nteresting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Predictable and honestly it was a struggle to keep my interest. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

DNF. Poor writing, very stiff. Seems description of characters didn't match either.. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

The Soul Stealer by Graham Masterton is actually my first dive into his work. This is the story of ex-Detective Nemo Frisby who is an Uber driver in California. When housecleaner Trinity Fox finds a young woman lying dead, she persuades Nemo to help her prove the case wasn't suicide. We are led to Bel Air to the home of a producer who has built his mansion over a Native American site. The mythology tells of a demon who can imbue evil men with terrible power but only if fed by the sacrifice of innocent lives.

I didn't make it very far into this book before I got bored and disinterested but kept reading in the hopes the books would live up to the name. Unfortunately, I expected folk horror that would set in my brain but this was a huge miss for me. The characters felt one dimensional and awkwardly written. The plot did nothing to drag me in and did nothing to grab my attention like the blurb did. The part that may have taken me out from the story is the content itself that i don't think Masterton really grasped and delved into territory out with his own scope.

I was hoping to read this and get into other Masterton works but I'm not sure what i will do moving forward. Hopefully this is just a bad book and i can get invested in others.

The Soul Stealer is a captivating title with an equally captivating cover. I was instantly drawn in by both of those, which made me interested and want to request the book. Personally, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed the cover and the title. Some of the characterization didn't work for me, and I've been tired of the trope of women experiencing gratuitous violence for little more than plot plants in the horror genre. I'm sure there are people who loved this book, and I hope they enjoyed it. The Soul Stealer just isn't for me, but I wish it and its author luck upon its publication!

I have read others by Graham Masterton and enjoyed his unique sense of horror, and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. I have to admit that writing style and language was a bit different than I was used to, but given the setting, I was OK with it. I loved the subject material and the relationship between Nemo and Trinity. Any fan of the LA scene and the ethos of Hollywood would probably enjoy the scenes depicted here. I read this book as not necessarily a serious horror POV, but more in the vain of something like Twin Peaks, the X-Files, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There were gory, horrifying, and even terrifying sexual elements here, but I could see twinges of comedic situations as well. I love that Native American culture is becoming more prevalent in modern horror, and we get a lot of background on the Tongva and Chumash history here. The only part I found a little disappointing was Rosie's story. We didn't have a lot of time to get to know her or her story, and I felt like the climax with her was just too fast and felt really out of place. Other than that, I enjoyed the book, and I hope to continue seeing more from this author.

An interesting take on Native American mythology and female empowerment.
When Trinity gets a call from her friend for help, she finds her on fire in a restroom, this sets off the story which covers cults, cover ups and ancient Native American deities.
Overall there were parts of the story I enjoyed very much, I felt like the characters although not fleshed out too much were done enough to make me care about them. I did feel like the female empowerment angle didn’t work as I great as it could have and I would have liked more on the Native American mythology which I found was the most interesting aspect of the story.
Overall it was an easy to read book though I can see why a lot of people didn’t enjoy it.

A murder mystery, physiological suspense, thriller with a healthy dosing of native Indian lore and magic of the ancients.
A great story line with two unforgettable characters that you can’t help becoming invested in!
I throughly recommend it and not to just horror fans, this book offers a lot more than that.
It took me two sittings to finish it but that’s only because I fell asleep whilst reading 😹

Nope. Nope. Nope. Cliche plot. YA writing. Stereotyped characters.. I personally didn't find a bit of this book I liked. I'm sorry, this just wasn't for me.

After reading two of Graham Masterons books this year I have decided that he is not for me.

Its a shame as I really like horror novels and with both books the spiel sounded right up my street.

The spiel here loosely involves native American folklore and spirits(how much is based on actual beliefs I do not know and wasnt inclined to look into) the Hollywood elite and the usual sacrifices, torture and a bit of cannibalism thrown in for good measure!

The problem I have is with the writing. Its like a teenage boy wrote the prose at times. I did wonder was it supposed t be comically bad but I dont think it was deliberate.

