Flame Tree Press Tour - Your Turn to Suffer

 

TITLE: Your Turn to Suffer

AUTHOR: Tim Waggoner

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: March 23, 2021

PAGES: 256    

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: 

Lorelai Palumbo is harassed by a sinister group calling themselves The Cabal. They accuse her of having committed unspeakable crimes in the past, and now she must pay. The Cabal begins taking her life apart one piece at a time – her job, her health, the people she loves – and she must try to figure out what The Cabal thinks she’s done if she’s to have any hope of answering their charges and salvaging her life.

MY THOUGHTS: I've read several books by Waggoner and if on this is for sure, the reader never knows what to expect and more likely than not, it's going to be one hell of a ride.  Lorelai is headed home from a tough day at work when she runs into a mysterious woman in the grocery story who claims she must confess and atone or suffer.  Soon weird and awful things start happening around her and to the people she cares about the most.  Lorelai takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of things and ends up traveling to an alternative dimension full of creepy cult members and strange creatures.  Can Lorelai figure out what she needs to atone for before it's too late.

Honestly, this really wasn't my favorite Waggoner book.  Everyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy an odd book and this one definitely fits the mark.  But I think it says something (probably about me but oh well) when my favorite character is a man who spews killer insects from his mouth and then welcomes them back "home" when their job is done.  I didn't mind Lorelai but clearly she had a lot of secrets which were uncovered the more the tale progressed and as they did, I found myself not liking her even more.  I will say the book did pick up for me toward the end and I can see where there might be a sequel in the future as the conclusion was a tad open-ended.  

If you love body horror and odd tales and haven't picked up Waggoner, you are definitely missing out.  I'm starting to think that author's mind is both brilliant and a scary place to be all at the same time.

RATING: 3 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 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.

As an extra bonus, I read this book as a buddy read with my bestie Stormi.  Make sure you hop over to her blog and see her thoughts @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!