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Come Join the Murder
Rebecca Crow’s four-year-old son is dead and her husband is missing.
Divers find her husband’s car at the bottom of a canal with their son’s small, lifeless body, inside. The police have no suspects and nothing to go on but a passing mention of a man driving a van. Guilt and grief cloud Rebecca’s thoughts as she stumbles toward her only mission: Revenge.
James Porter knows exactly what happened to them, but he’ll do anything to keep it a secret.
James didn’t plan to kill Rebecca’s son, but he’s not too broken up about it, either. There are more important things for him to worry about. He needs money, and his increasing appetite for murder is catching the attention of a nosy detective.
Divers find her husband’s car at the bottom of a canal with their son’s small, lifeless body, inside. The police have no suspects and nothing to go on but a passing mention of a man driving a van. Guilt and grief cloud Rebecca’s thoughts as she stumbles toward her only mission: Revenge.
James Porter knows exactly what happened to them, but he’ll do anything to keep it a secret.
James didn’t plan to kill Rebecca’s son, but he’s not too broken up about it, either. There are more important things for him to worry about. He needs money, and his increasing appetite for murder is catching the attention of a nosy detective.
239 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2020
About the author
Holly Rae Garcia
21 books107 followersHolly Rae Garcia works full-time as the Gulf Coast Regional Photographer for a global chemical company. Growing up, she read her mother’s extensive Stephen King and True Crime collection, and a love for dark fiction with sad endings has stayed with her ever since. Holly especially loves the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Daniel Keyes, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Her own books include Parachute, Come Join the Murder and The Easton Falls Massacre: Bigfoot’s Revenge (co-written with her husband and fellow author, Ryan Prentice Garcia). Her shorter fiction has been published online and in print for various magazines and anthologies. She also edited Table for 3, a charity anthology featuring novellas from Douglas Ford, Rebecca Rowland, and herself. Holly is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.
She lives on the Texas Coast with her family and five large dogs. You can often find her reading, watching horror movies, or playing poker.
More information can be found at www.HollyRaeGarcia.com
Her own books include Parachute, Come Join the Murder and The Easton Falls Massacre: Bigfoot’s Revenge (co-written with her husband and fellow author, Ryan Prentice Garcia). Her shorter fiction has been published online and in print for various magazines and anthologies. She also edited Table for 3, a charity anthology featuring novellas from Douglas Ford, Rebecca Rowland, and herself. Holly is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.
She lives on the Texas Coast with her family and five large dogs. You can often find her reading, watching horror movies, or playing poker.
More information can be found at www.HollyRaeGarcia.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
July 23, 2020
Check out all of my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
COME JOIN THE MURDER by Holly Rae Garcia is a short, poignant and dark crime thriller by a new author that kept me turning the pages. Graphic and at times difficult to read, I still could not put it down until I knew the final resolution for the dual narrators.
Rebecca Crow and her husband, Jon tried for a long time to have a child. Now Oliver is four years old and a miniature copy of her husband. Rebecca stays home to catch up on work as her husband and Oliver head to the beach for the day. On the way home, their car has a flat. After calling AAA and Rebecca, she agrees to wait for them at the car repair shop, but they never show up.
Her husband’s car is found at the bottom of the canal with her son’s body inside. Her husband’s body is missing. Guilt and grief take over Rebecca’s every thought and all she can focus on is revenge against the person in the old van who destroyed her family.
James Porter did not plan to kill Rebecca’s son, but he is not feeling any guilt over it either. James needs money and he is finding it increasingly easier to kill to get it. As James’ trail of bodies begins to draw attention from a nosy detective, he also realizes someone else may be looking for him and his van.
Rebecca and James are dual narrators throughout this short novel. Rebecca is twisted by the pain, regret and loss she now endures into a woman seeking revenge and believing she can find some closure. James is a taker who finds he increasingly enjoys the kill. The plot spirals into a psychological thriller that leaves you comparing the two and finding that both may have started differently, but are they now truly different? This story has graphic violence, but I never felt it was gratuitous because it was demonstrated by both main characters.
I feel this is a gripping story of grief and murder that I find I cannot quit thinking about and analyzing.
COME JOIN THE MURDER by Holly Rae Garcia is a short, poignant and dark crime thriller by a new author that kept me turning the pages. Graphic and at times difficult to read, I still could not put it down until I knew the final resolution for the dual narrators.
Rebecca Crow and her husband, Jon tried for a long time to have a child. Now Oliver is four years old and a miniature copy of her husband. Rebecca stays home to catch up on work as her husband and Oliver head to the beach for the day. On the way home, their car has a flat. After calling AAA and Rebecca, she agrees to wait for them at the car repair shop, but they never show up.
Her husband’s car is found at the bottom of the canal with her son’s body inside. Her husband’s body is missing. Guilt and grief take over Rebecca’s every thought and all she can focus on is revenge against the person in the old van who destroyed her family.
James Porter did not plan to kill Rebecca’s son, but he is not feeling any guilt over it either. James needs money and he is finding it increasingly easier to kill to get it. As James’ trail of bodies begins to draw attention from a nosy detective, he also realizes someone else may be looking for him and his van.
Rebecca and James are dual narrators throughout this short novel. Rebecca is twisted by the pain, regret and loss she now endures into a woman seeking revenge and believing she can find some closure. James is a taker who finds he increasingly enjoys the kill. The plot spirals into a psychological thriller that leaves you comparing the two and finding that both may have started differently, but are they now truly different? This story has graphic violence, but I never felt it was gratuitous because it was demonstrated by both main characters.
I feel this is a gripping story of grief and murder that I find I cannot quit thinking about and analyzing.
March 28, 2020
Rebecca's last phone call with her husband is the last she will ever have. After he and their 4-year-old son have spend the day at the beach and are headed home, the car gets a flat tire. He calls to tell Rebecca that they will be late coming home, he's called for help and will see her soon as the help has already arrived.
Many hours later, police find her husband's car at the bottom of a canal ... the lifeless body of their son inside. Her husband's body is not found.
The story is told from Rebecca's point of view...and also from James' point of view. He's the man with no regrets about what happened to the man and his son. He may not have meant it to happen .. but it did ...and it will happen again ..and again.
Rebecca is slowly sinking into depression and losing her grip on reality. She has only one thing on her mind..... vengeance.
Losing a child is a parent's worst nightmare. This story tugged at my heart and I shed a few tears, but the author did an excellent job in following Rebecca's path and seeing how she handled her immense loss. I read this one in record time, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. I think all who read this will have their own determination.
Many thanks to the author / Booksirens for the digital copy of this psychological drama. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Many hours later, police find her husband's car at the bottom of a canal ... the lifeless body of their son inside. Her husband's body is not found.
The story is told from Rebecca's point of view...and also from James' point of view. He's the man with no regrets about what happened to the man and his son. He may not have meant it to happen .. but it did ...and it will happen again ..and again.
Rebecca is slowly sinking into depression and losing her grip on reality. She has only one thing on her mind..... vengeance.
Losing a child is a parent's worst nightmare. This story tugged at my heart and I shed a few tears, but the author did an excellent job in following Rebecca's path and seeing how she handled her immense loss. I read this one in record time, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. I think all who read this will have their own determination.
Many thanks to the author / Booksirens for the digital copy of this psychological drama. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
March 4, 2020
A copy of this book was gifted by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Come Join the Murder takes place during the summer in a small town in Texas. Rebecca’s husband, Jon, and son, Oliver, are mysteriously killed during a mugging and Rebecca is hell-bent on seeking revenge. After their death, she spends her days plotting payback and frantically searching for the man who killed her family. The mission consumes every aspect of her life as she grows more and more desperate.
The chapters switch between the POV of Rebecca, and James, a local criminal who gets by on stealing money from others and killing them afterwards. I actually didn’t hate James as much as I think I was supposed to. Yes, he’s a thief, and yes, he gets a thrill from taking the lives of others, but the author managed to humanise him, so much that I felt bad for him at some points in the book.
