Biofire

In 2020 the author re-released this book with some minor changes, and I have read both versions and this is a review of both.It is definitely a cross genre story, with elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, and crime. I don't want to give away too much of the plot but it involves a woman with strong paranormal skills, able to kill people by thinking about it. She gets mixed up with some really shady Mafia types who want to use her powers yet at the same time they fear what she can do. The bad guys in this story are really bad, they are great villains, total sleazeball Mafia types. Garton is known as a horror writer and this is a slight change of pace for him, as it also incorporates other genres, particularly crime/suspense and science fiction. This book reminded me of Stephen King's Firestarter, which is also about a person with powers and everyone wants to control her, yet she uses her abilities to save herself. There is also a romantic angle to the story. The large cast of characters are fascinating. Even the characters with smaller roles are really fleshed out, adding to the book's realism, and the characters are unpredictable so I was also anxious reading this book, worried about the fates of the characters. I've read a lot of books by the author (best known as the author of Live Girls, a graphic vampire story that Hollywood really needs to take a look at. BIOFIRE too would make a really great film), and this is one of my favorites. I read through the book at lightning speed, finishing it in just a few days. It has action, gore, excitement, romance, nasty bad guys and a whole lot of stuff that added together creates a five star book that is hard to put down. I highly recommend BIOFIRE, it really is a great read.