Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Filthy Acquisitions
AUTHOR: Edmond Manning
PUBLISHER: Wilde City Press
LENGTH: 145 pages
BLURB:
Keldon Thurman hates his job, purchasing serial killer art for a private investor. He would quit if he weren’t completely impoverished, but with no life skills and no ways to generate income, Keldon has no options.
However, Acquisition Number Five proves to be more challenging than expected. Wheel-chair bound Irene Woullet and her handsome nurse caretaker, Joshua Greene, refuse to cooperate. Keldon’s only chance is to seduce the old-fashioned, simple-living Josh in the hopes that Joshua can persuade Irene. But Keldon has to work fast—he has only two dates to win Josh’s affection.
With love’s potential in bloom, how can Keldon live with his own worsening conscience as he gathers these filthy acquisitions?
REVIEW:
I have read a LOT of books, and I love it when an author comes up with a truly unique plot. Especially with a contemporary story, there are so many out there that it’s hard to be different. This one was wonderfully unique! I can honestly say I have never read a book about a man hired to acquire art painted by a serial killer. I was a little squeamish when I read the description, but I wanted to try a book written by Edmond Manning, and this one was just coming out so…..
I loved it!
Both Keldon and Joshua were interesting characters on their own, and made for an interesting couple. Keldon has been spoiled by two rich men, and is now on his own with no means to support himself. He’s pretty, not unintelligent, but has been pampered and has no education or work experience. He’s at the point of selling off his jewelry and clothing to feed himself. He’s worked through a few jobs, but has no experience and doesn’t seem to do well. He is contacted and hired by a mysterious woman who is collecting crappy art painted by a serial killer on death row. Keldon is not particularly enjoying his job, but he gets a weekly paycheck with expenses covered, and if he acquires all 15 paintings he’ll get a bonus. Enough to possible go back to school and actually do something with his life. He’s bothered by what he is doing, certainly, but he’s got to eat and it’s a job. So he does it. We see him collect a couple of pieces, he walks a fine line between professional and manipulative, but it works. Until he shows up at the house of Irene Woullet. There he meets Joshua.
Josh was a trip! He’s a nurse working with patients who need in home care. He has been a graphic designer living the big life in NYC, but he hated it and is now living in Madison Wisconsin. He lives as much off the grid as possible, not owning a car, using as little electricity as possible, eating organically, locally grown food. But likes KFC, and his smartphone! He is intrigued by Keldon, who shows up to convince Irene to sell a painting. I loved his uniqueness. I won’t say more, it’s worth reading to discover his quirks for yourself!
Reviews are hard to write without giving away too much of the plot. There are things that happened in the book that I want to share but I won’t! It was odd though, what Keldon is doing, and how it affected him and eventually Josh. Both in good ways and bad. It affected me emotionally as well. I actually had a good cry at 1:30 this morning after finishing it, it apparently brought something up with me. It was good, but it surprised me! I was impressed by the way Edmond wrote this story, it was not as disturbing as I thought it would be. It was definitely Keldon’s story, and how this weird job affects his life, more than it was about a serial killer. There is a bit about the killer and what he did that was hard to read, but it had to be told and I appreciate that.
So let’s talk about the writing. Wow. I was familiar with Edmonds name on FB and such, but hadn’t really paid much attention to him, I am ashamed to say. He’s a fantastic author! This book was great. As I said before, the plot was unique, as were the characters. Not just Keldon and Josh, but Madison was a character as well, I feel I know a bit about a town I was totally unfamiliar with. Irene and Catherine played a big part in this story, adding good drama. The slow relationship that develops between Keldon and Josh was perfect, not too fast, not too slow. I liked that neither of them was perfect, either physically or emotionally. There was a good connection between them, although there was not much sex. I just commented in the last review I wrote that I wish there had been more sex in that book, but now this book had only one sex scene and I didn’t notice until way after I’d finished the book! Apparently I didn’t miss it. This was more about Keldon and Josh connecting on an emotional level, and about the transformation that Keldon goes through. I’ve complained before about not having the words to adequately describe the writing style of an author, I just have to go by what I like and what I don’t like. And I liked this one a lot! Enough description, not too much, good dialogue, great characters, interesting plot, and a great ending. I expected to be uncomfortable with the subject matter, and I was, but that was ok. I didn’t expect to be emotionally affected, and I was. It’s not a long book, but it was just right. I do wish we got to see what comes next for these two though! I will assume they lived happily ever after….
RATING: 
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