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'Painted Fire'by Mark Fowler


Book Description


Actress Kate Tolle falls victim to an illness that baffles the medical world.


In desperation her husband Ben appeals to the public, and an anonymous benefactor comes forward. Soon the couple find themselves on a flight bound for San Francisco.


Where the enigmatic Merle is waiting.


Kate’s health appears to improve as people around her die horrifically. Merle tells Ben that healing comes at a price and questions what he’s willing to pay.


But what does Merle want?


And what is the chilling truth waiting out in the desert ... in Las Vegas and beyond?






BLOG TOUR REVIEW



Review for 'Painted Fire' by Mark L. Fowler .


Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Spellbound Books and Mark L. Fowler.


Publication date 25th August 2022.


This is the first book I have read by this author.


I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Spellbound Books. I have yet to read a book published by Spellbound Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).



This novel consists of a prologue, 24 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!



This book is based in San Francisco and Las Vegas, USA 🇺🇸 .



This book is written in first person perspective with the main protagonist being Ben Tolle. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.



This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and kept me on the edge of my seat. The cover and synopsis suited the storyline perfectly.


OMG!!! MIND ABSOLUTELY BLOWN!!!!


Love, LOVE, LOVED this absolute page turner!! It may be the first book I have read by Mark but I can promise you it won't be the last!!! As soon as I've written this up I'm off to add all his books to my wishlist. This book is actually extremely hard to review as I need to be very careful not to give anything away. It is filled with fantasy, romance, murder, secrets, magic and just a little bit of everything!!! I could not put it down!!! Each chapter when I decided I'd put it down and go back to it something would happen leading to me needing to read just one more which continued to happen until I had finished the book. I was just absolutely hooked!! However, as much as I loved the storyline I did struggle with some parts that I couldn't understand what was going on or I found the sentences too confusing for me. There wasn't too many parts like this too stop me enjoying the book but it is my reason for giving 4.5 instead of 5/5 stars. However as you can't give half stars I will be rounding it up to 5 as it is too good for a 4! Anyway, back to the positives. The storyline itself is completely unique, I have never come across anything like it before and I doubt I will in the future. It is absolutely filled with suspense and tension with a gothic and horror vibe thrown in. There were several parts where I felt the hairs on my arms raise and my heart pounding!! I absolutely LOVED the (again, very unique) extremely unexpected and completely mind blowing ending, an explosive end to a fantastic page turner!!


DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT READING THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE CLEARED YOUR SCHEDULES AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!


The characters were well defined and strong. I can't say too much about them as if I do I really will spoil the story. I really liked Ben and was completely invested in him. My heart went out to him on so many occasions, at the end of the day everything he was doing was out of love and hope. Merle is an absolutely fascinating character and I really didn't know how to feel about him!! There were parts where I thought he was kind hearted and honest and others where I was dubious of him and he angered me. That is all I am going to say about them as I want to leave future readers make up their own minds.



A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Mark on what promises to be a massive best seller!!! I WAS absolutely shocked by so many events but OMG that ending was absolutely shocking!!! I can't say anything else but when you've read it you'll know!!! Regardless of the fact that there were parts I struggled with I am looking forward to reading more books by Mark and eagerly await his next success 🥂


Overall a unique, addictive, mind blowing page turner that will keep you up with a racing heart until you've finished!!!


Genres covered in this book include Medical Fiction, Spiritual Literature & Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, and Medical Fiction amongst others.



I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of anyone who loves books that will blow their minds .



294 pages.


This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!



Rated 4.5 rounded to 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.



Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews





@Bookworm86 @bookworm1986 @ZooLoosBT @MarkLFowler @MFowlerauthor @SpellBoundBks @SpellboundBooks











Author Bio


Mark writes detective crime fiction, and psychological and supernatural thrillers. He is the


author of the popular Tyler & Mills detective crime series set in Staffordshire. RED IS THE


COLOUR was shortlisted for the 2018 Arnold Bennett Prize and begins with the grim


discovery of a schoolboy who disappeared thirty years earlier. BLUE MURDER involves a


missing singer and a murdered guitarist, elevating an obscure band to sudden fame and


fortune. THE DEVIL WORE BLACK unveils the mystery of a crucified priest. The latest


book in the series, THE SMELL OF COPPER, finds Tyler out on a limb as the detectives


uncover high level police corruption. All the books can be read as standalone crime novels.



Other detective mysteries include THE BATHROOM MURDERS. A series of women are


found hacked to death while taking a shower. This is the first in a new series set in


Manchester, featuring female detective Charlie Reed. TWIST has the eponymous private


investigator returning, against his better judgement, to the city of nightmares to look into the


strange case of a dead philosophy student. THE MAN UPSTAIRS introduces hard boiled


Frank Miller, discovering he’s a fictional detective and that his author is plotting to kill him.



Mark also writes psychological and supernatural thrillers. SILVER finds journalist and crime


writer Nick Slater obsessed with an unpublished manuscript that a best-selling author was


working on when she was murdered, and which her family refuse to publish. SEXTET


explores the twisted rivalry between twin sisters, the weird games they played as children,


and the rising murder rate in a small English town. COFFIN MAKER is a gothic tale. Death


is sent two apprentices amid warnings from an out-of-favour priest that the devil has arrived


on Earth. Mark’s latest book PAINTED FIRE finds a writer travelling to America’s West


Coast in a desperate bid to find a cure for a baffling illness afflicting his wife. An anonymous


benefactor has offered to help, but at what price?



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