Braineater Jones – Stephen Kozeniewski
As a fan of Kozeniewski’s other work Billy and The Cloneasaurus, I was excited to read his original debut novel Braineater Jones, a zombie, old school detective novel imbued with dark humor. I’ll admit I loved the originality. I am not much of a zombie fan girl, but Kozeniewski takes the zombism to a new level that felt fresh and thoroughly imaginative.
My favorite part of this book was the relationship between Braineater Jones and his bodiless partner in solving crimes, Alcibé. As a disturbing sidekick you will find a surprising amount of love for little Alcibé. The humorous banter that occurs between the two added an emotional depth to the story. A little bromance to warm the story up. I enjoy Kozeniewski’s humor, actually I kind of love it. I find his stories while dark and borderline repulsive, are at the same time comical and absurd in the best way.
If you like detective novels that remind you of a re-imagined Dick Tracy or undead Vertigo character Scottie, falling body parts, and waggish dialogue then I recommend this book. If you have a sense of humor that doesn’t mind the dark side then Kozeniewski will not disappoint.
Even his acknowledgments were fun to read and that is hardly ever true.
You can find the book on Amazon in Kindle format for $5.99 or in paperback for $11.69.
Synopsis: Braineater Jones wakes up face down in a swimming pool with no memory of his former life, how he died, or why he’s now a zombie. With a smart-aleck severed head as a partner, Jones descends into the undead ghetto to solve his own murder.
But Jones’s investigation is complicated by his crippling addiction to human flesh. Like all walking corpses, he discovers that only a stiff drink can soothe his cravings. Unfortunately, finding liquor during Prohibition is costly and dangerous. From his Mason jar, the cantankerous Old Man rules the only speakeasy in the city that caters to the postmortem crowd.
As the booze, blood, and clues coagulate, Jones gets closer to discovering the identity of his killer and the secrets behind the city’s stranglehold on liquid spirits. Death couldn’t stop him, but if the liquor dries up, the entire city will be plunged into an orgy of cannibalism.
Cracking this case is a tall order. Braineater Jones won’t get out alive, but if he plays his cards right, he might manage to salvage the last scraps of his humanity.
THE MAN BEHIND THE BOOK:
Stephen Kozeniewski (pronounced “causin’ ooze key”) lives with his wife and two cats in Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the modern zombie.
During his time as a Field Artillery officer, he served for three years in Oklahoma and one in Iraq, where due to what he assumes was a clerical error, he was awarded the Bronze Star.
He is also a classically trained linguist, which sounds much more impressive than saying his bachelor’s degree is in German.
CONNECT WITH STEPHEN
Check out the Amazon Author Page for some humorous videos by Stephen.
OWL RATING: 
*I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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