Dust Devils - Jonathan Janz (Blog Tour)

Today I'm thrilled to be participating in the Flame Tree Press Blog Tour for Jonathan Janz' newest release.  This is my second Janz book but I'm sure it won't be my last. Read on to find out why!

TITLE: Dust Devils

AUTHOR: Jonathan Janz

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: June 13, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: Cody wants to regain his self-respect. Willet just wants his father's leg back. Both of them are tracking a band of traveling actors who leave carnage and heartbreak in their wake. The dust devils. When the actors came to town and recruited his wife for a plum role, Cody Wilson had no idea they would seduce and murder her. Eight-year-old Willet Black was equally unsuspecting the night the devils destroyed his family's ranch and slaughtered everyone he loved. Now Cody and Willet are bent on revenge, but neither of them suspects the true nature of their five adversaries. For Adam Price and his actors are older than the deserts and mountains over which they ride. Feeding on the young old and alike, their taste for human flesh is insatiable, and their lust for comely young women is consuming. Even if word of their atrocities were to spread, it would take an army to oppose them. But it is 1885 in the wilds of New Mexico, and there is no help for Cody and Willet. The unlikely pair must make a stand and face an unfathomable evil. They must destroy the dust devils or die trying. But there is something even worse than being murdered by monsters. 

MY THOUGHTS: I really don't know where to start with this review.  So much happens in "Dust Devils" and there is so much action, that when finished, I almost felt like I stepped off a rollercoaster - a very scary, very western rollercoaster.

As the book opens we meet Cody and Willet.  Cody's wife has just been killed by a gang of traveling actors and Willet's entire family, including his mother, father and grandfather, has been slayed as well.  Cody did not plan on teaming up with a young boy but he soon finds out that where he is lacking courage, Willet has no shortage, despite being so young.  The two end up working together to track down the killers and stay alive while doing so.

First I have to admit I loved the relationship between Cody and Willet.  They worked together so well and it was nice for them both to have someone to help them on their mission.  Cody finds himself caring for Willet which soon gives him more purpose than just hunting down his wife's killers.  I also really like Marguerite, who appears in the second of three sections of the book.  She is a firecracker of a saloon keeper and it doesn't take long for her to catch Cody's eye.  But off course, that also puts her dead center in the Devils' sights.

Now I don't think it's any big secret that this book deals with vampires and I must warn you, it is  very graphic in places.  Of course how can roasting body parts over an open fire and eating them not be graphic?  That being said, I didn't find it too over-the-top and it really worked for me in this novel.  The action never stops and at times I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

If any of you remember how much I enjoyed "The Suicide Motor Club" by Christopher Buehlman, then you know when I classify this book with that one, it's high praise.  "Dust Devils" takes horror, mashes it with an action-packed western, and gives us some of the most vicious vampires I've ran across in a long time.  Do yourself a favor and pick this one up!

RATING: 5 PAWS

Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His work has been championed by authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene; he has also been lauded by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and School Library Journal. His ghost story The Siren and the Specter was selected as a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novel Children of the Dark was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children. 

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COYER CHALLENGE UPDATE:  Used as "Male Protagonist" in the treasure hunt.