The writing of the female characters was appalling. "Damsels in distress" that needed saving by men seemed to be the blue print for them. Plus they made some ludicrous decisions and nearly seemed to just brush off the sexual violence towards them. It was utterly bizarre.

The books too long for what it is. A wafer thin story to work with that just stretches out way too far.

As I said, I dont think Masterton is for me. Some of his writing in both books I found offensive, just not in the way that would be expected.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Graham Masterton's The Soul Stealer.

The sum of the parts of this book is not as strong as the individual parts, if that makes sense.

Some of the characters are great - Nemo, for instance - the use of Native American myth and legend as well as giving a strong voice to Native American land rights, some of the horror set pieces, and some other bits and pieces were strong but they added up to a somewhat disappointing whole for me.

For me it was the liberal use of violence against and violation of so many women in the book that just overwhelmed everything else. The one scene of gratuitous violence against Rod (himself an unpleasant and misogynistic character) and the comeuppance the male characters in general get does nothing to balance out the unpleasantness of what comes before for the women in the book.

The welcome exposure of the violation of Native Americans and, for me, an education about the indigenous people of the Californian region were overshadowed by the use of the wise old Indian trope. Also, the ease of which the characters were taught shapeshifting/mesmerism and the ability to kill using just three words and a finger gesture was kinda laughable.

I've been reading Graham Masterton for decades and it felt odd for a Graham Masterton book to be based smack in the present day with mentions of Covid sprinkled throughout but he seems to have either missed the Me Too reckoning in Hollywood or mistakenly thought that the denouement for the sleazy male characters was the antidote to it.

All-in-all, a disappointment.

The Soul Stealer by Graham Masterton
I give this book 4 stars

Nemo Frisby used to be a detective,when his housecleaner Trinity Fox discovers a young woman lying dead in her neighborhood, she persuades him to help her prove it wasn't suicide.
Their investigation leads them to the Bel Air home of a wealthy movie producer, who built his mansion over an American Indian burial site. Ancient mythology tells of a demon who, if unearthed, can imbue evil men with terrible power. But only if the demon is fed by the sacrifice of innocent lives...

This book totally gave me the creeps but l was engrossed in the premise of ancient mythology.It’s definitely a horror not for the faint hearted. The pace got faster as the plot grew more intense and terrifying. The author fills the pages with atmosphere and graphic detail which draws you in and horrifies the life out of you .l was praying for Trinity and Nemo to get to Zuzana in time to save her.
With thanks to Netgalley, Graham Masterton and Head of Zeus,an Aries Book for my chance to read and review this book.

An exhilarating experience as ever with Graham’s books. A stunning mixture of high paced thriller, excruciating gore and more than a dash of the mystic and magic. In this case the magic comes in the, fascinating, form of ancient American Indian folk lore and shaman magic. This is both beautiful and terrifying in equal measures and gives a great depth and respect.
Add to this mix a touch of the power of wealth and male Hollywood directors and the elements of the story are all lined up.
Our main characters include a former detective, who has been removed from the force and a woman who refuses to believe that her friend took her own life and they join up to discover the secrets and cover ups of what really happened. I read this over two days and was compelled to finish it. As ever I was wowed by Graham’s imagination and originality and found his distinct way of storytelling spot on. Very enjoyable but I imagine I’m going to have nightmares! Thank you very much nonetheless.

The concept & story line caught my attention right away. I’ve been meaning to get more into folk horror so I was really excited about for this to be the first novel for me to do that. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would.

This book starts out painfully slowly. I feel like there was a lot of information used more for filler than for the story itself & it didn’t even provide build up. The antagonists are obvious from the beginning & instead of strategic planning they just use a lot of misogyny to get what they want. I really wasn’t a big fan of the way the author portrayed women.

Now I will say that I did enjoy the folk elements behind this story but it came across more as a murder mystery to me in the end verses a horror novel which was disappointing since the synopsis talks about demons.