Rebecca’s switch from neurotic to unhinged progresses steadily through the book, and made the plot more exciting. Her determination took over any grief she still harboured, as she convinced herself she was close to finding the killer. The constant up and down she experienced translated really well in the story, and made the plot more stimulating to follow. She essentially became a vigilante, avenging her son and husband’s death.
The author brilliantly balanced tension and emotion in the book. Some moments were so intense I was almost scared to keep reading, and that’s what makes a gripping thriller. If it was a film, I’d be watching through my fingers. I read this book and literally said “Well, I didn’t see that coming,” out loud. A good book is a book that makes you talk to yourself, and reading this had me in full conversation.
However, it did seem easy for some of the crimes in the book to take place. When they were being committed, the risk of being caught wasn’t there, which meant they didn’t feel as tense. There never seemed to be news of DNA or ballistics from the weapons. Maybe the police in that particular town just aren’t very good at their job.
One thing I can confidently say about Come Join the Murder is that it’s brilliantly written. Even if the plot was lacking (which it isn’t), I really liked the author’s writing style and thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. She was descriptive without losing the essence of the meaning, and made each scene easy to picture.
Garcia is a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Matheson and Stephen King, and that is evident in her writing. I could easily see this book as a short binge-worthy series. From beginning to end, I was hooked, and I genuinely loved reading Come Join the Murder.
Come Join the Murder takes place during the summer in a small town in Texas. Rebecca’s husband, Jon, and son, Oliver, are mysteriously killed during a mugging and Rebecca is hell-bent on seeking revenge. After their death, she spends her days plotting payback and frantically searching for the man who killed her family. The mission consumes every aspect of her life as she grows more and more desperate.
The chapters switch between the POV of Rebecca, and James, a local criminal who gets by on stealing money from others and killing them afterwards. I actually didn’t hate James as much as I think I was supposed to. Yes, he’s a thief, and yes, he gets a thrill from taking the lives of others, but the author managed to humanise him, so much that I felt bad for him at some points in the book.
Rebecca’s switch from neurotic to unhinged progresses steadily through the book, and made the plot more exciting. Her determination took over any grief she still harboured, as she convinced herself she was close to finding the killer. The constant up and down she experienced translated really well in the story, and made the plot more stimulating to follow. She essentially became a vigilante, avenging her son and husband’s death.
The author brilliantly balanced tension and emotion in the book. Some moments were so intense I was almost scared to keep reading, and that’s what makes a gripping thriller. If it was a film, I’d be watching through my fingers. I read this book and literally said “Well, I didn’t see that coming,” out loud. A good book is a book that makes you talk to yourself, and reading this had me in full conversation.
However, it did seem easy for some of the crimes in the book to take place. When they were being committed, the risk of being caught wasn’t there, which meant they didn’t feel as tense. There never seemed to be news of DNA or ballistics from the weapons. Maybe the police in that particular town just aren’t very good at their job.
One thing I can confidently say about Come Join the Murder is that it’s brilliantly written. Even if the plot was lacking (which it isn’t), I really liked the author’s writing style and thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. She was descriptive without losing the essence of the meaning, and made each scene easy to picture.
Garcia is a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Matheson and Stephen King, and that is evident in her writing. I could easily see this book as a short binge-worthy series. From beginning to end, I was hooked, and I genuinely loved reading Come Join the Murder.
June 2, 2020
Loss and depression can bring on it's own form of horror, and this is what is visited upon Rebecca Crow on what should have been just another ordinary day. Her husband Jon and 4 year old son Oliver are off for a day at the beach. Rebecca is looking forward to a few hours of alone time and getting some work done, having no idea she would never see her family again. The fear was palpable as she waited and waited for them to show up at their designated meeting spot. My own anxiety grew along with hers as she made her way home, thinking they would be there when she arrived. But they didn't come, and they didn't come, and I knew they wouldn't. and I almost could not bear to witness the moment when her hope was crushed. Rebecca goes through the motions, the funeral, the well wishers, but as is said in the book there is no word for a mother without a child. Rebecca is... something else now, she wants revenge and we are along for the ride, to join the murder, as she imagines one brutal scenario after another of how her family died and who took them from her, until at last the truth comes barreling in like a gut punch.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
May 16, 2022
Twisted, Chilling, and Unexpected.
This was my first read by Holly Rae Garcia, but certainly will not be my last. COME JOIN THE MURDER is a dark, violent tale full of loss, grief, and vengeance that will linger in my mind for quite some time. I'm looking forward to reading PARACHUTE next. Highly recommended!
This was my first read by Holly Rae Garcia, but certainly will not be my last. COME JOIN THE MURDER is a dark, violent tale full of loss, grief, and vengeance that will linger in my mind for quite some time. I'm looking forward to reading PARACHUTE next. Highly recommended!
May 17, 2020
Capturing my attention is not an easy feat, but Come Join The Murder managed to enthrall me since the first paragraph in which we are introduced to James, a man who has commited an unnecesary murder.
On the other side, we meet Rebeca, her husband and her kid have been murdered and she seeks revenge...
This book is narrated from the perspective of both Rebeca and James, therefore providing us the two sides of a murder story. An interesting approach that will lead to lot of tension and moments that caught me off guard.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the character's personality. Seeing how they evolve and how their inner thoughts change was what for me one of the main highlights in this story.
Well written, thrilling and a bit of dark, as a result this is a solid 5 stars book.
On the other side, we meet Rebeca, her husband and her kid have been murdered and she seeks revenge...
This book is narrated from the perspective of both Rebeca and James, therefore providing us the two sides of a murder story. An interesting approach that will lead to lot of tension and moments that caught me off guard.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the character's personality. Seeing how they evolve and how their inner thoughts change was what for me one of the main highlights in this story.
Well written, thrilling and a bit of dark, as a result this is a solid 5 stars book.
June 3, 2020
Loved it
Fantastic read and different to your standard crime book. Definitely recommend you read it. Couldn't put it down and I'll look forward to this authors next book.
Fantastic read and different to your standard crime book. Definitely recommend you read it. Couldn't put it down and I'll look forward to this authors next book.
May 10, 2020
This book blew me away.
Check out my full review here.
Check out my full review here.
August 24, 2020
"Come join the murder
Come join the black"
The White Buffalo & The Forest Rangers - Come Join the Murder
The first time I heard the title of this book, Come Join the Murder, it made me think of the song from the show Son's of Anarchy. I mentioned this in one of my videos and Holly responded saying that both the title of the book and the character's last name, Crowe, were inspired by SoA which I thought was pretty cool.
Okay, with that little tidbit aside let's get into the review. Come Join the Murder is the debut novel by Holly Rae Garcia. It being a debut I didn't really know what to expect going in. I knew that I was intrigued by the title and I really like the cover art, it's simple yet eye catching. I don't think I was prepared for how dark this story turned out to be.
Whenever a book's plot revolves around the loss of a child you know you are most likely in for a heavy read and this book was no different in that regard. Rebecca Crowe's four year old son Ollie is found dead when her husband's car is pulled from the canal. If that isn't horrible enough her husband is missing and it's unknown whether he is alive or dead. Not only does Rebecca have to deal with the absolutely devastating loss of her son but she has no one to lean on, no one to grieve with, no emotional support system. The unknown lingering around her husband's fate continues to gnaw at her already fractured psyche.
Rebecca's guilt starts to pour in like a rising tide eroding away at her emotional sanity. She begins to question herself and her life. Was she a good enough wife and mother? Did she pay enough attention to Ollie or was she more focused on her work and having some peace and quiet to herself? All those moments of "Hold on", "Not right now", "Maybe later" with her son come rushing in to haunt her. Moments that she will never get back. Moments that she will never be able to have a do-over on. Life is short. Life is fleeting and this fact crashes down upon Rebecca like a hammer blow.
This one really hit home for me as I have a son who is also four years old. I'll admit some of the parts here dealing with Ollie's funeral and the memories of him that would bubble up to the surface in Rebecca's mind got me a bit emotional. For me anytime a writer can elicit an emotional response like this through the power of their words they are doing something right in my book.
The format of the story cuts back and forth from Rebecca's viewpoint to that of a man named James. James is a low life with a blackness festering inside of him. Life seems to have had the heel of its boot bearing down on James' neck his entire life. A victim of abuse and harboring traumas of his own has led him down a misguided path. A man who has turned to robbery to make ends meet and help support his mother crosses paths with Ollie and his dad one fateful day, forever altering the course of all lives involved. This isn’t a spoiler as you learn this from nearly the beginning, James is a killer and in one way or another he is responsible for ripping Rebecca's child away from her.
Though Rebecca and James are on opposite sides of the societal spectrum they may have more in common with each other than meets the eye. Come Join the Murder delves into the transformation of becoming a murderer. Is a person born with that dark stain already within themselves waiting to manifest or is it something that is bred of circumstance, trauma, revenge? Does everyone have the capacity to enact such violence and take the life of another? If not, what is it that separates the killers from the rest of us?
Not pleased with the progress the police are making on the case, Rebecca decides that she is going to take justice into her own hands and use what little information she has to hunt down the person responsible for shattering her life. Hellbent on revenge, her judgment becomes clouded as she stares out into the abyss, but what is staring back? Will Rebecca take the high road to forgiveness or will she become a monster like the one that she has set out to hunt down?
This book does have a repetitiveness to it where Rebecca imagines Ollie's and her husband's final moments over and over again. It starts the same every time but her mind always conjures up a different perpetrator and a different scenario of the horrible events that transpired. I've seen some other reviews where this was off-putting to the reader but for me it worked well in helping to establish Rebecca's decaying state of mind. She's losing it. Each waking nightmare is worse and more violent than the last.
Heavy with guilt, grief, and regret. Come Join the Murder by Holly Rae Garcia is a darkly brutal story of vengeance and how the capacity to kill lurks within us all. The only question is what would it take to come join the murder?
I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/vc_zU6HM_4k
Come join the black"
The White Buffalo & The Forest Rangers - Come Join the Murder
The first time I heard the title of this book, Come Join the Murder, it made me think of the song from the show Son's of Anarchy. I mentioned this in one of my videos and Holly responded saying that both the title of the book and the character's last name, Crowe, were inspired by SoA which I thought was pretty cool.
Okay, with that little tidbit aside let's get into the review. Come Join the Murder is the debut novel by Holly Rae Garcia. It being a debut I didn't really know what to expect going in. I knew that I was intrigued by the title and I really like the cover art, it's simple yet eye catching. I don't think I was prepared for how dark this story turned out to be.
Whenever a book's plot revolves around the loss of a child you know you are most likely in for a heavy read and this book was no different in that regard. Rebecca Crowe's four year old son Ollie is found dead when her husband's car is pulled from the canal. If that isn't horrible enough her husband is missing and it's unknown whether he is alive or dead. Not only does Rebecca have to deal with the absolutely devastating loss of her son but she has no one to lean on, no one to grieve with, no emotional support system. The unknown lingering around her husband's fate continues to gnaw at her already fractured psyche.
Rebecca's guilt starts to pour in like a rising tide eroding away at her emotional sanity. She begins to question herself and her life. Was she a good enough wife and mother? Did she pay enough attention to Ollie or was she more focused on her work and having some peace and quiet to herself? All those moments of "Hold on", "Not right now", "Maybe later" with her son come rushing in to haunt her. Moments that she will never get back. Moments that she will never be able to have a do-over on. Life is short. Life is fleeting and this fact crashes down upon Rebecca like a hammer blow.
This one really hit home for me as I have a son who is also four years old. I'll admit some of the parts here dealing with Ollie's funeral and the memories of him that would bubble up to the surface in Rebecca's mind got me a bit emotional. For me anytime a writer can elicit an emotional response like this through the power of their words they are doing something right in my book.
The format of the story cuts back and forth from Rebecca's viewpoint to that of a man named James. James is a low life with a blackness festering inside of him. Life seems to have had the heel of its boot bearing down on James' neck his entire life. A victim of abuse and harboring traumas of his own has led him down a misguided path. A man who has turned to robbery to make ends meet and help support his mother crosses paths with Ollie and his dad one fateful day, forever altering the course of all lives involved. This isn’t a spoiler as you learn this from nearly the beginning, James is a killer and in one way or another he is responsible for ripping Rebecca's child away from her.
Though Rebecca and James are on opposite sides of the societal spectrum they may have more in common with each other than meets the eye. Come Join the Murder delves into the transformation of becoming a murderer. Is a person born with that dark stain already within themselves waiting to manifest or is it something that is bred of circumstance, trauma, revenge? Does everyone have the capacity to enact such violence and take the life of another? If not, what is it that separates the killers from the rest of us?
Not pleased with the progress the police are making on the case, Rebecca decides that she is going to take justice into her own hands and use what little information she has to hunt down the person responsible for shattering her life. Hellbent on revenge, her judgment becomes clouded as she stares out into the abyss, but what is staring back? Will Rebecca take the high road to forgiveness or will she become a monster like the one that she has set out to hunt down?
This book does have a repetitiveness to it where Rebecca imagines Ollie's and her husband's final moments over and over again. It starts the same every time but her mind always conjures up a different perpetrator and a different scenario of the horrible events that transpired. I've seen some other reviews where this was off-putting to the reader but for me it worked well in helping to establish Rebecca's decaying state of mind. She's losing it. Each waking nightmare is worse and more violent than the last.
Heavy with guilt, grief, and regret. Come Join the Murder by Holly Rae Garcia is a darkly brutal story of vengeance and how the capacity to kill lurks within us all. The only question is what would it take to come join the murder?
I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/vc_zU6HM_4k
September 17, 2021
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
This story is brutally dark, especially if you are reading it as a mother with a similar-aged child to Rebecca’s Oliver.
The book begins with a brutal and senseless murder, then gives us the story from the POV of the murderers alternating with Rebecca’s narrative as she finds out about her loss, grieves, then spirals into obsessive revenge. It is terrifying just how quickly and plausibly she shifts from a normal woman grieving the loss of her family to a deranged vigilante murderer.
Holly Rae Garcia uses an incredibly clever hook to explore Rebecca’s downfall; when she identifies her suspect we see the murder replayed as Rebecca imagines it might have happened. This felt like such a fresh approach and I was totally drawn in by it.
That same clever hook made this story almost unbearable for me to read, as I experienced the traumatic death of a 4 year old over and over again. In that respect, the book is mercifully short, but it does also feature animal abuse and animal murder, as well as all the human murder, so there are a lot of triggers packed into quite a small space! The ending felt like a relief all round, with one last round of shocking misery before the fade to black.
This is a very, very dark book, with no redeeming characters or lighter moments; ideal for a plunge into the dark side and a wallow in psychological horror. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
This story is brutally dark, especially if you are reading it as a mother with a similar-aged child to Rebecca’s Oliver.
The book begins with a brutal and senseless murder, then gives us the story from the POV of the murderers alternating with Rebecca’s narrative as she finds out about her loss, grieves, then spirals into obsessive revenge. It is terrifying just how quickly and plausibly she shifts from a normal woman grieving the loss of her family to a deranged vigilante murderer.
Holly Rae Garcia uses an incredibly clever hook to explore Rebecca’s downfall; when she identifies her suspect we see the murder replayed as Rebecca imagines it might have happened. This felt like such a fresh approach and I was totally drawn in by it.
That same clever hook made this story almost unbearable for me to read, as I experienced the traumatic death of a 4 year old over and over again. In that respect, the book is mercifully short, but it does also feature animal abuse and animal murder, as well as all the human murder, so there are a lot of triggers packed into quite a small space! The ending felt like a relief all round, with one last round of shocking misery before the fade to black.
