Book Review – DEATH WITCH by Nick Cato

***Disclaimers: 1. I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 2. Featured image is not the cover art, which has yet to be released.

When author Nick Cato (author of The Last Porno Theater and Uptown Death Squad) offered reviewers a chance to review his latest book, Death Witch, you can bet your sweet ass I jumped right on that like a fly on feces. 

When Beth Werner, a new resident of Fultonville, is raped and beaten by four men, she ain’t about to call the cops. Nope, she’s gonna do what any woman in a rape/revenge story does: get revenge on these bastards. But she isn’t just gonna use the traditional methods of shoot ‘em and slice ‘em. Oh no: see, Beth’s been studying witchcraft, and she’s been waitin’ to put some spells to the test…

What I love most about Death Witch is its grindhouse sensibilities: were it a movie, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine it playing on old 42nd Street in New York. And much like any good grindhouse film, Death Witch is all about delivering the goods. No bullshit, no pretention: it’s here to tell a story about a woman getting revenge on four scumbags – and believe me when I say they are scumbags, especially the ringleader – and by God it tells it, and tells it well. The straight-forward, no-frills writing style turns Death Witch into a lean and mean book easily consumed in a single sitting.

And this wouldn’t be a rape/revenge story without a nasty kill or two. While the death scenes don’t include lurid and gory details or bodily fluids shooting every whichway, a few of the kills are particularly delicious. One even brings to mind a certain scene from A Serbian Film (no, not that scene) which, of course, warms my heart.

Containing plenty of death, sleazy antagonists and a woman killing said sleazy antagonists (and who doesn’t enjoy a woman killing her assailants?), Death Witch comes highly recommended from yours truly. Be sure and pick it up when it drops later this year.