Twisted Tongue Magazine

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I was very eager to dive into Duncan’s Diary: Birth of a Serial Killer as I have been fascinated with serial killers from a young age—maybe that’s something I shouldn’t brag about. I was not disappointed. From page one I was enthralled with Duncan’s life as a serial killer. Due to the realism I did question a couple of times whether I was reading fact or fiction. Was I inside of a true serial killer’s head? The author certainly created a realistic world.

While reading I couldn’t help but think of the TV series Dexter—another killer that I adore. Duncan is a completely different tale, but the connection of a seemingly normal man that becomes a killer was striking. The majority of ‘real life’ killers do appear to be normal guys, the typical guy next door ... does this mean that we are safer to be alone with crazy looking men than the norm? I’m going off track here, no doubt this novel will evoke many thoughts.

The title more or less explains what this book is about. The first person narrative is based on the main character, Duncan Moron—an exceedingly, realistic, psychotic character. Duncan is having a mid-life crisis, so he begins the search for his own identity. Just like many other men out there he is going through a divorce and worrying over his children. Quite a normal life ... but he soon learns how to feel complete ... torture and death by his own hand—something that he alone can control, unlike his life.

Duncan shows the reader the many stages he goes through with planning a murder. He opens up his mind and takes us inside. We, the reader, begin to care for him. His psychotic thoughts entice us. Adrenalin rushes as you read the gruesome, graphic scenes. By now you’re either scared or shocked, but you don’t care, you need to read more, you need to understand his guilty pleasure. The diary entries reveal all  ... his psychological thoughts ... his cries for help ... his pleasures ... the deaths of his victims. However, if you lived next door to Duncan you would have no idea of his dark, sordid secret as by day he leads a normal life, but by night, well, by night he becomes a predator.

Will Duncan ever be caught? Should his friend, Sudhir, a detective in the Palo Alto Police Department, follow his gut feelings?

I’m fairly confident that you will enjoy this self-published story. There are a couple of editing issues which is expected with a self-published book, however I’m sure fans of serial killers will adore this book. Big thumbs up for this disturbing, lovable novel. I simply adore Duncan!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Duncans-Diary-Birth-Serial-Killer/dp/1440175160

The Wannabes is F R Jameson’s debut novel. And what a debut novel it is! Okay, so the book was published in 2008, and I only got my hands on it this year, but from what I can gather the book is still going very strong. The publishers should be proud of this book. The quality of the book is very good.. As for the cover work, it has a simple but attractive style that catches the eye.

There’s nothing better than reading a good mystery that is surrounded by sex, murder and ruthless ambition and of course blood splattered horror that makes your skin crawl. I found it very hard to put this book down. I couldn’t wait to read the next chapter. What made this even more special to me is the supernatural twist—I don’t want to say too much about that, I do hate spoilers. Jameson has created strong believable characters, some of them you will detest with a passion—there are a couple I would enjoy killing...

To be honest, if I was in a book store and I glanced at this book I wouldn’t give it a second thought, which would be a shame. You know that saying ‘Don’t judge a book by the cover’ well, it is certainly true where this book is concerned. The cover is quite plain with heavy bold text. However the publishers, Impact Books, have used good quality paper with a glossy feel cover. Enough on the looks of the book, you don’t want to know that do you. You want to know what’s inside, what the stories are like and I am very eager to tell you.

Muk’s book consists of eleven short stories based on the occult that is based on urban legends and myths. This anthology contains the unusual, the weird, the strange, the ... the things some of us don’t like to talk about—ghosts, UFO’s, the supernatural, even Jack the Ripper!

We are taken through a journey where the unusual is not so unusual to Muk’s character Albert Taylor. Albert Taylor is an anthropology professor who investigates and researches the supernatural and the paranormal for his magazine ‘The Occult Files’. Sometimes he comes across as too open minded, is that a bad thing? I’m not certain. It certainly does not interrupt the flow of the story or interfere with the enjoyment of reading this book. The tales in this anthology are taken from Albert’s studies for his magazine. What makes this book so different from others like this is that there are no over complex words that you cannot pronounce never mind know what they mean, yes I’m talking about scientific lingo. There’s no getting to grips with how a thingy-ma-jing picks up ghosts. No techno stuff to pull you away from the story. To some, this could be a bad thing, but to me, without realms of pages about the ins and outs of a machine works darn well for me. I’m able to sit back, relax and indulge myself with Muk’s tales.

These eleven tales all have their own edge. A favourite of mine is ‘Dear Boss’, where Jack the Ripper is wandering around, present day, in San Francisco. Bodies are being mutilated the same way as the Ripper’s victims were all those decades ago, but he is not killing the usual victim, the prostitute, no, the normal every day person is in danger from Jack the Ripper. Copycat, you say. Evidence suggests that Jack the Ripper is the suspect ... but how? Well, you see, there’s this ... I shouldn’t say, you’ll have to read it. The ending was a little on the downside for me, I wanted the story to go on and on...

Another good read is ‘The Exhibit’. A 15^th century Spanish inquisitor, Tomas de Torquemada, his relics taken to a museum for an exhibit, and that is when it all begins ... sounds like the ideal ingredients for a tantalising tale.

In ‘Footprints’ we are brought to the edge of our seats with Big-Foot.

If you’re after reading about UFO’s and aliens then you’ll certainly want to flick your pages to ‘The Sun Disc’ and ‘Ghost Town’. 

If you’re like me and you want spooked with a good old haunting then I highly recommend ‘Asylum’ and ‘Lynch Mansion’. Maybe you’re in the mood for a myth, how about sinking your teeth in ‘Competition’.

I would normally talk to you deeper about these tales, but I’m afraid I may let the cat out of the bag and ruin the endings. So, I’ll not say no more about them. There is one more thing I want to say though, I would love to watch these tales on TV—they remind me of the X-Files and The Twilight Zone.

Okay, so I lied, I have one more thing to say, read this book now, you won’t regret it.

Product details:

Paperback: 208 pages

ISBN-10: 144954195X

ISBN-13: 978-1449541958

Buy your copy from

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Occult-Files-Albert-Taylor-Supernatural/dp/144954195X

Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/Customer/EStore.do?id=3403389

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