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dantastic's review
4.0
When Internal Affairs agent Joe Connors is called to a crime scene, he's surprised to find his former partner, Johnny Provan, dead with a strange sigil carved into his abdomen, gunned down by another cop. What drove Johnny Provan insane, causing his partner to shoot him? And what did that have to do with the affair Provan had with Joe's dead wife?
This is the twenty-fourth book in my Kindle Unlimited Experiment. For the 30 day trial, I'm only reading books that are part of the program and keeping track what the total cost of the books would have been.
William Meikle serves up a supernatural noir tale of love, loss, and the afterlife in Broken Sigil. Joe Connors canvases the building his former partner was gunned down outside of and finds that the building harbors a connection to the afterlife. After learning the particulars, Joe moves into one of the vacant apartments and tries to pick up where Johnny left off.
I love the concept of an apartment whose rooms are a connection to the afterlife and Melke uses that setting to really noir things up, using a DVD of the Maltese Falcon as a plot device. Joe would have slipped into oblivion had things not gone off the rails, leaving him with a mystery to solve.
The ending was a little brutal but ultimately satisfying. Extra points for the Dark Tower reference. I am an addict and the DarkFuse novella series is my drug. Four out of five stars.
Current Kindle Unlimited Savings Total: $127.86.
This is the twenty-fourth book in my Kindle Unlimited Experiment. For the 30 day trial, I'm only reading books that are part of the program and keeping track what the total cost of the books would have been.
William Meikle serves up a supernatural noir tale of love, loss, and the afterlife in Broken Sigil. Joe Connors canvases the building his former partner was gunned down outside of and finds that the building harbors a connection to the afterlife. After learning the particulars, Joe moves into one of the vacant apartments and tries to pick up where Johnny left off.
I love the concept of an apartment whose rooms are a connection to the afterlife and Melke uses that setting to really noir things up, using a DVD of the Maltese Falcon as a plot device. Joe would have slipped into oblivion had things not gone off the rails, leaving him with a mystery to solve.
The ending was a little brutal but ultimately satisfying. Extra points for the Dark Tower reference. I am an addict and the DarkFuse novella series is my drug. Four out of five stars.
Current Kindle Unlimited Savings Total: $127.86.
mxsallybend's review
3.0
Less the haunted house story I expected, and more a psychological study of loss and tragedy, Broken Sigil is a well-crafted thriller that manages to evoke an immediate and intense emotional reaction in the reader. William Meikle starts us off with what seems like a typical crime novella, complete with the stock jaded/damaged detective, a lonely, angry man who is an outsider even within the department.
Things start to get interesting when Joe arrives at a crime scene to find his ex-partner dead, shot by another cop. The story doesn't really begin to get under your skin, however, until the coroner points out the five-pointed star carved into the flesh of the dead man's stomach - a scar that dates back to the tragic accident that left both men broken and alone.
Once Joe returns to the scene of the crime, and starts talking with the odd inhabitants of the brownstone apartment, the story really begins to flow. It is a place of memories, a home to grief and longing, where whispers of the dead can be summoned almost close enough to touch. Of course, neither life nor death is ever that simple, and no detective could ever be content to simply accept the 'rules' as they're explained to him - and that's where the already dark tale of a Broken Sigil descends even deeper.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Things start to get interesting when Joe arrives at a crime scene to find his ex-partner dead, shot by another cop. The story doesn't really begin to get under your skin, however, until the coroner points out the five-pointed star carved into the flesh of the dead man's stomach - a scar that dates back to the tragic accident that left both men broken and alone.
Once Joe returns to the scene of the crime, and starts talking with the odd inhabitants of the brownstone apartment, the story really begins to flow. It is a place of memories, a home to grief and longing, where whispers of the dead can be summoned almost close enough to touch. Of course, neither life nor death is ever that simple, and no detective could ever be content to simply accept the 'rules' as they're explained to him - and that's where the already dark tale of a Broken Sigil descends even deeper.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
gatogirl5's review
Spooky and satisfying
I've been a Meikle fan for some time, the Midnight Eye files being my favorites, and this short but satisfying tale just reminds me again why I like his stuff so much. I really love the understated horror, the quiet sort of sneak-up-on-you scary that Meikle does very well, and the main character here is my favorite sort of dark, brooding personality. Mrs. Gasper's bacon, egg, and baloney breakfast was pretty awesome too.
I've been a Meikle fan for some time, the Midnight Eye files being my favorites, and this short but satisfying tale just reminds me again why I like his stuff so much. I really love the understated horror, the quiet sort of sneak-up-on-you scary that Meikle does very well, and the main character here is my favorite sort of dark, brooding personality. Mrs. Gasper's bacon, egg, and baloney breakfast was pretty awesome too.
charshorrorcorner's review
5.0
4.5 stars!
The Darkfuse Kindle Club has once again introduced us to a fantastic story by the wonderfully imaginative William Meikle. If you aren't familiar with his previous Darkfuse works check out my (spoiler free) reviews for Clockwork Dolls and/or The Hole.
This tale begins with internal affairs cop Joe Connors investigating a police shootout in which is former partner was shot. That's all I will say about the plot, because it's so unique you should discover it on your own.
I will say that this cop is no pansy. As an internal affairs officer he is not particularly liked by the other cops, (think Serpico), and he pretty much doesn't care. He drinks and smokes so much I thought I saw smoke rising from my Kindle. I was so completely sucked into his story and the story of his ex-partner that I came back from lunch late and got in trouble. (I'm just joking, but I would have been willing to get in trouble just so I could finish this story.)
To sum it up, this story is wildly creative while at the same time very sad. We all lose people in this life and there are times when we would do almost anything to see them again. Up to and including the carving of sigils.
Highly recommended!
The Darkfuse Kindle Club has once again introduced us to a fantastic story by the wonderfully imaginative William Meikle. If you aren't familiar with his previous Darkfuse works check out my (spoiler free) reviews for Clockwork Dolls and/or The Hole.
This tale begins with internal affairs cop Joe Connors investigating a police shootout in which is former partner was shot. That's all I will say about the plot, because it's so unique you should discover it on your own.
I will say that this cop is no pansy. As an internal affairs officer he is not particularly liked by the other cops, (think Serpico), and he pretty much doesn't care. He drinks and smokes so much I thought I saw smoke rising from my Kindle. I was so completely sucked into his story and the story of his ex-partner that I came back from lunch late and got in trouble. (I'm just joking, but I would have been willing to get in trouble just so I could finish this story.)
To sum it up, this story is wildly creative while at the same time very sad. We all lose people in this life and there are times when we would do almost anything to see them again. Up to and including the carving of sigils.
Highly recommended!
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