@matthews_mark #Review "On the Lips of Children" by Mark Matthews

On the Lips of Children review
Author: Mark Matthews
4 out of 5 stars

Book Info: Genre: Literary Dark Fiction
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of dark fiction
Trigger Warnings: murder, mutilation, cannibalization, cutting (self-injury), reported death of a child, danger to babies, kidnapping

My Thoughts: This is a very twisted book. Dante's behavior due to the excessive drug use and his constant talk about needing to take people's faces off to see who they really are made me think of that movie Face-Off. I also have to wonder why, after seeing what meth and salts do to other people, anyone would even want to try the stuff.

There are some typos. Most consistently, “feint” is used instead of “faint”, and “taught” instead of “taut”, but I noticed others as well. The copy I had was an ARC; the typos were corrected in the final copy.

This is not quite horror, although the ending is left vague enough that you could imagine it so if you wished. The main characters, Macon and Erin, are both adrenaline junkies, into tattooing and running. I know this author is a runner, so it's obvious he writes what he knows. Fans of dark fiction should find this an interesting read, but keep in mind there is a lot of rather nasty gore, so more sensitive readers should beware.

Disclosure: I received an e-book copy of this from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Meet Macon. Tattoo artist. Athlete. Family man.

He's planning to run a marathon, but the event becomes something terrible.

During a warm-up run, Macon falls prey to a bizarre man and his wife who dwell in an underground drug-smuggling tunnel. They raise their twin children in a way Macon couldn't imagine: skinning unsuspecting victims for food and money.

And Macon, and his family, are next.