Vengeance Waits At The Door

A masked hero fights for his life. An ailing reporter faces uncertain death. Will either live until morning?

Following his failed attempt to kill Big Jack, Brent Gregor (aka The Black Spectre) lies near death in a Chinatown parish. Determined to locate the mysterious assassin, the Mob combs the blood-soaked streets to find him. His only hope of survival lies in the mercy of strangers.  

Furious that she missed out on the story of a lifetime, Vicky is stunned to learn that her mysterious savior is actually real. Ignoring Editor Frank Matson’s orders and her own failing health, she goes after the story with a vengeance. But to get the answers she so desperately needs, she will have to march straight into the lion’s den. Alone.

Vengeance Waits at the Door is the third book in the Black Spectre Origins series, detailing the rise of the masked pulp hero The Black Spectre. If you like Agent Carter, the Rocketeer, and The Dark Knight, then you’ll love Roger Alford’s gritty noir mystery that effortlessly combines new pulp with a classic 1930s style.

Vengeance Waits at the Door (Pulp Fiction)

By Roger Alford

Black Hood Press

ASIN B077722KYD

Price $Free (Kindle)

213 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

There is a lot going on in this third novel. Death strikes close to several main characters. Vicky’s mother passes away in Gibsonville, MO, while Brent’s grandfather dies in Paris. The Black Spectre, finally recovering from his wounds, reaches mob boss, Big Jack, only to find him already murdered by one of his men. Detective Flynn is murdered by the mob, and Detective Shayne’s family are killed because he spoke out.

Everything is set up for the next novel, and we can only hope it will be out soon. The books are character driven, with small plots surrounding each character. Brent Gregor is finally learning how to use his Black Spectre persona more effectively. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE COBRA

No Victory Without Scars

A crusading reporter out to prove her worth. A burgeoning hero in denial about his.

When a Mob Boss is gunned down by police, Daily Crusader reporter Vicky Rose is the only one who suspects he was unarmed. Desperate to justify her promotion to the crime beat, her search for the truth leads her into a cesspool of corruption deeper than she ever imagined.

Brent Gregor, his existence as The Black Spectre still a deeply-held secret, only wants to use his newfound powers to win back what he has lost. And to take revenge on those who took it from him.

Both face unexpected consequences that could cost them their lives. And both have to decide if what they wanted was actually worth the price.

No Victory Without Scars is the second book in the Black Spectre Origins series, detailing the rise of the masked pulp hero The Black Spectre. If you like Agent Carter, the Rocketeer, and The Dark Knight, then you’ll love Roger Alford’s gritty noir mystery that effortlessly combines new pulp with a classic 1930s style.

No Victory Without Scars (Pulp Action)

By Roger Alford

Black Hood Press www.blackhoodpress.com

ISBN # 978-1949352016

177 Pages

Price $9.99 (Paperback)

Price $3.99 (Kindle)

Rating 5-Stars

All of the regular players we met in the first novel are back. Brent Gregor goes to California to welcome Abigail’s return from a world event flight only to discover to his sadness that she is now married. Meanwhile, back in Terminal City the mob still rules the city and the police. Upon his return, Brent decides it’s time to stop mob boss, Big Jack Torrisimo, and donning the cloak and hat of The Black Spectre he invades the new nightclub where the mob has gathered. Unfortunately, his automatics are no match for the mob’s machine-guns, and Brent is almost killed in the gun battle. He’s hidden in Chinatown at the end of the story where he remains between life and death. Redheaded reporter, Vicky Rose is forced to work the society page while she recovers from the ordeal at the Asylum, and misses out on the big battle.

This is a fun series, character driven, with lots of mob activity. Our hero, The Black Spectre is still trying to understand his new powers, and how to successfully battle the mob with all their firepower. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE COBRA

Ghost In The Asylum

An ambitious reporter looking for her big break. A millionaire recluse looking for a cure. Can they survive a violent, corrupt city?

Vicky Rose is a reporter stuck in the City Hall beat, but she knows she’s destined to cover crime. She sees her chance at a big break when the mayor is murdered in his office.

Reclusive millionaire Brent Gregor has been trapped in a wheelchair since the night a home intruder killed his father. Now, the only thing he cares about is being able to walk again.

The mayor’s murder reeks of mob violence, but all the evidence points to someone else. Vicky knows the only hope of finding the truth rests in Gregor’s hands, but he’s unwilling to help until the one person who might be able to cure him changes his mind…

Ghosts in the Asylum is the first book in the Black Spectre Origins series, detailing the rise of the masked pulp hero The Black Spectre. If you like Agent Carter, the Rocketeer, and The Dark Knight, then you’ll love Roger Alford’s gritty noir mystery that effortlessly combines new pulp with a classic 1930s style.

Ghost In The Asylum (Pulp Hero)

By Roger Alford

Black Hood Press

ISBN # 978-1949352009

Price $9.99 (Paperback)

Price $0.00 (Kindle)

210 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

This is the origin story for The Black Spectre. In 1921 Three-finger Ned Vogal broke into the DA’s home killing the DA and shooting his son. The boy becomes an invalid, no longer able to walk, and his mother is admitted to the local asylum for the insane. Fifteen years later young Brent Gregor is still confined to the wheelchair, and has broken up with the woman he loves, Abigail Wentworth, an aviatrix. Victoria Rose a reporter for the Daily Crusader is struggling to make the newspaper’s crime beat, and constantly sticks her neck out to get a story. A new crime is similar to the one that killed Brent’s father, and Vicky visits him to obtain information, but is run off. Then a gypsy woman, Madame Ouspenskaya brings a magic salvation to Brent in the form of a ring that gives him strength in the legs to walk, as well as mental powers like telekinetic ability and turning invisible. He has his butler call Vicky for another interview and gives her a report he received from a private detective three years before. Vicky reads the report written by the murdered private detective and discovers the truth. Now she must enter the asylum to prove that the killer is being protected. When she fails to show up for a dinner date, her boyfriend calls Brent to see if he knows where she’s at. Now Dennis Morris and The Black Spectre must rescue the girl before something horrible is done to her.

This was a darn good story, featuring an exciting new pulp hero, even if The Black Spectre doesn’t appear until towards the end of the story. The city is controlled by the mob, and mobsters are at war with each other. But police and city officials are in the pockets of the mob bosses. It’s going to take a fighting reporter like Vicky and The Black Spectre to bring the hoods to justice and return their city from corrupt politicians to a crime-free town of descent government and law-abiding citizens. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH