Sunday, May 15, 2016

THE SCENT OF NEW DEATH by Mike Monson

In this novella, professional thief and zen master Phil Gaines lives a relatively quiet life robbing banks and staying out of the police spotlight. But it all goes to shit when he falls for and marries a young fiery redhead named Paige, who's looking for the thrill of the criminal fast life, which she definitely doesn't find with Phil. She eventually hooks up with Phil's psycho wheelman partner Jeff Sweet and double crosses Phil on his latest job, where they both steal all the loot and run away to go rape, torture, and murder whoever they can, with Phil hot on their heals, set on revenge.

But who cares?

It all sounds very exciting though, right? Not really. It's all pretty dry and unremarkable, and Monson's writing feels lazy and strangely uninterested in the whole thing. The characters are pretty forgettable and most of it is so by the numbers that even the extreme violence and sex feels like it's all there just to fulfill a requirement, never leading to the real consequence or impact that graphic violence should have.

GRADE: C-

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