Blog Tour - They Kill by Tim Waggoner

When I was contacted regarding being part of this blog tour, I didn't hesitate.  I really enjoyed the first book I read by Tim Waggoner and really wanted to see how this one panned out.  Thanks to Flame Tree Press and the author as well as the publicist, Anne, who is always a joy.

TITLE: They Kill

AUTHOR: Tim Waggoner

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: July 25, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: What are you willing to do, what are you willing to become, to save someone you love? 

On the one-year anniversary of his death in a terrible car accident, Sierra Sowell's brother Jeffrey is resurrected by a mysterious man known only as Corliss. Corliss also transforms several people in Sierra's life into inhuman monsters: her alcoholic neighbor Grace, her possessive ex-boyfriend Stuart, a creepy older man named Randall, and a sexually repressed colleague named Mandy. Each of these people harbor grudges against Sierra, sparks of anger and resentment which Corliss fans into murderous flames. Grace become a booze-fueled witch, Stuart a deadly cyborg, Randall a smiley faced serial killer, and Mandy an insatiable succubus. To matter worse, Jeffrey is only partially alive. He's a walking corpse possessing a devastating deathtouch.

 Sierra and Jeffrey's boyfriend Marc work to discover the reason for her brother's return to life while struggling to survive attacks by the monstrous quartet whose only desire it to see her dead. The monsters aren't willing to share Sierra, however, and they battle to determine which will be the one to kill her, leaving a pile of corpses in their wake. After the monsters carve a bloody swath through town - and each other - Corliss gives Sierra a chance to make Jeffrey's resurrection permanent: if she's willing to make a dreadful bargain. Can she do what it will take to save her brother, no matter how much blood is shed along the way? Or will she allow him to return to the land of the dead and perhaps join him there? 

MY THOUGHTS: My first comment on "They Kill" is that this book was blast to read.  After reading "The Mouth of the Dark" and meeting the infamous Pink Devil, I knew the potential for the "ew-factor" would be high.  I wasn't wrong and it didn't disappoint.  On the year anniversary of Jeffrey's death, he is suddenly reanimated.  He starts roaming his hometown which causes some alarm for those who know he's really dead.  Most effected are his sister Sierra and his boyfriend Marc, who team together, despite disliking each other, to figure out what is going on.

I can best describe "They Kill" as a B-movie in book format.  Which personally I think is great.  It's basically a slasher flick with some really unique characters who actually have some depth.  By that I mean that Waggoner has really put some thought into these individuals and created some truly scary human monsters - and I use the word human lightly.  Honestly, I would enjoy seeing "They Kill" adapted to a movie because it would be a heck of a ride.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it to be a much faster-paced read than "The Mouth of the Dark."  In Sierra I had a character I could cheer on and on a few occasions, I felt a quite a bit of sympathy for Jeffrey.  Except when he killed the dog - could have done without that scene but frequent visitors to my blog aren't surprised I'm mentioning it.  In addition, the ending caught me completely off-guard so kudos Mr. Waggoner!

If you like body horror and fast-paced death and destruction, then you definitely need to pick up "They Kill."

RATING: 4 PAWS

COYER CHALLENGE UPDATE: A woman running on the cover.

Tim Waggoner has published over forty novels and four short story collections, and his articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest and Writers’ Journal, among others. He's won the Bram Stoker Award and has been a finalist for both the Shirley Jackson Award and the Scribe Award. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. Visit him on the web at www.timwaggoner.com.