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ericarobyn
Night Shift by Robin Triggs is an intense and claustrophobic tale about extreme cold, murder, and a plot to take down Australis. But who is the culprit?
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
In the first few pages of the book, we see a note requesting the recipient to do with the following account what is deemed appropriate. Right off the bat, and of course also keeping the cover of the book in mind, you know that something went very, very wrong…
As the account begins, we meet the new Chief of Security, Anders Nordvelt. Nordvelt has arrived at Australis to replace the last Chief who left the base after some health issues; headaches, sleepwalking, and other such things. Nordvelt, who clearly has ties to The Company, is seen as an outsider from the very beginning; the crew that has already been there for months doesn’t trust him. They also don’t believe that they need him and everyone know that there is something fishy with the promotion in the first place as Nordvelt is quite young.
One afternoon, the crew goes out to a ridge to celebrate the final sunset before the area is plunged into darkness for the next six months. While out on this excursion, Nordvelt sees the crew drinking and smoking which The Company would not approve of. Before this becomes much of an issue, the first of the slew of major events occurs and of course, suspicion lands on Nordvelt first.
From there, we’re off on a fast-paced and suspenseful ride where finding out what happened next was equally exciting and frightening.
This is a book that I had a very hard time putting down! The writing was wonderful and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Mr Triggs work!
The world building was light, but as readers I felt that we were given just enough information to understand what the situation was. The descriptions of the base and the conditions were also just right; it let you imagine the space and scenery overall, but also let you fill in the blanks in your own mind. Same held true with each of the characters and their descriptions.
I also really appreciated that there was some sci-fi elements, but that they weren’t too intense. This allowed me to stay focused on the mystery elements rather than getting too tied up in the smaller details.
I really enjoyed learning more and more about The Company, the state of the world, and little tid-bits about each character and their roles as the story progressed. All of these layers made the tale even more engaging than the overall plot already was.
Toward the end of the book, I loved how well all the puzzle pieces fell into place. This was a situation that I did not see coming in the slightest, but once it was laid out, it made total sense. I cannot wait to reread this one from the beginning now that I know what had really been going in.
My Favorite Passages:
Our torches were powerful but the blizzard smothered all.
The wind blew across the courtyard like the exhalation of giants.
A novel is a puzzle: you set out all the pieces, lay them in order and try to link them together only to find out that they’ve transmogrified whilst your attention was elsewhere.
My Final Thoughts:
I absolutely relished my time reading this one; each second was so entertaining. I thought the plot was super interesting, the writing style was wonderful, the cast was great… Zero complaints from me!
This is another that I would LOVE to see as a film. Perhaps staring Timothée Chalamet.
If you’re a fan of tales that will keep you guessing while also feeling a bit claustrophobic, this is a great pick for you!
And stay tuned, book number two is in the works! The expected publication date is July 23rd 2020 by Flame Tree Press. I CANNOT WAIT!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
In the first few pages of the book, we see a note requesting the recipient to do with the following account what is deemed appropriate. Right off the bat, and of course also keeping the cover of the book in mind, you know that something went very, very wrong…
As the account begins, we meet the new Chief of Security, Anders Nordvelt. Nordvelt has arrived at Australis to replace the last Chief who left the base after some health issues; headaches, sleepwalking, and other such things. Nordvelt, who clearly has ties to The Company, is seen as an outsider from the very beginning; the crew that has already been there for months doesn’t trust him. They also don’t believe that they need him and everyone know that there is something fishy with the promotion in the first place as Nordvelt is quite young.
One afternoon, the crew goes out to a ridge to celebrate the final sunset before the area is plunged into darkness for the next six months. While out on this excursion, Nordvelt sees the crew drinking and smoking which The Company would not approve of. Before this becomes much of an issue, the first of the slew of major events occurs and of course, suspicion lands on Nordvelt first.
From there, we’re off on a fast-paced and suspenseful ride where finding out what happened next was equally exciting and frightening.
This is a book that I had a very hard time putting down! The writing was wonderful and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Mr Triggs work!
The world building was light, but as readers I felt that we were given just enough information to understand what the situation was. The descriptions of the base and the conditions were also just right; it let you imagine the space and scenery overall, but also let you fill in the blanks in your own mind. Same held true with each of the characters and their descriptions.
I also really appreciated that there was some sci-fi elements, but that they weren’t too intense. This allowed me to stay focused on the mystery elements rather than getting too tied up in the smaller details.
I really enjoyed learning more and more about The Company, the state of the world, and little tid-bits about each character and their roles as the story progressed. All of these layers made the tale even more engaging than the overall plot already was.
