Sacrifice

by Wrath James White

Las Vegas Homicide Detective, John Malloy, hates the weird cases, the difficult ones, the kind that make the cover of tabloids, the kind that make or break careers. He’s had enough weird cases to last him a lifetime. So, when a man is murdered in Green Valley, eaten alive by his own dog along with half the pets in the neighborhood, he knows this is going to be a bad one. The next day, an elementary school teacher is beaten to death by his students while being stung by thousands of bees. Then an ex-football player/heavyweight prizefighter is reduced to blood and bones by a swarm of insects, rats, dogs, cats and angry children. All over town, little girls are going missing and turning up starved, dehydrated and nearly catatonic. Somehow, it’s all connected and it’s up to Malloy and his partner, Detective Mohammed Rafik, to figure out how, and how all these deaths and disappearances are connected to a mysterious voodoo priestess named Delilah with the power to take away all of your hatred … all of your fear … all of your pain.

Genres: Horror

179 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Wrath James White is a badass motherfucker who writes baddasss books for other badass motherfuckers. He is a J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award winner and a Bram Stoker Award nominee with over two dozen books in print.

Wrath is the author of RABBIT HUNT, THE BUG COLLECTOR, and such extreme horror classics as THE RESURRECTIONIST (now a major motion picture titled "Come Back To Me") SUCCULENT PREY, it's sequel PREY DRIVE, 400 DAYS OF OPPRESSION, and many others.

To follow his Substack, purchase books, get the latest updates about upcoming releases, signed books, merchandise, and more, go to:

https://linktr.ee/wrathjameswhite

Reviews

[Angel Gelique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loa: Fallen angels that possess people during rituals.

Delilah is a young woman cursed with a unique gift. She harbors a demon within her--a malevolent loa that feeds off the misery and misfortune of others. Her followers can abandon their troubles in exchange for a euphoric bliss. But there is a "small" price to pay. Delilah cannot contain all of the evil and must unleash it into a different human vessel, who in turn, unloads it upon a most unfortunate soul who immediately suffers the pain and hatred of being "tagged."



With characters from White's book, The Resurrectionist, including the nefarious Dale McCarthy, this story focuses on two detectives, Malloy and Mohammed, who are investigating a series of bizarre deaths and the disappearance of several young girls. It isn't long before trails lead to Delilah and the poor detectives must once again witness supernatural forces beyond their comprehension.

Exceptionally well-written and incredibly engrossing, the story was fairly predictable--for the most part--but still greatly enjoyable. It ended with one of those shocking revelations that leave room for a follow-up story. And I do hope that there will be another book that follows (and soon!) as I am so curious to know what happens next!

Tag...you're it! Now go read this story...before something terrible happens.... :-O

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars**********************Possible Spoilers***********************


While this read was linked with players and some moments from The Resurrection, this read was about a woman named Delilah who has a demon inside herself. This demon feeds on the pain of others, thus Delilah becomes the whipping boy, taking in everyone's pain. She wants happiness for others and in exchange she just want to be loved. But, having Delilah take away your hurts comes at a price for her. And how she gets rid of it is not saintly at all. It may just be a sacrifice you're not willing to give. Wrath's writing always makes you think. Whether you agree or not is a totally different matter.

[David Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Wrath James White, and this book didn't let me down. In fact, it was a pleasant surprise. I say this because it's a follow up to Wrath's The Resurrectionist, yet it stands on its own and doesn't require that the reader have read The Resurrectionist. Sacrifice is a great story that held my interest from the very beginning, and that raw, gritty feel Wrath does so well, with true to life characters and great dialogue. Sacrifice is a dark, no holds barred horror tale, with striking imagery, from characers' inner torment to flat out gore and dread. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sacrifice is a good story, a tie-in to The Resurrectionist. I rated this book "okay" because I am not fond of copy stories, which this story is. If you like copy stories you will most likely rate it higher.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the hell out of this book only down fall. is it needed ti be longer I liked how he connected some characters from his other book to this book and how well they form together to make a story gladly refer this book to people who aren't afraid of some splatterpunk

[Ti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wenn man weiß, worauf man sich einlässt, ist Sacrifice echt gut! Aber Vorsicht: Es handelt sich eindeutig um Genre-Literatur. Extrem-Horror, genau genommen. Wer Splatter und Gore und Filmen liebt, wird auch Extrem-Horror lieben. Wer Gewaltdarstellung und Horror in Filmen schon schwierig findet, will wahrscheinlich erst recht keine seitenlangen Beschreibungen davon lesen. Ich habe die deutsche Version des Buchs vom Festa Verlag gelesen, "Geopfert". Gute Übersetzung, liest sich tadellos. Sacrifice ist eine Art Hard-Boiled-Cop-Story mit übernatürlichen Elementen und over-the-top Splatter und Gore. Die Charaktere sind besser ausgearbeitet, als man es von anderen Büchern des "Extreme Horror"-Genres leider oft kennt. Zum Beispiel kann man die "Charaktere" (eher Schablonen) von Edward Lee eigentlich immer nur hassen. Sie reagieren und denken nicht wie echte Menschen und sind nicht sympathisch, taugen nicht zur Identifikation. Man schaut ihnen zu, aber leidet nicht wirklich mit ihnen. WJW ist ein deutlich besserer Schriftsteller als Lee. Ketchum find ich vergleichbar, der schreibt auch einfach gut (keinen "Trash"), überschreitet die Grenzen des Mainstreams aber immer wieder, wenn es darum geht, Horror darzustellen. Wobei Ketchum in unmittelbarer Gegenüberstellung zurückgenommener wirkt; wenn er voll aufdreht, macht WJW absolut keine Gefangenen und kennt kein Tabu. Dafür ist er weniger bedrückend. Gewalt und Ekel etc. sind genretypisch irgendwie auch ein Teil des Spaßes. Sacrifice nimmt sich nie zu ernst, es will in erster Linie unterhalten. Das tut es. Wenn man, wie gesagt, in die etwas spezielle Zielgruppe fällt. Sollte euch also nach einer extrablutigen Lektüre für ein Wochenende sein, ist Sacrifice vielleicht einen Versuch wert.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's no doubt Wrath James White can write some of the best hardcore horror out there. In fact, his 2011 release with Deadite Press, Like Porno for Psychos , made my top-ten list for the year. However, after reading Sacrifice, the author's first release with Sinister Grin Press, I can safely say that White is much more than a master of gore and emotionally gritty storytelling; he's an amazing writer than can seemingly bring together the best elements of a plethora of genres into a fast-paced, absorbing novel.

