Roaring and Ripping Frenzy!
Backstory:
Camp Starlight is ready for business and a busload of kids is heading there ready for some summer fun along with camp counselors.
In steps Sheriff Roy Caudel - he finds an elderly couple ripped to shreds not too far from Camp Starlight, so the Sheriff goes to the camp to warn everyone to shut the camp down if at all possible as no one knows exactly what killed the people so the Sheriff wants to make sure everyone is safe.
The counselors just think that it is a harmless bear attack so they ignore the warning of the Sheriff and proceed as planned as they wait for the kids to arrive. Though they should have listened to the Sheriff because there is something "watching and waiting" in the woods and it is hungry for warm bodies and it is no "bear"!
Thoughts:
Wow! This book was one romping-bloody-frenzy of ripping gore fun! I started reading this book and just could not put it down! Literally read this book in 48 hours as the pace of the story picked up when the crap hit the fan!
Something happens right away in the story and from that point on I was hooked as the author, Brian G. Berry sank his meat hooks in me and dragged me along into the woods with plopping me straight down into the gory mess of Camp Starlight!
Another awesome book by author, Brian G. Berry - the upcoming extreme horror author that has tons of bloody gore to share with his readers! This book is worthy of my gore suit as it was needed for this book right away! Giving this book show more five "Gore and More Ogre Blood Splatter" stars!
Highly Recommend! show less
Backstory:
Camp Starlight is ready for business and a busload of kids is heading there ready for some summer fun along with camp counselors.
In steps Sheriff Roy Caudel - he finds an elderly couple ripped to shreds not too far from Camp Starlight, so the Sheriff goes to the camp to warn everyone to shut the camp down if at all possible as no one knows exactly what killed the people so the Sheriff wants to make sure everyone is safe.
The counselors just think that it is a harmless bear attack so they ignore the warning of the Sheriff and proceed as planned as they wait for the kids to arrive. Though they should have listened to the Sheriff because there is something "watching and waiting" in the woods and it is hungry for warm bodies and it is no "bear"!
Thoughts:
Wow! This book was one romping-bloody-frenzy of ripping gore fun! I started reading this book and just could not put it down! Literally read this book in 48 hours as the pace of the story picked up when the crap hit the fan!
Something happens right away in the story and from that point on I was hooked as the author, Brian G. Berry sank his meat hooks in me and dragged me along into the woods with plopping me straight down into the gory mess of Camp Starlight!
Another awesome book by author, Brian G. Berry - the upcoming extreme horror author that has tons of bloody gore to share with his readers! This book is worthy of my gore suit as it was needed for this book right away! Giving this book show more five "Gore and More Ogre Blood Splatter" stars!
Highly Recommend! show less
Chills and Shivers!
Backstory:
Evelyn and Claire want to get away from their home and go to some place quiet out on the moors. Evelyn purchases a place called Heather Cottage for her and her sister. While they are staying there they come across a toy box called "Garden of Bewitchment" that seems to be some kind of game but when they open it they unleash something that turns their world upside down. With the help of a neighbor, Matthew they try to figure out the magical qualities of the box and what the toy box represents. Though besides the toy box the cottage seems to be haunted as well as things become active with the paranormal not too long after the sisters move in.
The more they delve into the mystery of the box the more things do not seem to make sense and when the dream world of the toy box blends into their real world they will need to escape the clutches of the Garden and all what lies within as something evil was unleashed which will send everyone involved on a hunt to find the truth of what the box contains!
Thoughts:
Impressive story kept me on the edge of my seat as I just could hardly lay this book down! The writing style of author, Catherine Cavendish just flows along at a quick pace and the story was so deep with mystery that I just could not detach myself from the story!
The pace picks up more as the story moves along and there are tons of twists and turns within. I loved all the characters - especially the sisters, Evelyn and Claire as I love how they were show more both fleshed out. I just wanted to spend the day with them as I felt that they could be real. I am always impressed by this author's stories as Catherine Cavendish has the ability to grab the reader and plop them into her story surrounding them with all the details and atmosphere of the plot.
The story just weaved its way into my soul along with some of it spooking me out of my skin! The story with the haunting and the toy box just kept me tensed up with anxiety and I even had some interesting dreams from reading this book! I will definitely be adding this book to my favorites shelf! Another awesome book by this author and I feel that Catherine Cavendish writes the best gothic haunting stories! Giving this book five "Bewitching Spooky Mystery" stars! show less
Backstory:
Evelyn and Claire want to get away from their home and go to some place quiet out on the moors. Evelyn purchases a place called Heather Cottage for her and her sister. While they are staying there they come across a toy box called "Garden of Bewitchment" that seems to be some kind of game but when they open it they unleash something that turns their world upside down. With the help of a neighbor, Matthew they try to figure out the magical qualities of the box and what the toy box represents. Though besides the toy box the cottage seems to be haunted as well as things become active with the paranormal not too long after the sisters move in.
The more they delve into the mystery of the box the more things do not seem to make sense and when the dream world of the toy box blends into their real world they will need to escape the clutches of the Garden and all what lies within as something evil was unleashed which will send everyone involved on a hunt to find the truth of what the box contains!
Thoughts:
Impressive story kept me on the edge of my seat as I just could hardly lay this book down! The writing style of author, Catherine Cavendish just flows along at a quick pace and the story was so deep with mystery that I just could not detach myself from the story!
The pace picks up more as the story moves along and there are tons of twists and turns within. I loved all the characters - especially the sisters, Evelyn and Claire as I love how they were show more both fleshed out. I just wanted to spend the day with them as I felt that they could be real. I am always impressed by this author's stories as Catherine Cavendish has the ability to grab the reader and plop them into her story surrounding them with all the details and atmosphere of the plot.
The story just weaved its way into my soul along with some of it spooking me out of my skin! The story with the haunting and the toy box just kept me tensed up with anxiety and I even had some interesting dreams from reading this book! I will definitely be adding this book to my favorites shelf! Another awesome book by this author and I feel that Catherine Cavendish writes the best gothic haunting stories! Giving this book five "Bewitching Spooky Mystery" stars! show less
Well what to say about this book......sigh.
I am going to have to put it down and that is super rare for me not to finish a book by author, John Saul. I have read a lot of his books and usually give his work high ratings as I love his stories, but this book was just super slow with lots of repetition with things happening to the characters. The same things would happen and it just went out like that for most of the book as I did read up to about halfway. I also did not find the story to be that spooky - I was not scared out of my wits like I normally am with ghost stories written by this author.
The other reason I am laying it down as there is quite a bit of emotions with one of the characters that has Alzheimer's as that rings too close to home for me as I was my mother's caretaker up till she passed away as she had Alzheimer's and everything that happens in this story with that character just brings back too much of what I went through with my mom. It was heartbreaking to see my mom go through that and to read a story about it just brings all that heartache back, so I just cannot read this book as it is very emotional for me.
I gave it one star but normally I do not rate books I do not finish - I just made an exception this time.
I am going to have to put it down and that is super rare for me not to finish a book by author, John Saul. I have read a lot of his books and usually give his work high ratings as I love his stories, but this book was just super slow with lots of repetition with things happening to the characters. The same things would happen and it just went out like that for most of the book as I did read up to about halfway. I also did not find the story to be that spooky - I was not scared out of my wits like I normally am with ghost stories written by this author.
The other reason I am laying it down as there is quite a bit of emotions with one of the characters that has Alzheimer's as that rings too close to home for me as I was my mother's caretaker up till she passed away as she had Alzheimer's and everything that happens in this story with that character just brings back too much of what I went through with my mom. It was heartbreaking to see my mom go through that and to read a story about it just brings all that heartache back, so I just cannot read this book as it is very emotional for me.
I gave it one star but normally I do not rate books I do not finish - I just made an exception this time.
Unforuantely as much as I wanted to really experience a creepy Halloween feel by reading this book, it did nothing for me as I had a hard time figuring out what was really going on. The chapters of the book are very disjointed and the sentences run together in areas, making the book not enjoyable.
Normally that doesn't deter me from reading the story, but when chapter after chapter continues to be like that, then it becomes a struggle to read. I want to enjoy my books that I read not drown in unformatted sentence structure. So this will be going on my DNF shelf and I am going to just give it a one star rating.
My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for letting me read the book.
Normally that doesn't deter me from reading the story, but when chapter after chapter continues to be like that, then it becomes a struggle to read. I want to enjoy my books that I read not drown in unformatted sentence structure. So this will be going on my DNF shelf and I am going to just give it a one star rating.
My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for letting me read the book.
This was a pretty good true crime book even though it was a short read. No one would suspect that a quiet, church going woman would commit such heinous crimes against her family. Janie Lou Gibbs set out to poison her family and she did so without any kind of remorse. She killed her husband, sons, and grandson. No one believed that she could do that to her family, but she had everyone fooled. The book details the crime and the prison sentence. The author was able to cover everything in these short pages. Three stars for this one.
Heed the warnings on this book as it is a very extreme book! Lots of gore, torture, and lots of gag reflexes throughout the whole book. It takes a lot to gross me out, but this book did just that as it was the grossest horror book I have ever read.
The story revolves around Pam, a woman that her whole life she has lived in hard times and for a living she cleans bathrooms. She finds a genie lamp on the floor of one her job bathrooms, rubs it and is very surprised when an actual genie pops out. He tells her that he will grant her six wishes, but she has to complete six tasks to be able to have each wish. What she doesn't know is that the tasks she has to do are some of the most vilest things she has ever done, but if she wants her wishes granted then she will either have to do them or pay the consequences herself.
This book was filled with some of the most extreme situations I have ever read and believe me I have read some splatterpunk books, but they were nothing like this book. I was able to get through the book in about three hours as I couldn't put it down though at times I wanted to put it down as I didn't know if I would be able to get through it without that "gag reflex". Thankfully, I didn't eat anything before going to bed! Giving this book four stars.
The story revolves around Pam, a woman that her whole life she has lived in hard times and for a living she cleans bathrooms. She finds a genie lamp on the floor of one her job bathrooms, rubs it and is very surprised when an actual genie pops out. He tells her that he will grant her six wishes, but she has to complete six tasks to be able to have each wish. What she doesn't know is that the tasks she has to do are some of the most vilest things she has ever done, but if she wants her wishes granted then she will either have to do them or pay the consequences herself.
This book was filled with some of the most extreme situations I have ever read and believe me I have read some splatterpunk books, but they were nothing like this book. I was able to get through the book in about three hours as I couldn't put it down though at times I wanted to put it down as I didn't know if I would be able to get through it without that "gag reflex". Thankfully, I didn't eat anything before going to bed! Giving this book four stars.
The Cat Rescue Diaries: 56 True Life Stories of Cats Who Found Their Forever Homes, and the People Who Saved Them by Pete Huisveld, Kurt Schmitt and Mitzi & Red Howard
This is way outside of my normal reading realm! lol I read it because I do own a cat that I adopted from my local shelter over a year ago. Within these pages are heartwarming stories of cats that have been rescued and adopted from dire situations. This about people that have gone above and beyond to take in these cats so that the cats can live out their lives being loved. The kindle edition has pictures of the cats after the people took care of them. It is a short read as I read it within a day. I would recommend this book to all cat lovers! Four stars for this one.
BE ADVISED: THIS BOOK CONTAINS EXTREME GORE AND GRAPHIC SITUATIONS
If you are sensitive to these type of books, then you will not want to read this book. For you hard core extreme gore lovers, then you will enjoy this one!
What to say about this book besides the warning above. For some reason I did really like this book as it makes you wonder what happens when the bad guy wins the lottery. Actually I never thought about it before as sometimes you just do not think about those things. Serial killers playing the lottery and maybe winning the big one. What would they do with their winnings if they did win? Well they would really go on a killing spree as then they would be able to buy anything they wanted to continue their murderous ways.
With that being said, let us get right to this story.
Booker a/k/a serial killer has been playing the lottery for a long time at the same store. He always has high hopes that each week he will hit as he has his own system of what numbers he thinks will be the right ones. When he finally does hit the "big one" he just goes on a spending spree and buys all kinds of torture tools as part of his house has been turned into a torture chamber. Did I mention that he has victims already placed in his house? No, well he has them strung up so that he can "play" with them whenever he wants.
What Booker doesn't expect is having people come across his path after his big win. A lawyer shows up wanting to help him invest his money, but not because he is looking show more out for Booker's best interests, but to swindle him out of his winnings. There is also a detective involved that is investigating the killings around town, but he has his own agenda and he is just wanting to have a good time.
But what happens when you have a family of serial killers that are also wanting the money? This is where the story really went into high gear as when they appeared on the scene, this book just took off. Backwoods family that live in the area wants not only a slice of the pie, but the whole enchilada! They want Booker's money and they will do ANYTHING to acquire it. So you want to know what happens? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
I wasn't really expecting this book to be so extreme until I got into it. Interesting enough, I really didn't read the reviews of the book as I have had this book on my kindle for a couple of years. I was just looking for a quick read and I have read books by David Bernstein before so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. But three other authors collaborated on this book which would explain the gore fest that took place within these pages.
This book has very extreme situations and not for the faint of heart. You will read about things that will send your heart racing, hands clenching as you hold the book and/or kindle tight within your hands, swallowing might be a problem as your throat will go dry, and your eyes will work their way up into your forehead as you become engrossed in reading all the gore flying left and right!
Now with all that being said. let me tell you why I didn't round this book up to five stars as normally that would be what I would do for a gore infested ride into horror.
A couple of things didn't make sense to me. The first thing: The detective came into the story, but the authors never fully developed him as he makes his appearance and then he also becomes a kidnapped victim of the family of serial killers. He never is actually part of the main storyline. He is just dangling out there off to the side. The second thing: the book ends weird as it just drops off like maybe there will be a sequel. Other than that I am giving this book four stars for a hellish gore ride! show less
If you are sensitive to these type of books, then you will not want to read this book. For you hard core extreme gore lovers, then you will enjoy this one!
What to say about this book besides the warning above. For some reason I did really like this book as it makes you wonder what happens when the bad guy wins the lottery. Actually I never thought about it before as sometimes you just do not think about those things. Serial killers playing the lottery and maybe winning the big one. What would they do with their winnings if they did win? Well they would really go on a killing spree as then they would be able to buy anything they wanted to continue their murderous ways.
With that being said, let us get right to this story.
Booker a/k/a serial killer has been playing the lottery for a long time at the same store. He always has high hopes that each week he will hit as he has his own system of what numbers he thinks will be the right ones. When he finally does hit the "big one" he just goes on a spending spree and buys all kinds of torture tools as part of his house has been turned into a torture chamber. Did I mention that he has victims already placed in his house? No, well he has them strung up so that he can "play" with them whenever he wants.
What Booker doesn't expect is having people come across his path after his big win. A lawyer shows up wanting to help him invest his money, but not because he is looking show more out for Booker's best interests, but to swindle him out of his winnings. There is also a detective involved that is investigating the killings around town, but he has his own agenda and he is just wanting to have a good time.
But what happens when you have a family of serial killers that are also wanting the money? This is where the story really went into high gear as when they appeared on the scene, this book just took off. Backwoods family that live in the area wants not only a slice of the pie, but the whole enchilada! They want Booker's money and they will do ANYTHING to acquire it. So you want to know what happens? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
I wasn't really expecting this book to be so extreme until I got into it. Interesting enough, I really didn't read the reviews of the book as I have had this book on my kindle for a couple of years. I was just looking for a quick read and I have read books by David Bernstein before so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. But three other authors collaborated on this book which would explain the gore fest that took place within these pages.
This book has very extreme situations and not for the faint of heart. You will read about things that will send your heart racing, hands clenching as you hold the book and/or kindle tight within your hands, swallowing might be a problem as your throat will go dry, and your eyes will work their way up into your forehead as you become engrossed in reading all the gore flying left and right!
Now with all that being said. let me tell you why I didn't round this book up to five stars as normally that would be what I would do for a gore infested ride into horror.
A couple of things didn't make sense to me. The first thing: The detective came into the story, but the authors never fully developed him as he makes his appearance and then he also becomes a kidnapped victim of the family of serial killers. He never is actually part of the main storyline. He is just dangling out there off to the side. The second thing: the book ends weird as it just drops off like maybe there will be a sequel. Other than that I am giving this book four stars for a hellish gore ride! show less
This was a creepy and spooky read!
I read this book a long time ago but didn't remember too much about it except that it had a very spooky vibe to it, so I decided it was time to do a reread of it.
A small backstory:
The house at Black Creek Crossing is known around the town of Roundtree to have been the home of witches back in the days of old and lots of supernatural rituals were performed in the house. The Sullivan family are able to get the house at a cheap price not really understanding why it is so cheap. Angel Sullivan (the daughter) ends up meeting and hanging out with a boy from the school (Seth Baker) as she gets use to living out in the country.
Both teens are constantly bullied at school along with having problems at home with their parents so they both spend more time together away from everyone. When they come across something hidden in Angel's home is when things take a turn for the worse. What they find and what they end up doing with it, changes the whole theme of the book as when they both get fed up with how they are being treated at home and at school is when the crap hits the fan as now they are able to do things that they never thought possible!
What do the teens find? What kind of trouble do they stir up? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was a classic revenge type haunting and author, John Saul is always able to grab the reader from the beginning of a book and keep them entranced throughout the whole story. As always with show more his stories, he is able to draw the reader in and then slowly work his magic on weaving the story around you as he takes you down into the dark recesses of his mind. There were some twists at the end of the book which kept me turning the pages faster!
I am happy that I reread this story as it brought back all the creepy feelings I use to get when I use to read his books years ago. Giving this one five "heebie jeebie" stars! show less
I read this book a long time ago but didn't remember too much about it except that it had a very spooky vibe to it, so I decided it was time to do a reread of it.
