Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Scott A. Lerner - The Fraternity of the Soul Eater - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

It’s been a while since Samuel Roberts was called upon to save mankind, and he’s getting restless. His girlfriend Susan thinks he’s a danger junkie, and he’s worried he has a hero complex. He’s back to his usual small-town lawyerly duties in Champaign-Urbana, handling divorces and helping people beat DUI raps. But then a young fraternity pledge calls. During an initiation ceremony he witnessed the live sacrifice of a young woman, but he had so much alcohol in his system that no one believes him. Except Sam. Lately Egyptian lore has been creeping into his life, his dreams, and his movie preferences, and he’s pretty sure he knows why. Evil is knocking on his door again.

Is the call welcome? Why can’t Sam be satisfied with his comfortable legal practice and gorgeous redheaded girlfriend? Maybe it’s because he knows that, as inadequate as he may feel to the task, he and his friend Bob may be humanity’s only hope against ancient supernatural forces combined with modern genetic engineering. Come hell or high water. Or in this case, the underworld or subterranean pyramids.

The Fraternity of the Soul Eater is the third book in the Samuel Roberts Thriller series, which began with Cocaine Zombies and continued with Ruler of Demons.


My Review

What would it feel like to step inside a pyramid?

Novelist Scott A. Lerner takes us there:

"The air was hot and dry, and I actually felt as though I was in the desert. It smelled like I imagined Egypt would smell, having never been there. The air was scented with sand and every spice I could think of—at least the ones that started with a C. I could smell cinnamon, cumin, cloves, cardamom, and coriander."

But this pyramid isn't in Egypt.

Oh no, it's hidden beneath a museum near the campus of the University of Illinois.

And it's a mystery how it was able to be constructed there without anyone knowing about it. The amount of laborers needed plus the cost to fund such an endeavor are astronomical.

So how did it come to exist? And more importantly what's its purpose?

It all starts with the super secret fraternity, Zeta Ankh Iota.

The inscription on their door reads:

"Death shall come on swift wings to him who enters without leave of the members." 

A similar warning was inscribed on the entrance to King Tut's tomb. And as fate would have it, the fraternity was founded in 1925 by Rupert Fall, a close friend and benefactor of Howard Carter, the man who discovered King Tut's tomb and died an early death many feel was the fulfillment of the curse for desecrating Tut's final resting place.

The frat house itself is a pre-Civil War Southern mansion underneath whose foundations run steam tunnels, first used during Prohibition to smuggle in booze. Now the subterranean passageways are utilized for bringing in abducted girls, snatched off campus, in order to be murdered and sacrificed on the stone altar to the ancient Egyptian god, Ammit, the soul eater.

Zeta Ankh Iota always wanted a pyramid, and now they have one.

With its completion:

"They will begin to select women to be mummified. To fulfill the pharaoh's needs for wives and servants in the next world."

To put things into perspective, prior fraternity members all live in areas like the shores of Lake Michigan—the wealthy, exclusive neighborhood the likes of basketball great Michael Jordan call home.

And it makes Samuel Roberts, the lawyer investigating these mysterious deaths, wonder:

"If in this neighborhood a Honda was more conspicuous that a Ferrari." 

The fraternity is even more exclusive than Harvard's Skull and Bones Society, the one that boasts having several presidents of the United States on its roster. Zeta Ankh Iota only accepts three new pledges every year, and those who are selected to join all go on to live lives of fame and fortune.

So when Sam's hippy, computer hacking friend, Bob, joins him to scope out the joint, it's no wonder he says:

"I felt about as welcome as a gay Jewish African-American man at a KKK rally."

These frat boys believe they can get away with these killings. Their fathers are too powerful, their families too influential. They're above the law. Taking a human life means nothing to them.  

"Sex-crazed, drug-addled rich kids who think the world owes them something."

Until one of their own, Chris Stevens, finds out he can't stomach what they're doing anymore, and reports their latest murder to the police. Except the cops do nothing about it. Instead they charge Chris with the crime of lying to law enforcement. That's when Chris knows he's in big trouble and turns to Sam for help. As Sam gets deeper and deeper into the case, what he unearths shocks him.

This college town is hiding a lot of secrets—secrets that Zeta Ankh Iota will stop at nothing to keep hidden.

***

The Fraternity of the Soul Eater can be purchased at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

Formats/Prices: $4.99 ebook, $13.95 paperback
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 218
Release: June 1, 2015
Publisher: Camel Press
ISBN: 9781603812894
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Author and attorney Scott A. Lerner resides in Champaign, Illinois. He obtained his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and went on to obtain his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. He is currently a sole practitioner in Champaign, Illinois. The majority of his law practice focuses on the fields of criminal law and family law. Lerner’s first novel and the first Samuel Roberts Thriller, Cocaine Zombies, won a bronze medal in the mystery/cozy/noir category of the 2013 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Awards. The second book in the series is Ruler of Demons. The Fraternity of the Soul Eater is book 3. Book 4, The Wiccan Witch of the Midwest, will be released on Halloween, 2015.