You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Rubi Dillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is insane in the best and goriest way possible. I figured out several pages in that it tied back to The Resurrectionist which is my 3rd favorite WJW book so I was extremely excited about that. I love everything about this book, except that damn cliffhanger at the end. Seriously? You leave us with something like that and expect us to not be salivating for more lol?

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a great novel. WJW is an awesome unique writer. I've been looking for a paperback of this book for a while. I found it for a decent price. I loved how it tied in with The Resurrectionist. It also mentioned Joseph Miles name as well which my favorite character of WJW.

[Paul Michael Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, now I need to read THE RESURRECTIONIST.

[Michael Louis Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll start off this review letting you know that I’m a fan of Wrath James White. He has a way of grabbing you by your private parts and yanking you into his twisted vision. It is often a shameful pleasure that you wouldn’t want to admit in front of family members or coworkers, but nonetheless you’ll find yourself wanting to go back for more of that dirty and nasty goodness. So I say to Wrath, thanks for the uncleanliness, the guilt, and the joy of it all.

As for Sacrifice, I actually read part of a very early version of this book. Having that perspective, I was very excited to get back to the story and see what happened next. To my surprise, there were major changes to the plot. It was almost like I was reading a completely different book, and basically I was. What a treat! The story was relentless—as I’d expected—and never let up for a moment. I found myself turning page after page wanting more and more, but somehow it felt incomplete. When I got to the end, I was only partially satisfied. This only seemed to be part of a bigger story and somehow I’d missed out.

I did a little digging and found that I was right. There was another novel, one that I had not yet read, that this book tied in with: The Resurrectionist. Well, with flickering emotions, I shelve my copy of Sacrifice and begin my hunt for the rest of the story. My appetite is wet, and my hunger is piqued. I need me some more of those bloody niblets.

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I have yet to read Mr. White's most widely known and well adapted work "The Resurrectionist" upon which 'Sacrifice' alludes to, I have to say that I am even more compelled to do so now. I have seen the film adaptation of "The Resurrectionist" however, titled "Come Back to Me" so I know the basic story but what surprised me was the well-written prose and pulse-racing plot of Mr. White's tale. "Sacrifice" reads more like a cop thriller with a dash of the supernatural...okay more than a dash as there are beings in his world that are truly magical and malicious. The story revolves around a voodoo priestess with the ability to take away the pain and suffering of others only to convey it to an innocent. Blind to the damage she causes, she is evil in that she can't see the error of her ways. Mr. White's illustration of the discharge of evil, the selfishness of the human spirit and the capacity for burying horrors was a thrilling joy to behold especially towards the climax of the book. I look forward to reading more in the vein of this Gumshoe Detective Cum Supernatural world that he had created filled with diverse and colorful characters that don't pale to stereotype.

[Caleb Golden · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this is my fourth WJW book and likely my last. I think I've been generous with my other two reviews but 4 books in, it's obvious now that his work doesn't get any better. As always with this guy, the character development is terrible, the plot has great potential but is rushed and given no time to suck in the reader, and forgive me for nitpicking, but the grammar and punctuation is inexcusably bad. The first one or two errors can be chalked up to typo's but ten or more per chapter is just sloppy. I'm not Grammar Jesus by any means, but if I'm noticing that it's this bad then I know others are too. It took me over two months to finish this book and I only finished it to see if there were any saving graces. I can now say that there are not. I love gore as much as the next guy, but without a good story/characters to balance it, it isn't worth the paper it's written on.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of hardcore horror but get tired of novels with very little story that seem to be written just for shock value than I highly recommend wrath James white, his novels and novelas are as brutal as they come but unlike the others everything he writes feels like an important part of the story. Sacrifice is a great introduction to wrath James white if you have never read his books but it is even better if you have read the resurectionist first since it is a stand alone story that takes place shortly after the resurectionist and features a few character from the novel.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have yet to read anything by WJW that I didn't like. As usual, the graphic violence serves a purpose in the story; this is not grue for its own sake. Mr. White uses the medium as a way to explore moral and ethical questions for those who are interested. For those who are not, there is plenty of wet stuff too!

Sacrifice ties in to The Resurrectionist, and while Sacrifice stands on its own you will get more out of it (especially the ending) if you have read The Resurrectionist.

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hit me on a lot of different levels. I love all of Wrath's books. He keeps getting better and better with each one. This is one of the few books that I read in a single sitting. It's so well done that it was over before I knew it.

[Noigeloverlord · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that grabs you on the 1st page and doesn't let go till the last page. Great characters, nonstop action. If you set this book down it's going to keep calling out to you till you pick it back up.

[Willette Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this as an e-book and the ending was HORRIBLE. Very graphic, but will read another book by this author to decide if I like it.

[Phil Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another awesome premise from WJW. Gruesome but also thought provoking. Loved how it tied into The Resurrectionist!