Nerds That Geek Book Review: 'Hell's Half Acre'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

I've always found it interesting how there are people we encounter in our lives that we simply gravitate toward. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, you know it in an instant. You know that you have to know this person, spend time with them and have them in your lives. 

Sadly, sometimes those people are destructive and unhealthy for our lives and it takes time to get them away from us. But even then, they sometimes return, or we seek them out ourselves. We simply hope that somehow, they have figured out how to change the worst parts of themselves, and the magic we had together can finally return and it is that gravitation toward an unhealthy relationship that is at the core of the final book in the Phineas Poe series, Hell's Half Acre. 

Following the events of Penny Dreadful, Phineas Poe is simply lost in life. But there is one person that seems to give him purpose, Jude. Yes, the woman that removed his kidney so long ago and managed to captivate his heart for a brief time continues to haunt him, putting him on the hunt for her once again. Thankfully he finds his darling Jude in San Francisco but reuniting with his lost love will not be easy. For she has shacked up with a wild sociopath and Phineas will have to go along with this man's sinister quest for satisfaction by way of a snuff film if he ever wants the love of his life near him again.

Well, Will Christopher Baer truly saved the best for last when it came to his Phineas Poe trilogy, simply because this is the darkest and most depraved Poe novel of them all. Yes, never mind that his kidney was stolen in Kiss Me, Judas or that he went deep into the Game of Tongues in Penny Dreadful, this is the crown jewel of this series because it truly leaves everything on the table, especially thanks to our villain, John Ransom Miller.

Miller is about as twisted as it gets. He loves to watch people suffer, he loves pain and he loves screwing with people and Jude's reasons for being drawn to him are what pull you in as a reader. Especially since it's a well-known fact in this series that Jude is not a person who ever takes the time to obsess over anything. Of course, if I say anything past that, I will reveal too much of the intricate plot that Mister Baer put together and that would be doing you and the story a disservice.

Just know that this is a satisfying end to the series, one that leaves you turning the pages because you have to know how it ends for Phineas and Jude and while the content in between will leave you squirming in your seat, the ending and the journey toward it are completely worth it. It's a shame this is the end of the line for Poe’s story, but all good things must come to an end, and I'm just glad I got the opportunity to enjoy this incredibly dark and unique story.

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