Toward the end of the book, I loved how well all the puzzle pieces fell into place. This was a situation that I did not see coming in the slightest, but once it was laid out, it made total sense. I cannot wait to reread this one from the beginning now that I know what had really been going in.
My Favorite Passages:
Our torches were powerful but the blizzard smothered all.
The wind blew across the courtyard like the exhalation of giants.
A novel is a puzzle: you set out all the pieces, lay them in order and try to link them together only to find out that they’ve transmogrified whilst your attention was elsewhere.
My Final Thoughts:
I absolutely relished my time reading this one; each second was so entertaining. I thought the plot was super interesting, the writing style was wonderful, the cast was great… Zero complaints from me!
This is another that I would LOVE to see as a film. Perhaps staring Timothée Chalamet.
If you’re a fan of tales that will keep you guessing while also feeling a bit claustrophobic, this is a great pick for you!
And stay tuned, book number two is in the works! The expected publication date is July 23rd 2020 by Flame Tree Press. I CANNOT WAIT!
Slash by Hunter Shea is an amazingly fast paced tale filled with sadness, terror, and gore.
With the mystery that totally sucked me in combined with the horror and dread I felt about what would happen next- I really struggled to put this one down!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
YOU GUYS! I FINALLY READ A HUNTER SHEA NOVEL!
And whoa…. I need to get my hands on his other works ASAP!!
When this story begins, we meet Ashley King. It’s clear that Ashley is suffering. She jumps at the sound of a car door shutting, and she mentions her sleeping pills and all of her scars. Suddenly, we’re in Ashley’s nightmare. When she jolts awake, there’s a line that makes the reader question if it was just a nightmare, or something based on previous events…
In the next chapter, we meet Todd Matthews, Ashley’s fiance, as he’s headed home from work. When he can’t find Ashley in one of her usual spots in the house, he sees that the basement door is cracked open and heads down there. Hanging from the ceiling, he finds Ashley. But it’s far too late to help her.
While Todd goes through mourning and tries to process what happened, he focuses his anger on all the final girl fans and the media that glorifies these awful situations. While he processes, the readers are given more and more information about Ashley’s past and how she became a final girl.
One day, Todd finds Ashley’s suicide note. In it, there is a clue. After searching, he ends up finding a memory card. On this memory card was a video where Ashley explained things to him that he wasn’t aware of while she had been alive. Also in this video, Ashley mentions that she would record herself on each of their explorations and leave the memory cards on location.
Determined to gather anything he can that Ashley left behind and learn more about what happened that night, Todd ends up going back to the grisly scene that Ashley had barely escaped.
He thinks this will be a relatively easy trip; just pop in and find the memory cards and leave. But what he doesn’t know is that there’s something out there still. And it may just cost him and his loved ones their lives.
Phew! I could go on and on about this plot! But I will stop there as I don’t want to ruin the craziness that happens next.
This is a tale that has a wonderful Friday The Thirteenth tone, but in my opinion, was much more terrifying!
There were so many scenes that I read as fast as I could to see what would happen next! But a few times, when a scare would happen, I had to close my eyes for a moment.
I know jump scares are typically only used to describe films and how the scares are combined with a sudden switch in imagery and a loud noise, but the scares in this book got me to jump just like a jump scare in a film! This is honestly the very first book I have read where something like this happened and I was shocked. The writing was just that perfect; I was totally captivated by the tale and it felt like I was watching it all play out as a film!
My Favorite Passages
What drives a man to slaughter four people he’s never met and have never done a thing to him? You’d have to dissect their brain and find the rot to know.
Todd’s legs had a hard time getting started. He felt like a character in a Scooby-Doo cartoon where their legs spin and spin before actually propelling them forward.
My Final Thoughts
When I finished reading, I wanted to scream out of terror but also out of frustration for all that these characters had to go through…
This book is such a wonderfully written horror novel! It had great characters that were all perfectly developed for their roles, an intense plot, lots of action and gore, plenty of jump scares, and all kinds of powerful emotions! It was just incredible!
After finally reading this book, I am kicking myself for taking so long to get around to reading Hunter Shea’s work! I had SO MANY blogging friends recommend his books to me… You all were right, I’m obsessed!
If you enjoy gory horror-filled reads that have a wonderful Friday The Thirteenth tone to them, then I highly recommend this one to you!
With the mystery that totally sucked me in combined with the horror and dread I felt about what would happen next- I really struggled to put this one down!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
YOU GUYS! I FINALLY READ A HUNTER SHEA NOVEL!
And whoa…. I need to get my hands on his other works ASAP!!