A small backstory:
The house at Black Creek Crossing is known around the town of Roundtree to have been the home of witches back in the days of old and lots of supernatural rituals were performed in the house. The Sullivan family are able to get the house at a cheap price not really understanding why it is so cheap. Angel Sullivan (the daughter) ends up meeting and hanging out with a boy from the school (Seth Baker) as she gets use to living out in the country.
Both teens are constantly bullied at school along with having problems at home with their parents so they both spend more time together away from everyone. When they come across something hidden in Angel's home is when things take a turn for the worse. What they find and what they end up doing with it, changes the whole theme of the book as when they both get fed up with how they are being treated at home and at school is when the crap hits the fan as now they are able to do things that they never thought possible!
What do the teens find? What kind of trouble do they stir up? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was a classic revenge type haunting and author, John Saul is always able to grab the reader from the beginning of a book and keep them entranced throughout the whole story. As always with show more his stories, he is able to draw the reader in and then slowly work his magic on weaving the story around you as he takes you down into the dark recesses of his mind. There were some twists at the end of the book which kept me turning the pages faster!
I am happy that I reread this story as it brought back all the creepy feelings I use to get when I use to read his books years ago. Giving this one five "heebie jeebie" stars! show less
This was a good read! True paranormal stories from Asia - spooky stories - had a hard time putting
it down. Three stars for this one.
it down. Three stars for this one.
This was a cool short story as I read it all in one sitting! It has super hero action!
A little backstory for you readers:
The Raven which is a super hero has come to the rescue of thousands of people that live in Seattle as the city has been invaded by a creature in the form of an eye.
Even though this was short story it packed a wallop as The Raven is this cool hero that reminded me a little of Batman as he is able to blend in with the night along with having cool weapons to lay waste to whatever comes across his path. Oh and what is really cool - he can fly!
Actually he is like Batman and Superman combined which I love as the story reminded me of those movies I watched as a kid growing up with evil invaders and the super hero stepped in to take care of the problem!
There is a little more to the Raven but it would give away spoilers so I will not reveal anything else!
If your curiosity is piqued then go grab this book as I really enjoyed it and since this is in a series, I will be waiting to see how the series plays out as now my curiosity is piqued! Giving this five stars as I could not put the book down!
A little backstory for you readers:
The Raven which is a super hero has come to the rescue of thousands of people that live in Seattle as the city has been invaded by a creature in the form of an eye.
Even though this was short story it packed a wallop as The Raven is this cool hero that reminded me a little of Batman as he is able to blend in with the night along with having cool weapons to lay waste to whatever comes across his path. Oh and what is really cool - he can fly!
Actually he is like Batman and Superman combined which I love as the story reminded me of those movies I watched as a kid growing up with evil invaders and the super hero stepped in to take care of the problem!
There is a little more to the Raven but it would give away spoilers so I will not reveal anything else!
If your curiosity is piqued then go grab this book as I really enjoyed it and since this is in a series, I will be waiting to see how the series plays out as now my curiosity is piqued! Giving this five stars as I could not put the book down!
Classic Vampire Story!
I am not going to do a backstory as everyone should know what this story is about but I will give out a few thoughts on how the book made me feel.
Thoughts:
This was my second re-read of this book, but when I first read it back in 2017, I was just mesmerized by the storyline and the spookiness of the story itself. This book was also the first book I had ever read that was written in the form of a diary. I have to say that it was also the first book that I had read with that type of old writing style as well so it took some time getting use to how the book was written, but this time I just slipped right back into the storyline.
The author, Bram Stoker just slowly pulls you into the story and the creepy buildup of what the character Jonathan Harker has to endure as he stays with the Count is just loaded with trepidation of what is going to happen next. I read the book a little slower this time to absorb the happenings with Harker and his tale of his stay in the castle.
I was more spooked out this time around for some reason with reading the book slow and the part of the story where the Count is climbing the wall still freaks me out. I don't know why really but I still get the "heebie-jeebies" when I read it. I can just imagine the horror felt by Harker as he has to deal with everything and I slipped into that time era as well while reading the book this time as I became more in-tune with the emotions of what Harker was experiencing.
This book is show more definitely a timeless horror classic! This book is considered the great-great grandfather of all vampire books and it is a book that should be read by all vampire/horror fans! Giving this book five "Fangtastic" stars!
Highly Recommend!
For images/gifs of this book, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2022/03/dracula-by-bram-stoker.html show less
I am not going to do a backstory as everyone should know what this story is about but I will give out a few thoughts on how the book made me feel.
Thoughts:
This was my second re-read of this book, but when I first read it back in 2017, I was just mesmerized by the storyline and the spookiness of the story itself. This book was also the first book I had ever read that was written in the form of a diary. I have to say that it was also the first book that I had read with that type of old writing style as well so it took some time getting use to how the book was written, but this time I just slipped right back into the storyline.
The author, Bram Stoker just slowly pulls you into the story and the creepy buildup of what the character Jonathan Harker has to endure as he stays with the Count is just loaded with trepidation of what is going to happen next. I read the book a little slower this time to absorb the happenings with Harker and his tale of his stay in the castle.
I was more spooked out this time around for some reason with reading the book slow and the part of the story where the Count is climbing the wall still freaks me out. I don't know why really but I still get the "heebie-jeebies" when I read it. I can just imagine the horror felt by Harker as he has to deal with everything and I slipped into that time era as well while reading the book this time as I became more in-tune with the emotions of what Harker was experiencing.
This book is show more definitely a timeless horror classic! This book is considered the great-great grandfather of all vampire books and it is a book that should be read by all vampire/horror fans! Giving this book five "Fangtastic" stars!
Highly Recommend!
For images/gifs of this book, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2022/03/dracula-by-bram-stoker.html show less
Chilling Short Stories!
I am not going to do a backstory like normal since all the stories within are short stories, but I will set out the story with a cryptic note.
1) Crowe’s Bed and Breakfast: Haunted bed and breakfast is not what it seems.
2) The Dog Tracker: A ghost girl has a bad temper when it comes to her dog.
3) The Treasure Hunter: When you rob the dead bad things will happen.
4) The Rosary: If something is buried in the wall, leave it alone.
5) Safety: A creature entity appears and it is not happy.
6) Shelter: Breaking into a house turns deadly.
7) The Shepherd: Be mindful of your neighbor as you do not know "what" they are.
8) The Shortcut: A man gets an education on how to be respectful in a cemetery.
9) The Ghost Hunters: A haunted house that inhabits more than ghosts.
Thoughts:
It has been long time since I have read stories by this author and it was great to be back in his world as these stories just pulled me straight into the horrors of his mind. All the short stories had some kind of twist but packed a powerful punch which kept me glued to my seat. Giving this book four "Spooks and Scares" stars!
I am not going to do a backstory like normal since all the stories within are short stories, but I will set out the story with a cryptic note.
1) Crowe’s Bed and Breakfast: Haunted bed and breakfast is not what it seems.
2) The Dog Tracker: A ghost girl has a bad temper when it comes to her dog.
3) The Treasure Hunter: When you rob the dead bad things will happen.
4) The Rosary: If something is buried in the wall, leave it alone.
5) Safety: A creature entity appears and it is not happy.
6) Shelter: Breaking into a house turns deadly.
7) The Shepherd: Be mindful of your neighbor as you do not know "what" they are.
8) The Shortcut: A man gets an education on how to be respectful in a cemetery.
9) The Ghost Hunters: A haunted house that inhabits more than ghosts.
Thoughts:
It has been long time since I have read stories by this author and it was great to be back in his world as these stories just pulled me straight into the horrors of his mind. All the short stories had some kind of twist but packed a powerful punch which kept me glued to my seat. Giving this book four "Spooks and Scares" stars!
Horrified Valentine's Day
Backstory:
Daniel Hill was a jumble of knots on Valentine's Day as he was going to be meeting his girlfriend's Julia's parents for the first time and he wanted to make a good impression, but when he hit a woman pedestrian in the street with his car, the whole night went to hell in a handbasket quickly especially when he offered to take her home to let her get cleaned up and Julia shows up unannounced!
That is about all I can give on a backstory as this story is very short - around 25 pages but it packs a punch at the end of the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author though I have owned some of his books for awhile, but I am just now stepping into them. The pacing was fast, but the story just seemed to be rushed and it was kind of over before it started.
The story was really good, but I wish it had been a longer to get more of a feel for the characters. I would have liked to know more about the character Daniel and his girlfriend, Julia, but the story opens up with Daniel driving and there is just no detail on his character as things escalate through the short story all the way to the end of the book. I have a few more books by this author, so I will be stepping into more of his work in the future. Giving this one three "Vindictive Valentine Woes" stars!
Backstory:
Daniel Hill was a jumble of knots on Valentine's Day as he was going to be meeting his girlfriend's Julia's parents for the first time and he wanted to make a good impression, but when he hit a woman pedestrian in the street with his car, the whole night went to hell in a handbasket quickly especially when he offered to take her home to let her get cleaned up and Julia shows up unannounced!
That is about all I can give on a backstory as this story is very short - around 25 pages but it packs a punch at the end of the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author though I have owned some of his books for awhile, but I am just now stepping into them. The pacing was fast, but the story just seemed to be rushed and it was kind of over before it started.
