“Fury is as haunting as it is addictive. This is the type of book you need to read with the lights on.” – Monique Snyman, Killer Aphrodite Entertainment
A young girl is brutally murdered.
Two rival crime bosses fight for dominance on the streets of South Africa’s capital city.
The city’s underground film industry is set ablaze.
An angry spirit bent on revenge is on a murder spree.
And Alice, a university student, is caught in the middle of a bloody battle for survival.
Their fates all intertwine in this tale of vengeance and fury.
Excerpt
A cold wind brushed her cheek. Her fingertips touched the loose ground, and fumbled in the dark, clawing at the cold earth beneath her. She touched something hard and rough, a rock, but it was real, something she could hold on to. She gripped it tight. The knowledge and memories of her short life came flooding back. She stood up and realised she was naked. Her feet and hands were gone. Blood covered her ruined body.
The sound of crickets and other insects buzzed around the surrounding bush, but she couldn’t hear the sound of her own heartbeat, yet it called to her from across the city. The mind-numbing realisation dawned on her slowly, at first, and then slammed into her stomach. She was dead, yet she was standing at the top of Klapperkop hill, overlooking Pretoria’s city lights. The lights winked at her. If she hadn’t been in so much pain she would have laughed at the insanity of it all. It was a cruel joke.
The memories from the night before, painful and bloody, screamed at her.
She took one step and then another on bloody stumps, towards the rocky edge; each step making her stronger.
With revenge on her mind she made her way down the narrow footpath towards the lights and those that had to pay the ultimate price for their crimes.
Professional Reviews
The Eloquent Page
A young girl is brutally murdered. Two rival crime bosses fight for dominance on the streets of South Africa’s capital city. The city’s underground film industry is set ablaze. An angry spirit bent on revenge is on a murder spree. And Alice, a university student, is caught in the middle of a bloody battle for survival. Their fates all intertwine in this tale of vengeance and fury.
All things considered, I think that sometimes people should be haunted by spirits hell-bent on dark malevolent vengeance. Certainly, if you’re murdering women for some sicko’s idea of entertainment, then you deserve absolutely everything that you’re going to get.
You’ll probably not be surprised to discover that my sympathies lie squarely with Angela. She is the victim of the piece, and in making a single stupid mistake, trusting the wrong person, she pays the ultimate price. This error costs her everything and leaves her in a horrific limbo. No one should ever have to suffer the brutal horrors she is forced to endure, and it seems only fair she gets payback against her assailants. After her senseless murder, I think the bloodthirsty part of me was actively willing her to destroy all her tormentors in as violent and painful manner as is possible. Her untimely, bloody death has infused Angela’s spirit with an epic supernatural rage that she directs against those she feels are responsible for her pain.
The story also follows another potential victim of the snuff movie makers, a young woman called Alice. Like Angela, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only difference between the two is that Alice isn’t dead yet. Unfortunately, the madness that fuels what is left of Angela considers that reason enough for her to also be considered a target. The big question is, can Alice fend off various sleazy low-lives, a suave yet psychopathic mob boss and the spirit of Angela in order to survive?
A word of warning, for the squeamish amongst you, Fury is not for the faint of heart. The subject matter in this novel is extremely adult. We are talking about torture, snuff movies and violent death here, people. It is highly likely that elements of the narrative are going act as a trigger for some. This novel doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to depicting sex, drug use and violence, and in some instances, a combination of the three. Ironically, it isn’t the supernatural elements that are the most horrific parts of this tale. It is the depiction of the crime at the book’s beginning. I suspect it is all the more traumatic because it is too easy to imagine something like this could actually happen. Is it wrong for me to wish that at times like this, an author’s descriptive powers were perhaps not as vividly accurate as they are?
From my perspective, I’ll admit I found certain things suitably harrowing, but I’ll counter that by also confessing I found myself gripped by the narrative. I actively wanted to learn the outcome. I needed to know that Angela would find some sort of peace and that some form of justice would be served. There is something really quite satisfying in getting to learn how she cuts a bloody swathe through the criminal underbelly of Pretoria. Couldn’t happen to a nicer group of scumbags.
A few years ago I read Oasis, by the same author, and I enjoyed her take on the zombie genre. I’ve been looking forward to reading more of her writing and I’m pleased to report that Fury is just as good as her previous work. There is a lot to be said for a simple tale well told. Smart, perfectly paced and well executed there is nothing I like better than an old school supernatural revenge thriller, you just can’t beat a REALLY angry ghost.
Nerd Girl
***Adult Warning – May Contain Graphic Sex, Strong Language, Or Adult Situations. Caution Advised***
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***Cianna – #NerdGirlSunshine’s Review***
Holy cow! Literally read this book in a day, because it was fantastic. Joan is a new to me author, but thanks goodness she sent her book to be reviewed, because I was in the mood for some horror.
From the very beginning, this book is twisted. It is not for the faint of heart, but as the beginning sets the scene for an amazing journey that the characters go on. Vengeful ghosts, mobsters, priceless pain painting, and long lost siblings may sound like a thriller, but this one goes down a long dark road that I completely enjoyed. I couldn’t stop reading this book. I enjoyed that her characters weren’t just black and white, but has real depth and made you really think about what is good and bad.
Overall, this book was FANTASTIC! Horror tends to be a hard genre. Some people only go to the gore, and others don’t dive dark enough, but Joan dived to the darkest places and came back with a story that is both horrifying as well as almost uplifting. Sometimes people do bad things, and they deserve to be punished. Outstanding! I hope to read more by this author in the future because she has jumped to the top of my author list! Wow!
Sci-Fi and Scary
I’ll admit to a bit of initial distaste towards this book that showed itself soon after I started reading. Simply put, drug dealers and drug users (much like alcoholics who are unwilling to seek help) disgust me. They’re right below rapists, pedophiles, and child killers in my book. Still, even with that bias in my head, Joan De La Haye’s Fury was almost impossible to put down. 4 Star Rated Fury Review
The imagery in Fury is graphic. There is no skirting around the violence that happens. There’s everything from detached dangly bits used as gags, to a spirit stalking around on stumps. The worst parts of heroin withdrawal are splashed across the page in all its fetid glory. It’s not a book for the weak stomached or easily disturbed. De La Haye’s easy and unflinching display of the explicit brings to mind the more interesting (and disgusting) of Richard Laymon’s work.
This is a story of vengeance sought and delivered. A young woman’s spirit cannot rest with the atrocities committed against her. Her insane rage knows no bounds, and that is how a young girl – Alice – finds herself in the mix. She’s survived by wit and will, and even found herself caught up in an attraction that makes no sense. It is perhaps her very survival which puts her in the spirit’s path of devastation.
Fury is the definition of paranormal horror in the violence that the vengeful spirit wrecks, but it is made even worse by the evil acts of humans. The two together combine to make a story that horrifies even as it entertains. I wouldn’t recommend Fury for everyone, but instead for people looking for a bit of a darker read than they usually get. Available on Amazon, Fury is available now for those who can handle it.
