The Kill Riff

The Kenilworth Arms is a mongrel apartment building in down-town Chicago, built and re-built, its rooms divided and sub-divided; in some ways it seems to have a strange life of its own - a very strange life. Jonathan is a commercial artist, running to the city after a bad relationship; Cruz is a drug dealer running from an accidental death in Miami; Jamaica is a prostitute, running from her life. They could not have chosen a worse place to run to. When the deaths begin, they go almost unnoticed, so deep in degradation is the apartment block steeped. But the Kenilworth Arms and its horrific occupant need blood for their survival, and the trickle soon becomes a flood. In Chicago there are many ways of death - as Jonathan, Cruz and Jamaica are about to find out... *** 'Schow is the chap who first coined the term splatterpunk, and his second novel is every bit as splattery and punkish as his first.' -The Times 'Pumped up with manic intensity and shoved [...]right into your face. It works.' -Locus 'It's raw, it's rough, and it's not for wimps... A damn fine book.' -Afraid Magazine JUSTICE Lucas Ellington's daughter is dead, trampled by an out-of-control mob at a rock concert turned riot. There was no trial, but Lucas has identified the murderers - the band, Whip Hand. VENGEANCE Two of Gabriel Stannard's old bandmates are dead. Whip Hand's former lead singer knows who killed them. Stannard will not be a passive target. MADNESS Rock and roll forever… until death. *** From Publishers Weekly Having written a number of short stories in the horror field, Schow has now produced his first novel, an unfocused and overlong but not totally unsuccessful thriller about madness and revenge, with no supernatural element. The narrative concerns Lucas Ellington, whose daughter was trampled to death at a rock concert. Ellington has committed himself to exterminating the members of Whip Hand, the rock group whose performance incited the audience to stampede. At first a sympathetic character, Ellington becomes gradually less soand less believable as we come to see him as an insane but cunning wild animal. The other characters are mostly cyphers, except for Gabriel Stannard, Whip Hand's lead singer, an insecure pretty boy who masquerades as an urban guerrilla, complete with large arsenal and killer friends. Both the pace and style are uneven, and the plot is fairly predictable, but there are one or two surprises that, gratifyingly, work well. Schow demonstrates that he has the raw material to produce a really good thriller, although this one isn't it. *** From Library Journal Readers of this first novel will understand why Schow wins awards for his horror stories. Lucas Ellington seeks to avenge his daughter's death at a rock concert by destroying band members one by one. The last one left alive is forced to live up to a macho image by stalking his stalker in return. Lucas is a sympathetic character at first, but increasingly his craziness is revealed. This novel deals with the dark side of rock music and media exploitation but, in a larger sense, it explores what revenge does to the avenger. Graphic sex, violence, and vulgarity may turn some readers off, but this is otherwise strongly recommended for horror collections. *** 'A clobbering good read.' - The Times 'Schow's rock music atmosphere is real and compelling, his characters finely crafted, and he writes with a lethal beauty. THE KILL RIFF is a real headknocker!' - Robert R. McCammon 'THE KILL RIFF would make a fine Roman Polanski movie in the manner of Hitchcock.' - The Philadelphia Inquirer 'A gargantuan feast of fright!' - Robert Bloch, author of PSYCHO