I'm not sure why but I was a little hesitant to start this novel. Maybe it was because it appears to be a heavy metal, slasher novel. Nothing wrong with that but I wanted more. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. Sure, it involves a heavy metal band, but it is really a psychological analysis of a shattered parent.

Lucas Ellington's daughter is killed during a riot at a concert for the band Whip Hand. After a year long stint at a mental institution, he is now out and apparently normal.

I won't spoil anything for you but the story that unfolds is intense, passionate and surprising. It does not play out like you expect. Each character is vivid and comes alive in almost no time. The only negative that I have is that many scenes are told as memories, not quite a flashback but similar in nature. For example, it will be evening and one of the characters will remember things that happened in the morning and that is how we the readers find out about it. I don't mind it being done but some times it got confusing as to when we were: are we reading about the book's present or is the character really doing something else and just remembering the past? But this is part of Schow's style. Either way the story is still an extremely solid and enjoyable book. ( )

It's very telling that I quickly got bored of the main rockstars-getting-murdered plot and wanted to know more about the Lucas/Kirsten incest plot-twist when such a thing normally squicks the hell out of me. le zzz ( )