I have raved on how Jon Athan is my favorite Splatterpunk/horror author for quite some time now. I was absolutely jonesing for a read to kick off my year, and what better way than to pick up his latest work Dead Body Disposal? I love many Splatterpunk authors, but I have to have a favorite, and Jon Athan takes the cake. He gets down and dirty with the details, very in depth and well researched anatomically, and tries to keep many aspects of his novels with a sense of believability. As Negan from The Walking Dead would say, “I love that!” Without further adieu here is my review of Dead Body Disposal by Jon Athan.This story takes place on the twenty-ninth story of a hotel. Max has an escort come up to his room. Which of course he has vile intentions, but his humanity gets in the way and makes him rethink things until he comes to a final decision.After he makes his move he realizes he is at a loss, panics, and calls his friend John Kasper to come and give him aid and advice. Max and Kasper begin to brainstorm how on earth they are to get the dead body out of the hotel. Kasper really has the brains, and Max is loosing it a bit. Kasper barely holds Max together, and advises him on some ideas. The race against checkout is on, and Max has to get this body out so he can get back to his fiancé Angela who is pregnant with his child. Will he succeed? Will he get caught? Will he lose his mind? Or will he simply give up and turn himself in?Okay, I began reading Dead Body Disposal, and I reached Max killing his escort. I didn’t find it that disturbing. That is not to say it was not violent. There are not any sexual depraved scenes in this novel for those of you who do not enjoy them. However, I got to a point where I was thinking, “that’s it? This isn’t like the Jon Athan I absolutely love!” I was a little disappointed. That was not for long! Chapter 6 onward I was completely on a rollercoaster ride from Hades! That chapter absolutely churned my stomach! From that chapter on Jon delivers a story that had me literally talking to the book out loud! “Why would you do that?” “You are such an idiot!” “That is never going to work! Don’t try it!” “You are wasting time”. This is not to say I was on Max’s side. I most certainly was NOT! However, the book had me on the edge of my seat, and actually anxious, disturbed, grossed out, appalled, and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! Every single thing I want out of, and love dearly about Jon Athan’s writing!Before I rate this book I wanted to state something that has been really bothering me. I absolutely love many many independent authors. Yes, Jon Athan is my favorite, followed closely by Carver Pike, and I could go on. With that said these authors are all very very different, and I love that! I absolutely HATE when people compare independent authors to their peers who are currently writing. Okay, compare them to greats like Ketchum (Athan) or Laymon, Barker, Wrath James White, Edward Lee, ect. Nonetheless, sometimes I feel peer comparison is not fair. Maybe that author you just compared them to is not of the same caliber of intelligence. Maybe that author you just compared them to they don’t care for, or simply they are nothing alike in their writing. For instance in a very very good interview someone compared Jon Athan to Matt Shaw. All apologies, I LOVE Matt Shaw’s work, I buy it, read it, and love it! With that said Shaw is nothing like Athan. They are like comparing apples to eggplants! They do not write at all alike. That is totally alright! Shaw has flooded the market with tons of gory little novellas, and that is fabulous. Nonetheless, Jon Athan is nothing like him, as Carver Pike is nothing like either of them, as Aron Beauregard is nothing like them, as… well, you get my point. Okay, that is my little rant. Love your indies for who THEY are! Don’t compare them to peers currently on the market. Unless they are straight up just like each other. Personally, I cannot think of a better comparison for Jon Athan other than the late great Jack Ketchum.Overall, Dead Body Disposal is an absolute MUST READ of the year for Splatterpunk junkies! It is fabulous, and Jon even sprinkles in some actual true crime accounts in this book (three if I remember correctly) to use as inspiration for Kasper’s disposal ideas. Athan still has yet to disappoint, and I plan on reading more this year. I have dearly missed his works in my life! With this being his 47th novel he is also about to hit the big 50! Absolutely amazing for his age! Bravo, my friend!I absolutely without a doubt must give Dead Body Disposal by Jon Athan five perfect stars out of five stars! I loved the story, the body, the ending, and the many aspects left to reader interpretation. Jon is always very well researched, and with a higher education background in criminology I am not surprised. Yet, that is a big factor why I love his writing. He also is bloody, visceral, and gruesome! Characters feel real as if you put yourself in their shoes you could see the same types of things happening to you. Or possibly you think your smarter than a character. All in all, Dead Body Disposal started off slow, chapter 6 hit (be prepared for that one!), and then it was game on! Splatterpunk junkies get this now! Until next time, my friends.