Demon with a Comb-Over - You Never Know Who You Will Meet in a Club!

TITLE: Demon with a Comb-Over
AUTHOR: Stuart R. West
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
PUBLISHING DATE: March 15, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: Take Charlie Broadmoor’s life. Please. Charlie sucks at stand-up comedy. He gets by, though. Things are okay. His life is decent. Until the night he makes fun of a demon’s comb-over. Big mistake. What kind of demon wears a comb-over? The sensitive kind. The kind who’s not going to let an insult slide. A demon who’s going to take Charlie down. As in down to Hell. And he intends on dragging everyone Charlie cares about along for the ride.

MY THOUGHTS: 
Well, I just finished this book and rather than sit and think about it for a while, I am going to go ahead and do the review. Usually I ponder on them for a day or two, gather my thoughts, and contemplate my rating, so perhaps this will backfire on me. Anyways, here it goes.

"Demon with a Comb-Over tells the tale of Charlie Broadmoor, a mediocre comic trying to make a living and take care of his daughter. One night Charlie ends up insulting Kobal, a demon visiting the comedy club, because of his horrible looking comb-over, who in turn vows to ruin Charlie's life and the lives of all his family and loved one. And let's be brutally honest, for most of the book, Kobal does a pretty good job. Along the way we meet some interesting characters including Charlie's ex-wife, his mother, his love interest, Sylvia and two questionable angels.

If Goodreads would allow it, I would probably give this book a 3.5 rating, but since they don't, I feel I have to notch it up to 4 for several reasons. First of all, this book sucked me right in. I basically read it in two sittings and couldn't wait to get to the end to see how everything played out. Secondly, the premise of this book is unlike any I have read before and West does a good job of combining horror with a little bit of comedy. Had Charlie not been a comedienne, I don't think the humor would have worked or it could have easily crossed into corniness. Lastly, the book contained characters I truly liked and truly hated. I cared about what happened to Charlie and his daughter and even though he was extremely unlikable, I wanted to know what Kobal had up the sleeve of his dapper suit.

I have to add there are a few scenes I was reading where I thought "I wish this was a graphic novel." West's description of Hell itself, and of the hellhounds with human heads which show up toward the end, were spot on with what I associate with old-fashioned horror. If you like scary books, aren't afraid of a little blood and gore, and don't mind some comedic spins thrown in here and there, this books might just be worth your time.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4 PAWS