Tom Joyce's chamber of the bizarre

What happens when a headstrong but sensitive teenager falls in love for the first time and trains a horse that everyone else gave up on, all in the course of one magical summer?

Answer: Who gives a rat’s ass?

Fortunately, Tom Joyce’s debut novel, THE FREAK FOUNDATION OPERATIVE’S REPORT, is nothing like that. It’s about masked worshipers of a bloodthirsty, ancient god – calling themselves The Slain – who have the rust-belt Pennsylvania city of Batley under siege.

One investigator must figure out who they are and put a stop to them, using only his knuckles, his wits and a few too many slugs of rotgut. Twists and turns abound as he tries to piece together the connections between a carnival freak show, a modern-day fairie queen and a bunch of really annoying corporate memos.  Can he stay reasonably sober long enough to sort it all out and prevent a bloodbath in the streets?

THE FREAK FOUNDATION OPERATIVE’S REPORT is a shell game of a novel that combines noir elements of hardboiled mysteries with those of occult thrillers and dark social satire. It’s H.P. Lovecraft meets Elmore Leonard – by way of the Marx Brothers.

Here are some nice things that people have said about it recently:

“THE FREAK FOUNDATION OPERATIVE’S REPORT drew me in from the first sentence. Each character was so real that I found myself forgetting this was fiction.”
Linda D. Addison, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of HOW TO RECOGNIZE A DEMON HAS BECOME YOUR FRIEND.”

“THE FREAK FOUNDATION OPERATIVE’S REPORT is a bizarrely constructed, enjoyable romp through a fantasy conspiracy theory … perfect for those readers looking for something a little bizarre.”
Portland Book Review

“It’s got everything you could want from a horror/mystery/detective novel, complex and satisfying. Tom Joyce’s debut novel is something to celebrate, and I’m eager to see where he takes his work in the future.”
Matt Molgaard’s Horror Novel Reviews

Readers of this blog can buy it at the discounted price of $10.