14/08/2026
*REVIEW*
URBAN DECAY By R.J. Daly
I get so excited every time a new RJ Daly book releases and I am never disappointed. This book is absolutely no exception, it blew me away, I even had to put it down and take a deep breath at one point! This book is powerful, emotional, brutal, brilliant!!!!
His portrayal of events is always so vividly detailed, although that's not always a good thing 😉😂 And I love the humour scattered throughout too, allowing for a nice little breather amongst the gore and depravity.
Daly has such a fantastic way with words, the littlest details are vividly brought to life and proceed to assault all your senses.
A town down on its luck, along with its residents, addiction is rife, as is crime, vagrancy, and abuse, most people are at rock bottom or not far off. Broken people residing in a broken town. Circumstances lead to Jimmy doing what he needs to, to support his younger brother. The only way he knows how, not wanting him to go through the horrors he did.
Paul and Tony on the other hand, have an altogether different way of dealing with things…
Completely engrossing, rife with gore and depravity, packed with relentless and utterly remorseless gore saturated action, and a twist I was not expecting. Along with some emotional, heartfelt moments, I was completely invested in Jimmy and Toby's characters and storyline.
I loved how this story steadily escalated, Daly feeds us lots of little tidbits along the way, adding to the story, the anticipation, the mystery, the horror and depravity, as he goes, and bringing it all together brilliantly, intertwining storylines and characters, and dropping little hints of sinister goings on as tantalising teasers to keep us guessing and craving more. Genius!
If you've seen a movie called "Where Evil Lurks" there is one particularly shocking scene in that, which made my blood run cold and still haunts me to this day! This book did that to me all over again!! Literally made me shiver all over!! It shook me to my absolute core, and still does whenever I think about it! Thats probably the most horrific scene Ive ever read, and damn RJ for his brilliantly descriptive prose! I had to take a quick breather after that and I'm gonna be having nightmares all over again! It also made me cry once I felt brave enough to go back to it.
So powerful and emotional.
Once Jimmy realises he has nothing left to lose, he prepares himself for retribution, fuelled by a new found bloodlust. One by one, with ever more ingenious and torturous kills, he gets his sweet revenge.
And Paul! What a vile fu***ng creature he is! He angered and disgusted me in equal measure! I wanted him to suffer, and the revenge meted out to him was rather apt! Perfect! 🤌
Daly's words, as disgusting, vile, and depraved as they are, are full of heart and depth too. They genuinely immerse you into the characters and the story as though youre a part of it, along for the hellish, torturous rollercoaster ride.
One of the best revenge stories Ive ever read!
Can YOU get past Chapter 14? 😳
"The Priest" also makes an appearance! (IYKYK) 🖤
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