Jugular Vein

Innocence To Vengeance

Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
Kindle Edition
Reviewed on 05/26/2026
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Author Biography

I am a creative storyteller who looks past the obvious and writes with the kind of perspective that only comes from living through the eras most people now read about. I use those experiences as a personal database to draw from. I include the attributes of honesty and a touch of sarcasm in the way I shape a story. Depending on the topic I am writing about, I’m not afraid to add characters who challenge the societal norm, and I draw on history to bring awareness to injustices that were once considered normal and still happen today.

Before becoming an author, I worked in roles that demanded empathy and the ability to truly listen. I served as a volunteer fireman, worked as a nursing assistant, and later became a massage therapist. Those experiences taught me how to respect people at their most vulnerable and how to hear and understand what wasn’t spoken. That awareness shows up in my characters, my dialogue, and the emotional depth of my writing.

My work ranges from children’s stories to dystopian fiction to narratives focused on those who’ve been oppressed or pushed aside. Influenced by MAD Magazine and the mystery and horror comics of my youth, I blend humor, tension, and truth in a style that feels lived‑in and immediate.

I’m a lifelong storyteller who now paints with the written word, bringing my beliefs, history, and experiences into every story I write.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Bernadette Longu for Readers' Favorite

Jugular Vein by David Lasaine is about the struggles of families during the Great Famine in Ireland. It takes place during the years 1847 – 1848, and concerns the O’Sullivan family, Seamus and Elizabeth, father and mother, and their daughters Bridget, Catherine, and Mary. During the famine, Seamus dies, and Elizabeth decides to send her daughters to America for a better life. The trip over is very hard, and not everyone makes the journey. On their arrival in America, Catherine meets Marta, who offers to help but is actually a trafficker and involved in prostitution and exploitation, and works with a gentleman called Brandt, who is even more evil and has dark secrets.

In Jugular Vein: Innocence To Vengeance by David Lasaine, Catherine takes the reader on a journey of exploitation and abuse. She needs strength and faith to escape the life that she has been forced into. The journey is fraught with cruelty, but a ray of light appears when Catherine meets a fellow soul and someone who accepts and loves her with all the baggage she carries. But Brandt and Marta are not finished with the girls that they have exploited and trafficked. The story will remain prominent in the reader's mind long after the last page is read and the book is shelved. The story will linger and come frequently to mind when incidents in the real world spark memories of the incidents that took place. The end of the book is not what anyone is expecting, but it feels justified, especially when remembering the choices Catherine has to make not only to survive but to bring justice to others. It is a book that will be read more than once. I found it moving, and some parts come to mind even now and make me shudder. Thank you for this most realistic and unusual book.