The City

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Pub Date 10 May 2017 | Archive Date 23 Oct 2019

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Description

There is a civilization hidden deep beneath our own; a place spoken of only in whispers.

The bodies were discovered six months after Max Elliot turned in his badge. All that remained of the victims were piles of flayed skin and organs. The bones of each body had been stolen. This torturous method of execution had only been seen once before, and that case remained unsolved.

Confident of a connection between the unsolved case and these grisly murders, the police turn to the one man they believe can help. With the allure of closure to his own personal tragedy, Max Elliot agrees to reinstatement for one last case. But the clues lead the unstable detective down a path he never could have imagined. A mysterious drug, a world beneath our own, sex and violence on an unprecedented level, and creatures as ancient as sin itself.

If you are desperate enough, you will find The City. But remember, all knowledge comes at a price.

There is a civilization hidden deep beneath our own; a place spoken of only in whispers.

The bodies were discovered six months after Max Elliot turned in his badge. All that remained of the victims...


Advance Praise

"What Mendes has written here is so far away from a clear-cut genre: it is an intangible mixture of (extreme) horror, crime-noir, psycho-thriller and a coming-of-age novel." - Die Büchergnomen

"S.C. Mendes has done a fantastic job with this story. Winding through a labyrinth of intricate sights and sounds we are transported to a time and place like no other." - Paula Limbaugh, Horror Novel Reviews

"A solid, engrossing read with vivid descriptions (some of those torture scenes, especially so!) and fascinating hints of mystery and history ... I'm very glad I gave it a shot!" - Christine Morgan, Author of SpermJackers From Hell

"The City is one of the best novels I've read this year." - Evan Romero, Hornwolf

"What Mendes has written here is so far away from a clear-cut genre: it is an intangible mixture of (extreme) horror, crime-noir, psycho-thriller and a coming-of-age novel." - Die Büchergnomen

"S.C...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781940250335
PRICE US$2.99 (USD)

Average rating from 15 members


Featured Reviews

Adventurous, creepy, mysterious, evocative.

Max a police officer working undercover seeks to find justice for a dead girl. He's led into a hidden world of "The City" where creatures live.

He's faced with his own demons while becoming attracted to the victims family member. The story changes from different point of views, slowly learning more about different character's but Max remains the center of attention. The end is some what vague but facinating. Interesting read.

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Totally fascinating read! So many what if's! Calling Detective Max unstable is an understatement, but I was constantly wondering if he was an unreliable narrator. Is this horror, suspense, psychological thriller or something else completely? The author does an excellent job world building blending reality and fantasy seamlessly. Can't wait to read more!

Post on amazon but no visible yet.

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I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for lending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

<b>* * *4.5 stars* * *</b>

I'll lead with what I disliked just to get it out of the way and not because it holds more weight than what I liked. It's pretty obvious to me that the loaned copy was likely a first draft so it contained a few grammar errors, words out of context, in short, things that should have been corrected with good proofreading and editing. It's one thing to have to look up a word because you don't understand it; it's another when you have to do so because it makes no sense in the context and get sidetracked trying to figure out what it was the author actually meant. I plan to get the final product and come back at some point to point out whether these things were fixed.

With that said... what an awesome read! I love Mendes' style and how he takes subjects so dark and perverted and just gross and turns them around with unbelievable ease. Without fear of exaggerating, I'll declare that we have the Stephen King of this generation in our midst, should he continue his work, which needless to say I look forward to.

Rock on! \m/

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Master detective Max Elliot is now a shell of his former self, driven to self-sabotage and drug addiction by the grisly murder of his wife and others under bizarre circumstances. When another series of similar murders occurs, he is called back into action to help solve the crime. Can he clear his head and keep his personal demons at bay long enough to crack the case? As he plies his connections in Chinatown for information, he discovers an underworld that he never new existed, and must go in knowing that he may not be coming back.

One of the best books I've read this year, and a genre-bending combination of crime thriller, horror, blended with some supernatural elements and science fiction, it's hard to pin down. But it works, and I couldn't put the book down. There are strong elements of torture and visceral depictions of killing and gore, but it's all in the service of an intriguing story. The rabbit hole goes down very far here, but it's a journey worth taking. Looking forward to the next installment.

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Max is an ex-detective whose daughter is missing and his wife is dead. Tracked down by the police investigate a similar killing of three young women, Max is thrust from a Raymond Chandler novel of the hard-boiled detective to an underground world inspired by Lovecraft.
This book can be gruesome at times but is still a well written fast-paced read.
For anyone with a love of either genre, this is well recommended.

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Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was a fabulous story that I couldn't put down. The author is great at making the reader wonder what's going to happen next. One of my favorite books of this year.

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The City is a dark and fascinating book that has a unique storyline. Well written. Well developed and interesting characters. Fantastic book.

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this was a great horror novel, it was a really suspenseful read with great characters and a great plot. Overall I really enjoyed reading this.

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This book got right to the point! I enjoyed it, a great book that really keeps your attention. I enjoyed both the characters and the plot. It was almost like you were really in the book, not just reading it!

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Para um livro de estreia o autor me surpreendeu com uma trama de suspense e horror bem escrita, apesar de ser bem pesada a trama em muitos pontos.

O livro começa com um detetive lidando com três assassinatos que o leva a conhecer o submundo de uma forma que ele não esperava, conforme o autor entrega algumas reviravoltas o horror vai se tornando mais pesado flertando com temas como sadismo e gore!

Bem interessante e merece uma leitura

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