Review: Pieces of Jack by BJ Sheppard

Author: BJ Sheppard

Publisher: Self-Published

Pages/Word Count: 305 Pages

At a Glance: The mystery element in Pieces Of Jack is center stage and riveting. The action is swift and pulls you along, the terror and fear palpable.

Reviewed By: Sammy

Blurb: …the price of silence just went up.

14 years ago, five friends were bound together in a pact of silence, burying their involvement in the murder of a classmate hell-bent on exposing their darkest secrets. Now, fighting for justice on the Grimm City PD, Detective Meyer Stanton finds himself thrown back into the past, the secrets he vowed to keep, coming back to haunt him. Working below the law, Meyer, his childhood sweetheart, Evan, and an old flame become the targets of a psychotic serial killer, wearing the face of a long-dead enemy. With the help of his partner and ex-lover, Detective Corin West, can Meyer rip the mask off the dark murderer following his every step – before the five estranged childhood friends all fall prey to his murderous rampage – or is Grimm City about to fall under the bloodshed of its deadliest criminal?

Review: Time has not been kind to the five boys who were discovered by the high school bully outside a gay club. Five friends who hid each other and kept each other safe but who could not come out to their parents, their high school buddies, their town. Everything hung in the balance of Jack’s hateful promise to tear their world apart and expose the fact that they were gay. More than one of those five high school boys wanted Jack dead, but just which one of them was responsible for the bloodstained bleachers on their school football field the next day was a mystery. And then, there were the jars in their lockers—each containing a little piece of Jack.

Fast forward several years and suddenly, long lost ties to each other begin to slowly re-knit as one-by-one, the boys turned men are being silenced in strange and violent ways. Meyer has become a police detective and is assigned to the cases. Before he knows it, he will be back in touch with the one boy, Evan, whom he has carried a torch for most of his life. But time is ticking away, and Jack appears to be back from the dead and hell-bent on destroying all of them.

I have followed the work of this author since he first made his delightful foray into the romantic comedy genre. While this is not his first attempt at mystery/horror, it is by far one of his best. It is thrilling to watch BJ Sheppard grow as a dynamic storyteller with each novel he writes. With a unique and compelling voice, he unwraps each character and reveals their innermost intimate secrets and fears. The passion that arises between his men is not overdone or singular, but, in fact, adds depth to the plot and enhances the story overall rather than pull the reader away from it by sticking in some gratuitous sex scene. The moments when Evan and Meyer finally consummate a love that has been a part of them since their youth is tender and stunning in its intimacy.

The mystery element in Pieces Of Jack is center stage and riveting. The action is swift and pulls you along, the terror and fear palpable and slowly ramps up until your heart is in your throat. As each piece of this novel unfolds, you watch with horror as death takes center stage, and the final scenes, where all is revealed, is just gorgeous in its insanity.

Pieces Of Jack is a real testimony to how a writer works hard to ply his craft and just gets better with each story he shares. BJ Sheppard has arrived, and his fans will no doubt grow in numbers with the release of his latest fascinating story. I highly recommend this novel to you.