HADES by Candice Fox
A Dexter-ish twist to this debut thriller.
This novel had me on the edge of my seat. Candice Fox had some twists and turns that surprised and amazed me. One, especially. I felt it coming, but didn’t want it to happen. I love when an author can keep me guessing, is she really gonna do that? And the ending? Awesome and I can hardly wait to read the next book!
Is there a book that stands out in YOUR mind where the author kept YOU guessing until the very end?
MY REVIEW
Covers are very important to me and this one spoke volumes. I knew something bad would happen, but the butterfly made me wonder if there was a ray of hope for the girl. What do you think?
I read the blurb and it said Dexter-ish, so that only peaked my interest more. I loved the show and the books and was left wanting more, just like Hades.
The book starts out dark and grim and stays that way. The descriptions and details make me cringe at the Hell I have entered. This is Candice’s debut novel and she knocked it out of the ballpark. So, come with me, into this evil and dangerous world of human monsters. Because, yes, there is more than one human being that doesn’t deserve to draw breath in our world.
Hades – Lord of the Underworld. He creates sculptures from junk, believing things should not be so easily tossed aside, just like Eden and Eric, brother and sister. They exude danger. He did not seek them out, but he will not give them up. They give him hope, where he had none before. How does he end up with “family?” That is a mystery worth finding out for yourself.
Eden – a loner, switchblade in hand, manicured yet ready for battle.
Eric – well, what can I say about Eric. Nothing good.
Frank – a detective, selfish, arrogant. Eden’s new partner, which she isn’t that happy about.
Jason – serial killer and psychopath. He had been abused and was puzzled by feelings, both animal and human. They are beyond his understanding. But, he is so much more than just your run of the mill serial killer.
When I didn’t think think it could get any worse, it did, and in a big way.
What breeds a serial killer? The age old question – Nature or nuture?
We all have our beliefs and boundaries. Desperation will cause people to justify their actions, no matter how grotesque and horrendous.
I watch a lot of crime shows and read a lot of crime books, both fact and fiction, trying to get a glimpse into their minds. How does a serial killer and psychopath think? How can they do the things they do? I have yet to be able to understand. I just can’t see it. I believe they are so damaged and evil, they cannot be redeemed. Do the ones who catch them have to become them?
When Eden and Frank talked to Derek and Eliza, my anger and rage went off the charts. I would have loved to pull out a gun and shoot them on the spot. How in the world can they plead for mercy after what they have done?
And Martina – OMG.
OMG – I knew it was coming, but damn, I didn’t see it coming this way. I kept telling Candice, no, please don’t do it. Hello “Dexter”. I can’t believe it took me this long for it all to come together. The two different, yet connected storylines fooled me. This is such a great approach to the serial killer. I love the twists to a well known storyline.
I was blown away by Candice Fox’s debut novel. She got me on the cliff and made me hang there, wanting to read more, yet afraid to go on. I was pissed, enraged, terrified and heartbroken. The ending – I can’t get over it. Candice had surprise after surprise in store for me and I loved every minute of it.
More to come in Eden, Book II. Check out the book cover below. That is how I felt while reading Hades.
I received Hades by Candice Fox from Net Galley in return for an honest and unbiased review.
5 Stars – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
SYNOPSIS
A dark, compelling and original thriller that will have you spellbound from its atmospheric opening pages to its shocking climax. Hades is the debut of a stunning new talent in crime fiction.
Hades Archer, the man they call the Lord of the Underworld, surrounds himself with the things others leave behind. Their trash becomes the twisted sculptures that line his junkyard. The bodies they want disposed of become his problem for a fee. Then one night a man arrives on his doorstep, clutching a small bundle that he wants ‘lost’. And Hades makes a decision that will change everything…
Twenty years later, homicide detective Frank Bennett feels like the luckiest man on the force when he meets his new partner, the dark and beautiful Eden Archer. But there’s something strange about Eden and her brother, Eric. Something he can’t quite put his finger on. When the two detectives are called to the scene of an attempted drowning, they find a traumatized victim telling a story that’s hard to believe – until the divers start bringing up bodies.
Frank is now on the hunt for a very different kind of serial killer: one who offers the sick and dying hope at murderous cost. At first, his partner’s sharp instincts come in handy. Soon, he’s wondering if she’s as dangerous as the man they hunt.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Candice Fox is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney’s western suburbs composed of half-, adopted and pseudo siblings. The daughter of a prison parole officer and an enthusiastic foster-carer, Candice spent many of her early Christmases travelling to Long Bay Correctional Facility in the family minibus to knock on prison cell windows, run around the razor-wired yard and eat fruitcake prepared by inmates. While her mother and stepfather developed an ever-growing mob of Sydney’s most disadvantaged children throughout her later youth, entertainment had to be cheap. She spent her school holidays exploring free, open spaces – farms, bushland and cemeteries.
As a cynical and trouble-making teenager, her crime and gothic fiction writing was an escape from the calamity of her home life.
Bankstown born and bred, she failed to conform to military life in a brief stint as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy at age eighteen. At twenty, she turned her hand to academia, and taught high school through two undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees. She currently works lecturing writing at the University of Notre Dame while undertaking a PhD in literary censorship and terrorism.
She recently won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction.
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Do you think the butterfly signifies a ray of hope?
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