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gabmc's review against another edition
4.0
This new to me author won the Ned Kelly Award in 2014 for best debut novel with this book. I'm always happy to find a new Australian author that I really like. Hades Archer is almost a side character in the book, but the story starts with him. As in Greek mythology, Hades is lord of the underworld - the seedy underworld of crime in Sydney. He is known of someone who can take care of any problem for a fee. Twenty years previously Hades was left with two small bundles to take care of - it turned out that they were not the bodies of children, but living children. Hades raised them as his own and they are now police officers: Eric and Eden. Frank Bennett is a homicide detective assigned to partner with Eden Archer. They are investigating a serial killer who is leaving a trail of bodies behind him. Eden is cold and seems to be a great cop, but Frank senses there is something dark and dangerous in her. I really enjoyed this book.
labunnywtf's review against another edition
3.0
The name of this book grabbed me first. I am a bit of a mythology junkie, Hades and Persephone are two of my favorites. Then the cover had my attention. The girl looked young, plus barbed wire and a tiny butterfly. What's going on here?
The plot summary was only mildly interesting, but I like a good cop thriller, so I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging the book is.
Not so much the Frank parts. He's a perfectly acceptable character, of course, but I was far more gripped by Eden. It's all about Eden. I've since seen that she has another book, Eden, and I am crazy interested to read that one.
We didn't really get much on his motivation and back story, though. Yes, little snippets of flashback, and the poor little bird and mouse. But then it became, "Oh, he went to Uganda, and now he's crazy." Like, what?
Also, I have a very good friend named Jason Beck, and was terribly amused that he shares the name of a serial killer.
Frank is not really likable. He's not a terrible character, but he's just not that interesting to me. He gets this weird redemption arc, heart grows three sizes/gets unfrozen/he becomes a real boy, and it all feels very odd and out of place.
I'm hoping the Eden book gives more information about the relationship between her and Eric. I really wanted to see more of that. I loved what we saw of their relationship with Hades. Man, I liked Hades. I want to build junkyard horses and animals. Amazing.
This really is a good book, very engaging. But some of it just isn't as interesting as the rest.
The plot summary was only mildly interesting, but I like a good cop thriller, so I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging the book is.
Not so much the Frank parts. He's a perfectly acceptable character, of course, but I was far more gripped by Eden. It's all about Eden. I've since seen that she has another book, Eden, and I am crazy interested to read that one.
Spoiler
Organ theft is making a real come back in the books and television shows I've been seeing lately. It's weird, really, because the urban legend has been around for so long. But this book handles it really quite brilliantly, a guy who is essentially blackmailing potential clients, but if they say no, it's all good. It's a very nifty twist.We didn't really get much on his motivation and back story, though. Yes, little snippets of flashback, and the poor little bird and mouse. But then it became, "Oh, he went to Uganda, and now he's crazy." Like, what?
Also, I have a very good friend named Jason Beck, and was terribly amused that he shares the name of a serial killer.
Frank is not really likable. He's not a terrible character, but he's just not that interesting to me. He gets this weird redemption arc, heart grows three sizes/gets unfrozen/he becomes a real boy, and it all feels very odd and out of place.
I'm hoping the Eden book gives more information about the relationship between her and Eric. I really wanted to see more of that. I loved what we saw of their relationship with Hades. Man, I liked Hades. I want to build junkyard horses and animals. Amazing.
This really is a good book, very engaging. But some of it just isn't as interesting as the rest.
k_lenn's review against another edition
2.0
I loved Candice Fox's Crimson Lake series, so I figured I'd love this one too. I was wrong. Not only are the characters horrible people, but they also fall flat and feel one-dimensional. They're impossible to root for, or relate to.
It wasn't terrible, but not great either. I won't be continuing on with this series.
It wasn't terrible, but not great either. I won't be continuing on with this series.
missvicki25's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.
This author captured me from the first sentence. For someone who has been reading for 30+ years, being captured from the first sentence is a big deal!
Recommend everything from this author however, they can be intense and have sensitive content.
Reader caution, but worth it!
This author captured me from the first sentence. For someone who has been reading for 30+ years, being captured from the first sentence is a big deal!
Recommend everything from this author however, they can be intense and have sensitive content.
Reader caution, but worth it!
esshgee's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars. A real page turner with a fast pace but some over-used police stereotypes which detracted from the story. The ending was disappointing, but several reviews indicate the next book in the series is worth reading so I shall continue
lezapal's review against another edition
3.0
My husband read this series and really liked it. So I read it at his suggestion. But is was just too gruesome and the backstory was too tragic and involved children. Overall, it was just too much for me.
judithdcollins's review against another edition
5.0
A special thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Top Books of 2025 "Best Standout International Crime Thriller Debut Series."
