Wretch: A Novel
Autor Jeremy Wagneren Limba Engleză Hardback – 24 feb 2026
It's the hottest summer ever in Chicago history, and homicide detective Donnie Branson is trying to keep his cool as his personal life crumbles and he searches for an elusive killer who has slaughtered a homicide witness.
Chicago Outfit boss, Tico " The Meatgrinder" Tortellio, has emerged from the safe cocoon of his mob world, craving to get his hands dirty. His grisly mission: to destroy the fiend who raped his comatose daughter in a local hospital.
That fiend is Derek Hoffman, a steroid-abusing-sociopath whose body and mind have been grotesquely transformed after his participation in a clinical trial for an experimental ED-arousal-drug called, LIBIDONAL. Overdosing on the drug, Hoffman has become a raging beast, high on lust and blood. A pharmaceutically-created monster, he roams the steamy city, leaving unspeakable terror and carnage in his wake.
Soon the race is on as both Branson and Tortellio hunt for Hoffman, each man bent on finding Hoffman first to deliver his own brand of justice. But who can take Hoffman down if they do find him?
Preț: 250.13 lei
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Specificații
ISBN-10: 1639511326
Pagini: 376
Dimensiuni: 178 x 254 x 28 mm
Greutate: 0.66 kg
Editura: Dead Sky Publishing
Colecția Dead Sky Publishing
Locul publicării:United States
Descriere
Wretch is a relentless descent into crime, horror, and vengeance. A brutal unflinching thriller for fans of organized crime sagas, dark detective fiction, and monsters born in the shadows of science.
Chicago is choking under the hottest summer on record, but the true heat comes from the blood spilled on its streets.
Detective Donnie Lynch trails a killer who shouldn’t exist. Mob boss Tico “The Meatgrinder” Tortellio has stepped out from the shadows of his empire with a personal vendetta to avenge his daughter—and nothing short of blood will settle the score. Both men are hunting the same man— if “man” is still the right word…
The elusive killer, Derek Hoffman, is a steroid-abusing-sociopath twisted beyond recognition whose body and mind have been grotesquely transformed after his participation in a clinical trial for an experimental ED-arousal-drug called, LIBIDONAL. Hoffman has become something monstrous, a predator driven by lust, rage, and a thirst for blood.
With the city becoming a killing ground for a new apex predator, Lynch and Tortellio race toward the same target. But who will reach Hoffman first? And when they do, can bullets or brutality be enough to stop him?
Wretch is a brutal descent into crime, horror, and vengeance. A nightmare version of a city where justice wears many faces, and none of them are merciful.
Recenzii
“WRETCH is a blood-soaked, drug-fueled spectacle of relentless carnage and chaos, with some of the most violent, off-the-wall characters I’ve ever encountered in a novel. Nightmarish, unapologetically brutal, and packed with shocking moments. All the triggers.” —Rio Youers, British Fantasy and Sunburst Award-nominated author of Lola on Fire and No Second Chances
“In this Frankenstein meets The Godfather mashup, Wagner tackles everything from how it feels to be a cop in today's world to addictions at every level—booze and drugs, body sculpting, and workouts. But where Wagner's novel really shines is calling out Big Pharma’s own addiction to creating the next little blue pill.” —Laura Caldwell, author of Long Way Home, and The Dog Park
“Unapologetic in its bloodlust, WRETCH is an intense page turner that's not for the faint of heart. With love for his hometown dripping off each blood-stained page, Jeremy Wagner is to Chicago what some other horror writer is to Bangor Maine.” —Del James, author of The Language of Fear, and Consensual Violence
“WRETCH is hands-down the darkest book I've read all year, and Derek Hoffman is the most repulsive villain since Rex Miller's Chaingang Bunkowski. Get ready for a ride through Chicago's dark side with some of its seediest residents. Take a long shower after reading this book!” —Regina Garza Mitchell, author of Shadow of the Vulture
"WRETCH is brutal. It's muscled and sleek but brutish in its intent and that intent is to maul you. An engine of bad things and more...this book is a bruise you can't quite explain and can't stop prodding, because that ugly pain reminds you that you exist and in this world, oft times that's punishment.” —John Boden, author of Jedi Summer and Snarl
“Jeremy Wagner unleashes a frenzy of escalating violence and deviant madness on the Windy City. Gritty and perverse, WRETCH will shock and enthrall you all the way to its debauched climax!” —Ryan Harding, Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Transcendental Mutilation