Down and Out Books
2014
This book is insane. That’s not mere hyperbole. This book is, in fact, not right in the head. Clearly, I needed to finish it in record time. With a huge smile on my face.
BITE HARDER continues the adventures of Dean Drayhart, a serial killing paraplegic who was captured by the authorities after the events of HARD BITE (New Pulp Press 2013.) In case the motives of your protagonists keep you up at night, Drayhart isn’t an evil man. He’s a man bent on vengeance. But this punisher in a wheelchair is very specific about who he carries his vengeance out against. Drayhart was confined to his chair in the same hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of his daughter, Heidi. Now left without the use of his legs and only one and a half arms, Drayhart has used the analytical powers of his actuary brain to exact his revenge on the drunk drivers of Los Angeles.
Drayhart’s existence was shattered by a fool behind the wheel of a black BMW.
Oh, he has a trained helper monkey named Sidney that will also tear out a man’s throat on command, too. With Drayhart’s mighty brain and Sid’s monkey body acting as an extension of himself, Drayhart claimed many victims until he was apprehended and placed on death row. Sitting in prison waiting to die, separated from his sex-worker girlfriend Cinda and his best friend Sid the monkey, well… things look bleak.
BUT THEN! The Mexican mafia breaks Drayhart out of prison with the sole intent of killing him to fulfil their own need for vengeance. And that is where we pick up the narrative with BITE HARDER.
Yes, as I said before, this book is insane. The plot is literally the most insane chase story you’ve ever read/watched/participated in. It’s filled with the most twisted cavalcade of characters outside of an acid tripping Warner Bros. cartoon. But the skills of Elaine Ash (You didn’t think her parents actually named her Anonymous-9, did you?) deliver the story of Drayhart, Sid, and Cinda right into your heart. Drayhart knows he’s doomed. He knows the acts he committed were reprehensible. Cinda knows she needs to be right next to her man, in the driver’s seat of her ’98 Trans Am, driving hell bent for leather. And they both know they need to rescue Sid, the best friend Drayhart ever had.
Ah, Sid. Who knew my favorite character in this nuclear powered Osterizer of a story would be the monkey? It’s not like monkeys are known for their monologues or anything. They don’t usually have great tag lines like, “I’ll be back,” or “Hey, that’s my banana.” But I sure did fall in love with Sid. And that’s all due to Ash’s narrative powers. The scenes that are from Sid’s point of view are moving, touching, and filled with heart. Your heart swells when Sid is taking care of the seniors at the old folk’s home, and your heart wants to break when he interacts with the tortured monkey Venganza in the ring. You’ll cheer out loud for Sid.
You’ll want a Sid solo adventure as badly as I do.
So go get yourself a copy of BITE HARDER. Go see why Sid the helper monkey is my favorite character of 2014. His humans Dean Drayhart and Cinda are pretty cool, too.
Dan Malmon