When this story begins, we meet Ashley King. It’s clear that Ashley is suffering. She jumps at the sound of a car door shutting, and she mentions her sleeping pills and all of her scars. Suddenly, we’re in Ashley’s nightmare. When she jolts awake, there’s a line that makes the reader question if it was just a nightmare, or something based on previous events…
In the next chapter, we meet Todd Matthews, Ashley’s fiance, as he’s headed home from work. When he can’t find Ashley in one of her usual spots in the house, he sees that the basement door is cracked open and heads down there. Hanging from the ceiling, he finds Ashley. But it’s far too late to help her.
While Todd goes through mourning and tries to process what happened, he focuses his anger on all the final girl fans and the media that glorifies these awful situations. While he processes, the readers are given more and more information about Ashley’s past and how she became a final girl.
One day, Todd finds Ashley’s suicide note. In it, there is a clue. After searching, he ends up finding a memory card. On this memory card was a video where Ashley explained things to him that he wasn’t aware of while she had been alive. Also in this video, Ashley mentions that she would record herself on each of their explorations and leave the memory cards on location.
Determined to gather anything he can that Ashley left behind and learn more about what happened that night, Todd ends up going back to the grisly scene that Ashley had barely escaped.
He thinks this will be a relatively easy trip; just pop in and find the memory cards and leave. But what he doesn’t know is that there’s something out there still. And it may just cost him and his loved ones their lives.
Phew! I could go on and on about this plot! But I will stop there as I don’t want to ruin the craziness that happens next.
This is a tale that has a wonderful Friday The Thirteenth tone, but in my opinion, was much more terrifying!
There were so many scenes that I read as fast as I could to see what would happen next! But a few times, when a scare would happen, I had to close my eyes for a moment.
I know jump scares are typically only used to describe films and how the scares are combined with a sudden switch in imagery and a loud noise, but the scares in this book got me to jump just like a jump scare in a film! This is honestly the very first book I have read where something like this happened and I was shocked. The writing was just that perfect; I was totally captivated by the tale and it felt like I was watching it all play out as a film!
My Favorite Passages
What drives a man to slaughter four people he’s never met and have never done a thing to him? You’d have to dissect their brain and find the rot to know.
Todd’s legs had a hard time getting started. He felt like a character in a Scooby-Doo cartoon where their legs spin and spin before actually propelling them forward.
My Final Thoughts
When I finished reading, I wanted to scream out of terror but also out of frustration for all that these characters had to go through…
This book is such a wonderfully written horror novel! It had great characters that were all perfectly developed for their roles, an intense plot, lots of action and gore, plenty of jump scares, and all kinds of powerful emotions! It was just incredible!
After finally reading this book, I am kicking myself for taking so long to get around to reading Hunter Shea’s work! I had SO MANY blogging friends recommend his books to me… You all were right, I’m obsessed!
If you enjoy gory horror-filled reads that have a wonderful Friday The Thirteenth tone to them, then I highly recommend this one to you!
100 Word Horrors 4
Steve Stred, David Owain Hughes, Kevin J. Kennedy, Evans Light, Chad Lutzke, Jason Parent, John Boden, Ross Jeffery, Lee Mountford, Adam Light, Eric J. Guignard, Tristan Drue Rogers, Andrew Lennon, J.C. Michael
100 Word Horrors Book 4 is another amazing anthology of horror drabbles by Kevin J. Kennedy.
I just cannot get enough of these! These tales are perfect for readers that want to keep them on hand and read one or two every now and again. Of course, you can also cruise right through them all, like I did… I just can’t help myself!
Each tale is so wonderfully written. With each of these collections I’m just amazed at the world these authors can create in just 100 words.
My favorites are the drabbles that start light but then in the very last sentence turn dark.
Per usual with these types of collections, here are my rating breakdowns for each story along with some immediate thoughts/reactions:
Forward
In the quick forward, the author explains that this will be the last in this series for a bit. I totally understand and I’m wicked excited for his other future projects! Of course, if another Drabble collection is out together down the road, I’ll be here for it!
Extra-Curricular Clone by N. M. Brown – 5/5
Is there anything more horrific than being in a very scary situation and hearing a giggle?!
Water World by Ann Christine Tabaka – 5/5
Truly one of my nightmares!
Swamplands by Paul D. Brazill – 3/5
What the?!
Choke by Lee Mountford – 5/5
Yes!! What loyalty!
Eternal Life by Ross Baxter – 5/5
Aww a sad one, but interesting!
Mister Mushroom by Joel R Hunt – 4/5
That ending!