The story was really good, but I wish it had been a longer to get more of a feel for the characters. I would have liked to know more about the character Daniel and his girlfriend, Julia, but the story opens up with Daniel driving and there is just no detail on his character as things escalate through the short story all the way to the end of the book. I have a few more books by this author, so I will be stepping into more of his work in the future. Giving this one three "Vindictive Valentine Woes" stars!
So another dreaded dnf - I wanted to really give this one a go but slow burn big time and some of you know that I don't do well with slow burn books. Also the story is written as a life story for one of the main characters in the book and I was just not feeling anything with it. As much as I want to step into fantasy this one is just not my cup of tea. But just because I didn't like it doesn't mean no one else will. No rating as I don't rate books I don't finish.
As hard as it is to do, I am afraid that I will have to give this book a dnf and I will tell you why.
The gist of the story is about a young girl (Jane) that is tormented by her father (abused) and the father beats her mother. A dark figure appears to Jane in the form of an avenging angel and is willing to help Jane take care of her father, but it doesn't happen at that time. The abuse of the father continues until Jane moves out of the home and then Jane gets a job working at a newspaper - her boss gives her verbal abuse, so the avenging angel appears again but nothing is done toward the boss.
The story goes on like this with nothing happening with any type of revenge, but I became tired of reading about the abuse which is constant in this book but nothing happening with Jane being avenged. The first half of the book is mostly about Jane going through life with abusers around her and what she has to deal with on a daily basis and the dark angel only makes an appearance sporadically throughout the first part of the book with doing nothing of taking care of these people.
This is too much of a slow burn without getting some type of revenge along the way and as much I as I love this author's work as I have read other books by her before this one just did not do it for me. There might be some revenge at the end of this book, but I just cannot keep muddling through the physical and verbal abuse of Jane waiting for the dark angel to do something.
Also if you have triggers for show more reading any type of abuse then this book might not be for you.
Normally I do not rate books I do not finish but I am giving this one star for a cool cover. show less
The gist of the story is about a young girl (Jane) that is tormented by her father (abused) and the father beats her mother. A dark figure appears to Jane in the form of an avenging angel and is willing to help Jane take care of her father, but it doesn't happen at that time. The abuse of the father continues until Jane moves out of the home and then Jane gets a job working at a newspaper - her boss gives her verbal abuse, so the avenging angel appears again but nothing is done toward the boss.
The story goes on like this with nothing happening with any type of revenge, but I became tired of reading about the abuse which is constant in this book but nothing happening with Jane being avenged. The first half of the book is mostly about Jane going through life with abusers around her and what she has to deal with on a daily basis and the dark angel only makes an appearance sporadically throughout the first part of the book with doing nothing of taking care of these people.
This is too much of a slow burn without getting some type of revenge along the way and as much I as I love this author's work as I have read other books by her before this one just did not do it for me. There might be some revenge at the end of this book, but I just cannot keep muddling through the physical and verbal abuse of Jane waiting for the dark angel to do something.
Also if you have triggers for show more reading any type of abuse then this book might not be for you.
Normally I do not rate books I do not finish but I am giving this one star for a cool cover. show less
Action and Tension!
Backstory:
FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett becomes involved in a crime case that seems to be the work of maybe a serial killer as a dead woman is found on the beach all trussed up under a life guard station. Though Tess might have to step on a few toes to find out what is going on as she is assigned to work with two police detectives on the case. Whatever she has to do she will do to see the job done and if she has to muddle up something she will to find out where the path takes her.
The police detectives seem to be out of their depth when Tess becomes more involved in the case as she seems to go above and beyond to find out what kind of trail the killer has left as it seems that this murder is not the first and it is going to be up to Tess to find out who else the killer has murdered.
That is about all I can give on a backstory without giving away spoilers, so if you want to know more you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
I love this character, Tess Winnett as she seems to take charge and doesn't let anything stand in her way to get the job done. This is my second book by this author and I really enjoyed the writing style along with the fast pace of the story. I have the rest of this series with Tess Winnett on my kindle and will continue with the series in the future. Giving this book four "Killer Thriller" stars!
Backstory:
FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett becomes involved in a crime case that seems to be the work of maybe a serial killer as a dead woman is found on the beach all trussed up under a life guard station. Though Tess might have to step on a few toes to find out what is going on as she is assigned to work with two police detectives on the case. Whatever she has to do she will do to see the job done and if she has to muddle up something she will to find out where the path takes her.
The police detectives seem to be out of their depth when Tess becomes more involved in the case as she seems to go above and beyond to find out what kind of trail the killer has left as it seems that this murder is not the first and it is going to be up to Tess to find out who else the killer has murdered.
That is about all I can give on a backstory without giving away spoilers, so if you want to know more you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
I love this character, Tess Winnett as she seems to take charge and doesn't let anything stand in her way to get the job done. This is my second book by this author and I really enjoyed the writing style along with the fast pace of the story. I have the rest of this series with Tess Winnett on my kindle and will continue with the series in the future. Giving this book four "Killer Thriller" stars!
Chills and Thrills!
Backstory:
Cassie Winslow lost her mother in a terrible car crash and has to come live with her father, Keith and his family in the town of False Harbor. Cassie is in a deep depression from losing her mother and tries to fit into the household of her step-mom, Rosemary and their young daughter, Jennifer. Cassie has a hard time fitting into the new school and right away she is shunned from some of the teenagers there. Cassie does make friends with a next door neighbor named Eric and they hit it off well, but things become strange for Cassie when she sees a woman in town that seems familiar to her named Miranda Sikes.
Miranda is known for being the local crazy witch in town and she lives at the end of town out in a cabin that lies within swampland and marshes which borders a beach. Cassie just feels drawn to that area and ends up eventually meeting with Miranda out in the cabin. But things are not what they seem and when things start happening in the town with people that have been giving Cassie and Eric troubles is when crazy crap hits the fan and fingers are pointing along with whispers of Cassie being crazy just like Miranda as the town thinks that Cassie is behind the attacks that start happening to the citizens.
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers and if you would like to know more then you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
I had read this book way back in the early 90's as I use to read this author a lot back then, show more but I have decided to start revisiting John Saul's books as it has been many years since I read a lot of his work. This story started out a little slow due to some world building of the town of False Harbor plus there was some character building as well, but about the 25% mark things started kicking in a little more with some creepy vibes rolling off the pages that surrounded Miranda Sikes and her remote cabin out in the swamplands.
Around the 40% mark things were happening more and I literally could not put this book down as so much was happening with all the characters that I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. I literally read the last 30% of the book in a couple of hours as the crap hit the fan and there were tons of twists and turns which drove this book into overdrive!
There are some creepy moments, but there is also some gore stuff within these pages as when the book went into overdrive I was reaching for my "gore suit" as I am thinking to myself "I don't remember Saul books being gory" but there it was right before me on the pages of this book - some gore parts dotted here and there throughout the book.
Very happy with rereading this book as though it has been over 30 years since I read it the book brought back memories of being amazed by the works of this author. I plan on rereading more of his books so I can step back into that time of old school horror as that is how I feel about reading Saul's books. Giving this book five Screaming Terror stars! show less
Backstory:
Cassie Winslow lost her mother in a terrible car crash and has to come live with her father, Keith and his family in the town of False Harbor. Cassie is in a deep depression from losing her mother and tries to fit into the household of her step-mom, Rosemary and their young daughter, Jennifer. Cassie has a hard time fitting into the new school and right away she is shunned from some of the teenagers there. Cassie does make friends with a next door neighbor named Eric and they hit it off well, but things become strange for Cassie when she sees a woman in town that seems familiar to her named Miranda Sikes.
Miranda is known for being the local crazy witch in town and she lives at the end of town out in a cabin that lies within swampland and marshes which borders a beach. Cassie just feels drawn to that area and ends up eventually meeting with Miranda out in the cabin. But things are not what they seem and when things start happening in the town with people that have been giving Cassie and Eric troubles is when crazy crap hits the fan and fingers are pointing along with whispers of Cassie being crazy just like Miranda as the town thinks that Cassie is behind the attacks that start happening to the citizens.
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers and if you would like to know more then you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
I had read this book way back in the early 90's as I use to read this author a lot back then, show more but I have decided to start revisiting John Saul's books as it has been many years since I read a lot of his work. This story started out a little slow due to some world building of the town of False Harbor plus there was some character building as well, but about the 25% mark things started kicking in a little more with some creepy vibes rolling off the pages that surrounded Miranda Sikes and her remote cabin out in the swamplands.
Around the 40% mark things were happening more and I literally could not put this book down as so much was happening with all the characters that I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. I literally read the last 30% of the book in a couple of hours as the crap hit the fan and there were tons of twists and turns which drove this book into overdrive!
There are some creepy moments, but there is also some gore stuff within these pages as when the book went into overdrive I was reaching for my "gore suit" as I am thinking to myself "I don't remember Saul books being gory" but there it was right before me on the pages of this book - some gore parts dotted here and there throughout the book.
