The Scary Reviews

Genre: Horror
Length: 172 Pages
Publisher: Crystal Lake Publishing
Release date: February 13, 2024
Synopsis:

After two elderly men tire of their homelessness in downtown Chicago 1979, they hop a train in search of work out west. But before their last stop, a traumatic event in an empty train car steers their once-hopeful journey into a path of chaos filled with deceit, murder, grave robbing, and dormant secrets.

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review

I always return to the works of Chad Lutzke because of his outstanding characters. The Bedmakers is another fine tale from Chad Lutzke, and again he gives the reader great characters. Initially I thought this book was slow to get off the ground, but as events unfolded I realized what I took for a slow start was character building. Chad sets the stage with a couple of old homeless men, sets them off on an adventure and that is where things get interesting.

Genie and Calvin are looking for a better life, and at this point almost anything is better than living in an alley in Chicago. The two decide to jump a train and see where it takes them. It felt a bit cliché, but it’s the events of that train ride that make everything fall into place. There are plenty of misdirection’s tossed in to keep the reader guessing. We also get a slew of interesting characters with their own dark history. The Bedmakers was a fast paced mystery and was over too soon for me. I tend to get invested in Chad’s characters and hate to say goodbye. For fans of Chad’s work, you need to take the train with Genie and Calvin to see how their need for a better life turns out. Many thanks to the fine people at Crystal Lake Publishing for this advanced readers copy.

Link to purchase The Bedmakers

Chad Lutzke, Biography-

Chad has written for Famous Monsters of Filmland, Rue Morgue, Cemetery Dance, and Scream magazine. He’s had dozens of short stories published, and some of his books include: OF FOSTER HOMES & FLIES, STIRRING THE SHEETS, SKULLFACE BOY, THE SAME DEEP WATER AS YOU, THE PALE WHITE, THE NEON OWL and OUT BEHIND THE BARN co-written with John Boden. Lutzke’s work has been praised by authors Jack Ketchum, Richard Chizmar, Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen Graham Jones, Tim Waggoner and his own mother.

He can be found lurking the internet at www.chadlutzke.com