This was my 
Santa read (Read a book over 400 pages) for my December Reading Challenge through The Perks of Being a Book Addict. I know it’s been a while since I posted one.. and I have 5 more to go!
I know that my title may have you believing that this book has something to do with time travel or something like that. Well, that’s not the case. I actually chose this title for 2 reasons. Reason the First: It reminded me a lot of the movie “Fallen” if any of you has ever seen that movie, you will understand the reference. Reason the Second: This killer does indeed have all the time on his side.
John Calvino’s family was murdered by a man names Alton Turner Blackwood many years ago, with him being the one lone survivor. After growing up to become a Homicide detective a copy-cat murder crops up that is too close in description for comfort…
“Back in the day, Alton Turner Blackwood had carried with his three silver bells, each the size of a thimble clustered at the end of a handle. They were not shaped as flowers, and were not as finely made as those on Celine’s shelf of small treasures. Blackwood had been a psychopathic ritualist with an elaborate post homicide ceremony that suggested a strange belief system and Obsessive Compulsive tendencies. When everyone in his target family was dead, he returned to the victims in the order the killings had occurred and arranged them on their backs. With drops of epoxy he clued coins on the cadavers eyes. Quarters that he painted black, always with the eagle facing up, and in the mouth, on the tongue he places a brown disc that the crime lab identified as dried excrement. Then the killer folded the corpses hands at the groin, around a chicken egg. To be sure the hands would not release the egg he tied thumb to thumb and little finger to little finger with string. Days prior to a slaughter he prepared the eggs by drilling two tiny holes in each to drain the contents. Then he inserted a tightly rolled slip of paper through the hole into the well dried hollow shell. If the body was male the paper carried the hand printed word “servus” If female “servat” they were the masculine and feminine forms of the latin noun that meant slave. After the cadavers had been accessorised to suit him, Blackwood stood over each, ringing the Triune bells.”
I don’t want to delve too much into the synopsis of this book as it’s easy to give spoilers and I don’t want to do that. I’ve been a huge fan of Dean Koontz for many years, but I was beginning to lose faith in his writing in these past 5-10 years or… maybe more (I’m always so bad at judging time…ha ha.) but this novel (although, he’s getting a little more wordy and perverse like a certain other author I know… *cough*Stephen King*cough*) It was still more of a blast to his long ago more supernatural thriller style writings… although, still not as good as his works from many years ago.
What the Night Knows is Best Served with Death’s Door Gin Martini
You may be knocking on Death’s Door and you may not even know it… and you may not want to see what answers!
Now… this is a tough one to give instruction or amounts for… I highly recommend that you all have a martini night and do your own experimenting through trial and error (you won’t regret it!) It’s hard with martini’s because they can be wet or dry, stirred or shaken, would you prefer a garnish of an onion? an olive? some lemon? It’s all personal preference. For a gin martini, I’m a stirred (I find that shaking any martini, gin or vodka, bruises the alcohol and makes it harsher in taste… keep that in mind), dry, and olives are my favourite.
Ingredients- 2 1/2 oz Death’s Door Gin (or whatever gin you wish to use)
- 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
- ice
- Whatever garnish pleases you!
Spread the word to all of your fellow readers and drinkers!
