Another great free novel from Librarything. I love their member giveaways that help me to discover new authors through reading their debut novels. I am not generally a horror reader but this book has opened my eyes to how good they can be.

Fresh Flesh is a good, actually great. debut novel. It is a horror story that kept me anxious for more of the story. I liked almost all of the story. The only part that seemed unnecessary was the parts dealing with the dirt. The dirt was a minor player throughout the story (Sar's part) that I felt the ending tried too hard to incorporate the dirt as an integral part of the story.

I enjoyed the characters and the flashbacks that described their past transgressions and why they were on the island. This writing style allowed for more depth and understanding of the characters and made them more interesting. I did find the ending to be a bit sad as I was pulling for the main character.

Mr Russell has talent and has done well in his first novel outing. He has gone the extra mile to have beta readers, proof readers, has paid for sleeve art, etc. This book is recommended for all and especially for horror genre fans. ( )

I won this book as a free read, and I am kind of torn about how to write this review. I enjoyed the storyline of the island and the workings of dark natures coming out in the wild. But, the government part was kind of silly. Overall, worth the read. ( )

With a name like Fresh Flesh, I must admit that I was expecting a zombie story. Instead, Fresh Flesh is a modernised pulp novel, possibly best described as a cross between Battle Royale, Lord of the Flies and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And possibly a bit of Lost as well. A wealthy man and his wife are sailing towards Hawaii when their ship capsized, resulting in the death of almost everyone on board. The wife washes up on the shore of an island and is tended to by a man named Richard, who has been trapped on the island for several years. But they aren't alone on the island, and the island has secrets.(But not zombie secrets. Just government project ones.)
In a surprising move for an action based novel, I could follow every move, and keep a clear image of what was happening where (usually it's a bit jumbled). The characters are a bit simplified, but that may be why things were so easy to follow. Descriptions are detailed without being ridiculous, and just enough background is offered on the islanders. The woman in the tale, however, is kind of irritating in that she is flat - her reactions just don't ring true most of the time. I also found the government scenes very hokey, but not out of keeping with other pulp fiction I've read.

While I can't really say that I enjoyed it - the characters were too thin for me to start caring about what happened to them - it is a pretty good story, if you like this genre.
about 3.5 stars
Review copy received from the author a part of Librarything's Member Giveaway Program. ( )

Fresh Flesh is not the type of book I would normally read, and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

This book is about an island 'experiment' where condemned prisoners are sent instead of the gas chamber. The island itself has quite a few secrets of its own to share with the men who have been sent there. The place just reeks of evil.

By chance (or maybe not?) Jessica Stanton, a wealthy woman on a cruise with her husband aboard their yacht, has been shipwrecked on the island. It is up to Richard Templin, the one death row inmate who hasn't been completely warped by life on the island, to save her. First from himself, then from the other inhabitants of the island and, finally, from the island itself.

We are given plenty of back story when we need it and discover how and why the main characters in this story have become what they are. The book is suspenseful and interesting and the premise is original.

I have to say that I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes suspense and/or horror.

Note: I was given a copy of Fresh Flesh in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I won this book on Library Thing and enjoyed it a lot. It's so much fun to discover 'new' talent. The writing was good, the characters interesting. There was one character in particular that I felt probably didn't really need to be there, unless he could have been given some more attention. I'm not sure if there was supposed to be a supernatural element going on as well, as that part wasn't completely 'fleshed' out (no pun intended). Perhaps it will be explored in the follow-up book. Recommended. ( )