Desperate Souls

August 16, 2010
An entertainingly cheesy fusion of splatterific horror and hard-boiled paranormal fantasy, the second installment of Lamberson’s Jake Helman Files (after 2009’s Personal Demons) pits the New York City ex-cop PI against an ambitious drug lord whose lethal new product, Black Magic, is literally turning its users into zombies. The combination of drug epidemic and cost-cutting NYPD layoffs sparks a crime wave of unparalleled brutality. After almost being killed by a gang of zombies, Helman vows to track down the people manufacturing and distributing Black Magic. He soon becomes the prime target of a ruthless drug dealer and his voodoo priestess girlfriend. The zombie battles are cheesily over-the-top, the character development is strong, and the pace is relentless. Dark fantasy fans will be impressed by this action-packed, gory, and witty read.

October 15, 2010

This is the second in what is likely to be a long-running series of supernatural private eye novels starring ex-cop and recovering cocaine addict Jake Helman. The first, Personal Demons, featured a soul-stealing demon as the Big Bad. Here, a new street drug called Black Magic is turning addicts into zombies. Lamberson (The Frenzy Way) is a writer/director of low-budget horror films, and this has the same schlocky feel. Details and continuity are sacrificed in favor of action, sex, and gore. Enjoyable but not terrific. BZG Jake kills one assailant by bashing its head in with a replica of the Maltese Falcon.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2010
Not quite a year after he defeated a serial killer, vanquished a demon, and lost the love of his life, ex-cop Jake Helman, introduced in 2009s Personal Demons, has set himself up as a private investigator. When a woman comes to him with a seemingly impossible storyher dead grandson is dealing drugs on the streetJake discovers that a drug kingpin is using zombies to take over New York City. Proving that the first Helman novel wasnt a one-off fluke, Lamberson (whos also written the werewolf novel The Frenzy Way, 2010) serves up another helping of action, horror, and supernatural mayhem. As in Personal Demons, its Jakes own journey that provides the storys dramatic anchorwith all this otherworldly stuff going on, Jakes efforts to save the life of a friend provide a nice counterpoint. Another fine novel from this increasingly interesting writer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)