Also by this author: Cocaine Zombies, Ruler of Demons (Samuel Roberts, #2), The Fraternity of the Soul EaterFor the forces of evil, Sam Roberts is catnip. Even during periods of calm, Sam knows that evil is just biding its time before challenging him again. So when he is asked to defend a wealthy shut-in charged with murder, he is suspicious. Why is the largest and wealthiest law firm in town hiring an outside attorney who is a sole practitioner to represent Mr. Blake May?Sam’s client resides in the sublimely creepy Frost Home, a “haunted” mansion given a wide berth by the residents of Champaign, Illinois. The house has been engulfed in rumors of death, missing children, and mystery since before the Civil War. Blake May is accused of not only murdering his girlfriend but decimating the remains until they look like marinara. But the agoraphobic middle-aged man rarely, if ever, left his rooms. If he indeed killed Heather, why can’t the police find a murder weapon? Everyone seems to want Blake declared insane rather than acquitted.Sam and his buddy Bob Sizemore know that Heather’s grizzly fate can’t be blamed on something as mundane as murder. There is a force at work in the house, and it seems to emanate from the mirror hung in the room where the remains of the body were found. Can Sam and Bob end the Frost Home’s eerie legacy of evil? Book 5 in the Samuel Roberts Thriller series.
I received this book for free from Author Gifted in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon
This is the fifth and currently the last book in the Samuel Roberts series. A series about Samuel Roberts, a middle age lawyer in a smallish town outside of Chicago, Illinois. So far I have read and reviewed the first four books. Starting with Samuel or Sam as he goes by in the books he fought supernatural drug dealers, then Demons, Egyptian god wannabes, Witches and now Human Remains.
Apparently this book doesn’t come out until November of this year. This may be a reprint, as with previous books. I would suggest reading the first four books before reading this, but it is not necessary. I will try not to add spoilers that much, for those who haven’t read the first four books. If something is a spoiler, it is not my fault 🙂 Also it is obvious who he ‘fights’ I mean look at the titles :).
So this book differs a little from the others in that the “baddy” isn’t known right away. It isn’t like the “Wiccan Witch” or the “Cocaine Zombie” which obviously is about a witch and a zombie respectfully. This story is a little more difficult to determine what is really going on. The book starts with a lawyer calling Samuel about a possible job. That is odd since the lawyer is from a bigger firm and should be able to take care of the job himself, but the money he is throwing around makes Samuel interested.
The case is a murder case that occurred in the “Frost House” which is a notorious house in town. The house is haunted, or at least it has a very long history of being creepy. Upon visiting the house for the first time Bob and Samuel meet with some odd individuals, including a mute butler, the blind women of the house, and a strange woman who works as a housekeeper of sorts.
The murder was hideous, but Samuel doesn’t think that his client could have done it, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t those around the town who are trying to keep the suspect in jail, or at least contained, and while things seem to be going well, Samuel can’t let it go, and sometimes that isn’t the best. I mean when you let things go, you tend to live longer right?
Overall this is a really good story, and I think of the five this is the best of them all. A part of that is because you don’t know what is going on until pretty much the end which I enjoy. The other books have had twists and such, but this one was really unknown until later in the book. I like that about this book, and I like how Bob took a little bit of a turn with regards to the characterization and Sam and his relationship. This is a read alone book without knowing the previous stories.
About Scott A. Lerner
Author and attorney Scott A. Lerner resides in Champaign, Illinois. He obtained his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and went on to obtain his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. He is currently a sole practitioner in Champaign, Illinois. The majority of his law practice focuses on the fields of criminal law and family law. Mr. Lerner lives with his wife, their two children, and their cat Fern. Lerner collects unusual antiques and enjoys gardening, traveling, reading fiction, and going to the movies. His first novel, Cocaine Zombies, won a bronze medal in the mystery/cozy/noir category of the 2013 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Awards.
