, giving Kramer a sidelong look. “Hush. She’s hiding.”

Kramer roared in frustration and shoved him into the gaping hole. Alex tumbled down the steps.

“You’ll stay there until you tell me!” Kramer shouted and slammed the doors, the bolt sliding home.

Alex lay in the dirt, facedown, and sucked at his bloody lips. It was cold and he curled into a ball for warmth. For an instant, he was a child again on the garage floor. He listened for any sound in the darkness, at last whispering, “Are you here, Mama?”

His breath froze at a rustling in the corner.

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Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

Ornery Owl's Review

Rating: 

Four out of Five Stars

This is a tightly written psychological thriller with intense characters and situations. I hope that readers would find Alex likable rather than relatable, but those of us with a history of trauma will likely relate to him a little too well. Alex has trouble fitting in with the world. He finds a few good people such as Angie and Becca, his co-workers at the bookstore and coffee shop where he works, who strive to ensure that his life has some semblance of normalcy. 

Alex also has a friend in Jane, the daughter of the police officer who rescued him after his abusive mother died in a fire. Sean Elson brought Alex home to live with his family, and Jane became the first friend Alex ever had. Jane allowed Alex to continue living with her after her father died. Over the course of the story, Alex and Jane's friendship becomes romantic.

There is no shortage of creepy men in the Northern Colorado town where Alex and Jane live. Jane's boss coerces her into an ill-advised relationship, and when Alex is hospitalized, one of the doctors evidently has designs on her as well. There is also a far worse menace who has been capturing and killing people, mostly young women and girls but sometimes boys and men as well. Alex has horrific visions of the victims, who beg him for help.

This is a very intense story and not always a pleasant read. It includes topics such as animal cruelty, severe child abuse, torture, and murder. At times it reminded me of David Pelzer's autobiography, A Child Called It, which detailed the author's abuse at the hands of his severely disturbed mother. 

The author's attention to detail and realism is remarkable and sometimes upsetting. I do not recommend this book to anyone who is in a psychologically fragile place. I'm generally able to compartmentalize my emotions, having trained as an EMT and a nurse, and having dealt with serious illness and death throughout my career in the medical field. As someone who has spent a lifetime trying to understand the lack of empathy some people exhibit, I watch true crime channels such as Coffeehouse Crime, Dire Trip, High Time Crime, and That Chapter. However, there were places where this story left me feeling deeply unsettled.

Thus, my recommendation of this book is divided. If you are in the market for an intense thriller with plenty of plot twists, I recommend it. If you are in a fragile place or tend to get upset by stories containing grisly, violent scenes, I suggest giving this one a pass.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Dianne grew up in one of the older homes in the middle of Los Angeles, a place of hardwood floors and secret closets and back staircases. A house where ghosts lurk in the basement and the faces in the paintings watch you walk up the front stairs. Rooms where you keep the closet doors closed tight at night. It’s where her love of the mysterious and wonderful came from. Dianne is the author of m/m romance, paranormal/suspense, fantasy adventure, the occasional thriller, and anything else that comes to mind.

She now lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play. Dianne says Oregon’s raindrops are the perfect setting in which to write. There’s something about being cooped up in the house with a fire crackling on the hearth and a cup of hot coffee in her hands, which kindles her imagination.

Currently, Dianne works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.

Blog: https://diannehartsock.wordpress.com/

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/diannehartsock

FaceBook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/diannehartsockbooks/?show_switched_toast=1&show_switched_tooltip=0&show_podcast_settings=0

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4850270.Dianne_Hartsock

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diannehartsock/

Buy Links

 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Alex-Dianne-Hartsock-ebook/dp/B0CSYN5Y5C/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dianne+hartsock&qid=1706506377&sr=8-1

JMS Books: https://www.jms-books.com/dianne-hartsock-c-224_445/alex-p-4993.html

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alex-dianne-hartsock/1104468927?ean=9781685506599

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/alex-76

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1519070

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

The author will award a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway