Inspection by Josh Malerman is a slow-burning tale about two groups of children, one group of boys and one group of girls, that are raised as a science experiment. The goal is to prove that they can accomplish brilliant things if only they weren’t distracted by the opposite sex.

When I first read the blurb for this book, I was so excited that I preordered it right then and there. Unfortunately, I think I let my high expectations get the best of me for this one…

While reading, the slow burn format of the story was definitely bumming me out a bit. I don’t love slow plots to begin with. In this case I was definitely expecting more of an intensely sinister tale.

Repetition was also a major issue for me. There was just so much of it, that it had me skimming from time to time.

Once I had finished reading the book, and thought back about how the overall story played out, I definitely respected the way that the author organized the story line. I really enjoyed how innocent things seemed for the most part. I especially loved when you got little glimpses into the darkness behind everything. But I, personally, would have liked the story more if it had gone a bit darker.

Then there was the ending… Now that was by far my favorite part of the book. The ending was intense! It was a horrific ending; there was darkness, violence, lots of blood, and a one element of very torturous revenge.

I felt like the very end finally showed how dark and intense these towers were. I found myself equally pleased with how well the darkness was hidden from the reader and the children throughout (though there were certainly hints of it throughout the story) and bummed that we didn’t get more of the darkness earlier.

While the slow burn format and the repetition just wasn’t my favorite, I would still say that I enjoyed this read. I thought the idea behind the tale was super interesting and eerie!

While I probably wouldn’t re-read this one, I would still definitely recommend this to others! And I would really love to see this one adapted into a film!

Santa Cruise, written by the amazing Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark duo, is a mystery filled with twists and turns that will leave you anxious to see what happens next right up until the very end!

While I probably should have waited to read this one during the winter holiday season, I just couldn’t wait to dive in! And I’m so glad that I didn’t.

In the first chapter we meet Randolph Weed as he stands on the deck of his yacht, the Royal Mermaid, a ship that he had purchased and refurbished in order to hosts cruises.

For the ship’s maiden voyage, Randolph and his PR man, Dudley, have planned a free cruise for people who have done wonderful things to help make the world a better place. The goal is to have the first voyage go as smoothly as possible in order to get publicity to help book future tickets.

On the first day of the cruise, it’s clear that the ship is going to get plenty of publicity. However, it isn’t shaping up to be the type of publicity that they were hoping for as they are off to a very rough start.

My Thoughts:
I just adore Mary Higgins Clark and her wonderful mysteries! I hadn’t yet read anything by Carol Higgins Clark, let alone a book by the two of them.

After reading this book, I will definitely be checking out their other holiday themed tales, as well as original works by Carol!

I could not put this book down! This is one that you really need to read for yourself and to prevent giving too much away, I will keep this light.

From a cozy mystery standpoint, I thought that the plot was organized wonderfully! Sure, the story line was a bit predictable, and some of the things that happened were a bit of a stretch, it didn’t stop me from feeling wicked anxious! I just couldn’t wait to see how things would play out.

I thought that each of the characters were so interesting! While many of their roles were on the smaller side of things compared to the handful of characters that the story centered upon the most, I still loved learning more about each of them as the story played out.

And per usual with mysteries like this, I loved seeing how many things were going on for each of the characters! I always really enjoy watching this knot of craziness unravel a bit as the story moves forward before everything finally becomes clear at the very end.

My Final Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this mystery! The plot was paced wonderfully, there were many twists and turns that kept me anxious, and the characters were all so lovely.

Whether you choose to pick this one up around the holidays, or read it during any other time of the year, I cannot recommend it highly enough! Especially if you enjoy cozy mysteries and don’t mind a bit of predictability.

The Outsider by Stephen King is a brutal and suspenseful tale that centers around an unspeakable crime.

With various eye witnesses, fingerprints, and DNA matches, the case seems pretty cut and dry. However, the police soon begin to question their original convictions once they find that the suspect has a solid alibi. But surely the suspect couldn’t have been in two places at once…

This was the perfect book to read to begin my Spring Into Horror readathon!

When I first picked this one up, I thought it would take a week or so to read through based on the size of it. But when I started reading, I struggled to put it down! I cruised right through it in two days!

This is yet another book that you really need to read for yourself, so I will keep my review light to avoid spoiling it.

The very beginning of the story dove straight into the darkness as we read a transcript of a man who had stumbled upon the crime site. This scene honestly made me a bit nauseous with just how awful the crime was.

I’ll warn you here; if you cannot read about children who have been victims of sexual crimes, this is not one for you. This crime is brought up multiple times throughout the book.

The overall plot was wonderfully done; it was equally interesting and horrific. I really enjoyed the things that it made you think about, such as the whole innocent until proven guilty vs guilty until proven innocent, and suspending your beliefs and keeping an open mind when necessary.

This was a tale that made me quite jumpy! Two nights in a row, I went to bed and had to leave the door open so I could let in a bit of the light from the downstairs where my husband was still awake.

My Favorite Passages:
Strange, the things you noticed when your day – your life – suddenly went over a cliff you hadn’t even known was there.

Ralph’s thoughts were whirling around in his head like loose paper caught in a draft. He could not remember ever having been so completely blindsided.

He looked human, but was oddly hard to grasp, even so. It was like looking at a picture with your eyes slightly crossed. You knew what it was you were seeing, but everything was skewed and slightly out of true.

My Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book! While dark and brutal, there were also wonderful elements such as people banding together to fight the darkness.

If you love horror with a dash of the paranormal, I highly recommend this one to you!

Carnival of Horror is another amazing short story collection put together by Kevin J Kennedy. This collection has a little something for all horror lovers!

Mr Kennedy had sent this over to me ages ago, but I had quite the backlog of honest review requests that sat between where I was in the queue and where this book’s entry sat. So needless to say, I was so pumped when this one was finally up next!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

This was such a great collection! I both love and am terrified by carnivals! Clowns aren’t my favorite, never have been. Though I wouldn’t say I was afraid of them, exactly… it’s more like I just want to avoid them. But the clowns in this collection are the terrifying type for sure!

This collection also taught me the term “candy floss.” I’d only ever heard the term “cotton candy,” so I found that so interesting!

I also loved that many of these tales featured characters walking to the carnival! I grew up on an island off the coast of Maine, so to get to a carnival for us was a whole production and usually had at least a half an hour drive. I can only imagine how fun it would have been to be able to walk to one!

Of course, with any type of collection, it’s normal for me to love some and dislike some. In this specific collection, there was only one story that I didn’t care for simply based on the content matter which strayed into the type of horror I dislike.

Feel free to read on to see my quick thoughts after I read each story.

Heads up: there are very slight spoilers.

Wobbly Bob by David J. Fielding – 4/5
Woah! The mermaid caught me totally off guard but how neat! Then it just got better!

Mister Weasels and the Cosmic Carnival by H.R. Boldwood- 3/5
Woah! Space clowns? Eek!

Abandonland by Jason M. Light- 5/5
What?! Ah! This one was perfect! I’d love to read a longer tale with this plot! A great short story but as a novella it could also pack a punch!

The Frog Prince by Joe X. Young- 5/5
Yes!! Brutal revenge! I would happily read more about this tale! I need to know more about Trudy!!

Zoltara by Christina Bergling- 5/5
I loved this modern carnival! What a clever idea! And phew, what a dark tale!

In a Hand or Face by Gary A. Braunbeck- 4/5
Heartbreaking and terrifying!

Blood Show at the Carnival by Guy N. Smith- 4/5
Phew!! Quite violent and creepy!

For One Night Only by Lex H Jones- 5/5
Yes! I love a good ominous tale like this! So unsettling!

The Last Freakshow on Earth by a David Owain Hughes- 4/5
What a clever idea! I loved the 80s pop culture references! And what an ending!

Lifeblood by Mark Fleming
Unfortunately not one for me.

House of Illusion by Andrew Lennon- 5/5
Terrifying! Oh my gosh. I so wanted this one to have a happy ending.

Sweetheart by Selene MacLeod- 4/5
Woah! Intensely dark.

Vampiro by Kevin J. Kennedy- 5/5
Yes! A solid vampire tale! I loved the main character in this tale. And what an interesting plan.

What a Price to Pay for a Fucking Teddy Bear by J.C. Michael- 5/5
What a title for this one! I loved the comments here and there that built the suspense in this tale. And phew, what a tale!

The Voodoo Man by Steven Stacy- 5/5
Woah! Dark but this one packs a punch with a strong lesson.

Frimby’s Big Day by John Dover- 5/5
So intense and gory!! Wonderfully done. And that ending!!

The Pinch by Ike Hamill- 5/5
Ooh! Loved this one!

The Scare Machine by Megan Franzen- 5/5
Phew! What a story to end the collection! Terrifying!

My Final Thoughts:
Phew! What a collection! This really had a short for all types of horror lovers; from the eerie or sad tales to the downright brutal and gory. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

I Hate Image is a brightly colored and super violent tale about Gert, who is on a quest to get into Image Central to see the partners.

This is yet another comic from FCBD that I am just now finally getting around to reading…

I had heard that these comics are graphic… but I was not imagining that it was quite like this… I mean, page two was intense.

From the start, it was clear that there was a level of humor here mixed in with the violence. The panel where they were walking into a "ghost town" made me chuckle.

In this short comic, Gert runs into all sorts of Image Comic characters along her path. Most of these interactions don’t turn out well for the characters as she does whatever she needs to do in order to get what she wants.

My favorite characters that she ran into were, of course, Michonne, Rick, and Carl from The Walking Dead. I thought it was so clever that the overall theme was black and white, just like TWD comics.

Unfortunately, after that scene, I didn’t recognize any of the other characters. This may have been a more interesting read for me if I had…

Full disclosure here, this was the first tale about Gert that I have picked up. I Hate Fairland was on my radar, but I just hadn’t snagged the first volume yet. So I was super excited that I was able to check out this little glimpse into the world.

However, while I really enjoyed some of the humor and breaking the fourth wall, I don’t think this one is for me. I didn’t love the artwork, and I didn’t really care for the main character.

Perhaps one day I will give Volume One a shot… But as for this comic, I’d rate it as just two stars. This just wasn't for me.

I snagged a copy of Shadow Roads at Free Comic Book Day 2018. I’m totally embarrassed at how long it took me to finally be able to give it a read!

Shadow Roads is a story that is set in the world that remains after the conclusion of The Sixth Gun series. I haven’t yet read that series, but I definitely want to now!

The story jumps right in with two characters at a museum. One is having a great time, while the other feels a bit off. Before they leave, a man gives one of the characters a gift and a message.

Next up, we jump to New Mexico Territory where a man is searching for a girl that is talented with a pistol.

The two story lines jump back and forth throughout the short comic, where we dive a bit deeper into the plots for each.

Of course, the comic ends just when things are getting really interesting! But as a quick glimpse, I thought this was perfect!

The artwork was also really awesome! I love the color schemes. It was especially interesting that the scenes in London were quite different from the orange and brown tones of the scenes in New Mexico. And of course, I’m a total sucker for the darker panels! One character that pops into the story, Ms Abigail Redmayne, looks SWEET. I can’t wait to learn more about her!

This quick glimpse totally got me hooked! I definitely need to try to get my hands on the first full volume when it comes out on June 18, 2019!

This was an R.L. Stine book that I don't think I had read back in the 90's. When I saw a copy at Goodwill, I had to snag it. But wow was this one outdated...

In part one, I immediately couldn’t stand the main characters and their relationships with one another. Luckily the story took a dark turn on page 29. But that didn't last long...

In part two, we were right back where we started with the cringe-worthy teen relationships.

Hard pass.

The Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark collection is an awesome collection of tales that ranges from a little humorous to completely horrifying for readers ages 8-12.

These stories were available in our school library when I was a kid. I’m not sure how old I was when I first pulled one off the shelf, but I do know that I was hooked on these tales!

With the film coming out this year, I just had to get my hands on copies so I could re-read them! I am so glad that I did!

As a kid, I was obsessed with these tales. As a twenty-eight year old, they were just as fun and just as creepy to reread! I wish I had done it sooner!

As I was reading through, I could not believe how many of these tales and illustrations had stuck with me.

The illustrations are incredibly haunting! They certainly wove their way into my nightmares as a kid, and I didn’t spend too much time looking at some of them during this reread because of how eerie they are.

I will add a few examples of the illustrations below, so if you don’t enjoy creepy things, you may want to stop here!

I was very interested to see that for a number of these stories, I’ve seen the general plot retold time and time again over the years. For example, the tale about the ghostly hitchhiker. I must have read this tale a dozen times now from various sources.

One thing I had totally forgotten about is the prompts to help you really scare your friends as you read some of the stories aloud.

Another element that was included in my editions were the notes. I can’t remember if the original versions at my school had these. If they did, I probably didn’t read them because I was too interested in the tales themselves. However, as an adult I really enjoyed these sections because they gave the reader more information about the tales including where the stories were first mentioned, or if the tales had a history.

My favorite stories from book one, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, include:

The Big Toe
Oh my gosh, I remember this one! It’s quite gross. I mean, who plucks a toe from the dirt and eats it? And then the creature calling for it in the night… Eek!

The Walk
So repetitive, but my gosh does this one build the suspense!

The Haunted House
A very sad tale of a woman that was murdered by her lover, but one that has a great ending! What a clever way to find the culprit!

The Guests
I remember this one! Another sad tale, but so interesting! I love tales about not only ghosts, but ghost houses as well!

The Girl Who Stood On A Grave
I remember this one as well. I remember being so creeped out by the dare! The poor girl…

Room For One More
This is where my fear of elevators came from…

The Hook
God, this one. The ending still makes me feel like my stomach just dropped!

High Beams
I still think of this story every time I’m driving at night!!

The Babysitter
This one creeped me out so badly when I was younger. It was just as creepy with this reread!

My favorite stories from book two, More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, include:

The Bride
This story… I heard so many versions of this one as a kid, but this one really stuck with me!

One version that I heard growing up in my hometown was about a bride that got married on the beach. After the ceremony, she wandered out into the mudflats and got herself stuck in the mud and clay. As the tide came in, and before everyone could realize that she was stuck in the first place, she drowned.

The Man in the Middle
This is another one I’ve heard different versions of! Eek!

My favorite stories from book three, Scary Stories Three – More Tales To Chill Your Bones, include:

Book three held two of the most memorable tales that still haunt me from childhood, The Dream and The Red Spot.


The Dream
I remember this one mainly because of the illustration. This one used to haunt me a bit! I think what made it worse is that the story isn’t totally clear. As a kid, I wanted to think that the woman was trying to help, but with that ending I wasn’t sure.


The Red Spot
This one is just all around terrifying. I am so afraid of spiders and this one is a real nightmare!


My Final Thoughts:
I loved rereading these tales for the first time in over twenty years. I will definitely be picking these up on a more frequent basis moving forward now that I own copies.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling is a totally captivating but nerve-wracking tale that is certainly not for those that fear tight spaces…

While reading this tale, I felt so horribly claustrophobic… But I couldn’t stop. I had to find out what happened next!

This is another tale that you really just need to dive right into, so I will keep this short.

I got totally sucked into this story! I was so curious to learn why they were on this mission in the first place. As the story progressed, I ate up every little tidbit of information that we were given before the whole picture was finally made clear.

I loved learning about how the high-tech suit worked and I was amazed by the technology at every turn. This was one of my favorite elements of the story! It was just so interesting. The idea behind the feeding tube alone left me feeling quite astonished.

The two main characters were wonderful as individuals. I really enjoyed learning more about each of them along with their backstories. I felt quite protective of both of them from very early on, which doesn’t happen very often!

Their developing relationship was really interesting as well. I really enjoyed this, especially at the very beginning and ending. I thought that this added a really nice layer to the story. While it would probably be a totally different genre, I would love to see a novella or something for what happens next between these two (if anything) after this tale ends.

Yes, this book gets quite repetitive. But, readers… the repetition works. How often do you hear me say that?!

Would I have liked to see things edited to cut back to avoid this issue? Sure.

But thinking about the situation and how intense it was, when the main character had the same thoughts over and over and over again, it just made sense because it was so realistic.

There was such an intense sense of dread and terror throughout that made this such a creepy reading experience! I LOVED it.

As this was Caitlin Sterling’s first novel, I am just itching to see what she does next! I will definitely be preordering her next work just as soon as I hear about it!

My Favorite Passages:
Gyre’s skin prickled in a mix of frustration and unease that was becoming too familiar, like a pinch in a bad pair of boots, rubbing a blister into her flesh.

Now it was a bone-deep dread, a sickness in her stomach. It strengthened in waves, and the more she fought it, the stronger it grew. She felt it like a presence, like a tug at her center, like she was forgetting something she shouldn’t be.

The second to last thing she wanted to do was move, but the last thing that she wanted was to die, so she hauled herself up.

It was different, knowing it with certainty instead of assuming it. It cut deeper.

My Final Thoughts:
While I think the repetition worked, it still bothered me a bit. But I really enjoyed this tale! It was such an intense and interesting read that I got totally sucked into. It’s definitely a story-line that is going to stick with me for a long time to come. I just hope I don’t have to enter any caves any time soon…

This tale was so nerve-wracking! If you are a fan of combinations of sci-fi and horror, then I highly recommend this one to you!

The Last Woman in the Forest was a terrifying tale of murder, deception, lies, and betrayal, all set in remote locations where the crew who are working to protect endangered wildlife have to check in with their team leader on a frequent basis to let someone know that they are still alive and haven’t fallen due to the harsh elements, or the animals that call the areas home.

However, while the story had plenty of dark and terrifying moments as well as a few moments of heartbreak, this was all wonderfully balanced out by many wonderful elements of friendship, support, love, and dogs that have quite the amazing skill set!

