My name is Officer Thomas Nolan, and I am a saint.Tommy Nolan lives a quiet life. He walks his beat – showing mercy to the desperate. Locking away the dangerous. Going to church, sharing dinner with his wife and son. Everyone likes Tommy, even the men he puts behind bars.Then one day a demon shows up and he can smell it. Tommy can smell evil – real evil. Now he’s New York City’s only hope against … evil. Now he’s New York City’s only hope against a horrifying serial killer that preys on the young and defenseless.
But smell alone isn’t enough to get a warrant. Can Tommy track down the killer and prove his guilt?
Dragon Award Nominated Author Declan Finn returns with his typical action-packed, Catholic influenced style, in this groundbreaking horror series about an honest, religious man given the powers of a saint to fight demons in the Big Apple.
How do you do forensics on a killer possessed by a demon?
Can Tommy catch the killer before he becomes a martyr? Or will the demon bring darkness beyond imagination to the whole of New York? Read Hell Spawn today and find out!more
This is my first read of Declan Finn’s (and it won’t be my last), I was hooked from the beginning. Excellently paced with plenty of action and page turning suspense. I found it very easy to believe in the characters and enjoyed the story line. This is an absolute recommend to anyone looking for a great read.
For a cop, having God on your side isn’t as much help as you’d think. NYPD detective Tommy Nolan has to solve a hideous series of murders. When he realizes they’re done by a demon he has to fight harder . . . because he’s still bound by the law.
The author has a gift for horror. Possibly he just identified some things I’m sensitive to, but this book was still affecting my dreams a week after I read it. Great stuff for horror fans.
Jack Ryan and Nathanial Garrett, Meet Tommy Nolan
It is rare for me to find an author who writes really good suspense fiction who also infuses his faith into the story in such a way that it fits into the story. Finn is not preaching as he writes; it just happens that Tommy Nolan actually lives his faith as he lives his imperfect life. For someone who continually stumbles (i.e. me), this is a revelation as well as a draw. I have to see how Tommy Nolan, who is a lot like Jack Ryan, manages the weird like Nathanial Garrett.
I was excited to dive into Hell Spawn! While my reading tastes lean toward the darker side of the spectrum, I am still a picky reader. A book must be well written, have well-defined characters, and I love to have guess at where the story is going.
Hell Spawn contained all of this and more! If you are looking for your next read or are searching for a good book for later, you have just found it!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book features Declan Finn’s signature display of non-stop action, with a plot that will leave you breathless. Finn’s best work to date!
This is the best horror story I’ve ever read. I say that having not read the second book in the series… yet. What makes this book such an absolute win? Finn goes against the trend of so many authors in recent history and created a likable hero. Tommy Nolan doesn’t wring his hands and mope. He doesn’t sit around and curl up into existential dread. Instead we get a devoted family man, an unapologetic Catholic, and an action hero that discovers he has what are essentially super powers. He’s also funny and a genuinely good person. Good riddance to the boredom that is the anti-hero.
With Nolan’s partner Packard we get glimpses of the buddy cop genre. Always a plus. Packard might come off as annoying in any other capacity, but amid the gruesomeness of some plot points his odd, dark sense of humor helped to break up the horror elements. Nolan had a few thoughts and lines that had me laughing out loud throughout.
The supernatural elements reminded me of the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. This is much more horror than that. The antagonist here is about the most disgusting, hateful villain I’ve seen on the page. I won’t go into detail, because I don’t want to revisit the actions of our hero’s opposite. The back cover tells you right out that Nolan goes up against a demon. And demon it is.
While the gruesome bits were hard to handle, the payoff was well worth every cringe. The action scenes were more gripping than those found in a Brad Thor novel. They gave the likes of Larry Correia and John Ringo a run for their money. Each bit of action tries to outdo the previous action scene and succeeds. They actually grab you because, as mentioned before, it’s impossible to not like Detective Nolan. When something bad happens to him, you want to keep reading to see if he comes out on top or not. And just when you think the book has hit its climax, Finn pulls the rug out and hits you over the head with a big finale.
If you like the horror genre, you can’t do much better than this. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy for yourself and a few for your friends.