Very happy with rereading this book as though it has been over 30 years since I read it the book brought back memories of being amazed by the works of this author. I plan on rereading more of his books so I can step back into that time of old school horror as that is how I feel about reading Saul's books. Giving this book five Screaming Terror stars! show less
Mysterious Tension!
Backstory:
Sloane Monroe is a private investigator and when a woman by the name of Audrey hires her to find out what happened to her sister, Charlotte, Sloane thinks it is a closed case as the coroner's report states that Charlotte was in a skiing accident. Audrey convinces Sloane that it was no accident as Charlotte had plans to meet up with Audrey and Charlotte had information that could break something wide open, but the chance never came for Charlotte to reveal all as she ended up dead on the slopes.
Sloane is hesitant to even try to investigate a case that looks to be "cut and dried" but Sloane decides that it couldn't hurt to check a few things out so she begins her investigation. She ends up stepping on toes at the police department with the Chief and a couple of other detectives, but she wants to see if there is anything to what Audrey is saying about her sister.
As time goes on, Sloane finds out there is something going on and then she has a prime suspect that could have killed Charlotte, but then he ends up dead, which sends Sloane into a tailspin as if the prime suspect is dead then who killed Charlotte. Sloane is now walking on eggshells trying to discover who it could be and hoping that she does not become a target herself!
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers, so if you want to learn more than you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author within a crime fiction series. I show more have read this author before in a paranormal suspense series and really liked her writing style. This book reminded me of the series by author, Sue Grafton as I read her books way back in the middle 80's and early 90's. I was very impressed by how quick I was pulled into the storyline as right away something happens and I didn't have time to breathe as the story started to become a snowball rolling down a hill as the more I read the story the more something else seemed to happen.
I have found a new crime series to sink my teeth into and I didn't realize it but I own all eight books in the series so I can just go from one to the other as I go along. This book did not end on a cliff hanger so it seems the books could be read out of order, but I think I will read them in order anyway as there might be things that happen with the main character. I will eventually step into book two as I am curious to what kind of situation that Sloane Monroe will find for herself next. Giving this book four Skiing Sleuth stars! show less
Backstory:
Sloane Monroe is a private investigator and when a woman by the name of Audrey hires her to find out what happened to her sister, Charlotte, Sloane thinks it is a closed case as the coroner's report states that Charlotte was in a skiing accident. Audrey convinces Sloane that it was no accident as Charlotte had plans to meet up with Audrey and Charlotte had information that could break something wide open, but the chance never came for Charlotte to reveal all as she ended up dead on the slopes.
Sloane is hesitant to even try to investigate a case that looks to be "cut and dried" but Sloane decides that it couldn't hurt to check a few things out so she begins her investigation. She ends up stepping on toes at the police department with the Chief and a couple of other detectives, but she wants to see if there is anything to what Audrey is saying about her sister.
As time goes on, Sloane finds out there is something going on and then she has a prime suspect that could have killed Charlotte, but then he ends up dead, which sends Sloane into a tailspin as if the prime suspect is dead then who killed Charlotte. Sloane is now walking on eggshells trying to discover who it could be and hoping that she does not become a target herself!
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers, so if you want to learn more than you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author within a crime fiction series. I show more have read this author before in a paranormal suspense series and really liked her writing style. This book reminded me of the series by author, Sue Grafton as I read her books way back in the middle 80's and early 90's. I was very impressed by how quick I was pulled into the storyline as right away something happens and I didn't have time to breathe as the story started to become a snowball rolling down a hill as the more I read the story the more something else seemed to happen.
I have found a new crime series to sink my teeth into and I didn't realize it but I own all eight books in the series so I can just go from one to the other as I go along. This book did not end on a cliff hanger so it seems the books could be read out of order, but I think I will read them in order anyway as there might be things that happen with the main character. I will eventually step into book two as I am curious to what kind of situation that Sloane Monroe will find for herself next. Giving this book four Skiing Sleuth stars! show less
Spook Central!
Backstory:
Cedar Jarrell who is the only survivor from a massacre that took place at Slander Hall has decided to revisit the place with some friends. They are curious about the rumors they have heard with the place being haunted and they would like to get some documentation of it.
But things do not go as planned as when they step foot onto the property "something" attacks one of the friends. Cedar and company still push onward as they figure if they do not find what they want with the hauntings that they will never complete their task. Once they enter Slander Hall though the ghosts have other ideas and to survive the haunting the friends will need to stick together through it all.
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers and if you want to know more than you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author and I was impressed with how quick I was pulled into the story! The story was fast paced and held me in suspense as I wanted to know what was going to happen next!
The story is really short though and there are two more stories that lie within these pages as well which also was a nice surprising read. I do have a couple or so more kindle books by this author and looking forward to reading more books by him. Giving this book four "Haunted Horror" stars!
Backstory:
Cedar Jarrell who is the only survivor from a massacre that took place at Slander Hall has decided to revisit the place with some friends. They are curious about the rumors they have heard with the place being haunted and they would like to get some documentation of it.
But things do not go as planned as when they step foot onto the property "something" attacks one of the friends. Cedar and company still push onward as they figure if they do not find what they want with the hauntings that they will never complete their task. Once they enter Slander Hall though the ghosts have other ideas and to survive the haunting the friends will need to stick together through it all.
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers and if you want to know more than you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author and I was impressed with how quick I was pulled into the story! The story was fast paced and held me in suspense as I wanted to know what was going to happen next!
The story is really short though and there are two more stories that lie within these pages as well which also was a nice surprising read. I do have a couple or so more kindle books by this author and looking forward to reading more books by him. Giving this book four "Haunted Horror" stars!
THEM by James Watts
Tension Terror!
A backstory:
Ray Sanders rushes home to the place where he grew up when he finds out that his mother has passed away and he needs to take care of funeral arrangements. When he rolls through the small town memories flood back of his childhood. As Ray tries to come to terms with his mother's death, he decides to stay in his mother's house as he tries to remember some things that happened in the past with the house and property.
Ray's cousin Roy steps back into his life and they start hanging out together, but weird things start happening out at the property with wildlife and Ray tries to make his memory go back to childhood days when him and Roy use to run around together as back then "something" happened as well which Ray cannot tap into at the moment.
When a few townspeople start acting strange is when Ray and Roy start to slowly remember things from the past as there is something slowly stirring and taking over the townspeople which turns them into something different than their true selves. But when Ray and Roy's memories come flooding back and they learn more about what has invaded their neighbors and friends both of them will have to fight for their lives before all is said and done!
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers, so to know more about this story you will just need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This is my second book by this author and was very impressed with being drawn straight into the story. The writing style is show more smooth and just flows along which slowly reeled me into what was happening within the story making me stick to it for the last 48 hours!
This book reminded me of the old 80's creature feature movies that I use to watch when I was younger as the "creatures" in the book have alien type qualities mixed with supernatural creepiness.
Most of the book remains hidden in mystery with what is happening to the townspeople and what type of creature has invaded their world until the last 30% of the book the author reveals "what" the creature is and what its unique qualities are that take over the characters in this book.
Looking forward to reading more by this author and will be pursuing anything else he has coming out in the future. Giving this book four Creepy Creature stars! show less
A backstory:
Ray Sanders rushes home to the place where he grew up when he finds out that his mother has passed away and he needs to take care of funeral arrangements. When he rolls through the small town memories flood back of his childhood. As Ray tries to come to terms with his mother's death, he decides to stay in his mother's house as he tries to remember some things that happened in the past with the house and property.
Ray's cousin Roy steps back into his life and they start hanging out together, but weird things start happening out at the property with wildlife and Ray tries to make his memory go back to childhood days when him and Roy use to run around together as back then "something" happened as well which Ray cannot tap into at the moment.
When a few townspeople start acting strange is when Ray and Roy start to slowly remember things from the past as there is something slowly stirring and taking over the townspeople which turns them into something different than their true selves. But when Ray and Roy's memories come flooding back and they learn more about what has invaded their neighbors and friends both of them will have to fight for their lives before all is said and done!
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers, so to know more about this story you will just need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This is my second book by this author and was very impressed with being drawn straight into the story. The writing style is show more smooth and just flows along which slowly reeled me into what was happening within the story making me stick to it for the last 48 hours!
This book reminded me of the old 80's creature feature movies that I use to watch when I was younger as the "creatures" in the book have alien type qualities mixed with supernatural creepiness.
Most of the book remains hidden in mystery with what is happening to the townspeople and what type of creature has invaded their world until the last 30% of the book the author reveals "what" the creature is and what its unique qualities are that take over the characters in this book.
Looking forward to reading more by this author and will be pursuing anything else he has coming out in the future. Giving this book four Creepy Creature stars! show less
Well what to say about this book.......
I will do a small backstory just to give out a taste:
A .357 Colt Python was forged within the gates of hell as a demon is melded into the gun and anyone that comes in contact with it will use the gun in violent ways.