One quick note: I would like to caution my reading and blogging friends that cannot read about animals (dogs specifically) in pain. There were a few scenes in this book that you may not be able to read.

From the very start of the novel, it’s made clear that Tate is not someone that can be trusted. However, as the story progresses, we jump back and forth between the timelines of the past and the present.

In the past, we follow our main character, Marian Engström, who has landed a job working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. On her very first assignment, she travels to northern Alberta. Though she was warned about starting relationships with fellow team members, she can’t help but fall in love with her mentor, Tate…

In the present, we are with Marian as her world is crumbling around her. She is second guessing everything that she thought that she knew.

Could her boyfriend really be the person who murdered four women?

While Marian dives into researching past projects and tries to make sense of the timelines, she can’t help but feel that something is wrong. Each odd thing that occurs at the base is something that she brushes off as a result of lack of sleep and too much caffeine. But what if her eyes and mind aren’t just playing tricks on her?

At first, Tate seems so wonderful and charming. But as their relationship progresses over the short timeline, we get quick little glimpses of who he truly may be underneath.

I thought that the way that this book was written was so clever! While it was very clear that Tate wasn’t to be trusted, as we slowly got to know him as the reader, it was almost like I was rooting for him to actually be a decent guy. Of course, this was all because the story was filtered through the rose-tinted glasses of Marian, who was head over heels for the guy.

Speaking of, I adored Marian. I loved how real she seemed. From the very beginning, she also seemed so strong. Over the course of the story, each thing that was thrown at her very easily could have broken her. But she handled it all perfectly. She cried when she needed to cry, and she was brave when she needed to be brave.

Each of the supporting characters were interesting as well! I loved learning more about each of them and seeing their banter and dynamics with one another both on assignments and back at the base relaxing.

Learning about the dogs and their skills was absolutely incredible! Based on a real-world organization, the dogs in this story are taken from the pound and trained to sniff out animal scat. But not only that, the dogs can detect it in crazy conditions such as under two feet of snow! How amazing?! The scat is collected and then sent off to be tested by scientists to see how the local animals are reacting to certain stressors, which allows them to report on the general well-being of the animals. I just thought that this was so interesting! I’m so thankful that Diane wrote a book based on this because I was so thrilled to learn more about it!

With this novel, I loved that there was a strong message to trust your gut. If something feels off, and something in your mind is telling you to get away, you need to trust that instinct.

When you pick this one up, make sure to read the Author’s Note at the end… It is incredibly powerful and has a lot of really important things to heed.

The Acknowledgements section is a must read as well! Just seeing how many people the author went to for help with her research for this book is incredible!

My Favorite Passages:
That was before the story Marian had believed in, the one she’d been certain had been written for her, had begun to change, like a kaleidoscope. Turn the cylinder one way, and the pieces shift, and a new image appears, as if each of her memories were a shard that could be rearranged to fit whichever story she chose to believe, and she wondered if truth existed at all. The only thing she could be certain of was that each day forward would carry the past.

When Marian met Tate, she didn’t know that the story of her life was about to change.

“Let’s go, Winter,” she said. The place made her whisper. She stood and stepped slowly, softly, as if afraid to disturb the area any more than she already had.

With a younger body, or even a healthier one, he could walk these woods any time he liked. He could run along neighborhood roads or walk across parking lots. He could enjoy the kid of solitude that put women at risk. Then there were the statistics: Ninety-five percent of stranger-to-stranger homicides were committed by men against women. Maybe he’d get his wife a Rottweiler before he died, or a Doberman pinscher.

Her voice was getting closer. And then he saw her, about fifty yards away on the trail, walking toward him, the sun shining behind her through the branches, and if he believed in God and all that celestial afterlife, he’d swear she was an angel. She was his angel.

“The things that go wrong in life allow us to create new life, Jeb told her. “It takes a lot of strength to do that.”

My Final Thoughts:
This was such a page turner! Once I picked it up, I could not wait to see what was going to happen next. Though I was kicking myself for picking it up over the course of a busy weekend. I just wanted to cancel all of our plans and sit at home reading!

The Last Woman in the Forest is a book that you can very easily fall right into.

The writing style is so wonderful and the plot was organized in a way that really builds up the nervousness and the suspense. The descriptions of the settings are vivid, like you are standing there with the characters. The development of each of the characters (dogs included) were done in a way that makes the reader feel that they really know everyone except, of course, for Tate.

If you enjoy thrillers that are very realistic, then I highly recommend this one!

This book is officially right up there with my feelings toward The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King; I just adore them both and I know I will think about each of the stories whenever I’m out in nature.