Review based on ARC.I am always grateful for a book that is intriguing *and* a page-turner. Fortunately for me, amidst the too-busy life I have been living the past few months, I found such a book in Bastianelli's Jokers Club. I have a pretty broad history with horror, suspense, and King, all of which are found in this book. Without the hundreds of pages of "details" that King employs, Jokers Club is almost a novella, quickly developing characters, background, and plot.
I was impressed with Bastianelli's narrative and flow. Geoffrey Thorn and his mates were involved in a horrible accident that they kept secret into adulthood. When they return to their reunion, they begin to die, one by one. Sure the plot is a little cliche for the genre, but Bastianelli wrote it well and added a nice element of haze into the narrative with Thorn's brain tumor. I liked the little twists, the uncertainties, and the overall feel and flow of the book and appreciated the quick escape.
I recommend the book to anyone interested in the genre (horror, suspense, thriller).
FOUR of five stars.
