Ceremony of Flies is the first work, by Kate Jonez, I've had the pleasure of reading. This is one on the perks of being a member of the Darkfuse Book Club. You get a novel and a couple of novellas every month, sometimes by your favorite authors and other times by folks you may not be familiar with. It's exciting to discover new voices you haven't read before.
There is quite a bit of story packed into this novella. Emily ran to Vegas when things went bad with her former boyfriend in NYC. She spends her days auditioning for singing jobs and her nights as a barmaid in a casino, but when she accidentally stabs her boss, she has to leave town in a hurry. "'I think I should go to Mexico.' Once I said it out loud, it makes a lot of sense. That's what people do, right? The guy in the Shawshank Redemption, Al Capone, Thelma and Louise. Once you stab a guy, Mexico's a place your ought to go. There's no going back after you do something like that."
Along the way Emily takes up with Rex, a kid they call Harvey, and a dog. Before long Emily kills and kills again, she can't seem to help herself, by the end she thinks of herself as an agent of evil and I'm left with the feeling she just might bring about the end of the world.
As much as I enjoyed the ride, the ending seemed to be a bit abrupt and rather vague, leaving more than a little to the imagination. There's nothing wrong with that. It just left me wanting more.
Ceremony of Flies is available now for the Kindle at Amazon.com from Darkfuse Press. If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you can read it for FREE through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.
Recommended.
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