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The Body Cartel
Jericho and Maddy Healey move into their dream home in Ray City, Arizona, when blood-chilling screams emanating from the basement ruin the experience.
Only two days later, Maddy vanishes, and two seedy policemen are caught covering up a hole in the basement. Fleeing the police, Jericho enlists his cousin, a tactical drug officer, to help locate his missing wife. When the investigation takes them to a secret hideaway in the Red Desert, the drug cartels involved are the least of their worries.
Only two days later, Maddy vanishes, and two seedy policemen are caught covering up a hole in the basement. Fleeing the police, Jericho enlists his cousin, a tactical drug officer, to help locate his missing wife. When the investigation takes them to a secret hideaway in the Red Desert, the drug cartels involved are the least of their worries.
244 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2009
23 people want to read
About the author
Alan Spencer
73 books62 followersAlan Spencer is a freelance horror author from Kansas City. His most recent books are B-Movie Reels, B-Movie Attack, and Psycho Therapy (2013).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 14, 2012
Cannibalism, drug cartels, strippers: these are the things that you can expect from The Body Cartel. The book from newcomer Alan Spencer is a story about a couple, Jericho and Maddy Healey, who move to Arizona to start a new business venture. While moving into their new house, they hear sounds from the basement that ruin their house warming festivities. A couple of days later, Maddy disappears and Jericho finds that a couple of policemen are sealing the basement where the couple had heard the sounds. Convinced that the cops are hiding some secret, he enlists his cousin Alex, who is also a cop, to find out about Maddy's whereabouts. What they find is that there is much more than meets the eye, as eventually, both discover a drug cartel that operates from a strip club, and soon enough, it turns into something more, as it eventually leads to a cavern where bodies are dumped, only that some of them are actually still alive, with many of the denziens turning to cannibalism. Do Jericho and Maddy survive the ordeal, or are they eaten alive? What happens to the others involved in the operation? Read the book if you wish to have answers to the questions.
As for the particulars, through much of the book, Spencer seems to be just trying to find an identity, as some of the story leading up to Maddy's disappearance is mostly just building up to that point. In addition to the Healeys' story, there is also the story of Amado and Quentin, the guys who run the strip joint and the body dumping operations, as well as Officer Hernandez. The stories are sometimes hard to follow in the beginning, a point that is further driven by the climax when all of the participants are in the cavern trying to find what they are looking for, as well as an escape. The scenes in the cavern are particularly exciting, as it offers a great sense of danger and suspense. The points where the former humans turned cannibals eat their prey are especially gruesome, with every detail pointed out. Those with weak stomachs need not apply, as The Body Cartel leaves no bloody detail behind.
Overall, there are points in The Body Cartel where it drags, but reading through the book will reap some rewards. At times, it can be difficult to keep track of who's who in the story, but once the cavern parts come up, it is as easy to discern as it becomes more chaotic, in the literal sense, as everyone tries to either eat the others or try to find a way out. This is recommended reading if you like gore, but be prepared to pace yourself, as running through the book will lead you to miss some things.
As for the particulars, through much of the book, Spencer seems to be just trying to find an identity, as some of the story leading up to Maddy's disappearance is mostly just building up to that point. In addition to the Healeys' story, there is also the story of Amado and Quentin, the guys who run the strip joint and the body dumping operations, as well as Officer Hernandez. The stories are sometimes hard to follow in the beginning, a point that is further driven by the climax when all of the participants are in the cavern trying to find what they are looking for, as well as an escape. The scenes in the cavern are particularly exciting, as it offers a great sense of danger and suspense. The points where the former humans turned cannibals eat their prey are especially gruesome, with every detail pointed out. Those with weak stomachs need not apply, as The Body Cartel leaves no bloody detail behind.
Overall, there are points in The Body Cartel where it drags, but reading through the book will reap some rewards. At times, it can be difficult to keep track of who's who in the story, but once the cavern parts come up, it is as easy to discern as it becomes more chaotic, in the literal sense, as everyone tries to either eat the others or try to find a way out. This is recommended reading if you like gore, but be prepared to pace yourself, as running through the book will lead you to miss some things.
October 28, 2009
Alan Spencer's first novel is quick and dirty read filled with blood and excitement. The story involves cannibals and nefarious drug dealers, what a combination! The story builds when a couple from Colorado relocated to Arizona, little to they realize the terror lurking beneath their feet!
The "monsters" in Spencer's novel are all pretty realistic too. You have the horrible drug dealers and the cannibals. The action is over-the-top but still grounded in basic reality, I didn't feel like the characters were action heroes or video game characters. That said, there is a little 1970's drive-in movie cheese in THE BODY CARTEL. At times, I felt like the novel had a GRINDHOUSE ("Planet Terror") feel to it. This isn't a bad thing, but it isn't for everyone.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a bloody scare.
The "monsters" in Spencer's novel are all pretty realistic too. You have the horrible drug dealers and the cannibals. The action is over-the-top but still grounded in basic reality, I didn't feel like the characters were action heroes or video game characters. That said, there is a little 1970's drive-in movie cheese in THE BODY CARTEL. At times, I felt like the novel had a GRINDHOUSE ("Planet Terror") feel to it. This isn't a bad thing, but it isn't for everyone.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a bloody scare.
July 19, 2011
Lately I've been reading about the cartels in Juarez and all of the murders going on there. This book really strikes a chord with contemporary events. The plot is pretty simple...you've got a cartel that is tossing people they find troublesome into a cavern of immense size. There in the dark, these poor people become animals. They rape, murder, and become cannibals and the writer spares none of the gory detail. He is methodical and rather sickening in the descriptions but unapologetic about it. Is it well written? Yes. I think that it is. But it's still rather stomach turning and gross in the same way that the Devil's Rejects is.
If this were made into a film, Rob Zombie would be the director for the job. I'm sure he could put flesh and blood enough on the screen to make it worthy to join the ranks of "A Serbian Film".
If this were made into a film, Rob Zombie would be the director for the job. I'm sure he could put flesh and blood enough on the screen to make it worthy to join the ranks of "A Serbian Film".
May 6, 2010
If you like sex and death and drug cartels and cannibalism, give this one a shot.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews