For The Love of a Woman

CRADDOCK by Jerry Gerold begins with a reluctant sacrifice to an ancient oak tree. The author increases the suspense with an abandoned town, a human-size husk of leaves and a frightened uncle rambling about something following his nephew.

I had no expectations for this story. I've always had mixed feelings about Gerold's stories, although readers can always count on him to provide unusual plot twists. In this case, a deadly family secret is unearthed.

Entertaining, but somewhat predictable.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Cursed Crap

When a mysterious box of gold doubloons shows up at his door, Garrett Unger has no idea that time and space will begin to distort, leading him to join forces with pirate Sullivan Cox against an ancient Aztec god.

FIRST GOLD by Jerry Gerold is the story of a family curse handed down from one generation to another. The writing style is very haphazard, leaving readers to question how much is happening inside Garrett's head, as opposed to reality.

The confusion could easily be meant to portray Garrett's frame of mind, but the suspense is lacking and the battle scene reminded me of a Choose Your Own Adventure book. I wouldn't call this horror at all...maybe a supernatural drama, at best.

I've read several of the author's stories, as well as the Reclamation series, and this is Gerold's worst work.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Coming of Age, Literally and Figuratively

Opopanax flowers are not supposed to turn your mother into a demon.

OPOPANAX LIGHTHOUSE by Jerry Gerold has very little to do with Connor's mother turning into a demon. The story seems more like an excuse to write a sex scene with young characters. They backstory with the flowers might have been interesting, if the author had bothered to invest more effort into telling the tale. Lot of potential, but Gerold lacks focus in this one.

As always,
AstraDaemon

The Hardest Part

Harrison Phelps never expected to see a ghost emerge from a pond and speak to him. Nor did he expect it to follow him to the Sullivan House, where he is forced to spend the night due to a blizzard. She haunts his dreams and seems to possess the eleven-year-old Elizabeth who lives in the house with her younger brother. It becomes apparent to Harrison that this girl, and perhaps the boy, have both been sexually molested by their father, who’s body was lost at sea. His spirit, however, is a different matter.

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU by Jerry Gerold is an interesting ghost story filled with family drama and murder. Although the storyline held my attention, the characters had zero depth to them, and failed to invoke any emotions from me.

While I enjoy reading the author's work because of his unusual plot twists, Gerold seems to struggle with maintaining a balance between the interaction of his characters and the action throughout his stories.

This is not his best work. However, I do recommend Gerold's Reclamation series. I'm looking forward to reading the fourth book, coming soon.

As always,
AstraDaemon

I'll Make You Fall For Me

In this short story placed in ancient Rome, Valerius, a self-styled investigator of wrong-doing currently undergoing a bout of amnesia, looks into the murder of a high-born woman whose body was found in his brothel.

THE KALENDS OF MARTIUS by Jerry Gerold is like an episode of Law & Order: SVU, set in Roman times, with a touch of Jerry Springer for good measure. Don't misunderstand me, it's an interesting short story, but the ending made me laugh. I'm not sure if the author intended to create the moment of dark humor or not.

Let's just say, Valerius should probably have learned to keep it in his robes.

As always,
AstraDaemon