I’ve read all of Edward Lorn’s stories. Full length and short ones. They were horror with a supernatural or paranormal element to them for the most part.
The Larry Laughlin series is horror of a different sort. The deep, dark, twisted, human behavior. The mosters that prowl these pages are human in form only. All else about them is evil with a capital E!
Check out my reviews.
Enter darkness.
~~~
Hope For The Wicked
Larry Laughlin #1
By Edward Lorn
Genre: Thriller, Suspense
My Review
The title is perfect for this story. Is there hope for the wicked? Should there be? When you meet Larry and Mo Laughlin, you’ll be asking these questions.
Larry and Mo are a married couple and retired killers. They aren’t nice people. They are bad people. Bad people, that kill worse people. But I kind of liked them. Well, I liked Larry. Mo scared me. Of the two, I’d say she was the happy clam when they came out of retirement.
Their private investigation company isn’t doing that well, so when a job comes along with a two million dollar payday, they jump back into the business one last time. They should have stayed retired.
They head to Mexico to find their client’s daughter and bring her back if possible. Whether she’s alive or dead, their orders are to kill all those responsible.
Larry and Mo should have listened to their inner voices. If the money’s too good to be true, it usually is. And they find out in the most brutal, horrific way.
One thing about Edward Lorn, he isn’t afraid to take you into some of the darkest, most disturbing places. You emerge eventually, dirty, disgusted, and glad it wasn’t you.
I must warn you, this is graphic horror with sexual deviants and a whole bunch of psychopaths bent on getting their pleasure however they can. My stomach almost couldn’t take it in one particular scene.
And this was how the author got me to care about two killers. Sure, they killed people worse than themselves. They did it in cruel ways. And they enjoyed it. But they were still more likable than the other guys.
There are times when I laughed, times when I wanted to stop reading because I couldn’t take it anymore, and times when I cried. That’s some fine writing.
5 Stars
~~~~
Book Description
Sometimes, bad people do good deeds.
Larry and Mo Laughlin are retired killers turned private investigators with monetary woes. So when their handler introduces them to the Trudeaus, one final job is placed on the docket.
Jacob and Bernice Trudeau need their teenage daughter, Amy, found, and they also want the men responsible dead. Two million dollars is an offer Larry and Mo can’t refuse.
To find Amy, the Laughlins must travel to Mexico, where they are thrust into a world of debauchery so foul they will be forever changed.
One crazed pimp, a veterinarian turned doc-for-hire, and an enigmatic facility called “The Show” lie in wait for the wayward couple.
Is there any hope for the wicked?
~~~
Pennies for the Damned
Larry Laughlin #2
By Edward Lorn
Genre: Thriller, Suspense
My Review
This is the second story in the series and picks up a short time later.
Larry survived Mexico. He went back to his roots. To all those bad memories of “Family Time’ with his dad. He’s not planning on killing anymore after one last job. The job, kill his father.
His father is going to be released from prison and Larry can’t stand the thought of his father out there somewhere, preying on more innocent kids. He’ll take him out and be done with it.
But life has more for Larry. He’s confronted by some unexpected visitors, his house is blown to bits, and he’s saddled with a teen age girl as his traveling companion. He’ll let her tag along until he can find a safe place for her. Then it’s a race to save his brother, because the killers will use Jaime to hurt Larry. And that’s not going to happen if he can help it.
I sometimes wonder how Larry would have turned out if he hadn’t hooked up with Mo. She is definitely the deadlier of the two. She enjoyed the killing for killings sake and I feel she stuck to only killing bad people so Larry would kill with her. If Larry didn’t kill, would she have married him? I wonder.
Larry has a little bit of humanity left in him. I don’t now how. He’s seen and done so many dark, ugly things. I tore through this story, wondering where he’d go from here. Would he keep killing? Would he take his own life? Would he find some kind of peace within himself?
Definitely not for the squeamish, this is an excellent new chapter in Larry’s life. I urge true dark horror and thriller fans to give it a go.
5 Stars
~~~~~
Book Description
Ex-hitman Larry Laughlin got out of Mexico alive, but now he’s a haunted man. The final step to laying his ghosts to rest requires killing his newly paroled father. Before he can take action, though, a trio of killers break into Larry’s house, and he overhears their plan to murder his brother, Jaime, too. Old habits kick in, and Larry emerges the sole survivor. But while he’s gathering hidden funds to finance his plans, he’s ambushed by an unlikely traveling companion: a young abused teen named Brooklyn, who refuses to be left behind.
Larry and Brooklyn set out to save his brother and complete his patricidal task, but one wrong misstep drops yet another aching tragedy on Larry’s burdened shoulders. Nearly mad with his hunger for vengeance, Larry seeks his final nemesis in the heart of New York City. But what he finds will threaten more than just his life: Larry Laughlin damned himself long ago.
~~~
Author Edward Lorn
Edward Lorn is an American horror author presently residing in the southeast United States. He enjoys storytelling, reading, and writing biographies in the third person.
Once upon a time, during a session of show and tell, a seven-year-old Edward Lorn shared with his class that his baby brother had died over the weekend. His classmates, the teacher included, wept while he recanted the painful tragedy of having lost a sibling. Edward went home that day and found an irate mother waiting for him. Edward’s teacher had called to express her condolences. This was unfortunate, as Edward had never had a baby brother.
With advice given to her by a frustrated teacher, Edward’s mother made him start writing all of his lies down. The rest, as they say, is history.
Edward Lorn and his wife are raising two children, along with a handful of outside cats and a beagle named Dot. He remains a liar to this day. The only difference is, now he’s a useful one.
In January of 2012, Edward Lorn self-published his debut novel, Bay’s End. Later that year, he contracted with Red Adept Publishing to bring his sophomore effort, Dastardly Bastard, to the world. For the Halloween season, Edward published a collection of short stories entitled What the Dark Brings. His novella, Hope for the Wicked, was picked up by Red Adept Publishing and is coming soon.
Find Edward online:
Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads
Purchase Links:
~~~~
Until the next time….
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!