Thoughts:
That is mainly the gist of the story about the gun as it travels through time and centuries as violence erupts wherever the gun lands. I am in the minority on this book as I have seen that it has received quite a few four and five star reviews. Writing style is great - I was drawn right into the story, but the stories with the gun gets old after awhile as that is what mainly this book is about. The gun travels through time and every time it lands in someone's lap then look out because someone is going to get murdered with the gun.
The stories of what each person went through to acquire the gun was long and drawn out with details which was fine up to a point but then it just seemed to keep dragging on as finally the story lays out someone getting murdered with the gun.
I do have a couple or so more books by this author and will try one of her other books at some point in time, but this book just did not do it for me. Normally with dnf books I do not give out ratings, but I will give this book one star for a cool cover. Giving this book one Gun Will Travel star.
I will do a small backstory just to give out a taste:
A .357 Colt Python was forged within the gates of hell as a demon is melded into the gun and anyone that comes in contact with it will use the gun in violent ways.
Thoughts:
That is mainly the gist of the story about the gun as it travels through time and centuries as violence erupts wherever the gun lands. I am in the minority on this book as I have seen that it has received quite a few four and five star reviews. Writing style is great - I was drawn right into the story, but the stories with the gun gets old after awhile as that is what mainly this book is about. The gun travels through time and every time it lands in someone's lap then look out because someone is going to get murdered with the gun.
The stories of what each person went through to acquire the gun was long and drawn out with details which was fine up to a point but then it just seemed to keep dragging on as finally the story lays out someone getting murdered with the gun.
I do have a couple or so more books by this author and will try one of her other books at some point in time, but this book just did not do it for me. Normally with dnf books I do not give out ratings, but I will give this book one star for a cool cover. Giving this book one Gun Will Travel star.
With this being an anthology I won't be doing a backstory, but I will be listing out the stories and a cryptic note next to each story.
This collection of 10 short stories took me on one hell of a terror ride filled with thrills and chills!
1) Preignition by Steve Stred: Four friends are together till the end of time.
2) A Campfire Tale by Tom Deady: Will the true killer please stand up.
3) Tanglewood by Ronald Kelly: Sometimes the dead come back.
4) New Skulls for the Old Cemetery by Calvin Demmer: Respect the dead or else.
5) Larry's Guest by Guy N. Smith: Vampire becomes part of the family.
6) Where the Holly Ceases to Grow by Lex H. Jones: An unexpected being becomes a lifelong friend.
7) Crabs by Kevin J. Kennedy: No one is able to eat these crabs!
8) Dead Ends and Open Roads by Kyle M. Scott: An abusive husband gets his just desserts.
9) Lifewatch by Christopher Motz: A watch that predicts time of death.
10) Family Ties by John Kennedy: A heartfelt poem about family.
Thoughts:
All the stories were great and all of them had some type of horror/terror that was weaved throughout each story. Once again, the author, Kevin J. Kennedy was able to gather quite a few authors together for these stories. As always with these book anthologies I know of a couple or so authors as I have read them before and find some more authors to explore which within this book I found a few. Giving this book five "Terror Tension" stars!
This collection of 10 short stories took me on one hell of a terror ride filled with thrills and chills!
1) Preignition by Steve Stred: Four friends are together till the end of time.
2) A Campfire Tale by Tom Deady: Will the true killer please stand up.
3) Tanglewood by Ronald Kelly: Sometimes the dead come back.
4) New Skulls for the Old Cemetery by Calvin Demmer: Respect the dead or else.
5) Larry's Guest by Guy N. Smith: Vampire becomes part of the family.
6) Where the Holly Ceases to Grow by Lex H. Jones: An unexpected being becomes a lifelong friend.
7) Crabs by Kevin J. Kennedy: No one is able to eat these crabs!
8) Dead Ends and Open Roads by Kyle M. Scott: An abusive husband gets his just desserts.
9) Lifewatch by Christopher Motz: A watch that predicts time of death.
10) Family Ties by John Kennedy: A heartfelt poem about family.
Thoughts:
All the stories were great and all of them had some type of horror/terror that was weaved throughout each story. Once again, the author, Kevin J. Kennedy was able to gather quite a few authors together for these stories. As always with these book anthologies I know of a couple or so authors as I have read them before and find some more authors to explore which within this book I found a few. Giving this book five "Terror Tension" stars!
Stay to the Shadows!
Backstory:
Morgan Rook is once again on a mission but it is of his own making as he is not suppose to be running amok as the Organization wanted him to go in low mode for awhile, but he has his own agenda as he is trying to track down the murderer of his wife and it seems the road leads to a place called Copperwood Falls.
Once Morgan lands in Copperwood Falls he finds out that the woman responsible for his wife's murder just seems to be on the outskirts of his reach. But the more he digs to find this woman the more he seems to land in hot water and this time Morgan might have a hard time extracting himself out of his predicament as the supernatural entities that are protecting the woman will do anything they can to keep Morgan from getting within range!
Thoughts:
This book just didn't seem to have the non-stop action like the first book as there was more mystery and suspense wrapped within the story. There is still the sorcery though that the character Morgan dishes out to the supernatural beings but the book seemed to slow down in some parts.
I felt that it was up and down with the action - there would be some and then it was back to being slow. The pacing was not as fast as the first book but the writing style was still smooth. All in all the story was great and the last 30% of the book the action seemed to pick back up and it kept moving till the end of the story. Giving this book four "Supernatural Shadows stars!
Backstory:
Morgan Rook is once again on a mission but it is of his own making as he is not suppose to be running amok as the Organization wanted him to go in low mode for awhile, but he has his own agenda as he is trying to track down the murderer of his wife and it seems the road leads to a place called Copperwood Falls.
Once Morgan lands in Copperwood Falls he finds out that the woman responsible for his wife's murder just seems to be on the outskirts of his reach. But the more he digs to find this woman the more he seems to land in hot water and this time Morgan might have a hard time extracting himself out of his predicament as the supernatural entities that are protecting the woman will do anything they can to keep Morgan from getting within range!
Thoughts:
This book just didn't seem to have the non-stop action like the first book as there was more mystery and suspense wrapped within the story. There is still the sorcery though that the character Morgan dishes out to the supernatural beings but the book seemed to slow down in some parts.
I felt that it was up and down with the action - there would be some and then it was back to being slow. The pacing was not as fast as the first book but the writing style was still smooth. All in all the story was great and the last 30% of the book the action seemed to pick back up and it kept moving till the end of the story. Giving this book four "Supernatural Shadows stars!
Firepower Overload!
Backstory:
Jack needs a vacation and some alone time with Phin so Harry McGlade tells them that they can use his cabin up in the woods of Wisconsin as he has a private place with no one around for miles as Jack and Phin need to work things out in their marriage. After dropping their daughter off to a friends house they head on up there hoping to rekindle their love for each other.
What neither of them know though is that a killer that Jack put away 20 years before has escaped prison (T-Nail) and all he can think about is revenge and he is willing to bring a war to her door for putting him away years ago. But what T-Nail doesn't know is that the "cabin" is really a fortress that McGlade has fixed up for extra security and it will take all kinds of firepower to bring it down!
That is about all I can give on a backstory without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more then you will just need to read the book!
Thoughts:
The first half of the book was mostly Jack and Phin heading to the cabin along with a little background on T-Nail and his old gang with them making their way up to the cabin, but the last half of the book is where all the action/guns takes place and where the tension/suspense hits the high notes.
Jack's friends are once again in this story (Harry and Herb) and there was some more of the humorous quips between Harry and Herb which gave me the chuckles. This time though there is a parrot that talks and though sometimes that was a little show more bit too much I just overlooked the parrot squawking and kept reading as that was just a minor annoyance.
The only thing that was a little odd in the book - there is a chapter about mobile gaming and as much as I like gaming stuff I couldn't figure out what the use for it was in this book. Maybe a filler for some reason? Not sure. But I basically just skipped that whole chapter as there was nothing in there that pertained to the actual story so I figured I wasn't missing much.
Other than that with the parrot and gaming the book actually rocked along with lots of cool weapons and lots of gun fighting. There is even a flame thrower tossed in for good measure!
I was happy with another "fight to survive" thriller featuring Jack Daniels and as always with this series I was entertained which that is what it is all about anyway. Looking forward to the next installment which is Last Call. Giving this book five Chiller Thriller stars! show less
Backstory:
Jack needs a vacation and some alone time with Phin so Harry McGlade tells them that they can use his cabin up in the woods of Wisconsin as he has a private place with no one around for miles as Jack and Phin need to work things out in their marriage. After dropping their daughter off to a friends house they head on up there hoping to rekindle their love for each other.
What neither of them know though is that a killer that Jack put away 20 years before has escaped prison (T-Nail) and all he can think about is revenge and he is willing to bring a war to her door for putting him away years ago. But what T-Nail doesn't know is that the "cabin" is really a fortress that McGlade has fixed up for extra security and it will take all kinds of firepower to bring it down!
That is about all I can give on a backstory without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more then you will just need to read the book!
Thoughts:
The first half of the book was mostly Jack and Phin heading to the cabin along with a little background on T-Nail and his old gang with them making their way up to the cabin, but the last half of the book is where all the action/guns takes place and where the tension/suspense hits the high notes.
