Book Review: Bad Spirits by DV Berkom

Action-driven, fast-paced and blood-smeared, this novella packs a serious punch and has everything an action lover would die for: good looking girl - falls for bad guy - realises her mistake - tries to run away only to find out exactly how bad he really is. Oh yeah... Did I mention she also stole his money? Like... A lot of it? And that he is a big Mexican drug dealer? Yeah. You get the picture.

BOOK SPECS:

Number of pages: 85

Format: E-book

Genre: Action Thriller, Crime Fiction, Novella

Tropes: Mafia, Victim Gets Revenge

SHORT REVIEW:

When I realized there was only 85 pages to Bad Spirits, I had to contact D.V. and ask her if I received the entire document. I thought my computer was playing tricks on me, especially since I knew the document I had was from book 1 to book 5. And I have to say, having written a short story recently, it is a lot harder to condense plot, story, good characters, and a knock out ending into a short number of pages than it is to right a full blown novel. So I take my hat off to Berkom. This is nothing if not an accomplishment. 

HEART RATE:

SMUT SCORE:

Buy it on Amazon

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FULL REVIEW:

Plot

The plot is convincing and the story very intriguing. You feel for Katie, you want her to get away, but then... You wonder if she doesn't deserve it somehow. Her family surely seems to think she does. And some of her behavior makes you want to slap her.

Characters

The characters are interesting and there are a lot of them, as on her efforts to run away Katie encounters a whole array of people. This is also where D.V.'s writing shines - although there are a lot of characters, you can still keep pace with who is who, what is their part in the story and none of them seem to be there for no reason.

For people who like to know the smallest detail about the characters in a book they are reading, this might not be a good choice. Not because the story isn't good or the writing isn't brilliant, but because of the nature of novellas. In such a small number of words you cannot really give a lot of background on someone or resolution to parts of the story. For example, all the people who come into Katie’s life while she's on the run. Even though they change her fate completely, you don't get to see what happens to them. Not because of Berkom's writing skills, but because of the nature of short stories. I encountered the same issue while writing my own and reading a couple of the Quick Reads books (Bloody Valentine and Trouble on the Health). They inevitably let me wanting more information and detail.

Smut & Romance Score

The very nature and shortness of novellas means you can only focus on a particular storyline. In this case, the focus is running away. So there is no smut or romance in this book as Kate is too busy trying to escape her violent ex.

Writing

Told from Katie's (the runaway) point of view, the prose is brilliant. And even though Berkom wastes no words describing the harshness of the environment our heroine finds herself in, you can still feel the barrenness and heat of the Mexican desert as if you were there. 

OUT OF CURIOSITY: 

Katie's adventures are not over. D.V. Berkom has written multiple books to follow this one and add to the Kate Jones' saga. Find out more here. 

Buy 'Bad Spirits' on Amazon