HADES, a spine-chilling debut by award-winning Australian author, Candice Fox is a dark, twisted, violent, gruesome psychological, crime, cop procedural, suspense thriller all rolled into ONE "Bloody-Good" mystery. Like NO other - Good versus evil mostly, evil.
It all began one night, a kidnapping gone wrong, five evil men, murdered millionaire parents, half-dead brother and sister-ages three and five, two privileged children, the junkyard; Hades, the junkyard king in Sydney, “The Lord of the Underworld,” intelligent, artistic man, a sculptor, known for disposing of bodies, for a mere price of twenty grand.
HADES: “His first thought would be to bury the children there together and dig the stranger in somewhere, anywhere, with the dozens of rapists, killers, and thieves who littered the grounds of the dump. He closed his eyes. Too many strangers were coming to his dump these nights with their bundles of lost lives. He would have to put the word NO new clients were welcome. The ones he knew his regular clients brought him bodies of evil ones. But these strangers. He shook his head. These strangers kept bringing innocents.”
Until he realizes, they are NOT dead. He WILL allow the two children to live; raise them as his own. Their new names will be Eden and Eric.
There was nothing in Hades’ past that he could use as a model for a healthy childhood. He had learned about respect by beating it into people, and fairness was something he’d rarely witnessed. Some part of him feared that one day they would be gone from his life as abruptly as they had come. Though villains of every nature still arrived at his door seeking help, the little ones gave him a reason to believe that not all of his life was dedicated to evil.
He fell in love with them, with a complete and undeniable love of a father. He wanted the best for these two brilliant students.
The first time the children killed they were eight and ten. The best he could do was try to turn their killer instincts on those other monsters out there in the night who deserved it, and in a twisted and sickening way, maybe they would be making the world safer from the same darkness they each carried.
Flashing back from past to present, some twenty years later, homicide detective Frank Bennett meets his new partner, the dark and beautiful Eden Archer. Her brother, Eric, is also in the homicide squad and immediately clarifies that he has real problems with anyone chosen to be Eden's partner. While they are experienced detectives, it is soon clear to Frank that there is something very unusual about Eden and Eric. Made even more difficult when their first case together turns into a bizarre serial killer scenario- a killer who seems to be harvesting organs. A lot of organs.
“No matter how much Hades fantasized about the two of them being children, moldable, and teachable, and eager for love, they had stopped being children the night they were given to him, the night their parents were killed. Hades had fallen in love with two chimeras, two monsters in disguise, incapable of feeling the way he felt, of loving the way he loved. The horror they had experienced had cut a hole in them, and they would be driven in vain to fill that hole for as long as they lived. Dogs with a taste for blood, enslaved to the need. “
Hades is unsure the children know "right from wrong", but he is hoping they can learn. The junkyard is a place for the evil ones and never for the innocents.
Then, Eden: Age five, when the murder of her family occurred. She was a child then, and never was again.
Present, Eden: “A monster removed from the earth. The world was a little safer for sons and daughters, mothers and fathers sleeping and laughing and holding each other in millions of houses and streets all over the world. One friend at a time, over and over, Eden and her brother had made the world a little bit safer. The job made it easy to find them, pick them out and examine them like the lice they were, and choose them and crush them before they were safely bottled. Child molesters, wife beaters, pimps, psychotics, and thrill killers. Snip, snip, snip. She was cutting away the ragged edges of a net and wholesome world. Tonight would be the last. To end a story. To kill for justice and not for vengeance. However, she cannot stop the voices.”
What a debut! I could not go to bed until I finished the novel; as scary as it was to read, you are pulled in with Hades, who loves the brother and sister, and at the same time, your heart goes out to damaged and troubled children experiencing significant psychological trauma and pain. All they know is violence and revenge.
I was blown away by the author’s inspiration for the book and her vast background. I listened to a hang-out session with the author, discussing the book, and was fascinated, as why this novel was so enthralling! Fox seamlessly balances the horrific past with the present investigations, perfectly paced, and what an imagination, keeping you glued to the pages. This could be a TV series...
Not for the faint-hearted; however, if you love a compelling crime psychological thriller with a wicked evil twist….HADES is for you. Cannot wait to read EDEN, (have to wait until Aug 25, 2015 for release in Kindle format US), the next in the series, as we continue the saga with Eden and her partner Frank. Well done, an author to follow!