Jack's friends are once again in this story (Harry and Herb) and there was some more of the humorous quips between Harry and Herb which gave me the chuckles. This time though there is a parrot that talks and though sometimes that was a little show more bit too much I just overlooked the parrot squawking and kept reading as that was just a minor annoyance.
The only thing that was a little odd in the book - there is a chapter about mobile gaming and as much as I like gaming stuff I couldn't figure out what the use for it was in this book. Maybe a filler for some reason? Not sure. But I basically just skipped that whole chapter as there was nothing in there that pertained to the actual story so I figured I wasn't missing much.
Other than that with the parrot and gaming the book actually rocked along with lots of cool weapons and lots of gun fighting. There is even a flame thrower tossed in for good measure!
I was happy with another "fight to survive" thriller featuring Jack Daniels and as always with this series I was entertained which that is what it is all about anyway. Looking forward to the next installment which is Last Call. Giving this book five Chiller Thriller stars! show less
Cunning Folk: A Folk Horror Thriller from the Author of No One Gets Out Alive and The Ritual by Adam Nevill
Creepy Folklore Vibes!
Backstory:
Tom and his wife, Fiona along with their little girl, Gracey move into a new home that borders the woods. The only sign of life is their next door neighbors - the Moots. When they first move into the home, Tom and Fiona are never approached by the neighbors nor does it seem that the neighbors even want to make friends as they stay to themselves.
As Tom and Fiona get settled into their new home, they tell Gracey not to go into the woods, but kids will be kids and she ends up running through there. Things become heated when the neighbors get onto Gracey for going into the woods and Tom becomes more suspicious of the Moots as things just seem "off" about them, but he cannot put his finger on what it could be.
As time goes on, Tom butts heads with the Moots about different things regarding property boundaries and even tree limbs hanging over into Tom's yard, but things take a 360 degree turn when Tom's anger goes into overdrive and he does something that sends heat waves radiating with the Moots. Once he crosses the neighbor boundary line of "try to be a good neighbor" is when he sees the "true colors" of his neighbors which sends Tom into protective mode of his family.
That is about all I can say about this story without giving away spoilers so I will say no more as you will need to read the book!.
Thoughts:
This was only my second book by this author but it was the first time reading as far as it being a novel. I read a book by him that was a show more collection of short stories a few years back. This story was suspenseful, intriguing, filled with tension, and lots of horror aspects of living next door to neighbors.
Though as much as I liked the book, I had a hard time with the detailed descriptions of what the author was trying to get across as a lot of the writing style is just minute details but those details are described in such a way that I got lost in what he was trying to say as off and on throughout the book I would find my thoughts wandering. The story and plot itself was great but telling the story of it just felt like I was down the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland somewhere.
Speaking of Alice in Wonderland - lol - there are things in this book that reminds me of that story, but the setting is in the horror realm so if you can image the story of Alice in Wonderland then just add some twisted horror to it you would have a very strange story but with moments of creepy horror elements.
The characters were great but I really didn't like the neighbors the Moots and was hoping for something to happen to them as they drove me crazy through this book and I felt for Tom and his family as he had to endure what they were dishing out.
All in all the story kept me interested as I wanted to see what was going to happen to all parties involved in this story and I thought at times that this book kind of went off into the twilight zone as things happened in this book that took this story in that type of direction.
So there is fantasy, sci-fi and horror elements all weaved together in this book which makes this story very twisted. I own some other books by this author, but I think I need to recoup from this strange tale of twists and turns before stepping into anything else by him. Giving this book four Frightening Folklore stars! show less
Backstory:
Tom and his wife, Fiona along with their little girl, Gracey move into a new home that borders the woods. The only sign of life is their next door neighbors - the Moots. When they first move into the home, Tom and Fiona are never approached by the neighbors nor does it seem that the neighbors even want to make friends as they stay to themselves.
As Tom and Fiona get settled into their new home, they tell Gracey not to go into the woods, but kids will be kids and she ends up running through there. Things become heated when the neighbors get onto Gracey for going into the woods and Tom becomes more suspicious of the Moots as things just seem "off" about them, but he cannot put his finger on what it could be.
As time goes on, Tom butts heads with the Moots about different things regarding property boundaries and even tree limbs hanging over into Tom's yard, but things take a 360 degree turn when Tom's anger goes into overdrive and he does something that sends heat waves radiating with the Moots. Once he crosses the neighbor boundary line of "try to be a good neighbor" is when he sees the "true colors" of his neighbors which sends Tom into protective mode of his family.
That is about all I can say about this story without giving away spoilers so I will say no more as you will need to read the book!.
Thoughts:
This was only my second book by this author but it was the first time reading as far as it being a novel. I read a book by him that was a show more collection of short stories a few years back. This story was suspenseful, intriguing, filled with tension, and lots of horror aspects of living next door to neighbors.
Though as much as I liked the book, I had a hard time with the detailed descriptions of what the author was trying to get across as a lot of the writing style is just minute details but those details are described in such a way that I got lost in what he was trying to say as off and on throughout the book I would find my thoughts wandering. The story and plot itself was great but telling the story of it just felt like I was down the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland somewhere.
Speaking of Alice in Wonderland - lol - there are things in this book that reminds me of that story, but the setting is in the horror realm so if you can image the story of Alice in Wonderland then just add some twisted horror to it you would have a very strange story but with moments of creepy horror elements.
The characters were great but I really didn't like the neighbors the Moots and was hoping for something to happen to them as they drove me crazy through this book and I felt for Tom and his family as he had to endure what they were dishing out.
All in all the story kept me interested as I wanted to see what was going to happen to all parties involved in this story and I thought at times that this book kind of went off into the twilight zone as things happened in this book that took this story in that type of direction.
So there is fantasy, sci-fi and horror elements all weaved together in this book which makes this story very twisted. I own some other books by this author, but I think I need to recoup from this strange tale of twists and turns before stepping into anything else by him. Giving this book four Frightening Folklore stars! show less
Action Packed to the Hilt!
Backstory:
Morgan Rook is a supernatural detective that works for the Organization which is a secret society that cleans up messes made by supernatural entities. They send him out on undercover missions with the hopes that he can go in and check things out, but if it gets too complicated then he is suppose to call them and they have other agents to take care of things quietly, but Morgan is kind of a rebel and goes out on his own sometimes without calling the Organization.
This is one of those times as he wants to investigate on his own without the Organization as there is a vampire that is killing people and Morgan has been sent to just gather intel, but things do not always go as planned as he ends up in all kinds of trouble which leads him on a merry trip into the supernatural underworld. When one of his friends ends up dead is when Morgan steps outside of the law of the Organization so that he can track down whoever killed his friend.
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers, so if you want to know more about this story then you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author, but I have owned this book for a couple of years. I am just now stepping into the series. I now own the rest of the books as I will be continuing to read the rest of the series as now I am hooked! The writing style is great and the author pulled me in to his world quick as once I became involved in the first few show more chapters things just started happening one right after the other.
Each chapter there was something happening with supernatural beings which include vampires, werewolves, and demons. The character, Morgan Rook, is a likeable character and he is also able to do magical sorcery as well along with having magical weapons for any situation that he finds himself in.
I loved this book so much that it will be going on my favorites shelf. What an amazing introduction into the world of this author and will be grabbing whatever else he has out there! Giving this book five Supernatural Sorcery stars!
For images/gifs of this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2022/02/dark-city-order-of-shadows-1-by-kit... show less
Backstory:
Morgan Rook is a supernatural detective that works for the Organization which is a secret society that cleans up messes made by supernatural entities. They send him out on undercover missions with the hopes that he can go in and check things out, but if it gets too complicated then he is suppose to call them and they have other agents to take care of things quietly, but Morgan is kind of a rebel and goes out on his own sometimes without calling the Organization.
This is one of those times as he wants to investigate on his own without the Organization as there is a vampire that is killing people and Morgan has been sent to just gather intel, but things do not always go as planned as he ends up in all kinds of trouble which leads him on a merry trip into the supernatural underworld. When one of his friends ends up dead is when Morgan steps outside of the law of the Organization so that he can track down whoever killed his friend.
That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers, so if you want to know more about this story then you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author, but I have owned this book for a couple of years. I am just now stepping into the series. I now own the rest of the books as I will be continuing to read the rest of the series as now I am hooked! The writing style is great and the author pulled me in to his world quick as once I became involved in the first few show more chapters things just started happening one right after the other.
Each chapter there was something happening with supernatural beings which include vampires, werewolves, and demons. The character, Morgan Rook, is a likeable character and he is also able to do magical sorcery as well along with having magical weapons for any situation that he finds himself in.
I loved this book so much that it will be going on my favorites shelf. What an amazing introduction into the world of this author and will be grabbing whatever else he has out there! Giving this book five Supernatural Sorcery stars!
For images/gifs of this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2022/02/dark-city-order-of-shadows-1-by-kit... show less
Ancient Evil!
I am not giving my normal backstory so just laying out my thoughts as this tome of a vampire book has quite a few characters that are involved within the story, but I will set out two main characters with thoughts.
