Hell Night by Matt Kincade

What a fun book! Zombies! Running for your life! Necromancers! Oh my! I enjoyed my introduction to Alex Rains, Vampire Killer, even if there were no vampires in sight!

I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.

Title: Hell Night
Author: Matt Kincade
Series: Alex Rains, Vampire Hunter, Book 02
Publish Date: Print – March 15 | Kindle – March 21
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Cover: J. Caleb Design
Source: Provided by the author

Publisher’s Description: Alex Rains knows all about hunting vampires—after all, that’s his job, and he’s the best at what he does. But when he follows a lead to the tiny desert town of Prosperity, Nevada, Alex quickly learns that vampires aren’t the only things that go bump in the night. He’s just as surprised as the town’s residents when the dead start walking the streets of Prosperity . . . and they’ve got a bit of an appetite.

Together with a ragtag group of survivors, Alex will have to dodge undead horrors and small-town drama as he digs into Prosperity’s darkest secrets and macabre Wild West heritage to figure out why the dead aren’t staying dead, discover what–or who–is responsible, and put a stop to it . . . before the whole mess gets out of hand.

After dealing with the undead in Prosperity, Alex Rains is going to have to update his resume.

It’s sunny with a chance of apocalypse in Hell Night, Matt Kincade’s eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Devil’s Mouth. With Hell Night, Kincade once again delivers fast-paced, gritty pulp action, engaging characters, and delightfully grim humor.

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

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Percy Procrastinator says…

Even though this is book two of Alex’s story, and I don’t prefer to read books out of order, this was still a great introduction to Alex. Alex obviously just had a big adventure, perhaps book one, and is looking to take a break. Quite quickly, I learn Alex is a fan of the 50s, especially of Elvis, and wants to go sight seeing to a place where the King himself visited.

Enter Prosperity.

It’s got all the standard tropes of a dying town. The main business closed down and recently even the national park that it had is closed. The residents know they will have to leave but haven’t been able to do so just yet. Alex comes to town to find out where Elvis was and perhaps flirt with the cute waitress at the diner.

Then the body is found. And gets up and walks again. In a well-handled twist, Alex goes from suspect number one to hero number one as the zombies arrive in Prosperity. The rag-tag group of survivors has to find a way to get across town without being eaten alive. Most make it.

Soon, Alex finds himself trapped in a building, holding off zombies while trying to save as many survivors as he can. And Alex is a vampire slayer, not zombie slayer. He doesn’t really know much about them other than finding that the zombies can be killed permanently and he’s good at that.

Alex has realized that these are not typical zombies. They ambush. They concentrate their attacks at weak points. They even let a few of the group survive. Whoever is controlling them wants something from the group. Alex also knows that when that happens, they won’t be needed anymore.

All of this leads up to a fun ending that had me reading as fast as I could. I really enjoyed meeting Alex and Prosperity’s people. The bad guys motive made as much sense as an insane person can. And Prosperity’s history and hidden secrets were all so much fun to read! I’m glad I have a book one I can read and look forward to more. This was a solid five for me.

 

Nervous Nellie says…

Damn, that was good!  I bought this book because it was recommended.  If I would have known it involved zombies, I probably would have declined spending the whole 99 cents.  Zombies are not my thing.

This is an urban fantasy – not apocalyptic, so don’t panic.  There is a tiny bit of sex – not enough to make me blush BUT it’s definitely not sweet either.  There is a zillion bloody scenes – gore, splatter and grossness.  It’s “ew” factor was pretty high, but the quotes in this book nearly broke an all time record.  If I put in this review every quote I highlighted, I could fill a chapter alone.

Alex Rains is a vampire hunter that is refreshing in the fact that he doesn’t know anything else supernatural other than vampires.  He didn’t even know zombies existed until he stumbled into a little offbeat town called Prosperity.  The super villain in this book was pretty easy to see right off, but that’s not the point of the book.  The point of the story was the same goal as all of the evil villains we’ve ever read with the twist of the machinations of an even more evil villain.  That’s the part that set this book apart.

Matt Kincade is a brand new author to me – like I said – recommended.  I enjoyed this book a lot and I’m looking forward to the next one.  I would say that this book is better than the first, so I can’t imagine how blown away I will be with the next.  Oh, and by the way, for those of you that may have read my review of The Devil’s Mouth?  No, Carmen isn’t in this book.  I said I’d hunt down the author for not including her, but this story was so good, I’ll give him a pass this time.  😉

 

Our reviews in this series…

• The Devil’s Mouth, Book 1

I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.