Links to connect with Scott:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

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4 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking the time to read my book. Scott A. Lerner

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  2. Thanks for taking the time to read my book. Scott A. Lerner

    ReplyDelete
  3. شركة تنظيف بالاحساء

    شركة المثالية للتنظيف بالدمام
    النظيف من الاشياء الضروريه للحفاظ على الصحه والجو النفسى للاسره لذلك تقدم شركة تنظيف بسيهات افضل خدمات التنظيف التى تتميز بكفائتها فيهاومنها (تنظيف منازل بسيهات – تنظيف بيوت – تنظيف شقق بالاحساء – تنظيف سجاد وموكيت – وتنظيف ارضيات وجلى بلاط بسيهات – تنظيف اثاث وفرش ومجالس وكنب وغيرها من الخدمات الاخرى )
    شركة تنظيف بالاحساء
    - شركة تنظيف منازل بالاحساء:
    شركة تنظيف بيوت بالاحساء من افضل الشركات على الاطلاق فى عالم التنظيف التى تبحث عنها حيث تقدم خدمه على اعلى مستوى من النظافه وتقوم بتنظيف جميع محتويات المنزل بما فيه السجاد والموكيت والمفروشات وتلميع البلاط والارضيات وغيرها انضموا الان لقائمه عملائنا لتحصلوا على خدمات متميزه
    - شركة تنظيف بيوت بالاحساء
    شركة تنظيف خزانات بالاحساء
    تنظيف البيوت مهمه صعبه على الانسان العادى لان البيوت تتصف بكبر حجمها وتعدد حجراتها وتحتاج الى وقت ومجهود لا تقلق فشركة تنظيف بيوت بالاحساء توفر لك كل هذا بكفاءه ومهنيه حيث تقوم الشركه بتقديم هذه الخدمه بشكل جيد وعلى اكمل وجه وتقوم بتنظيف الارضيات والسيراميك والشجاد والموكيت والكنب والمقاعد وغيرها من الخدمات التى تتالق فيها .
    - شركة تنظيف شقق بالاحساء
    شركة مكافحة حشرات بالاحساء
    اذا كنت تعانى من تنظيف شقتك وتبحث عن شركات تنظيف متميزه ف شركة تنظيف شقق بالاحساء تحقق لك حلمك وتقدم لك افضل خدمات التنظيف التى تبحث عنها وفوق ما تتصور فى عالم التنظيف هيا اتصل الان لتحصل على افضل الخدمات .
    شركة تسليك مجارى بالاحساء
    - شركة تنظيف سجاد بالاحساء
    السجاد من اهم المفروشات التى يجب الاهتمام بها حتى تحافظ على جمالها ومتانتها ولكى تحصل على الخدمات التى تحلم بها اتصل الان بشركة تنظيف سجاد بالاحساء لتجد ما تبحث عنه من نظافه وتعطير السجاد بتميز وذلك لان شركتنا تعتمد على افضل العمال المدربين فى عالم النظافه .
    شركة كشف تسربات بالاحساء
    - شركة تنظيف موكيت بالاحساء
    شركه تنظيف موكيت بالاحساء تقدم اجود خدمات التنظيف المتميزه فى عالم التنظيف حيث تقوم بغسل الموكيت وتعطيره مستخدمه اجود انواع المساحيق التى تزل البقع وتحافظ على متانته والوانه الرقيقه كما هى ... فشركتنا تقدم لك الموكيت بعد تنظيفه جميل ونظيف وذو رائحه طيبه انضموا الان لقائمه عملائنا لتحصلوا على افضل الخدمات .
    شركة تنظيف سجاد بالجبيل
    - شركة تلميع ارضيات وجلي بلاط بالاحساء
    تلميع الارضيات وجلى البلاط من اساس خدمات شركتنا المتميزه حيث تقوم بتلميع السيراميك وتنظيف الارضيات بطريه جيده وباستخدام افضل التقنيات الحديثه التى تقدم افضل النتائج .
    شركة رش مبيدات بالاحساء

    - شركة تنظيف أثاث بالاحساء
    شركه تنظيف الاثاث بالاحساء من احدث الشركات التى تقوم بتنظيف الاثاث بطريقه جيده ومتميزه ولن تجدها فى شركات اخرى حيث ان الاثاث يحتاج تنظيف بطريقه جيده حتى يحافظ عليه وعلى جماله

    ReplyDelete