I’m sure some people would like this book but it just wasn’t for me. I’ve heard the author has written other really great novels & series so I’d be willing to check those out because I did enjoy his writing style but this book in particular just wasn’t for me.

I love this author but this book Why???
Based on rape, abuse and the demeaning of women in order to have a better life is not my idea of a good read. Luckily it was not graphic. I thought that with this author going back to his roots of Native Indian folklore it would be good. I felt like I needed a bath after reading this book. I will not be posting this review on any platforms.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Graham at his best, great story great characters, back to Native American folklore could not put it down
I received this book from Head of Zeus and Netgalley for a review

Wow. What a rollercoater of a read. It had me gripped from the start.. I look forward to reading more by Graham.

A murder mystery, physiological suspense, thriller with a healthy dosing of native Indian lore and magic of the ancients.
A great story line with two unforgettable characters that you can’t help becoming invested in!
I throughly recommend it and not to just horror fans, this book offers a lot more than that.
It took me two sittings to finish it but that’s only because I fell asleep whilst reading 😹

Trinity Fox finds an old friend dead that she has seen in a while. The Police say it is suicide, but Trinity knows that her friend wouldn’t kill herself especially set fire to herself. She had everything to live for. She just got a part in a popular TV show, she was finally going places. So, with the help of Nemo Frisby who used to be a Police detective but now an Uber driver. But he didn’t lose the instinct of cracking a case. The pair go out to find the truth of her friends’ death.
Her death leads them to Bel Air with connects with a movie producer who has a mansion built over an America Indian burial site and links to demon.
Thank you head of Zeus for a copy of The Soul Stealer. I really enjoyed Graham Masterton’s three previous novels. So, I was really looking forward to reading his latest one. This novel was an okay read but not the cringeworthy, heart stopping novel that he usually writes. I found this to be more of a murder mystery than horror. Regarding the women characters in this book and what happened to them. I found it to be rather sleazy. But I know in the real world that these things happen. All in all, a good premise by the author, But I didn’t think it was one of his best sorry. 3.5 stars from me.

I have such mixed feelings about this book.

First, I’ve got to say Masterson is adept at character voice. You can feel the subtle differences in word choice and even sentence structure; in how some characters are written about with finesse and others with grit. Regardless, all of his characters are very real, very human. There are no saints here.

That said, there was no thrill or build up for me in this book. You know who the ‘bad guys’ are pretty much from the start, and you can see the basic route that will follow. There’s no strategy from the villains – it’s just misogyny (hidden under false praise of ‘female power’) and abuse (written off as ‘this is just how it is, in Hollywood’). As a woman, I felt like the #metoo movement was just being used as a plot device and as an excuse for murder and sexual assault. The best I can say is that the abuse wasn’t too graphic or romanticized.

The book does show highlight issues of sexual & physical assault, racism and privilege of the white male wealthy elite. They don’t see people as people; they never plan to keep their promises. What troubles me the most is that none of the bad guys are ever punished for their actions. Most of them get away with it. The head honcho himself merely gets a quick death meted out, but none of the pain and suffering he inflicted on others is reflected back onto him.

There’s a quote that struck me partway through the book: “Out of the worst situations that you can think of… incredibly wonderful things can get born. All it takes is a little love.” At the time, I hoped that quote was foreshadowing something good to come out of all the dark gore. Instead it was more ‘Out of the worst situations, you can suffer and die, or survive into an unchanged world and realize that any power you may have can’t change the injustices continuing around you.’ And maybe that’s a realistic take on the world we’re suffering through today. Maybe the privileged just get to go unpunished – and the best we can hope for is to occasionally see the herd of abusers thinned out by a percent or two.

