Happy Hour at the Harlequin's Slaughterhouse by Kevin Sweeney
United KingdomCheers!!
Ruben wakes up handcuffed to a pub bar, with the father of the girl he killed stood before him…. Gissing wants to help Ruben, his daughter told him to…. Aversion therapy seems to be the perfect way to cure him of his alcoholism….and give him plenty of time to reflect on his life…. This is a dark, sad and emotional tale of one Dad's heartbreak at losing his only daughter, and the punishment he sees fit to mete out to the man responsible. Brutal, sick and disturbing, yet it tugs on the heart-strings too, understandably so when you read the story! I absolutely loved the tense build up the whole way through, and the ending was fantastically gut wrenching and cathartic! You can't beat the sweet, sweet taste of revenge! I'm off for a nice pint of Backwash Bloody Mary, why don't you go buy this book, pick up some snacks while you're there, and sit back, relax, and enjoy!! Cheers! �
United StatesA different side of Sweeney
When you see a new Kevin Sweeney, you know you are in for some hijinx, ludicrous characters, and some of the best bizarro out there. But not HAPPY HOUR AT THE HARLEQUINS SLAUGHTERHOUSE, this one is a 360 departure from what we are accustomed to with Sweeney and I can’t say I’m saddened by it. (The story, absolutely. Kevin’s departure from bizarro, no.) Reuben did something absolutely unforgivable but due to luck, escaped punishment. Until Glen Gissing gets a hold of him. Over a 72 hour period, Reuben begins to understand the enormity of the situation. HHatHS is stressful to read. Along with disturbing dialogue, the continuous bombardment of punishments cause the reader to be uncomfortable from the first sentence to the last. Sweeney based this on real life and the reader feels it. They feel the anger, the need for vengeance/catharsis, and it hurts. It reminds me of the feeling I had when I watched OLDBOY, while the main character is fucking trash, you just want his suffering to end. You become so much of a voyeur in the story that you want your own suffering by proxy to end. And that is where Sweeney excels in this story. I love bizarro Sweeney but I think I love this Sweeney even more.