Authors are able to accomplish some incredible things: they create worlds that captivate people, they imagine characters that complete strangers connect with, they make people forget, temporarily, about the normal lives they live. David Moody has accomplished all of this with his Hater world.

Through my years of reading I’ve come to consider Danny McCoyne a good friend and, more recently, Matt Dunne one as well. Moody has created these characters who feel so real to me, I connect with both of them, despite the fact that they will never see eye to eye. These two protagonists are far from over the top, they are regular guys just trying to make a go of it in an exceptional situation.

Let me give you some advice, you cannot start with Chokehold, it is the culmination of five previous books. It would be like watching Revenge of the Sith first. You just can’t do that! It ruins the suspense, the surprises, and the overbearing feeling of gloom that persists in Moody’s world.

My mind went in many different directions as I immersed myself in Moody’s Chokehold. I appreciated Danny’s cameo in All Roads End Here, but this series is Matt’s! I almost felt a sense of betrayal that Matt had to share his final story with Danny. I get it though, the appetite was there for more Danny and everything came together nicely, well, as nicely as it can in a Moody book.

Are there more stories in the Hater world? If so, I will be there with bells on. If not, this a fitting ending to one of my most beloved series.