Character Thoughts:
Two main characters are:
Prince Conrad Vulcan - Master Vampire of Kronsteen castle. Vulcan wants to take over the city of Los Angeles making the whole city under his rule and eventually to encompass the whole state as he takes in more territory. He wants to show that he is king of the vampires and he will do whatever it takes to see that accomplished.
Andrew "Andy" Palatazin is a homicide detective for the LAPD - there have been a rash of killings that seems to be the work of a serial killer and as he tries to make sense of what is going on with the killings, he is thrown for a loop when he finds out that some cemeteries are missing coffins and then he has an inkling that "something" might be leading him to Kronsteen castle as an ancient evil is no doubt lurking there.
Book Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author, Robert McCammon. Not sure why I haven't stepped into him long before now, but he was recommended by a few of my Goodreads friends who have given his work high praises, so I decided to step into his work to see those high praises. :)
Writing style was great and I was drawn right away into the storyline. I am always looking for some type of vampire book that has the "old school" vampires within and this book show more really took me in that direction.
This book was a slow start with introductions of all the characters that lie within so it took awhile for anything to get going with the master vampire character which led to the first half of the book being a struggle with slow pacing, but there was quite a bit of intrigue and suspense as well which was wrapped up with the serial killings and the detective.
Normally I like my books where something happens within the first few chapters, but there was definitely a "dread" feeling right away as I could feel that something eventually was about to explode with vampire action and the last half of the book was total vampire carnage! Giving this book five "Fatal Fangs stars! show less
I am not giving my normal backstory so just laying out my thoughts as this tome of a vampire book has quite a few characters that are involved within the story, but I will set out two main characters with thoughts.
Character Thoughts:
Two main characters are:
Prince Conrad Vulcan - Master Vampire of Kronsteen castle. Vulcan wants to take over the city of Los Angeles making the whole city under his rule and eventually to encompass the whole state as he takes in more territory. He wants to show that he is king of the vampires and he will do whatever it takes to see that accomplished.
Andrew "Andy" Palatazin is a homicide detective for the LAPD - there have been a rash of killings that seems to be the work of a serial killer and as he tries to make sense of what is going on with the killings, he is thrown for a loop when he finds out that some cemeteries are missing coffins and then he has an inkling that "something" might be leading him to Kronsteen castle as an ancient evil is no doubt lurking there.
Book Thoughts:
This was my first time reading this author, Robert McCammon. Not sure why I haven't stepped into him long before now, but he was recommended by a few of my Goodreads friends who have given his work high praises, so I decided to step into his work to see those high praises. :)
Writing style was great and I was drawn right away into the storyline. I am always looking for some type of vampire book that has the "old school" vampires within and this book show more really took me in that direction.
This book was a slow start with introductions of all the characters that lie within so it took awhile for anything to get going with the master vampire character which led to the first half of the book being a struggle with slow pacing, but there was quite a bit of intrigue and suspense as well which was wrapped up with the serial killings and the detective.
Normally I like my books where something happens within the first few chapters, but there was definitely a "dread" feeling right away as I could feel that something eventually was about to explode with vampire action and the last half of the book was total vampire carnage! Giving this book five "Fatal Fangs stars! show less
Strange Story!
Backstory:
Larry has retired and just wants to spend his time home to do the things he hasn't been able to get to while he was working. But his plans for the day are interrupted when his neighbor, Zach rushes over to his house wanting Larry to come over to his house as something is lurking inside Zach's home and he wants conformation that Larry is seeing what Zach is seeing. When Larry gets over there - things are awry as Zach's wife is suppose to be not home and yet she is upstairs peeking over the steps at them. How is that possible??
Thoughts:
This book was just plain odd and after reading this author's book "Kin" which was really a great book, this one fell flat for me as there wasn't nothing to the story of what is actually lurking in the house. Lots of questions with no answers. My questions would be - what are the creatures? Are they clones? Are they doppelgangers? How is the wife suppose to be in two places at once? Are the creatures aliens? See - there are tons of questions, but you never learn "what has actually invaded" the house or what is the purpose of the creatures or even if it is a creature - it might be an alien life form for all we know.
The point is there's really nothing here to grab onto or even sink your teeth into. As much as I would love to give this book more than two stars I just cannot do it as I was unsatisfied with the story and then again as with some horror stories you are left with burning unanswered questions sometimes. Maybe show more this is one of those horror books. You are not suppose to know. Giving this book two Disappointing stars! show less
Backstory:
Larry has retired and just wants to spend his time home to do the things he hasn't been able to get to while he was working. But his plans for the day are interrupted when his neighbor, Zach rushes over to his house wanting Larry to come over to his house as something is lurking inside Zach's home and he wants conformation that Larry is seeing what Zach is seeing. When Larry gets over there - things are awry as Zach's wife is suppose to be not home and yet she is upstairs peeking over the steps at them. How is that possible??
Thoughts:
This book was just plain odd and after reading this author's book "Kin" which was really a great book, this one fell flat for me as there wasn't nothing to the story of what is actually lurking in the house. Lots of questions with no answers. My questions would be - what are the creatures? Are they clones? Are they doppelgangers? How is the wife suppose to be in two places at once? Are the creatures aliens? See - there are tons of questions, but you never learn "what has actually invaded" the house or what is the purpose of the creatures or even if it is a creature - it might be an alien life form for all we know.
The point is there's really nothing here to grab onto or even sink your teeth into. As much as I would love to give this book more than two stars I just cannot do it as I was unsatisfied with the story and then again as with some horror stories you are left with burning unanswered questions sometimes. Maybe show more this is one of those horror books. You are not suppose to know. Giving this book two Disappointing stars! show less
Twisted Terror!
Backstory:
Tim Riggs, scoutmaster for a group of boy scouts takes a few of them on a camping trip to an island off the coast of Canada as it is a once a year ritual. Everyone is having a good time and telling bonfire ghost stories until a "strange man" invades their domain. There wouldn't be anything strange about anyone showing up except they are on a island that is not suppose to have anyone else there.
The man looks like a walking cadaver and he is very sickly, but when Tim decides to help him as the man says he is hungry and wants some food, that ends up being the biggest mistake of Tim's life as the man is a carrier of something that will not only endanger Tim's life but all of the scouts as well to the point that they wish they had never helped the man as what eventually reveals itself will make them wish that they never went to the island!
Thoughts:
This story was insanely twisted and seeing that quite a few of my friends have read the book, I wanted to experience it for myself. There is quite a bit of body horror with descriptive and graphic details laid out by the author which takes this story deep into the author's crazy and messed up mind!
I can say that I have read some "twisted" and "grossed out" stories before so this book was almost like an appetizer to what else I have read in the past and believe this, I have read some whacked out stuff so I just prepared myself for whatever was heading my way and I was very impressed with this author as now he show more racks up there with all those other books I have read in the past so he can share a shelf with those authors.
First time reading this author, but it will not be my last! Also I suppose that I have a stomach of steel as not once did I get squeamish and having my gore suit on was a definite must with this book. This story is definitely for hard core horror fans as I can see where some people would not be able to read this stuff as the graphic descriptions with what happens to the characters in this story is not for the faint of heart!
There was some animal torture though in this book which I really didn't care for so those parts I skipped as I won't read about animals being hurt but other than that this book was definitely a book I won't soon forget! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Giving this book five Wicked Worms stars! show less
Backstory:
Tim Riggs, scoutmaster for a group of boy scouts takes a few of them on a camping trip to an island off the coast of Canada as it is a once a year ritual. Everyone is having a good time and telling bonfire ghost stories until a "strange man" invades their domain. There wouldn't be anything strange about anyone showing up except they are on a island that is not suppose to have anyone else there.
The man looks like a walking cadaver and he is very sickly, but when Tim decides to help him as the man says he is hungry and wants some food, that ends up being the biggest mistake of Tim's life as the man is a carrier of something that will not only endanger Tim's life but all of the scouts as well to the point that they wish they had never helped the man as what eventually reveals itself will make them wish that they never went to the island!
Thoughts:
This story was insanely twisted and seeing that quite a few of my friends have read the book, I wanted to experience it for myself. There is quite a bit of body horror with descriptive and graphic details laid out by the author which takes this story deep into the author's crazy and messed up mind!
I can say that I have read some "twisted" and "grossed out" stories before so this book was almost like an appetizer to what else I have read in the past and believe this, I have read some whacked out stuff so I just prepared myself for whatever was heading my way and I was very impressed with this author as now he show more racks up there with all those other books I have read in the past so he can share a shelf with those authors.
First time reading this author, but it will not be my last! Also I suppose that I have a stomach of steel as not once did I get squeamish and having my gore suit on was a definite must with this book. This story is definitely for hard core horror fans as I can see where some people would not be able to read this stuff as the graphic descriptions with what happens to the characters in this story is not for the faint of heart!
There was some animal torture though in this book which I really didn't care for so those parts I skipped as I won't read about animals being hurt but other than that this book was definitely a book I won't soon forget! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Giving this book five Wicked Worms stars! show less