Pulp

by Neil D. Ostroff

Nothing is as it seems!As pulp fiction writer, Kevin Turner's life is unraveling he receives a panicked call from his ex-girlfriend Tina, a high-priced hooker. The mayor's married son is dead in her bed and she needs Kevin's assistance. As if Kevin doesn't have enough problems.When Kevin discovers Tina's psychotic brother chopped up and removed the body, and Kevin's fingerprints are all over the crime scene, and the police are now finding human remains spread across the suburbs, and Tina says she's in contact with the dead, and Kevin's whole world is about to implode, and everyone and everything is a suspect; it sets off a chain of events more bizarre and horrifying than the plot of one of Kevin's own grisly novels.

89 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2011

About the author

Raised in a rural town outside of Philadelphia, Neil D. Ostroff has been a published author of dark, noir thrillers, romance thrillers, and middle grade sci/fi and paranormal novels for more than twenty years. He is an avid poker player when not working on his novels. Neil also enjoys fishing, hiking, and all things outdoors. He's been interviewed in such publications as PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE, THE PHILADELPHIA INTELLIGENCER, TIMES PUBLISHING, and THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

To read more about him and his books, please check out his blog: ALWAYS WRITING
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

PULP's plot description promises a lot: a noirish thriller featuring a clairvoyant hooker, a dead man with political connections, an in-over-his-head main character, a psycho with a penchant for chopping up dead bodies and leaving no witnesses. And while the book mostly delivers on these promises, it never quite gels for me as a cohesive whole, perhaps because it's only 144 pages long. Another 50 pages might have allowed for some of this to be developed just a touch more. Main character Kevin Turner seems to take everything a bit too much in stride for someone whose life is spiraling out of control. He chooses odd moments to assert himself and odder moments to back down. And the concluding twist feels like it comes a bit out of nowhere.

So what did I actually like about the book? Ostroff's language, which nails the noir feel, and his pacing, which pushes Kevin Turner and the rest of the characters along at a breathless pace. And that final twist, while it seems to come a bit out of nowhere, is really rather brilliant and fits with the personalities of the characters involved -- which just supports my theory that another 50 pages would have allowed Ostroff to lay the groundwork for that twist a little bit stronger.