(I received a free copy of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Gruesome Hollywood horror which forgets the ‘Me Too’ movement

In recent years Scottish horror legend has been on a fine run of form with The House of a Hundred Whispers (2020) and the supernatural crime trilogy which stars London detectives Jerry Pardoe and Jamila Patel, opening with Ghost Virus (2018). Whilst most authors who have been in the horror game since the mid-1970s might be thinking of slowing down and pulling out the pipe, slippers and whiskey bottle, Masterton remains as prolific as ever releasing two books in 2022, The Soul Stealer and next October The House at Phantom Park. After so many years writing horror I am constantly amazed he can dream up such outlandish plots, and although his latest is unlikely to be rated alongside his best work it was a very easy to read page-turner aimed at those who enjoy trashy horror. I sped through this romp over a couple of easy reading days, eating up the near 400-pages with little lull in the ridiculous, often sleazy, action.

Masterton’s longevity comes from the fact that he has the ability to both dish out crazy plots and seamlessly move between the various subgenres, ranging from haunted houses, body horror, police procedurals and everything else in between. The Soul Stealer finds the great Scotsman in solid b-movie territory and if this was published in the eighties, an era it harks back to, trash horror film merchants such as Fred Olen Ray would have been queueing up to direct it, with his famous Scream Queen actresses taking centre stage and bearing the flesh.

The action opens with main character Trinity Fox (sounds like a porn star name!) receiving a phone call from an old school friend whom she has not seen in a while, then plans to meet her. Trinity’s home circumstances is also pretty tough, after the recent death of her mother she has to look after her two younger siblings, whilst holding down a cleaning job, meantime their father disappears into the bottle. After arriving at the bar where she has arranged to meet Margo, realising her friend is in the restroom follows her in, only to find her alight in flames and burning to death. When the police arrive, she is told it was a probable suicide and although she finds this unlikely takes the LAPD for their word.

Shortly after the incident Trinity meets part-time private investigator Nemo Frisby, another main character, who also suspects foul play and the pair double up to continue their investigation, even though they are warned off by other shifty characters. Trinity and Nemo (she is half his age) make a very entertaining buddy act which takes them to the super rich of Hollywood (the story is set in LA) whilst her personal family problems are never too far in the background, with both her siblings Rosa and Buddy also appearing in some of the subplots.

It was just as well Trinity and Nemo made a fun detective duo as plenty of the other characters in The Soul Stealer are sheer filth and will have you wanting to have a bath to wash their stench from your skin. Although it is my no means Masterton’s most violent book, some scenes are very strong featuring tongues being cut out, children being burned alive and one guy being forced to eat his own testicles immediately after removal. The sexual violence is also unpleasant and rather gloating, featuring date rape and worse, including a woman being raped by a scorpion monster demon. If this type of horror is not your thing, then stay well aware from The Soul Stealer which is built around fast pace and shocking over-the-top set pieces rather than scares or tension.

If this novel is anything to go by then the ‘Me Too’ movement in America, in which Hollywood was the king of sleaze, either never happened or was totally ignored by the men in the seat of power. Putting a supernatural and very sleazy spin on the infamous ‘casting couch’ scenario will not be everybody’s cut of tea and some readers may feel it makes light of serious topics regarding women’s self-empowerment. However, in the end of the day this is exploitation horror and if you are after something more serious then look elsewhere, especially if you are of a sensitive disposition as the violence is hard-hitting and particularly unrelenting on women.

You will have to suspend your disbelief for large parts of the story, which is built around Native American mythology (a tribe from the California area). I am not sure whether any of this was based on fact (I think the tribe ‘Tongva’ was real) and I wonder how living descendants of the tribe will take Masterton’s portrayal of them in this story. However, you could argue they are just as exploited in this novel as their race was in actual history. The second Native American story strand was totally bizarre, the ability to make others think you are somebody else (a bit like Clint Eastwood for example!) and was put to cool use by the highly unorthodox investigative duo.

Although I raced through The Soul Stealer I could not help feeling that some of the plot was a mere excuse to link together very gory scenes and some of the most explicit sequences failed to have the impact something built around atmosphere might have had. Although the characters were sketchily drawn and could have done with more detail hardcore fans of Masterton should still lap up this latest release. However, if you have never tried him before he has much stronger novels than this to get you started in his vast and impressive back catalogue.