This is a very, very dark book, with no redeeming characters or lighter moments; ideal for a plunge into the dark side and a wallow in psychological horror. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
July 24, 2020
If you have followed me for a while, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I bounce around from genre to genre. It has been a while since I’ve been tempted to pick up a book marketed as horror and all the better if it is an indie published book! You, presumably, have read the synopsis for the book. It is an exceedingly grim topic.
Come Join the Murder is a solid, gritty debut that explores grief and violence. I spent the first 45% of this book in ugly tears. My daughter is just a hair younger than Oliver and this is one of my worst nightmares as a wife and mother. Garcia holds nothing back when Rebecca discovers the fate of her son and I honestly had to read this book small bits at a time because I was an absolute mess.
The most frightening aspect of Rebecca’s tale of heartbreak boils down to realism. Garcia deftly manipulated my emotions by sprinkling everyday thoughts and actions that we all can relate to. Who hasn’t complained about picking up after their spouse and child? (If you haven’t, then I strongly suspect you need to start picking up your socks and your own recycling.) Rebecca’s typical, lowkey grousing made me smile and chuckle. Then everything went off the rails.
Garcia sets a harried pace that made me feel frantic even though I knew full well it was just a story. Rebecca’s subsequent spiral into despair and violence was crushing. Her profound grief lay in direct contract to the killer’s POV. Scum doesn’t even begin to cover James’s gross view of his actions. The absolute worst part is there are garbage people like James out in the world.
Now, I clearly enjoyed the telling of this story, but I do think it could have benefited from a separate POV for the detective. I usually hate more than two POVs, but I think it would have highlighted the sudden and extreme shift in Rebecca, James’s gross POV, and helped even out the pacing. This would also allow for an epilogue, as the ending was quite abrupt.
Overall, this was a solid read that twisted my insides and left me reeling. I enjoyed the telling of the story, but I feel gross saying I enjoyed the story for obvious reasons. I highly recommend if you are looking for a good cry and an interesting take on a parent’s grief. Potential side effects include a sharp increase in paranoia as a parent. So… There’s that.
CW: animal cruelty/death, child death, parent death, violence
**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Come Join the Murder is a solid, gritty debut that explores grief and violence. I spent the first 45% of this book in ugly tears. My daughter is just a hair younger than Oliver and this is one of my worst nightmares as a wife and mother. Garcia holds nothing back when Rebecca discovers the fate of her son and I honestly had to read this book small bits at a time because I was an absolute mess.
The most frightening aspect of Rebecca’s tale of heartbreak boils down to realism. Garcia deftly manipulated my emotions by sprinkling everyday thoughts and actions that we all can relate to. Who hasn’t complained about picking up after their spouse and child? (If you haven’t, then I strongly suspect you need to start picking up your socks and your own recycling.) Rebecca’s typical, lowkey grousing made me smile and chuckle. Then everything went off the rails.
Garcia sets a harried pace that made me feel frantic even though I knew full well it was just a story. Rebecca’s subsequent spiral into despair and violence was crushing. Her profound grief lay in direct contract to the killer’s POV. Scum doesn’t even begin to cover James’s gross view of his actions. The absolute worst part is there are garbage people like James out in the world.
Now, I clearly enjoyed the telling of this story, but I do think it could have benefited from a separate POV for the detective. I usually hate more than two POVs, but I think it would have highlighted the sudden and extreme shift in Rebecca, James’s gross POV, and helped even out the pacing. This would also allow for an epilogue, as the ending was quite abrupt.
Overall, this was a solid read that twisted my insides and left me reeling. I enjoyed the telling of the story, but I feel gross saying I enjoyed the story for obvious reasons. I highly recommend if you are looking for a good cry and an interesting take on a parent’s grief. Potential side effects include a sharp increase in paranoia as a parent. So… There’s that.
CW: animal cruelty/death, child death, parent death, violence
**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
July 15, 2020
A wonderful new author! Kept me reading all night!
July 26, 2020
This review is also featured at Behind the Pages: Come Join the Murder
A huge thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours and Holly Rae Garcia for including me in the book tour for Come Join the Murder. I was provided a copy in exchange for an honest review.
What can a mother do when she loses her husband and son? After a trip to the beach turns deadly, Rebecca is left wandering a house filled with memories and silence. The police have found no answers, and she is left trying to pick up the pieces of her life alone. She finds herself searching for the person who took her family from her. But the paths it will lead her down are dark and unforgiving.
James was there the night her family was last seen but is determined to keep quiet. Having recently lost his job, he will do anything to make money. Growing up he learned to take what he needed, and he will do whatever he can to keep a roof over his mother’s head. Even if it means killing a few people along the way.
Holly Rae Garcia’s characters will send a chill down your spine. The choices they make due to the desperation they feel will leave you haunted. Rebecca and James face their own hardships with a gritty determination, forcing them both to make rapidly declining decisions. And yet they both believe what they are doing is best for themselves and the ones they love. Come Join the Murder shows what happens when desperate people are put in tough situations that end up breaking them.
I couldn’t help but feel for Rebecca as her grief tore her apart. I wanted answers just as badly as she did, even if I didn’t agree with her actions. Rebecca’s increasing need to know what happened in her family’s final moments drove the story forward at a rapid pace. With each turn of the page, Rebecca’s hope grew that one day she would have her answers and find the person who took her family away. Even if that hope is founded in dark intentions layered in guilt.
On the other hand, James’ story was sinister and dark from the start. A man who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, his mind was always on the next prize. James’ story made my skin crawl as he developed a taste for murder, and he began to take greater risks. Money was his greatest motivator, and the more he thought people had the more determined he was to take it from them. His warped perception of the world set him on a collision course with Rebecca, creating both a riveting and disturbing story. I can't wait to see what else Holly Rae Garcia writes!
A huge thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours and Holly Rae Garcia for including me in the book tour for Come Join the Murder. I was provided a copy in exchange for an honest review.
What can a mother do when she loses her husband and son? After a trip to the beach turns deadly, Rebecca is left wandering a house filled with memories and silence. The police have found no answers, and she is left trying to pick up the pieces of her life alone. She finds herself searching for the person who took her family from her. But the paths it will lead her down are dark and unforgiving.
James was there the night her family was last seen but is determined to keep quiet. Having recently lost his job, he will do anything to make money. Growing up he learned to take what he needed, and he will do whatever he can to keep a roof over his mother’s head. Even if it means killing a few people along the way.
Holly Rae Garcia’s characters will send a chill down your spine. The choices they make due to the desperation they feel will leave you haunted. Rebecca and James face their own hardships with a gritty determination, forcing them both to make rapidly declining decisions. And yet they both believe what they are doing is best for themselves and the ones they love. Come Join the Murder shows what happens when desperate people are put in tough situations that end up breaking them.
I couldn’t help but feel for Rebecca as her grief tore her apart. I wanted answers just as badly as she did, even if I didn’t agree with her actions. Rebecca’s increasing need to know what happened in her family’s final moments drove the story forward at a rapid pace. With each turn of the page, Rebecca’s hope grew that one day she would have her answers and find the person who took her family away. Even if that hope is founded in dark intentions layered in guilt.
On the other hand, James’ story was sinister and dark from the start. A man who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, his mind was always on the next prize. James’ story made my skin crawl as he developed a taste for murder, and he began to take greater risks. Money was his greatest motivator, and the more he thought people had the more determined he was to take it from them. His warped perception of the world set him on a collision course with Rebecca, creating both a riveting and disturbing story. I can't wait to see what else Holly Rae Garcia writes!
April 3, 2020
Come Join the Murder is a tale of loss. Most authors depict loss as a state of depression; those who have experienced loss know that, at its core, it is a horror all on its own. Thus, Garcia's story has embodied the perfect genre in which to flourish.
