The Blurb
Surf. Sand. Smugglers. Murder.
Willow has run as far as she can.
From her home.
From the friends she betrayed.
From the family who betrayed her.
From her own name.
But a cry for help will bring her back.
Back to face her family.
Back to face the sins of her past.
Back to face the darkness at the heart of Cornwall.
In the search for her sister, Willow will face deception and betrayal, before she’ll find love – and herself. But will she uncover how close the enemy is, or will she become another victim of the Badlands?
Badlands was published through Darkstroke on 21st January 2022.
Anyone who has ever been to Cornwall will know it's beautiful, and not somewhere you'd naturally expect to find darkness and crime. But in Badlands it's against that beautiful backdrop that the action happens, and believe me, none of it is beautiful.
Willow ran from home years ago, fled to the other side of the world, changed her look, changed her name and didn't look back. Until a mysterious, unsigned text arrives that Willow is certain is from her sister Ellie and that Ellie is in trouble. So she comes back to St Agnes in Cornwall to find her. In doing so, she must face the family and friends she left and confront old wounds.
This is a book you need to pay attention to as various characters are don't use their given names. Also, there is a dual timeline aspect with details of events before Willow left teased throughout the book. But the author jumps between the two timelines without warning, so you need to keep your wits about you. Once I'd got used to it, I enjoyed that element as I feel it helps keep the reader's interest.
The plot is generally fast moving and tense and there is an overriding sense of darkness. As Willow, and the reader, discovers more about Ellie's life she learns more about that darkness and in an exciting denouement finally confronts the source of it. I really like Willow. She's unapologetic, all tattoos and dreadlocks, and absolutely determined to discover the truth, not letting herself be put off by uncomfortable reunions. It's not a happy book but there is one lighter thread running through which is very welcome.
There is a character in this book that will make your skin crawl. Outwardly decent and upstanding, he's actually evil and controlling. And yet, he feels he can justify everything he does. He elicited some very strong emotions in me.
I was delighted to see that Kruse makes use of that beautiful Cornish coastline and brings it into the story. It's a character in it's own right.
Badlands is a tense story of a broken family, damaged friendships, betrayal, deception, control, violence and murder. It's fast moving and keeps the reader turning the page. Full of action and heart, with a brilliant protagonist, I enjoyed it.
The Author
Gary Kruse is a multi-genre writer of flash fiction, short stories and novels. He lives with his family in Hornchurch on the Essex/London border.
He began writing as a teenager after seeing The Craft in the cinema and wondering what would happen if the coven of witches from The Craft came face to face with the Lost Boys (the vampires, not Peter Pan's crew!).
His work has appeared online and in print anthologies and his short story Mirror Mirror was shortlisted in the WriteHive 2021 Horror competition, and subsequently featured in the Duplicitous anthology.
He began writing as a teenager after seeing The Craft in the cinema and wondering what would happen if the coven of witches from The Craft came face to face with the Lost Boys (the vampires, not Peter Pan's crew!).
His work has appeared online and in print anthologies and his short story Mirror Mirror was shortlisted in the WriteHive 2021 Horror competition, and subsequently featured in the Duplicitous anthology.
His short story Hope in the Dark won first place in the November 2021 edition of the Writers' Forum Short Story competition.
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