Shady Palms

By: Allen Dusk

Narrated by: Rose Caraway

A sleazy motel, burrowed on the edge of town, is haunted by rumors of dead hookers found between mattresses and peep holes drilled through walls. When Special Agent Daniels targets the motel during an investigation, the nefarious owner, Sanjay, must scramble to conceal evidence of his own dark deeds. Just when he believes things can't get any worse, motel guests begin to vanish without a trace.

Can Sanjay discover the truth behind the phenomena threatening his motel before the Feds get suspicious, or does he risk exposing his own sordid enterprises to seek help from the outside?

Why don't you book a room for the night and find out? At these bargain rates you'll be lucky if you only find dirty sheets and a few skeletons in the closet. Welcome to the Shady Palms Motel. Check out is at 11, if you live that long...

©2012 Carnal Morgue Press (P)2013 Allen Dusk

The silliest book I ever listened to.

Would you try another book from Allen Dusk and/or Rose Caraway?

Sure. This one served as comic relief if nothing else.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting part was how completely goofy the story was.

What three words best describe Rose Caraway’s performance?

Silly, silly, silly! Not funny silly, just enjoyably ridiculously silly. A real head shaker.

Was Shady Palms worth the listening time?

Actually it was worth the time. I listen to books while I work. At the end of each day I filled my wife in on what was going on with this one; something I rarely do. I just had to tell someone. :-)

Any additional comments?

If you're a little tired of the main stream good stuff, give this one a listen. Believe me, you won't believe what you're listening, but you will probably feel the time spent was worth it. I have never listened to anything like this one in my life.

Not for the innocent

This was a hard core book. The language and story where very explicit. And yet I had to listen to the end. Sorry that this is a very unhelpful review, but I'm NOT a writer.

A bit genre-confused, but fun listen!

As others have pointed out: this book is vulgar. We should get that out the way first. Sex, death, gore. All of it in vulgar detail. If you can't stand that, then I wouldn't buy this book.

That said, I enjoyed it. There were times I felt the vulgarities were unneeded and just in place to make things racier, but I accepted that that was the author's tone with this book, and went with it.

As for the story, I am unsure what genre this falls under. You've got a tiny bit of mystery (two, in a way), and you've got the usual "skin flick and gore" type of stuff. What's surprising though, is you get a bit of science fiction as well.

It's hard for me to delve deeper than that without spoiling things, and I suppose that's why the book's summary was equally vague. I can say this: It's a novel about a shady motel, told from many perspectives. The writing is very descriptive (even if vulgar) and each character (even short-lived ones) are well fleshed out. It'll make you cringe, laugh and shake your head, but you'll love every moment of the wild ride.

Is this narrator meant to be a joke?

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I can honestly say I've never been turned off from an audio book by the narrator choice. In this instance I could barely get past the first few chapters. The novel's content is brutal and raw, not meant to be read by someone who should be selling items on the home shopping network. The combination just didn't work and thus, the story suffered.

Si Fi Sex

Strange. Too much sex and bugs and not much story. Nothing much until the last few chapters.
I like mystery. Just made a bad choice.

I actually was cringing as I listened.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

sure. I like most books.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The bugs.

What aspect of Rose Caraway’s performance would you have changed?

none

Did Shady Palms inspire you to do anything?

Look closely at hotel sheets!

Any additional comments?

IF you like gross and creepy, this book is for you!

Gruesome Sci-Fi, not what I expected

Would you try another book from Allen Dusk and/or Rose Caraway?

No.

What was most disappointing about Allen Dusk’s story?

I thought this was a light spy story,turned into a very gruesome, violent sci-fi, with a bit of dark humor. I really tried, but I could not make it all the way through, especially after the children were killed. I won't say more to spoil the story for those who like this kind of story.

Any additional comments?

Summary was very misleading, not at all what I expected. Some funny dark humor and memorable characters, but the violence was just too much.

No matter what genre you like--it's in here!

If you could sum up Shady Palms in three words, what would they be?

Way Too Complicated

Would you be willing to try another book from Allen Dusk? Why or why not?

sure--it wasn't badly written and made me laugh a few times.

What does Rose Caraway bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

dimension!

Who was the most memorable character of Shady Palms and why?

Sonjay--he was the one thread that held it all together.

Any additional comments?

No matter what genre you like, it is in this book. No, seriously! Do you like intrigue? Ok--terroists! and Homeland Security. Do you like sci-fy? Giant bugs! and not just giant bugs, but giant MUTATED BEDBUGS! And how did they get mutated? How about leaking radiation! woot! Science! We also have an FBI sting (police procedural), prostitutes (sex and cops), video cameras and live streaming (of porn), bikers, wife-beaters and low-life scum of every sort, plus a secret hidden room with secret hidden cash and secret hidden bodies. Oh! Horror is represented too--those giant bedbugs can liquify a body within minutes. LIQ-QUI-FY! AS in MELT your into a puddle of goo. And then the chambermaids get to clean it up. Lucky lucky them. We have a woman released from prison two years before she is even eligible for parole--and frankly, I never did learn exactly why for that. Oh, there is just so much more, so much much more! Listen to it closely, because it is so chock-full of stuff you might have to (as I did) backtrack to figure out what the heck is going on.

Interesting

Would you consider the audio edition of Shady Palms to be better than the print version?

Yes

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shady Palms?

The spicy language throughout the story

Which scene was your favorite?

When the bugs got the main guy

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No I enjoyed coming back to it

Okay.

There was a little too much explicit gore and sex in this story for me to really enjoy it. Apart from that the book was quite good, but too much of the afore-mentioned things for me to give it a higher rating.