Matt
Aug 26, 20201 min
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘶𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘥 by Christine Morgan is the 4th in the Splatter Western series from Death's Head Press. This series continues to be a joy to read with this installment claiming the number two spot in my personal rankings.
The story kicks off with Cody McCall and friends sneaking out to visit a traveling show. The sign advertises a 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 so natural it's worth risking getting in trouble to see that. While they're doing their sneaking, everything in town goes to hell. People die in terrible ways, worse things happen before they die and we are treated to these 'Scenes from a Massacre' with little vignettes of various atrocities being committed around town.
I loved this book. A lot. I have only one negative thing to say and it's not really even a complaint, more of an observation. The 'Scenes from a Massacre', while they're excellent felt slightly disjointed from the main story. It's almost like they were their own thing thrown in the middle of the book. Now it is important to know what's happening in the town but but these scenes are like little short stories inside the bigger plot. I'm not typically a fan of short stories but in this context they worked. However, I did want more from Cody and his friends. Even though I felt like that, I still give this book 5 stars because the short story break in the middle wasn't enough to take away any of my enjoyment.