A review by ladypuercoloco
The Con Season by Adam Cesare

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Another win from Adam Cesarre and I definitely will be reading more by him.  This one is more for an adult crowd, but the same levels, if not elevated, of over the top mayhem, gore and fun! 🤣 Any one who has ever been to any kind of con, but especially a horror con, will both appreciate and be a bit creeped out by this one.  A new con is recruiting "C" list horror "stars", calling it Camp Blood Con.  The most special of the special guests is an aging scream queen, Clarissa Lee, along with an alcoholic knockoff of her, an elderly maven of the genre, a black early icon (I was picturing the guy from The Night of the Living Dead but realized it would have to be someone a bit more modern, maybe more of a Toney Todd?) a guy who's career included some horror (but more porn) and a young girl vying to be the new and improved Clarissa Lee (but would never admit to being so.... she's much "cooler" and heading for a much bigger legacy.   Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention the "director", who actually starts the book as he is kidnapped by the "promotors" in a very unforgettable way and forced into the role to the point of him wondering himself if he's developing Stockholm syndrome.  One thing all the special guests have in common - they all pretty much represent themselves and have no really close ties.  These days they survive on the con circuit.  And none of them really do anything research, the $5,000 advance with a promise of at least that much more is all it takes to not ask too many questions.  Like that tickets can only be purchased on the dark web.  Without going any closer to spoiler territory, I have to mention that what really put this one over the top for my ratings is the ending - in that you're left absolutely not knowing how it ends in spectacular fashion.  But I can't end this without mentioning the character created to be the villain of the camp/con - the description is fabulous and for him alone I would love to see this on screen (plus,you know, all the other merits of this twisted, fun romp into what would play out as meta....)