25 April 2018

Ghost Virus

Horror

By Graham Masterton

Paperback 400 pages
Publisher Head of Zeus (7th Feb 2019)
ASIN B0798RF48B
ISBN-13 978-1788545020 

'One of the most original and frightening storytellers of our time.' Peter James




📕My Review

When a young Pakistani woman has her face burned off with sulphuric acid, it's up to D.C. Jerry Pardoe and D.S. Jamila Patel of Tooting Police to investigate the horrific crime. At first they think it's suicide or a possible honour killing but it soon becomes apparent more disturbing and other-worldly forces are at work.

Meanwhile, across London, there's an outbreak of sickening acts of violence and murder. The strange thing is, all the perpetrators are wearing second-hand clothing. Is it possible their clothes are somehow possessed by the dead? As the bodies pile up, Jerry and Jamila must act quickly to save London from the deadly grip of the Ghost Virus.

Graham Masterton is the author who ignited my love of reading over 35 years ago. I've been a huge fan ever since and have read a vast amount of his work. He's my go-to guy for all things dark and creepy. This new book, although very light-hearted in comparison to other works, was great. It combined humour with the ridiculous and I loved it. Can you imagine being chased down the street by the contents of your wardrobe?!!

I get the distinct feeling Masterton had a lot of fun with this book and I'm sure it was his intention that his readers would too. However, I do think he'll come in for some criticism from those more familiar with his darker, demonic novels. Me? I thought it was a good bit of hilarious fun and really enjoyed it.

My thanks to Graham Masterton for decades of pleasure, NetGalley and Head of Zeus.

Barnsey's books rating 

Other reviews:
House of Bones
Unspeakable
The Walkers
Death Trance

📗The Blurb

Samira had been staring into her mirror all morning before she picked up the small bottle of sulphuric acid and poured it over her forehead. She was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. What could have brought her to this?

DC Jerry Pardoe and DS Jamila Patel of Tooting Police suspect it's suicide. But then a random outbreak of horrific crimes in London points to something more sinister. A deadly virus is spreading: something is infecting ordinary Londoners with an insatiable lust to murder. All of the killers were wearing second-hand clothes. Could these garments be possessed by some supernatural force?

The death count is multiplying rapidly. Now Jerry and Jamila must defeat the ghost virus, before they are all infected...

📘The Author

Graham Masterton (born 16 January 1946 in Edinburgh) is a British horror author. Originally editor of Mayfair and the British edition of Penthouse, Graham Masterton's first novel The Manitou was released in 1976. This novel was adapted in 1978 for the film The Manitou.

Further works garnered critical acclaim, including a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for Charnel House and a Silver Medal by the West Coast Review of Books for Mirror. He is also the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger for his novel Family Portrait, an imaginative reworking of the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Masterton was also the editor of Scare Care, a horror anthology published for the benefit of abused children in Europe and the USA.

Masterton's novels often contain visceral sex and horror. In addition to his novels Masterton has written a number of sex instruction books, including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed and Wild Sex for New Lovers.

Masterton currently lives in Surrey, England. His wife and agent Wiescka died on 27 April 2011, aged 65.

In 2002, while living with his wife in Cork, Ireland, he added crime fiction to his repertoire with A Terrible Beauty featuring Irish Detective Superintendent Katie Maguire. This was republished in 2013 as White Bones and sold 100,000 ebook copies in a month. It is to be followed by further Katie Maguire adventures, Broken Angels (2013) and Red Light (2014). In 2010, Masterton published Rules of Duel, a short novel from the early 1970s that he wrote in collaboration with William S. Burroughs (Burroughs has co-author credit).

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