Come Join the Murder opens with James attempting to wash the blood out of his favorite t-shirt, an old Eagles concert tee he’d swiped from a Salvation Army store the summer before. The blood is the result of a robbery gone wrong that resulted in the death of an innocent father and son, Jon and Oliver, the husband and child of Rebecca, a tragic Everywoman that Garcia quickly endears to the reader. As she struggles to remember the last conversation she had with Jon, shuffles through the family album to locate a recent photograph for the police, Rebecca’s deep regret, the pain at not having savored every moment with the two people she loved most, is visceral. Rebecca refuses to sit by and wait for the perpetrators to be brought to justice; she refuses to be a passive object of pity, “a victim, someone to be held at a distance, because while they liked to think it possibly couldn’t happen to them, they would still walk a wide circle around it. And her. People liked to go about their days in blissful ignorance of the violent world around them, and when it edged too close, they didn’t know what to do but keep far away lest it be contagious.” Come Join the Murder is not simply a story about the pain of loss but rather, it illustrates the degree to which we all might go to achieve closure and become whole once more. Despite the physical miles between them, perhaps the distance between a James and a Rebecca isn’t as broad as we’d like to think.
Come Join the Murder opens with James attempting to wash the blood out of his favorite t-shirt, an old Eagles concert tee he’d swiped from a Salvation Army store the summer before. The blood is the result of a robbery gone wrong that resulted in the death of an innocent father and son, Jon and Oliver, the husband and child of Rebecca, a tragic Everywoman that Garcia quickly endears to the reader. As she struggles to remember the last conversation she had with Jon, shuffles through the family album to locate a recent photograph for the police, Rebecca’s deep regret, the pain at not having savored every moment with the two people she loved most, is visceral. Rebecca refuses to sit by and wait for the perpetrators to be brought to justice; she refuses to be a passive object of pity, “a victim, someone to be held at a distance, because while they liked to think it possibly couldn’t happen to them, they would still walk a wide circle around it. And her. People liked to go about their days in blissful ignorance of the violent world around them, and when it edged too close, they didn’t know what to do but keep far away lest it be contagious.” Come Join the Murder is not simply a story about the pain of loss but rather, it illustrates the degree to which we all might go to achieve closure and become whole once more. Despite the physical miles between them, perhaps the distance between a James and a Rebecca isn’t as broad as we’d like to think.
June 14, 2020
Couldn’t put it down. When your family is taken from you for a measly 32$, you want revenge, don’t you? How do you exact that? Rebecca is fed up with police and takes things into her own hands. Who is the killer? A man with a van.
August 19, 2020
“There is no word for a mother without a child.” -Rebecca Crow
Rebecca’s 4 year old son Oliver is dead. Her husband John is missing and presumed dead.
This is know within the first chapter so it is not a spoiler. The rest of the book is about Rebecca and the mental rollercoaster she is on. It is also about the killers, James and Tommy, and what transformation they go through.
Sound simple? Better think again. This is difficult to get into without spoiling anything so I will just tell you to take your emotions and throw them in a blender. It is so complex; anger, heartbreak, worry, relief...and that is just for one of the killers, James. With Rebecca it is even worse. All the characters are great, you can’t help but feel for them.
This novel starts off having you think it will be a mystery/thriller, but then it becomes somber and emotionally deep, only to change again (no spoilers)
The narration was basic, with no music or sounds when changing scenes and at the beginning I was not a fan. Then you realize that Ann Simmons (the narrator) is the perfect Rebecca and portrays the mood perfectly. Anything different would be wrong.
Why are you still reading this? Get this book in one form or another and COME JOIN THE MURDER!
Rebecca’s 4 year old son Oliver is dead. Her husband John is missing and presumed dead.
This is know within the first chapter so it is not a spoiler. The rest of the book is about Rebecca and the mental rollercoaster she is on. It is also about the killers, James and Tommy, and what transformation they go through.
Sound simple? Better think again. This is difficult to get into without spoiling anything so I will just tell you to take your emotions and throw them in a blender. It is so complex; anger, heartbreak, worry, relief...and that is just for one of the killers, James. With Rebecca it is even worse. All the characters are great, you can’t help but feel for them.
This novel starts off having you think it will be a mystery/thriller, but then it becomes somber and emotionally deep, only to change again (no spoilers)
The narration was basic, with no music or sounds when changing scenes and at the beginning I was not a fan. Then you realize that Ann Simmons (the narrator) is the perfect Rebecca and portrays the mood perfectly. Anything different would be wrong.
Why are you still reading this? Get this book in one form or another and COME JOIN THE MURDER!
March 22, 2020
I can definitely say this is a book unlike any other I’ve read. The author presents possibilities in a way that reminds me a little of the Groundhog Day movie.
I was just as shocked at the actions of Rebecca as I was understanding of her grief.
The book was well written. The story was simple yet creative. The characters were realistic. There were so many moments that I didn’t expect that it really kept me on my toes. Great mixture of suspense and anticipation.
I only gave 4 stars because descriptive deaths of children and animals are a huge detractor from the story for me personally.
I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read it. I will definitely add this to my books to recommend to others!
I was just as shocked at the actions of Rebecca as I was understanding of her grief.
The book was well written. The story was simple yet creative. The characters were realistic. There were so many moments that I didn’t expect that it really kept me on my toes. Great mixture of suspense and anticipation.
I only gave 4 stars because descriptive deaths of children and animals are a huge detractor from the story for me personally.
I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read it. I will definitely add this to my books to recommend to others!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2020
Come Join the Murder by Holly Rae Garcia was an excellent debut novel. The story is told by Rebecca, the grieving and vengeful mother/spouse and James, the guy who has a taste for murder. The book is a very short, quick read. Hard to read at times when its describing Oliver's death. The only issue I had with it was the ending, not a bad one, just wished for a little more.
Thank you to BookSirens for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to BookSirens for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own.
March 28, 2020
Come Join The Murder is an intriguing read.
This is the first book I have read by this author and found it to be a truly interesting mystery thriller. With dual points of view from the victims' wife/mother and the killer, this story captured my interest from the first page. It is well written and compelling, with murder, violence, and vengeance.
I would love to read more books from this author.
I read and reviewed this book with no obligation.
This is the first book I have read by this author and found it to be a truly interesting mystery thriller. With dual points of view from the victims' wife/mother and the killer, this story captured my interest from the first page. It is well written and compelling, with murder, violence, and vengeance.
I would love to read more books from this author.
I read and reviewed this book with no obligation.
April 1, 2020
Imagine if the phone call from your husband to say he was running late was the last you would ever receive, this is what happens to Rebecca and not only that but their young son was in the car with him
Hours later the body of her young son is found in the car at the bottom of a canal and her husband is no where to be found, what follows is Rebecca's journey from grief through to a vigilante hell bent on revenge
A well written story and one I totally enjoyed
Hours later the body of her young son is found in the car at the bottom of a canal and her husband is no where to be found, what follows is Rebecca's journey from grief through to a vigilante hell bent on revenge
A well written story and one I totally enjoyed
July 21, 2020
This book is chilling.
Chilling because at its heart – though it is written at first as if it might be just another work of standard genre fiction – there is a terrible truth about the human heart, about revenge, and about justice. Rebecca’s son and husband are missing. And then her son’s body is found, murdered, at the bottom of a canal in her husband’s car.
Rebecca is a good person. She’s a mother. She’s us. Any of us.
At first the book is a study in grief. There were moments there, at the start, when I could barely read on. I felt it. The helpless, empty aching void of losing a child. The unbearable loss. The unbearable anger. The unbearable paralysis of helplessness. Anything would be better than that. So Rebecca finds something she can do. She can give her child justice. The killer must pay.
From then on in, the book is a desperate, spiralling journey into darkness. I won’t say more of the plot. But you should read it.
This book achieves the unusual feat of being both a parable and a psychologically compelling study. I could see the parable unfolding, and guessed where it must inevitably go, but the characters were so real, so believable – so terribly recognisable (hmmm. I must rid my house of mirrors) – that I never felt that they were merely “vehicles” for the moral of the story. There was something universal in the forces portrayed but the hearts were exquisitely human.
