Emy Naso has given us an escape from the depravity sometimes prevalent in current society and the news. She takes us back to the mid nineteenth century when Friedrich Engles was founding his Workingmen’s Association. It seems London had more than its share of poor laborers building the railroad. The overcrowding made conditions even worse and left them all too ripe for the pickings of people like the Grillardas.

She builds Martin as the instigator of most of the sexual interludes built around his 24/7 preoccupation with sex and BDSM. He loves to go out and find men, women or couples to have his way with in the comfort of his own home. We can almost hear his evil laugh as he woos his innocent victims. When he wants, or when he’s satisfied his own cravings, he shares them with his all too willing wife. Jane, one of the unsuspecting maids in his own home, ends up being almost killed when she’s gifted to his sister Hermione. Seems like there's good reason she's a captive in her own room. She’s even more evil than Martin.

This is one of those tales where the author paints a chilling picture that sometimes becomes ‘way too vivid in our minds unless you really like stories where things go bump in the night and chainsaws roar. That’s just how it seems with Ms. Naso’s gift with words. Their aren’t any chainsaws but there are whips and chains and knives and pentagrams. And, after all we see of the Grillardas and their friends I think most will find the ending a relief and it might even put a smile on your face! I wouldn’t recommend this for late night reading for anyone other than those who can watch horror and then sleep like a baby.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Dee Dailey
September 11, 2008