YvonneMission District, San Francisco, September 21
They called themselves the House of Lucifer. Thirty minutes before midnight High Priest Matthias Gregory swung wide the doors to Red Abbey, and one by one the members filed inside.
The interior was a Gothic-inspired mockery of its Catholic counterpart: the crimson walls and vaulted ceiling hovered over the aisles with garish menace, pentagrams served as stained glass windows, an inverted crucifix hung on the wall behind the pulpit. Guttered candles lit the interior with a red glow, and Matthias had to admit the architects had achieved the desired effect: He felt as if he were walking straight into the mouth of Hell.
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I can’t believe that it was way back in 2010, when author Layton Green first contacted me with regard to Fiction Books reviewing his debut novel, ‘The Summoner’. This was actually to become the second in a series of thrillers featuring the new character of Dominic Grey, although it was written before the first book ‘The Egyptian’, which was released the following year.
From Africa, to The Middle East and Eastern Europe, Dominic Grey and Viktor Radek, private investigators of cults and the occult, must sift through science and myth to uncover the truth – before that truth kills them.
Now, after a short break, Dominic and Viktor are back and poised for their latest adventure, which is even more deadly and dangerous than before, taking the pair from the streets of San Francisco to Europe, as part of their quest to travel the world, investigating the bizarre…one cult at a time.
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 WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’ AND HOW CAN YOU JOIN IN THE FUN
Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?
If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?
Click here and visit Gilion @ Rose City Reader
You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.
Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time.
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As this was an author invitation to read and review, a complimentary Kindle download of ‘The Diabolist’, was gifted to me, by its author, Layton Green.
This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.
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GREAT description that really sets the scene and creates a mood. I want to know more about this cult, as well as about Matthias.
Here’s the link to my Friday post: STRONGER THAN THE REST.
Hi Sandra,
These are the strongest and most chilling first few lines I have read for some time, making this a book which I would never pass by.
All three of the books in this series (great as stand alone’s too!) have excellent descriptive and spine chilling openings and have led me by default into discovering a whole new to me genre of the thriller, mixed with demonism and satanic cults. The first two books were spine-tingling to say the least!
Thanks for the great comment and for taking the time to stop by. Enjoy your weekend.
Love that beginning!
Here is my post
Hi Gautami,
These first few lines really do set the scene, dont they?
With my experience of having read both the previous books in the series, I can almost assure you, that if you enjoy your thrillers liberally laced with a touch of the macabre, with a few satanic cults thrown in for good measure, and a couple of investigators who really enjoy their work in these dangerous and pagan situations, then this is definitely one you should be adding to your list.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.
Sounds like it might be too scary for me. I usually steer clear of books about the occult, sex crimes, or serial killers. My tolerance for occult maxes out at the Dan Brown level. Would you say this series is scarier than Da Vinci Code or Brown’s other books?
Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. I lost the last four weeks to a nasty bug and a broken laptop, but I finally feel better and have a new computer.
Thanks for posting in BBOF!
Hi Gilion,
We were just talking about laptops here and have decided that my poor old machine has probably outlived its usefulness, although there are no immediate plans to replace it.
I haven’t been around much myself of late, as one of our closest friends has recently passed away with breast cancer, aged 51 and leaving behind a husband and two teenage sons. From diagnosis to funeral, which was yesterday, was just a few short months and has seemed so unreal to all of us who knew her.
The winter sickness bug is doing the rounds over here right now, although thankfully we have both avoided it, touch wood. It has been pretty awful according to those who have fallen prey, so I am pleased to know that you are on the right side of recovery now and feeling a little more like your old self.
I have to be perfectly honest and admit that I have never read a Dan Brown book, although this will be the third Layton Green book to have passed across my desk. They are a little scary and definitely fit into the genre of the ‘occult thriller’ and whilst I absolutely love the gruesome storylines, I realise that they may not be for everyone. Only you know your ‘scary threshold’, however they are well worth the read, if you feel that you can cope.
Thanks for hosting BBOF and enjoy your weekend and I do hope that you are not too snowed in where you are!