It would be nice to believe that the moral of the story was that “we should leave justice to the state: courts and governments will do it properly, dispassionately, correctly; they will get it right.” After all, every state and society seeks to punish murder (unless one counts those murders that they have themselves ordered and sanctioned…) Civilized societies do so by judiciously taking away liberty for long enough that the killer can think long and hard about the loss of their own years, can learn about what life means, and can, perhaps, repent. Uncivilised ones just Join the Murder: a life for a life, the lynching, the electric chair, the sterile but lethal injection. Sometimes, of course, they get the wrong man. But at least someone has paid.
It doesn’t stop there. Occasionally, like Rebecca, societies go quite mad about it. When a group from Saudi Arabia killed 2,977 people in the 9/11 attacks, America and much of Europe, linked in their grief and horror and anger at what had been done, decided to Join the Murder by waging war on the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. The subsequent “war on terror” resulted in well over a 100,000 deaths, including those of many thousands of American and European soldiers. The dead people had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, any of them. But never mind. If one can’t get the right people, then at least someone has paid. Some of them must have been baddies. It appears to bring a certain catharsis. At the beginning most of the world seemed to approve. Even at the end, the war on terror had its advocates.
Come Join the Murder is a powerful, deeply disturbing story. Don’t imagine it’s just a book about motherhood, about a mother’s love, and about that (oh how fiction loves it!) capacity of a woman to go mad. Yes, it covers all of those. But it’s also a book about the human condition. And its final scene is the final scene for all of us.
Chilling because at its heart – though it is written at first as if it might be just another work of standard genre fiction – there is a terrible truth about the human heart, about revenge, and about justice. Rebecca’s son and husband are missing. And then her son’s body is found, murdered, at the bottom of a canal in her husband’s car.
Rebecca is a good person. She’s a mother. She’s us. Any of us.
At first the book is a study in grief. There were moments there, at the start, when I could barely read on. I felt it. The helpless, empty aching void of losing a child. The unbearable loss. The unbearable anger. The unbearable paralysis of helplessness. Anything would be better than that. So Rebecca finds something she can do. She can give her child justice. The killer must pay.
From then on in, the book is a desperate, spiralling journey into darkness. I won’t say more of the plot. But you should read it.
This book achieves the unusual feat of being both a parable and a psychologically compelling study. I could see the parable unfolding, and guessed where it must inevitably go, but the characters were so real, so believable – so terribly recognisable (hmmm. I must rid my house of mirrors) – that I never felt that they were merely “vehicles” for the moral of the story. There was something universal in the forces portrayed but the hearts were exquisitely human.
It would be nice to believe that the moral of the story was that “we should leave justice to the state: courts and governments will do it properly, dispassionately, correctly; they will get it right.” After all, every state and society seeks to punish murder (unless one counts those murders that they have themselves ordered and sanctioned…) Civilized societies do so by judiciously taking away liberty for long enough that the killer can think long and hard about the loss of their own years, can learn about what life means, and can, perhaps, repent. Uncivilised ones just Join the Murder: a life for a life, the lynching, the electric chair, the sterile but lethal injection. Sometimes, of course, they get the wrong man. But at least someone has paid.
It doesn’t stop there. Occasionally, like Rebecca, societies go quite mad about it. When a group from Saudi Arabia killed 2,977 people in the 9/11 attacks, America and much of Europe, linked in their grief and horror and anger at what had been done, decided to Join the Murder by waging war on the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. The subsequent “war on terror” resulted in well over a 100,000 deaths, including those of many thousands of American and European soldiers. The dead people had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, any of them. But never mind. If one can’t get the right people, then at least someone has paid. Some of them must have been baddies. It appears to bring a certain catharsis. At the beginning most of the world seemed to approve. Even at the end, the war on terror had its advocates.
Come Join the Murder is a powerful, deeply disturbing story. Don’t imagine it’s just a book about motherhood, about a mother’s love, and about that (oh how fiction loves it!) capacity of a woman to go mad. Yes, it covers all of those. But it’s also a book about the human condition. And its final scene is the final scene for all of us.
July 23, 2020
**I received a complimentary copy of Come Join the Murder through Blackthorn Book Tours. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Reading Come Join the Murder was quite a wild experience! Holly Rae Garcia eloquently communicates Rebecca and James’ despair as they navigate their struggles through the story. She clearly describes Rebecca’s dark descent as she seeks out her son’s killer. No longer having a family, Rebecca is left to pick up the pieces of her life while piecing together what happened that fateful night on the bridge. In her quest to seek out answers, she loses touch with reality. Garcia also details James’ complicated predicament. The need to protect his loved ones, paired with his knowledge of that fateful evening, causes him to careen down an inhumane path of his own.
Come Join the Murder was a difficult read at times, as the story continually draws back to the night her son Ollie was killed. It highlights Holly Rae Garcia’s stunning ability to describe the horror of a child being murdered, and the drastic lengths a parent might go through to seek justice. Her writing sets up the stage of the night in question, slowly drawing you in before the unspeakable horrors unravel. Rebecca’s quest for truth (and her gradual descent into madness), will keep you engaged until the shocking ending!
If you like stories about revenge with a thrilling twist, then you’ll really love ‘Come Join the Murder’!
Reading Come Join the Murder was quite a wild experience! Holly Rae Garcia eloquently communicates Rebecca and James’ despair as they navigate their struggles through the story. She clearly describes Rebecca’s dark descent as she seeks out her son’s killer. No longer having a family, Rebecca is left to pick up the pieces of her life while piecing together what happened that fateful night on the bridge. In her quest to seek out answers, she loses touch with reality. Garcia also details James’ complicated predicament. The need to protect his loved ones, paired with his knowledge of that fateful evening, causes him to careen down an inhumane path of his own.
Come Join the Murder was a difficult read at times, as the story continually draws back to the night her son Ollie was killed. It highlights Holly Rae Garcia’s stunning ability to describe the horror of a child being murdered, and the drastic lengths a parent might go through to seek justice. Her writing sets up the stage of the night in question, slowly drawing you in before the unspeakable horrors unravel. Rebecca’s quest for truth (and her gradual descent into madness), will keep you engaged until the shocking ending!
If you like stories about revenge with a thrilling twist, then you’ll really love ‘Come Join the Murder’!
August 12, 2020
Come join the murder is a murder thriller written about a woman named Rebecca who loses her son and husband in a car accident. Police began looking for a suspicious van that was seen passing by. Rebecca seeks revenge as all that mattered to her has now been lost.
James Porter knows what has happened, but he keeps it a secret, and although by doing so, he adds a lot more drama to the story, it does make you suffer just as much as Rebecca. His character had his side to it, and I enjoyed that. We usually don’t get to see the bad guys’ perspective as much.
I particularly enjoyed James’s character as he was an excellent villain. You really felt for Rebecca and wanted to vote for her success in the revenge. The thriller was written very well and was thought through.
Losing your four-year-old son and seeing his lifeless body could not have been easy for anyone. I admired how the author described those moments in a well and authentic way.
The literature was descriptive in such a way that it added to the murder mystery. The pace was steady at times and then picked up for other scenes. It was very well written and executed.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes drama, thriller fictions and murder mysteries.
James Porter knows what has happened, but he keeps it a secret, and although by doing so, he adds a lot more drama to the story, it does make you suffer just as much as Rebecca. His character had his side to it, and I enjoyed that. We usually don’t get to see the bad guys’ perspective as much.
I particularly enjoyed James’s character as he was an excellent villain. You really felt for Rebecca and wanted to vote for her success in the revenge. The thriller was written very well and was thought through.
Losing your four-year-old son and seeing his lifeless body could not have been easy for anyone. I admired how the author described those moments in a well and authentic way.
