Prey No More by Lee Matthew Goldberg

Prey No More (The Desire Card #2) by Lee Matthew Goldberg

Release: July 5, 2022
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Rough Edges Press
Source: suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle

J.D. Storm is an ex-Army sniper, discharged after losing an eye in battle. Finally finding work at the illusive Desire Card—an unsavory organization that promises “any wish fulfilled for the right price”—he heaves a sigh of relief. But when those wishes become too immoral, J.D. quickly finds out that no one reneges on the boss, a powerful and eccentric madman known only as Clark Gable because of the realistic mask he wears, without paying a hefty price.

On the run, J.D. begins a white-knuckle cat-and-mouse chase that takes him northwest where he hides out with a former girlfriend and tries to scrounge up enough cash to flee the country. But with every second that passes by, Gable’s other masked operatives are closing in.

Soon, J.D. discovers just how widespread the organization’s contacts are—no longer knowing who he can trust. Rather than running, J.D. decides that his best shot is to take out the head of the snake. After all, the hunted must become the hunter if he has any hope of surviving.

Ingeniously plotted and filled with twists and turns, Prey No More follows those indebted to this sinister organization—where the ultimate price is the cost of one’s soul.

About the Author:

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of eight novels including THE ANCESTOR and THE MENTOR, currently in development as a film off his original script, and the YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the Prix du Polar. STALKER STALKED will be out in Fall ’21.

After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared as a contributor in Pipeline Artists, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, Hypertext, If My Book, Past Ten, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City.

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Prey No More Review:

This book is so much darker than the previous one and probably one of the author’s best suspense thrillers. The story highlights James Dean and how the author balances his emotional consciousness with his mission. James Dean is great in the role as we read about his past and present and the circumstances that led him to Annie. Annie and J.D. are lovely, and I also enjoyed Rita as the side character to add drama. Also, I liked J.D’s troubled past and how he focuses on targeting Gable and escapes the organization for a better life.

The author also adds some unforgettable intense moments, like when J.D. meets the businesswoman, or the chilling climax, that would have you at the edge of your seat. Supporting characters like Abram and the creepy Doctor makes the story chilling. As with the previous book, I also enjoyed the references to the celebrities of the Golden Age of Hollywood, which made the story feel classy.

However, the author wrote this book so different from his others. Most of his stories have many pop culture references to the timelines when the story takes place. But this book didn’t have any and was a high-adrenaline thriller. Also, I was disappointed that we hardly got any characters from the previous story (except Gable), but I did appreciate that we learned more about Gable’s family. You can easily read this book as a standalone, which is okay, but I hoped there would be more connections to the first story.

I still enjoyed reading “Prey No More” and would love to read the following books to get to the origins of the Desire Card Organization. Overall, “Prey No More” is a decent continuation of the series.