Toni's Review of Blood and Bullets by James R. Tuck ***3.5 Stars***

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights…

Ever since a monster murdered his family, Deacon Chalk hunts any creature that preys on the innocent. So when a pretty vampire girl “hires” him to eliminate a fellow slayer, Deacon goes to warn him—and barely escapes a vampire ambush. Now he’s got a way-inexperienced newbie hunter to protect and everything from bloodsuckers to cursed immortals on his trail. There’s also a malevolent force controlling the living and the undead, hellbent on turning Deacon’s greatest loss into the one weapon that could destroy him…

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Monsters need not apply!  Deacon Chalk lost everything the night his entire family was killed by your kind.  Now with nothing left to lose, he lives to hunt you.  He is a bounty hunter with a little extra, and that little extra is going to take you down.

Deacon is one big strong scary looking man.  Humans and monsters alike fear him.  He is a no nonsense man that protects the innocent.  After losing his family, he changed completely.  He closed his tattoo parlor and opened a strip club.  It’s not your normal strip club either.  All employees have been touched by the evil of monsters and now they are a family.  Brought together by circumstances that was out of their control.  Deacon may be the head of this ragtag group, but he works alone.  

Now there is a new force in town; one that even has the monsters looking over their shoulders.  From the first strike to the last, Deacon will not stop until it has been destroyed.  Even if it the last thing he ever does.

This is urban fantasy that takes no prisoners.  The monsters are evil and must be stopped, PERIOD, and Deacon is the perfect hero to do it.  Blood and Bullets is a story told in Deacon’s point of view.  He has a very strong personality and voice, but you can feel his pain and commitment coming through.  This is a man with a mission and you best stay the heck out of his way.  My favorite line in the book is; “And vampires never sparkle unless they just ate a stripper.”  I literally cracked up.  It was just perfect.

I enjoyed reading about Deacon and his kick-butt crew.  These characters live in an ugly world, but they have each other and will die to protect it.  The action is intense and messy.  I like to get down and dirty and Blood and Bullets is just the book to take me there. 

I liked the gritty and dark feeling to the story and the razor sharp edge.  While Mr. Tuck was repetitive at times in regards to explanations of guns, cars and such; I still found the overall story well written and exciting.  Now that the world building is done, he can blow us away with his dark take of the underworld.

Blood and Bullets is a great start to a new series.  I can see great potential in this series and I can’t wait for the next installment.

Thanks for reading! - Toni