Today is #FrightFriday and I have a teaser and a really cool graphic novel to give you some angst today.
Kiss, Marry, Kill by Martha Henley
One chosen for a kiss. The second picked to be a wife. And the third, condemned to die.
July 2016, Classen High School Alumni celebrate thirty years since they walked the halls of their alma mater. It’s a night of toasts, laughs, and fond memories. While flipping through the pages of a yearbook, twelve people decide the fate of twelve others when they play a random game of chance.
None recognize that there was a vengeful soul mingling among them that night. His psychotic, depraved thoughts take their innocent picks and twist them into a perverted game of murder.
Kiss, Marry, Kill is the Prequel Episode of the new crime thriller series, “Reunion Pact” by Martha Henley. If you’re looking for a new novella length thriller series with realistic characters and psychological twists on the pages, then you’ll love these episodes.
“Reunion Pact” is a nine-episode novella series, written to be read in order and in its entirety. Each episode tells a complete story, but they are one part of the whole incredible tale. Start it today with this prequel episode, Kiss, Marry, Kill!13
Martha Henley packs a lot in Kiss, Marry, Kill to set the stage for Henley’s nine-episode novella series. The cast of characters is a mix of high school clique and outsiders. The back stories that they share while getting drinks at the bar is a great way to introduce a large cast. Heck, everyone does a “remember when” at a high school reunion. I think if Henley had at least killed off one of them to start the series, maybe without saying who was killed would have been a better carrot to entice people to the next novella. Overall, a good teaser with a great premise. (Pace Bend Press, 12 July 2020, pp.24) Goodreads. StoryGraph.
I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.
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Kill A Man by Steve Orlando, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Alec Morgan
UEER Male Culture Meets Mixed Martial Arts
Synopsis:
A brand new original graphic novel from writers Steve Orlando and Phillip Kennedy Johnson featuring art by Alec Morgan and lettering by Jim Campbell.
In the early days of Mixed Martial Arts, kickboxer icon DJ Bellyi is beaten to death in the ring after yelling a homosexual slur at an opponent, while his young son James watches in horror from the stands.
Sixteen years later, young James Belly has become an MMA star in his own right, with top-tier endorsements and an imminent title shot. But when James is outed as gay by an opponent in a press conference, he loses everything: his title shot, his fans, his team, even his family. To fight his way back, he turns to the only one left in the world willing to train him: Xavier Mayne, the man who killed his father.
Says Johnson: “We’re living in an important and dynamic time in American History, when we have the power and responsibility to decide what kind of nation the United States is going to be going forward. Telling a story with such an unlikely crossover — male queer culture and MMA culture — is Steve’s, Alec’s and my way of making that decision for ourselves.”
I love MMA and I was excited to read this graphic novel by Steve Orlando, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Alec Morgan. Kill A Man spans two generations of fighters who face the same obstacles. It is not that far-fetched as the world has not really changed in regards to homosexuality – especially as it relates to sports dominated by bio male humans.
One man is killed in the ring, but I do not look at as “murder” because those are the chances when anyone enters the ring or decides to engage in a fight. The impact of the fight effects more than just the family of the fighter, but the one who fought him, and the sport around them.
Jim Campbell’s lettering is clear and flows without any awkwardness. Artist Al Morgan flows between three tone and two tone panels which work for a male-dominated sport and story. The graphics are clear and you can deferiate the characters. The story by Orlando and Johnson is one that is relatable and gives readers a glimpse into the reality of sports. We do get a happy ending in the romantic arena for young Belly.
I loved Kill A Man. I love the fight sequences and the story. I love a book with a message and a HEA even though that doesn’t always happen in real-life. Orlando, Johnson, and Morgan give us one in Kill A Man. (Aftershockcomics.com, 9781949028478, 3 June 2020, pp. 129). Goodreads. StoryGraph.
I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.