“Imagine demons you could summon to kill your enemy by way of their worst fears…Now imagine they’re after you!”When Link Balsey, a young carpet cleaner, falls head over heels for his customer Becca Falco, who’s married to a violent and abusive mob boss, she begs for his help to escape. Because of her husband’s underground connections, hiring Damage Inc., demon assassins from a parallel world, … parallel world, is her only way out. Things turn upside down when the job is finished and Link becomes the cops’ lead suspect. To make matters worse, someone’s sent Damage Inc. after him! Now Link and Becca must find out who hired Damage Inc., run from the police and survive an onslaught of their worst horrors come to life who will stop at nothing until he is dead.
more
Damage Inc. by Brett McKay is about a company that offers full service as far as solving those messy, personal problems that police won’t get involved in because there is no crime. Go to this company when you feel offended or when your ego is bruised. If your boss yells at you but you don’t want to yell back because of the immediate consequence of termination, go to Damage, Inc. Their business card says it all:
“When you want more than putting your foe to rest, giving him what he deserves is what we do best. Call 1-800-I DAMAGE.” (Kindle Location 610)
Focus on the phrase “what he deserves.” Not only is there a fee for solving problems, that is only to be expected, the client must also provide details to Damage, Inc. about how the damage is to be done and to what extent. Should there be torture before a final kill? Clients must describe the torture Damage Inc. agents will apply. A favorite question on the Damage Inc, questionnaire is about the worst fear of the target. Does the target fear mice? Clowns? Damage Inc. will somehow work the worst fear into the solution applied for full customer satisfaction.
Once a Damage Inc. service is ordered, there can be no order cancellations. Orders come with a guarantee of customer safety. In company history, law enforcement agencies have never tracked killings back to the company, much less the client. When the perpetrators are only in this dimension for a limited time while performing jobs, they are hard to catch by police forces confined only to one dimension.
Link works for a carpet cleaning service. Accepting a service call at the home of a wealthy couple, Ren and Becca, Link is offended by the miserly Ren but captivated by the abnormally perfect features and beauty of the lady of the house, Becca. Disregarding the rule of “If it is too good to believe …” Link has no problem immediately falling in lust with Becca. The “too good to believe” part is that Link accepts the fact related by Becca, she is in love with him. It is love at first sight, followed by several days of carpet cleaning service calls. On the fourth such day, Link finds Becca severely beaten. She tells Link that this is a normal part of her relationship with Ren but she cannot report anything to authorities because Ren, a mob boss, has anyone in authority in his pocket. Reporting Ren brings more serious beatings. Link notes that she is wearing a surveillance ankle bracelet, so she cannot leave the house. Becca has heard of Damage Inc. Perhaps Link could help her by acting as an agent and ordering a solution to their problem. After dealing with Ren, Link and Becca will be free to begin a new life.
Link agrees to help. After which, all hell breaks loose (almost literally). Summoned demons, agents of Damage Inc., get very creative with their forms of torture prior to death. Some descriptions might be too explicit for the faint of stomach. Violence is gory and graphic. You have been warned. I gave this novel four stars because Link is stupid and naive beyond belief. Most readers will know early in the story that there is no good outcome for a Link and Becca romance. There is a long “waiting for the other shoe to drop” period. When it finally drops, there is a nice twist. This is a fast-paced, page-turner, entertaining read to while away a couple of hours.