I don’t know how to begin to tell you all how much I loved The Desire Card. Lee Matthew Goldberg has woven a tale of the most deceitful and hateful characters that have ever existed in the same novel. Even so, the book is phenomenal.

  • Title: The Desire Card
  • Author: Lee Matthew Goldberg
  • Publisher: Fahrenheit Press on February 21, 2019
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Pages: 309
  • Format: e-ARC
  • Rating: 5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Any wish fulfilled for the right price. That’s the promise the organization behind The Desire Card gives to its elite clients – but sometimes the price may be more menacing than anyone could ever imagine. Harrison Stockton has lived an adult life of privilege and excess: a high-powered job on Wall Street fuels his fondness for alcohol and pills at the expense of a family he has no time for. Quite suddenly all of this comes crashing to a halt when he loses his job and at the same time discovers he almost certainly has only months left to live. Desperate, and with seemingly nowhere else left to turn, Harrison activates his Desire Card. What follows is a gritty and gripping quest that takes him from New York City to the slums of Mumbai and forces him to take chances, and make decisions, he never thought he’d ever have to face. When his moral descent threatens his wife and children, Harrison must decide whether to save himself at any cost, or do what’s right and break his bargain with the mysterious group behind The Desire Card.

The Desire Card is a taut fast-paced thriller, from internationally acclaimed author Lee Matthew Goldberg, that explores what a man will do to survive when money isn’t always enough to get everything he desires.


My Review of The Desire Card:

Harrison, the protagonist, is a man with no redeeming qualities. He is the worst kind of man, and I couldn’t stand him. Throughout the entire novel, he makes one selfish decision after another selfish decision and never redeems himself. However, there is one even more dastardly than Harrison, and his name is Jay. After a few encounters with Jay, you automatically must root for Harrison.

The Desire Card organization is evil in every way. If you have one of their cards, you simply push a button and become connected to anything you may desire. While this seems a fantastic treat, there is always a price to pay. When these people get their hooks in you, your life will never be the same, and you better hope that you never cross them.

Goldberg takes us on a journey around the world. Every place he described felt as if I were right there. When he described the slums of Mumbai, I could feel myself beginning to gag from the sights and smells of the place even though I have never stepped foot in India. The beaches of the Dominican Republic are as serene as the slums were filthy.

I am pleased to award The Desire Card 5 out of 5 stars. Mr. Goldberg captivated me from the first page, and I could not put the book down. This novel has left me wanting more, which is lucky, as I have just learned that this is only the first book in what will be a 5-book series. I urge you to read this book. It is fantastic!


I would like to thank Blackthorn Book Tours for offering me the opportunity to read and review this fabulous tome.


Author Bio:

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE DESIRE CARD, THE MENTOR, and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar. The second book in the Desire Card series, PREY NO MORE, is forthcoming in 2020, along with his first Sci-Fi novel ORANGE CITY. His new endeavor will be as the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe Press and Fringe Digital, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in the anthology DIRTY BOULEVARD, The Millions, Cagibi, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at leematthewgoldberg.com. 

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