Tainted Blood

by Ferrel D. Moore

Tainted Blood

by Ferrel D. Moore

Review by Jeani Rector

From the first page, Ferrel D. Moore's Tainted Blood is an exciting roller-coaster ride of adventure. A fast-paced novel, it could be compared to the works of John le Carre in the genre of intrigue and conspiring Russian spies. Who is on the side of good and who is evil? A successful spy novel keeps us guessing until the very end, and Tainted Blood achieves that.

Moore's novel begins smack in the middle of an action scene: "...she just had to live through whatever was coming and get out alive." It describes a dangerous stake-out that suddenly explodes with the unexpected arrival of...a monster.

And that is what makes Tainted Blood so unique. Not only does it contain Russian spies filtering into the United States, secret agents, secret plans, and double-crosses; but it also successfully melds the spy-thriller genre with the monster-horror genre. What, or who, is the monster? I will give you one hint: it has been around since the time of the Russian Tsars.

Tainted Blood's heroine is Sveta, a beautiful Russian native who is hired on a temporary assignment by the elusive Hauck. Thrown into a world of intrigue without proper briefing as to the details of her assignment, Sveta is initially in it for the money. Then she stays in it to save her own life.

Sveta meets Zoe who seems to die, yet is brought back to life by the mysterious Drogol in an unexpected, supernatural twist. And then there is the evil matriarch Anna Kazakova...what is her role and that of her son in this malevolent conspiracy?

Still, the most brilliant aspect of Tainted Blood is the monster. On the surface, it would seem out of place to insert a monster into a novel of spies and intrigue; but Moore seamlessly delivers creature thrills and chills with authenticity and believability.

Tainted Blood takes place in Detroit, and that city is described in detail by an author who lives there. Moore brings Detroit to life with such scenes as:

"The corner of West Jefferson and Woodward was like an opening night riot...A police helicopter moved too close and the creature was thrust back from its position two-thirds up the side of the Ponchartrain Hotel..."

All in all, Tainted Blood is an exciting read. I have said it before I will say it again:

"Full of suspense, Russian spies, a monster and a man as old as the Tsars, Tainted Blood is an exciting thrill-ride of an aventure. A tough and gritty novel."

You can buy the book HERE.

Kindle is HERE.

About the author

Ferrel D. Moore

Ferrel D. Moore is a Detroit based writer of dark fiction. His short fiction has been published by Elder Signs Press, Mythos Books and Sam’s Dot Publishing. He is the author of the urban werewolf suspense novel Tainted Blood. The sequel, titled The White Death, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2013 along with a new novel of paranormal terror titled The Ghost Box.

You can visit Ferrel HERE

His new magazine called Insatiable:The Magazine of Paranormal Desires is debuting on October 21 HERE

About the reviewer

Jeani Rector

While most people go to Disneyland while in Southern California, Jeani Rector went to the Fangoria Weekend of Horror there instead.  She grew up watching the Bob Wilkins Creature Feature on television and lived in a house that had the walls covered with framed Universal Monsters posters.  It is all in good fun and actually, most people who know Jeani personally are of the opinion that she is a very normal person. She just writes abnormal stories. Doesn’t everybody?

Jeani Rector is the founder and editor of The Horror Zine and has had her stories featured in magazines such as Aphelion, Midnight Street, Strange Weird and Wonderful, Dark River Press, Macabre Cadaver, Ax Wound, Horrormasters, Morbid Outlook, Horror in Words, Black Petals, 63Channels, Death Head Grin, Hackwriters, Bewildering Stories, Ultraverse, and others. Her novel Pestilence: A Medieval Tale of Plague is released by The Horror Zine books.