Hammers on Bone (Persons Non Grata #1) by Cassandra Khaw - Starting November 6th

[Dannii]

Cassandra Khaw bursts onto the scene with Hammers on Bone, a hard-boiled horror show that Charles Stross calls "possibly the most promising horror debut of 2016."

John Persons is a private investigator with a distasteful job from an unlikely client. He’s been hired by a ten-year-old to kill the kid’s stepdad, McKinsey. The man in question is abusive, abrasive, and abominable.

He’s also a monster, which makes Persons the perfect thing to hunt him. Over the course of his ancient, arcane existence, he’s hunted gods and demons, and broken them in his teeth.

As Persons investigates the horrible McKinsey, he realizes that he carries something far darker. He’s infected with an alien presence, and he’s spreading that monstrosity far and wide. Luckily Persons is no stranger to the occult, being an ancient and magical intelligence himself. The question is whether the private dick can take down the abusive stepdad without releasing the holds on his own horrifying potential.

[Dannii]

First Quarter- (view spoiler)[This is so interesting and super well written. The protagonist is on a case. All we really know is the man he is searching for has a monster inside of him, just like the foreman of the factory he works in. What these monsters are and what they want remains to be seen. (hide spoiler)]

Second Quarter- (view spoiler)[I immediately loved Sasha's character, especially after her conversation on consent. I appreciated its inclusion. Their interactions also confirmed that he had a monster inside of him too, but that he longed to do good. It was earlier hinted at but I'm glad to know what he is, even if I don't truly understand it, and that he's definitely a good guy.

Wait, did the interlude mean he didn't take the monster from Sasha?? (hide spoiler)]

Third Quarter- (view spoiler)[The action and the horror have both increased and it seems the kids lured the PI here under false pretences. (hide spoiler)]

Fourth Quarter- (view spoiler)[Such a good story, even if I did remain a little confused by a few things, such as what the monsters were, where they stemmed from, and who the Dead Ones are.

I was glad to see Sasha return but was also confused by the emergence of the Shub-Niggurath inside of her. She revealed the PI's name to be John, which I don't think was revealed before. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

I've downloaded the second book on my kindle and am hoping to read it next week 😊