Fans of Jennifer Hillier, Paul Cleave, and Karin Slaughter will enjoy this one.
Candice Fox is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney's western suburbs composed of half, adopted, and pseudo siblings. The daughter of a parole officer and an enthusiastic foster carer, Candice spent her childhood listening around corners to tales of violence, madness, and evil as her father relayed his work stories to her mother and older brothers.
Judith D. Collins #MustReadBooks
You will have to read #2 EDEN as the intensity heats up! Again, Fox does not disappoint. Left with another cliffhanger, dying for Dec, 2015 for FALL (Archer & Bennett #3)
Top Books of 2025 "Best Standout International Crime Thriller Debut Series."
HADES, a spine-chilling debut by award-winning Australian author, Candice Fox is a dark, twisted, violent, gruesome psychological, crime, cop procedural, suspense thriller all rolled into ONE "Bloody-Good" mystery. Like NO other - Good versus evil mostly, evil.
It all began one night, a kidnapping gone wrong, five evil men, murdered millionaire parents, half-dead brother and sister-ages three and five, two privileged children, the junkyard; Hades, the junkyard king in Sydney, “The Lord of the Underworld,” intelligent, artistic man, a sculptor, known for disposing of bodies, for a mere price of twenty grand.
HADES: “His first thought would be to bury the children there together and dig the stranger in somewhere, anywhere, with the dozens of rapists, killers, and thieves who littered the grounds of the dump. He closed his eyes. Too many strangers were coming to his dump these nights with their bundles of lost lives. He would have to put the word NO new clients were welcome. The ones he knew his regular clients brought him bodies of evil ones. But these strangers. He shook his head. These strangers kept bringing innocents.”
Until he realizes, they are NOT dead. He WILL allow the two children to live; raise them as his own. Their new names will be Eden and Eric.
There was nothing in Hades’ past that he could use as a model for a healthy childhood. He had learned about respect by beating it into people, and fairness was something he’d rarely witnessed. Some part of him feared that one day they would be gone from his life as abruptly as they had come. Though villains of every nature still arrived at his door seeking help, the little ones gave him a reason to believe that not all of his life was dedicated to evil.
He fell in love with them, with a complete and undeniable love of a father. He wanted the best for these two brilliant students.
The first time the children killed they were eight and ten. The best he could do was try to turn their killer instincts on those other monsters out there in the night who deserved it, and in a twisted and sickening way, maybe they would be making the world safer from the same darkness they each carried.
Flashing back from past to present, some twenty years later, homicide detective Frank Bennett meets his new partner, the dark and beautiful Eden Archer. Her brother, Eric, is also in the homicide squad and immediately clarifies that he has real problems with anyone chosen to be Eden's partner. While they are experienced detectives, it is soon clear to Frank that there is something very unusual about Eden and Eric. Made even more difficult when their first case together turns into a bizarre serial killer scenario- a killer who seems to be harvesting organs. A lot of organs.
“No matter how much Hades fantasized about the two of them being children, moldable, and teachable, and eager for love, they had stopped being children the night they were given to him, the night their parents were killed. Hades had fallen in love with two chimeras, two monsters in disguise, incapable of feeling the way he felt, of loving the way he loved. The horror they had experienced had cut a hole in them, and they would be driven in vain to fill that hole for as long as they lived. Dogs with a taste for blood, enslaved to the need. “
Hades is unsure the children know "right from wrong", but he is hoping they can learn. The junkyard is a place for the evil ones and never for the innocents.
Then, Eden: Age five, when the murder of her family occurred. She was a child then, and never was again.
Present, Eden: “A monster removed from the earth. The world was a little safer for sons and daughters, mothers and fathers sleeping and laughing and holding each other in millions of houses and streets all over the world. One friend at a time, over and over, Eden and her brother had made the world a little bit safer. The job made it easy to find them, pick them out and examine them like the lice they were, and choose them and crush them before they were safely bottled. Child molesters, wife beaters, pimps, psychotics, and thrill killers. Snip, snip, snip. She was cutting away the ragged edges of a net and wholesome world. Tonight would be the last. To end a story. To kill for justice and not for vengeance. However, she cannot stop the voices.”
What a debut! I could not go to bed until I finished the novel; as scary as it was to read, you are pulled in with Hades, who loves the brother and sister, and at the same time, your heart goes out to damaged and troubled children experiencing significant psychological trauma and pain. All they know is violence and revenge.
I was blown away by the author’s inspiration for the book and her vast background. I listened to a hang-out session with the author, discussing the book, and was fascinated, as why this novel was so enthralling! Fox seamlessly balances the horrific past with the present investigations, perfectly paced, and what an imagination, keeping you glued to the pages. This could be a TV series...