The literature was descriptive in such a way that it added to the murder mystery. The pace was steady at times and then picked up for other scenes. It was very well written and executed.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes drama, thriller fictions and murder mysteries.
July 27, 2020
A stunning crime thriller that looks at the actions, and the consequences of those actions, that connect two very different people.
James loves his mother and wants to look after her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t care what happens to others who get in his way.
Rebecca loves her son, although she’s forgotten to make time for him and gets irritated when he makes a mess and puts demands on her time. Why do we never appreciate what we have until it’s gone?
Garcia writes both characters with great depth of humanity. Rebecca shines as she battles grief. A very well rounded, well written character.
This is a tale of dominoes that lead into darkness, but I really wanted more for both these characters. I wanted them to be better, to do better, and that is due to the strength of Garcia’s writing. I look forward to reading what she writes next.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
James loves his mother and wants to look after her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t care what happens to others who get in his way.
Rebecca loves her son, although she’s forgotten to make time for him and gets irritated when he makes a mess and puts demands on her time. Why do we never appreciate what we have until it’s gone?
Garcia writes both characters with great depth of humanity. Rebecca shines as she battles grief. A very well rounded, well written character.
This is a tale of dominoes that lead into darkness, but I really wanted more for both these characters. I wanted them to be better, to do better, and that is due to the strength of Garcia’s writing. I look forward to reading what she writes next.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
December 22, 2020
What I Did Like:
-Walking that thriller/horror line skillfully. I adore books that tiptoe on the line between genres and this does exactly that. I wasn’t expecting to be surprised by the book, since we start off by knowing exactly who the “bad guy” is. But learning it along with Rebecca and being shocked by what she does with it was INTENSE.
-Originality. The masterful way this author deals with new suspects was great. I love when books take risks and try something new and this book delivered on that! Great way to twist a story we thought we knew.
-Ending. Actually, I’m torn on that FINAL chapter because I don’t always need all the answers and I feel like that was a bow on the story I wasn’t sure we needed. But that SECOND TO LAST chapter was perfect. I suspected that’s how we would end but more in a foreshadowing sense and less in a ruin the story sense. It was this moment we’d anticipated in the darkest reaches of our mind … and the author took us there.
Who Should Read This One:
-If you’re a reader who likes the idea of a mystery/thriller crossing that line into horror, you’ll LOVE this book.
-If you like new and original things in your books, you’ll love how this one handles new suspects for the crime.
-Really, this is a GOOD one … fans of dark books in general won’t regret it!
My Rating: 5 Stars. This one crosses between horror and mystery/thriller in a gorgeously dark tango.
For Full Review (including what I didn’t love): https://youtu.be/-5TT-piZS7Y
-Walking that thriller/horror line skillfully. I adore books that tiptoe on the line between genres and this does exactly that. I wasn’t expecting to be surprised by the book, since we start off by knowing exactly who the “bad guy” is. But learning it along with Rebecca and being shocked by what she does with it was INTENSE.
-Originality. The masterful way this author deals with new suspects was great. I love when books take risks and try something new and this book delivered on that! Great way to twist a story we thought we knew.
-Ending. Actually, I’m torn on that FINAL chapter because I don’t always need all the answers and I feel like that was a bow on the story I wasn’t sure we needed. But that SECOND TO LAST chapter was perfect. I suspected that’s how we would end but more in a foreshadowing sense and less in a ruin the story sense. It was this moment we’d anticipated in the darkest reaches of our mind … and the author took us there.
Who Should Read This One:
-If you’re a reader who likes the idea of a mystery/thriller crossing that line into horror, you’ll LOVE this book.
-If you like new and original things in your books, you’ll love how this one handles new suspects for the crime.
-Really, this is a GOOD one … fans of dark books in general won’t regret it!
My Rating: 5 Stars. This one crosses between horror and mystery/thriller in a gorgeously dark tango.
For Full Review (including what I didn’t love): https://youtu.be/-5TT-piZS7Y
July 20, 2020
I really enjoyed this story. This is a very interesting thriller that explores many themes such as grief, vengeance and psychological drama. We follow the perspective of Rebecca and she is trying to cope with the lost of her son and her husband and we also follow James the man who killed them.
This was a really interesting take on a thriller because generally we don’t know who has hurt or murdered the victim but with this one we know who he is from the start. I was really intrigued at how this story was going to unfold and I was actually really shocked at the decisions she made.
The tension and the emotion in this story was definitely on point and very very balanced which I loved. One minute I would be on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next and then curling up feeling the pain that our main character is feeling.
This is a great book that I highly recommend to all of you!
This was a really interesting take on a thriller because generally we don’t know who has hurt or murdered the victim but with this one we know who he is from the start. I was really intrigued at how this story was going to unfold and I was actually really shocked at the decisions she made.
The tension and the emotion in this story was definitely on point and very very balanced which I loved. One minute I would be on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next and then curling up feeling the pain that our main character is feeling.
This is a great book that I highly recommend to all of you!
July 24, 2020
I’m pleased to share my review for this tense thriller by Holly Rae Garcia. Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours for inviting me to join the tour (my first with Blackthorn) and providing a digital review copy – my thoughts are my own and not influenced by the gift.
This was an unusual book for me because we met the murderer at the beginning of the book, no trying to work out ‘who did it’ in this story. Instead this is a story about how the grief of the murder of her only child drives Rebecca to seek the ultimate revenge.
This is well written and all too believable. A mother racked with guilt and grief looking for the thief / killer who enjoys the thrill of the kill, especially when he keeps getting away with it. It was difficult not to feel sympathy for Rebecca, even as the story unfolded, as her desire for revenge lead her to become the hunter. It is difficult to say any more without giving any spoilers.
I raced through the story, and didn’t want to put it down – the sign of a good story. I’m looking forward to reading future novels by Holly Rae Garcia and will be recommending this book.
This was an unusual book for me because we met the murderer at the beginning of the book, no trying to work out ‘who did it’ in this story. Instead this is a story about how the grief of the murder of her only child drives Rebecca to seek the ultimate revenge.
This is well written and all too believable. A mother racked with guilt and grief looking for the thief / killer who enjoys the thrill of the kill, especially when he keeps getting away with it. It was difficult not to feel sympathy for Rebecca, even as the story unfolded, as her desire for revenge lead her to become the hunter. It is difficult to say any more without giving any spoilers.
I raced through the story, and didn’t want to put it down – the sign of a good story. I’m looking forward to reading future novels by Holly Rae Garcia and will be recommending this book.
July 3, 2020
Rebecca Crow’s four-year-old son is dead and her husband is missing.
Divers find her husband’s car at the bottom of a canal with their son’s small, lifeless body, inside. The police have no suspects and nothing to go on but a passing mention of a man driving a van. Guilt and grief cloud Rebecca’s thoughts as she stumbles toward her only mission: Revenge.
James Porter knows exactly what happened to them, but he’ll do anything to keep it a secret.
James didn’t plan to kill Rebecca’s son, but he’s not too broken up about it, either. There are more important things for him to worry about. He needs money, and his increasing appetite for murder is catching the attention of a nosy detective.
My thoughts about this brilliantly written dark crime thriller which is about revenge love losing someone you love was fantastic what I loved about the story was when rebecca's out to seeking for revenge for what happened to her family husband and son was brilliant loved the characters my favourite character was the killer James who I felt a brilliantly well written character who is a fearless killer a race against time to stop the killer striking again I loved the authors Holly's writing style how she balances the central characters which I loved the most and this is one of the best thrillers I've read this year outstanding highly recommended a blockbuster in the making ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Divers find her husband’s car at the bottom of a canal with their son’s small, lifeless body, inside. The police have no suspects and nothing to go on but a passing mention of a man driving a van. Guilt and grief cloud Rebecca’s thoughts as she stumbles toward her only mission: Revenge.
James Porter knows exactly what happened to them, but he’ll do anything to keep it a secret.
James didn’t plan to kill Rebecca’s son, but he’s not too broken up about it, either. There are more important things for him to worry about. He needs money, and his increasing appetite for murder is catching the attention of a nosy detective.
My thoughts about this brilliantly written dark crime thriller which is about revenge love losing someone you love was fantastic what I loved about the story was when rebecca's out to seeking for revenge for what happened to her family husband and son was brilliant loved the characters my favourite character was the killer James who I felt a brilliantly well written character who is a fearless killer a race against time to stop the killer striking again I loved the authors Holly's writing style how she balances the central characters which I loved the most and this is one of the best thrillers I've read this year outstanding highly recommended a blockbuster in the making ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
July 4, 2020
I picked up this one on Kindle Unlimited on the basis of a youtube video from Well Read Beard, one of my favorite Booktubers that I regularly watch. He's usually on target for me and he definitely was with this one. This is a very good dark crime novel. I'm pretty sure it's her debut novel If so it is remarkably well written. There are no supernatural elements in this novel.
This a tough one to review without giving away too much plot, but I'll try, and be as vague as possible.
This is a story told mainly from the perspective of two people. Rebecca and James.
Rebecca is a ambitious woman married with a little boy and a job that faces her worst nightmare, the disappearance of her husband and son. She goes through grief and anger in trying to find closure slowly loses her mind and worse. James is the person responsible for the disappearance of her husband and son (not a spoiler, it's revealed right on the first page).
This book was very well done. The characterization was realistic and scene transitions worked well.
This a tough one to review without giving away too much plot, but I'll try, and be as vague as possible.
This is a story told mainly from the perspective of two people. Rebecca and James.
Rebecca is a ambitious woman married with a little boy and a job that faces her worst nightmare, the disappearance of her husband and son. She goes through grief and anger in trying to find closure slowly loses her mind and worse. James is the person responsible for the disappearance of her husband and son (not a spoiler, it's revealed right on the first page).
This book was very well done. The characterization was realistic and scene transitions worked well.
July 30, 2020
First, a confession: it was the title that drew me in because it reminded me of Sons of Anarchy, one of my favourite shows to date, and I kinda hoped that this story would be just as dark and gritty and violent and tragic as the show. And let me tell you right now: it was. (Not a biker in sight though, sadly 😉)
Let’s say that you’re a thirty-something woman. Let’s say that you have a son and a husband, and you love them to bits, naturally, but if you’re brutally honest, the one aspect of your life that makes you happiest is your career. Let’s say that being a mum is hard, let’s say that you and the hubby were so desperately focused on getting pregnant that you’ve lost something of what you used to be. Let’s say they’re messing up your kitchen and you’re happy to see them go out so you finally get some peace and quiet in your own bloody house. Let’s say the hubby gets a flat tire and has no spare because you forgot to get a new one. Let’s say a not-so-good Samaritan in an old van stops by the side of the road. Let’s say you’re about to get much more peace and quiet in your house than you bargained for… Surely no one could blame you for becoming… a tad unhinged…
Let’s not lose ourselves in euphemisms: Rebecca, our main character, does not become slightly unhinged, she becomes entirely obsessed as grief and guilt cloud her better judgement, and one could even say she goes a bit mental. No, scratch that, a lot mental. It’s the saddest thing, really. Who of us have never wished for a little break? For our loved ones to just shut it for one blinking second and let us get on with our own stuff? Imagine how you would feel if they went missing afterwards, or if their bodies were dragged from a canal. Admittedly, she goes a bit overboard, and lets her imagination get away from her, and it makes for a harrowing read as she leads the reader down a pitch-black path, reimagining little Ollie’s death again and again, concocting various scenarios, convincing herself she has found the culprit and punishing him for what he must have done. Still, whatever she did, however outlandish her actions, I felt for her and I kept rooting for her.
The other main character is the person responsible for all of Rebecca’s troubles: James. At first I wasn’t quite sure if he was rotten through and through, I mean he does love his mum. But soon I came to loathe him and I had to stop myself from shouting at my Kobo for him to just get a freaking job and stop trying to make a living off the backs of others. Not only does he get a taste for blood, he also hurt a dog, and I’m sorry I love an edgy crime thriller, I can take violence against humans in books, but I can’t take violence against animals. It’s not part of the plot, it’s more of a flashback and meant – I presume – to illustrate what a despicable person James is, and the way his mind works. Goodreads tells me Ms Garcia has dogs herself, so I can only assume writing the scene hurt her as much as it hurt me to read it. It’s a very short scene, but beware if violence against animals is a trigger for you.
Come Join the Murder is an impressive debut and it has put Ms Garcia on my radar for sure, I’m eager to find out what the dark crevices of her mind will come up with next. It is a dark and gritty read. It’s violent and explicit, blood flows and you’re left with this feeling of powerlessness, stunned with the tragedy of it all, in the way that news reports of a violent crime make you feel, if you know what I mean. That last chapter is the hardest of them all and it absolutely broke my heart. I read it weeks ago but I can still see myself sitting in the sunshine, goosebumps all over my arms despite the warmth, holding my breath as I finally found out what happened to Ollie. If you’re good with violence in books, then do check this one out!
Let’s say that you’re a thirty-something woman. Let’s say that you have a son and a husband, and you love them to bits, naturally, but if you’re brutally honest, the one aspect of your life that makes you happiest is your career. Let’s say that being a mum is hard, let’s say that you and the hubby were so desperately focused on getting pregnant that you’ve lost something of what you used to be. Let’s say they’re messing up your kitchen and you’re happy to see them go out so you finally get some peace and quiet in your own bloody house. Let’s say the hubby gets a flat tire and has no spare because you forgot to get a new one. Let’s say a not-so-good Samaritan in an old van stops by the side of the road. Let’s say you’re about to get much more peace and quiet in your house than you bargained for… Surely no one could blame you for becoming… a tad unhinged…
Let’s not lose ourselves in euphemisms: Rebecca, our main character, does not become slightly unhinged, she becomes entirely obsessed as grief and guilt cloud her better judgement, and one could even say she goes a bit mental. No, scratch that, a lot mental. It’s the saddest thing, really. Who of us have never wished for a little break? For our loved ones to just shut it for one blinking second and let us get on with our own stuff? Imagine how you would feel if they went missing afterwards, or if their bodies were dragged from a canal. Admittedly, she goes a bit overboard, and lets her imagination get away from her, and it makes for a harrowing read as she leads the reader down a pitch-black path, reimagining little Ollie’s death again and again, concocting various scenarios, convincing herself she has found the culprit and punishing him for what he must have done. Still, whatever she did, however outlandish her actions, I felt for her and I kept rooting for her.
The other main character is the person responsible for all of Rebecca’s troubles: James. At first I wasn’t quite sure if he was rotten through and through, I mean he does love his mum. But soon I came to loathe him and I had to stop myself from shouting at my Kobo for him to just get a freaking job and stop trying to make a living off the backs of others. Not only does he get a taste for blood, he also hurt a dog, and I’m sorry I love an edgy crime thriller, I can take violence against humans in books, but I can’t take violence against animals. It’s not part of the plot, it’s more of a flashback and meant – I presume – to illustrate what a despicable person James is, and the way his mind works. Goodreads tells me Ms Garcia has dogs herself, so I can only assume writing the scene hurt her as much as it hurt me to read it. It’s a very short scene, but beware if violence against animals is a trigger for you.
Come Join the Murder is an impressive debut and it has put Ms Garcia on my radar for sure, I’m eager to find out what the dark crevices of her mind will come up with next. It is a dark and gritty read. It’s violent and explicit, blood flows and you’re left with this feeling of powerlessness, stunned with the tragedy of it all, in the way that news reports of a violent crime make you feel, if you know what I mean. That last chapter is the hardest of them all and it absolutely broke my heart. I read it weeks ago but I can still see myself sitting in the sunshine, goosebumps all over my arms despite the warmth, holding my breath as I finally found out what happened to Ollie. If you’re good with violence in books, then do check this one out!
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