Pennies for the Damned

Larry Laughlin is a severely damaged man. You wouldn't think a person who works as a hit man could have feelings, but this dude does. He's lost the love of his life, Mo (see the first Larry book for the extremely gory details) and sees and talks to her regularly. At least he is aware that he's talking to a dead woman; that's a point in his favor. No rubber room for him yet.

But author Ed Lorn has a lot of opinions, especially on child slavery and pedophiles. He uses Larry as a means to try to rid the world of what could be the worst of the worst. Larry and his brother were abused by their father on a regular basis and it was years before the old man was put away. But, the system has turned him loose and he's as evil as ever. Larry vows to kill him, paid or not.

The problem with murderers is that there is always collateral damage. The innocents that die as a result of someone 'knowing what's best' or simply being in the wrong place. Larry finds this out also.

Lorn writes with a free-flowing hand. Whether ripping off a witty repartee or blowing up a building PENNIES FOR THE DAMNED is an easy to read extreme horror novel that will leave you begging for more. Like all of his work, all roads lead to Bays End, Ohio. If you haven't read Ed Lorn before, better grab a few of his other books now and plan a few days alone for reading.

I did receive this from Red Adept Publishing in exchange for my review. I hope you try it also.

3.5 stars. (I rounded up because of "skullfuckery")

Larry Laughlin is back and the book takes up from right after Hope for the Wicked left off. Larry still wants to kill his evil dad and he goes to the prison at his dad's release only to see him get into a expensive Rolls Royce and be driven off. How does a prisoner of many years get a ride in such a car? Questioning that he doesn't follow but plans on catching up with his dad later.

He doesn't get far when people start breaking into his house wanting to kill him. Including a guy dressed as the Easter bunny who criticizes his choice in coke products. That doesn't end well for the people trying to end Larry's life.
He realizes that some one has put out a hit on him and is using his brother with Down's syndrome (Jamie) to push him.

Larry ends up picking up an abused teen girl named Brooklyn along the way. She refuses to be left behind and Larry forms an unlikely bond with the girl. Then the body count starts adding up and Larry doesn't have anything left to lose.

This series of books differ from the previous books that I've read of Ed Lorn's. They aren't really horror. More along the lines of full on thrillers with no holds barred. I like it. This one didn't catch me as much as the first book did but it's still a good read. I think the ending sets us up for more from this character and I'm ready to see him take on that organization.

After all, the road to hell was paved with good intentions. And the toll booths only took pennies.

I was very eager to read this story after finishing Hope for The Wicked. It would be inaccurate to say this was a disappointment, but something about the alliteratively named antihero has lost its charm to an extent here. Larry's dangerous to be around, he's like Mount Vesuvius circa 79 AD. He may have good intentions, but we all know what road that paves. With the second book, one can't help but wonder if Larry simply isn't bright enough (he does in fact struggle with long words) to figure out that the violent path he's on only seems to beget more violence and the righteousness of his kills that helps him sleep at night may have been contracted for ulterior motives. Anyway, the story picks up shortly after the events of the first book and finds Larry involved in tearing down a child prostitution ring and a series of double crosses so convoluted, it's no wonder he has to shoot his way through it all. The readers get to meet more of Larry's family, the original, the adopted and one of his own making. This in many ways is all that Hope for The Wicked was, but on steroids, radically more bombastic, with more characters and much more action. Personally I preferred the streamlined lean mean original, but Lorn's writing is so good, so compelling, so fun that pages speed by seemingly no matter what he writes. Also, he took care to make the book perfectly readable as a standalone, which is always nice to see, although I'd definitely recommend reading them in order. Very entertaining thriller. Recommended.

Good book. I didn't know that it was a sequel. I'll go back and check out the first one. (Amazon reviewed).

Wow, Lorn does it again. I really enjoyed this book, to the point where I didn't want it to end because I just wanted to stick with Larry and Brooklyn, see where the next step on their violent journey would take them. Oddly enough, I hadn't read the previous book, Hope for the Wicked, before I picked this up. I feel like this book is easily delved into as a stand alone, and now I feel like I must read the first! I had read Bay's End already, remembered the horrific scenes from that book with Larry/Ryan and Jaime, and was glad to see how their story continued.

This is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot, like boatloads, of violence, torture, gore, profanity and a legion of sick puppies to carry it out. Despite the extremity of the subject matter, Lorn expertly draws characters who I could picture, clear as day. I ended up carrying about them and that is a rare pleasure in a reading experience.

So now I'm heading back to see how Larry and Mo's story "began"...