Not for the faint-hearted; however, if you love a compelling crime psychological thriller with a wicked evil twist….HADES is for you. Cannot wait to read EDEN, (have to wait until Aug 25, 2015 for release in Kindle format US), the next in the series, as we continue the saga with Eden and her partner Frank. Well done, an author to follow!
Fans of Jennifer Hillier, Paul Cleave, and Karin Slaughter will enjoy this one.
Candice Fox is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney's western suburbs composed of half, adopted, and pseudo siblings. The daughter of a parole officer and an enthusiastic foster carer, Candice spent her childhood listening around corners to tales of violence, madness, and evil as her father relayed his work stories to her mother and older brothers.
Judith D. Collins #MustReadBooks
You will have to read #2 EDEN as the intensity heats up! Again, Fox does not disappoint. Left with another cliffhanger, dying for Dec, 2015 for FALL (Archer & Bennett #3)
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes you have to wonder who on earth comes up with the claims on blurbs - but this one "HADES is the debut of a stunning new talent in crime fiction" is so apt the temptation is to call it quits here for this review.
Hades Archer run a junkyard, and desposes of more than just the standard form of rubbish you'd expect. Although one night, he's confronted by an unusual situation - when the "refuse" he's called on to dispose of turns into two living children that he saves and takes into his life.
The storyline sets up the lives of these three and then moves into the present and the police who are on the trail of a serial killer. In the process detective Frank Bennett is partnered with Eden Archer. Both of them have recently lost their working partners in confrontational circumstances, but developing a working relationship between them proves more fraught than Frank could possibly imagine. Made even more difficult when their first case together turns into one of the more bizarre serial killer scenarios presented - a killer who seems to be harvesting of organs. A lot of organs.
Given the scenario, HADES is obviously going to be a dark and confrontational read. A combination of police procedural and psychological thriller, the current serial killer storyline, combined with the past of Eden and Eric, mesh to produce something that's an exploration of justice and revenge. To say nothing of the fraught right and wrongs of ... let's call it "private organ transplantation".
What is most compelling about HADES, however, is the exploration of damage. As the past of Eden and Eric is revealed, and how they came to be possible problems for Hades to dispose of, questions of right and wrong become increasingly grey, and the reader is confronted with a series of situations more likely to be found in a psychological thriller than a police procedural. Despite that there's no inconsistency, somehow all these elements are woven together as tight as a drum.
The balance between the current investigation and the past is also pitch perfect, and the pace of HADES utterly enthralling. The characters are clear, precise and nuanced elegantly between understandable, sympathetic and frustrating. These people read like they are real, and imperfect.
It's very rare that you come across a debut novel that's just about perfect. Sure it's violent and confrontational and uncomfortable. But it is utterly memorable and an absolute standout.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-hades-candice-fox
Hades Archer run a junkyard, and desposes of more than just the standard form of rubbish you'd expect. Although one night, he's confronted by an unusual situation - when the "refuse" he's called on to dispose of turns into two living children that he saves and takes into his life.
The storyline sets up the lives of these three and then moves into the present and the police who are on the trail of a serial killer. In the process detective Frank Bennett is partnered with Eden Archer. Both of them have recently lost their working partners in confrontational circumstances, but developing a working relationship between them proves more fraught than Frank could possibly imagine. Made even more difficult when their first case together turns into one of the more bizarre serial killer scenarios presented - a killer who seems to be harvesting of organs. A lot of organs.
Given the scenario, HADES is obviously going to be a dark and confrontational read. A combination of police procedural and psychological thriller, the current serial killer storyline, combined with the past of Eden and Eric, mesh to produce something that's an exploration of justice and revenge. To say nothing of the fraught right and wrongs of ... let's call it "private organ transplantation".
What is most compelling about HADES, however, is the exploration of damage. As the past of Eden and Eric is revealed, and how they came to be possible problems for Hades to dispose of, questions of right and wrong become increasingly grey, and the reader is confronted with a series of situations more likely to be found in a psychological thriller than a police procedural. Despite that there's no inconsistency, somehow all these elements are woven together as tight as a drum.
The balance between the current investigation and the past is also pitch perfect, and the pace of HADES utterly enthralling. The characters are clear, precise and nuanced elegantly between understandable, sympathetic and frustrating. These people read like they are real, and imperfect.
It's very rare that you come across a debut novel that's just about perfect. Sure it's violent and confrontational and uncomfortable. But it is utterly memorable and an absolute standout.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-hades-candice-fox