Review: Never Dead – Jumata Emill Jones

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Never Dead: A Novel by Jumata Emill Jones
5 Stars
on March 27, 2011
Pages: 316 pages
Buy on Amazon

THE PERFECT COUPLE? Emerson McGee has spent most of his life living with a secret, and the first-year law student’s menacing struggle with his sexuality is only the half of it. His wife, Danielle, has her own scars of adolescent heartache—which she thinly veils behind her façade as an upper-middle class princess. The newlywed’s cookie-cutter marriage is abruptly interrupted when they make a reluctant move into the quaint house Emerson inherited from his deceased grandmother. Unbeknownst to them, there’s already something else living there: A malevolent entity hell-bent on exposing its connection to Emerson and the tragic secret they share. A GHOST’S STORY While a mysterious narrator recounts the details of his abject life, the McGee’s vengeful poltergeist pulls Danielle deeper into a mystery that has haunted an impoverished ghetto in South Baton Rouge—aptly called “‘Da Bottom”—for nearly a decade, and spills into the provocative world of New Orleans hoodoo. Before its final scare, Never Dead concludes with a bloody twist the McGees never saw coming.

 

Emerson McGhee & his wife, Danielle moves back to Emerson’s hometown of South Baton Rouge to live in the house that was once owned by Emerson’s recently deceased grandmother. Emerson isn’t too happy about revisiting his past, but he knows it the best thing to do financially for his family. The couple is forced to face some unsettling things that threatens to put their lives in jeopardy. They soon realize you can’t outrun your past… NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY!!!
The first thing that caught my attention before opening the book were the words on the cover – “Never Dead is an E. Lynn Harris meets Stephen King.” I love Stephen King and my love for E. Lynn Harris is beyond what my words can express, so when someone says that I take notice. After reading this selection, I’m not ready to compare Jumata Emill Jones with E. Lynn Harris or Stephen King. I will say that Jumata Emill Jones is in a category of his own.

Never Dead is a welcome change from what I have been reading lately… I was pleasantly surprised with the twists and turns he dared to take with this book. His writing style is captivating, stimulating, and very memorable. There were times I was nervous reading the words in this book.

I applaud this author for giving the readers a solid read.

Reviewed by: Orsayor

Jumata Emill Jones was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His first foray into writing occurred unexpectedly when he was just nine years old and wrote a skit about the dangers of drug use as a class project for his elementary school’s “Just Say No” campaign. After seeing great potential in his work, Jumata’s third-grade teacher, Mrs. Fleming, encouraged him to cast some of his classmate
in the skit and he was allowed to showcase the mini-production to his entire class.
After that experience Jumata became a self-proclaimed author and publisher. While his friends played outside after school, Jumata jotted down every colorful story that popped into his juvenile mind and bound them together with construction paper and staples before giving them to his mother to read every night before she went to sleep––unfortunately his mother has held on to many of these primitive works. She has them tucked away in the attic of her home.
During the summer of 2009, Jumata began writing feverishly again after a brief hiatus––due to his return to college––and completed several short stories and a novel. More confident in his work than ever, Jumata attempted to secure an agent and finally get his work published. He nearly had his foot in the door but was ultimately unsuccessful due to the wobbly economy and its backlash on the publishing industry. Instead of giving up, Jumata stepped out on faith and launched his blog, “Urban Nightmares” as a way to release his twisted tales to the world and hopefully build a fan base that can prove to large New York publishing houses that he’s worth the gamble. Jumata believes, passionately, that readers are ready to add a new voice to their bookshelves.
In April, he published his debut novel “Never Dead” to rave reviews.
Jumata now divides his time between being a journalist and an author. He is already hard at work on his second novel, as well as a collection of short stories.

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