Before diving into my review, please note that it is based on my opinion of the book. As you consider my thoughts, remember that you are allowed to have different feelings about this book. I was sent a free copy by the publisher Suspense Publishing and Rockstar Book Tours as an early review copy, however, that does not affect or influence my review of the book. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to pick up a copy and form your own opinion on it.


Content Warnings: Violence, Mature Behavior, Death, Blood. Please proceed with caution.
Note: This book deals with mature themes and topics.


I selected one story from the anthology to read and review: Gone Forever by Joseph Badal. The story is a murder mystery detective story that follows the journey of Detective Barbara Lassiter and her team as they conduct an investigation to uncover how exactly a vicious attack and murder of ten parishioners within a church went down. Despite being quite short in length, this story managed to build suspense without seeming too forced or unnatural.

The adjectives used in the descriptions of the setting were haunting and unsettling, perfect for the plot of the story, and worked to really build that feeling of suspense throughout. The church sanctuary description, in particular, was chilling as a reminder of the gruesome event that had taken place in that location. As Detective Barbara learns about the Brennan family's backstory, it felt like some of the pieces of the story were starting to come together as to what really happened and also in understanding the motives behind Lucas Brennan's actions.

It was devastating to read about all the tragedies that had befallen the Brennan family and see how their bad luck plagued them everywhere. I won't describe exactly what happens in the story as I don't want to spoil it, but I will say that the family definitely did not deserve all the pain and suffering they go through. I wish the story was longer so we could have seen some of the murder action beforehand or started in the room where the people were slaughtered right after it happened. I think this could've helped immerse readers more fully into the story and definitely would've added to the ominous, suspenseful mood present throughout.

Overall, I enjoyed this short story but I don't think it was mindblowing or revolutionary for the mystery/suspense genre. I wish that the story had been a bit longer so that we could get more characterization about the detectives and central characters of the story and to make the plot more intriguing. I think it fulfilled its intentions with what it set out to do, so I really can't fault the author or the story. The critiques I have for the story are mainly things to do with the fact that the story could only be so long and expansive as part of an anthology collection.


Rating: 4/5 stars

Publication Date: November 17, 2020

Publisher: Suspense Publishing

Author: Joseph Badal