Review copy

5 stars? Damn right. Not because it's great literature , but because it knows exactly what it's supposed to be, and is flat out fun.

Michael's been a hit man for the mob for a long time. He's good at his job and he's careful about getting rid of the body and the murder weapon after every job. When the boss's son, Vinny, asks for the gun used in the most recent hit saying he'll take care of getting rid of it, he has second thoughts, but hey, it's the big guy's son. Bad move. Vinny sets him up. The only way to escape serious jail time is by ratting out Vinny. It doesn't go well.

The mob related portion of the story is totally believable, brutal, and becomes very bloody. I've come to the realization that NO ONE IS SAFE IN A DAVID BERNSTEIN BOOK. I'm not going to go into how we get to the Toxic Behemoth. That would be way to much of a spoiler, better to let you discover this on your own. It takes some serious suspension of disbelief, but it's worth it. What follows is exactly what you look for in a kaiju story.

For example, "The cruise linee tilted at a steep angle. Timmy's dad hadn't been holding on to anything and went flying over the railing. Timmy's mother cried out, her voice the loudest Timmy had ever heard it. She fruitlessly reached over the railing, but her husband was already gone, rocketing toward the ocean and screaming the entire way. Then, just before he hit the water, a tentacle snatched him out of the air. The force must've been too much, because his dad's body was cut in half. Blood gushed. Timmy's dad's upper body was quickly entangled again by the tentacle. The man's legs and waist splashed into the water. but a moment later, the large chunk of meat was snatched up by another tentacle. Both pieces where brought to the monster's torso area, where the slithering winged serpents tore at the meat."

Once the action starts, it doesn't let up. If you're susceptible to nightmares, consider yourself warned. Toxic Behemoth is the stuff nightmares are made of. Uber violence with just a touch of humor to ease the tension.

At the rate he's going, it won't belong before David Bernstein writes a novel where one of his characters just kills everyone on the planet.

If you're looking for a quick read that won't tax your brain and has a healthy dose of mayhem, Toxic behemoth could be the book you're looking for.

Available now as a Kindle download from Amazon.com and if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can get it at no additional charge. ( )