Kindle Post US: John Rector reviews "A Good and Useful Hurt"

Nothing beats a good opening line.

When one works, it'll tell you all you need to know about the book, and at the same time pull you along and leave you wanting more.

"What was the worst thing you've ever done?"
-Peter Straub, Ghost Story

"It was Friday the thirteenth and yesterday's snowstorm lingered in the streets like a leftover curse"
-William Hjortsberg, Falling Angel

"It was a pleasure to burn."
-Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Not only will a good opening line set the mood for what's to come, sometimes it'll make it almost impossible not to keep reading.

Aric Davis understands this, and his novel, A Good and Useful Hurt, has a particularly striking opening line.

'F--k art, this is war.'

And believe me, he means it.

Davis pulls you along a winding path filled with art, romance, and friendship. He will distract you with enough details about the fascinating world of tattoos to make you believe, on some level, that everything is fine, that those shadows in the corner are just shadows. Basically, he makes you believe that war isn't coming.

But it is.

A Good and Useful Hurt is an all or nothing book. There's very little I can tell you without giving too much away, but I'll do my best. Mike owns a tattoo shop and hires the young headstrong Deb to join his wily crew of misfits in Grand Rapids Michigan. Mike and Deb fall in love, and although they are both nursing some deep emotional wounds, the relationship blooms.

Deb performs some fairly extreme body modifications.

Mike tattoos select patrons using the ashes of their dead relatives.

Just another day at the office.

Of course, it's not long before we come face to face with a sociopathic serial killer and start communicating with the dead… And that's just the start. Things get even more intense from there.

Aric Davis has done something wonderful. He's brought a new and unique perspective to the traditional ghost story, and it would be a shame to miss out.--John Rector

John Rector is the best-selling author of three suspense novels, The Grove, Already Gone, and The Cold Kiss.