Chiaroscuro Morning by Kevin Wetmore – 5/5
Super creepy!!
Road Kill by Dawn DeBraal – 3/5
Oh gosh!!
The Wave by Andrew Lennon – 5/5
Terrifying!!
Better Off Dead by Zoey Xolton – 4/5
Woah!
The Children of Earth by Ann Christine Tabaka – 5/5
Ooh! An interesting and terrifying thought!
Swing Low by Evans Light – 4/5
Eek! This one is screaming for more info!
The Golden Sticker by David Owain Hughes- 5/5
Oh my gosh! What an awesome idea! I love led collecting stickers when I was a kid and actually thought about starting up again recently with stickers from local breweries! Monsters are way cooler though!
Livestock by RJ Meldrum – 5/5
Oh my goodness! Yikes!
Molly’s Wedding by Julian J. Guignard – 5/5
So spooky!!! I love this one!
Zombie by Jackk J. Killington – 5/5
Love, love, love this! What a claustrophobic Drabble!
Every Fifty Years the Roots Need Blood by Ellen A. Easton – 4/5
Eek! So creepy. Stay out of the forest!
Revived by Dawn DeBraal – 5/5
Oh no, poor Charlotte!
No Time Like the Present by Adam Light – 5/5
Woah! Not what I was expecting. I need more info here!!
A Prison Inside Us by Sheldon Woodbury – 5/5
Terrifying!!
To Feed A Monster by Terry Miller – 5/5
Heartbreaking!
Lanterns by Simon Cluett – 5/5
Goodness! Not where I saw this one going!
The Guest Room by Jack Lothian – 5/5
Yikes!!! Terrifying!
Wrath of the Old Ones by Kevin J. Kennedy- 5/5
What a terrifying idea!
My Brother Gets Released Today by Tristan Drue Rogers –
Unfortunately I think I’m missing something with this one…
A Shape in the Dark by Jason Parent – 5/5
Very suspenseful and spooky!!
The Coffin by Kevin Cathy – 4/5
Another straight from my nightmares!
Louie’s Room by C. M. Saunders – 5/5
Oh my god, that last sentence…
Mine by Nerisha Kemraj- 4/5
So scary!
The Theater of Screams by Howard Carlyle- 5/5
Oh my god! Terrifying!
Worth It by Matthew A Clarke – 3/5
Dark!
Blood in the Moonlight by Robin Braid – 5/5
Oooh!!! This one totally calls for more info but is also just perfect as is! Love it!!
Feeding the Beast by Lee Franklin – 4/5
Woah!! I loved how this one takes a minute to figure out!
A Friend for Ellie by P.J. Blakey-Novis – 5/5
Terrifying!!!
Cattle by Ryan Colley – 5/5
Absolutely horrible! Ah, internet rabbit holes…
Open Call by Steve Stred – 5/5
Oh my gosh!! How clever!
The Job Interview by Ron Davis – 4/5
Woah, what an interview!
The Transylvania Box by Joel R Hunt – 5/5
Oh no!
Hide and Seek by Eddie D. Moore – 4/5
Oh gosh! The end…
Inescapable End by Micha Castle – 3/5
Spooky!
Vulture by Veronica Smith – 4/5
Eerie!
Books-A-Million by David Owain Hughes – 5/5
Oh my gosh!!! What a way to go out.
Hair by Timothy Friesenhahn – 5/5
Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!! Terrifying!
Stop by Mark Steensland – 5/5
Eek!!!! Just like one of those chain letters!!
Meal by John Boden – 3/5
Oh no.
Sanatorium by Constanze Scheib – 5/5
Terrifying!!!
The Hunter by Darren Tarditi – 5/5
Absolutely horrifying!
Armageddon by Theresa Jacobs – 5/5
A perfect zombie tale!
Dark Legion by Toneye Eyenot – 4/5
Dark one!
The Hunter by Alanna Robertson-Webb – 5/5
Terrifying!! Oh my gosh. This one spooked me!
My Sincerest Apologies to Any Innocent Victims by Billy San Juan – 5/5
What payback!! But also… how scary does that title make the story?!
Blood and Bone by Stacey Jaine McIntosh – 3/5
Interesting. I want to know how the kid was born!
Shingles on a graham-cracker roof by Chad Lutzke – 5/5
Eeek! This one made me cringe so much!
Pants Season by Joe X Young – 5/5
Oh no! Horrific!
Cats by Callum Pearce – 5/5
Yikes! This one made me wish I had my back to a wall!
Curiosity by Gary McDonough – 4/5
So eerie!! Shoulda listened to mum!
Missing Halloween by Kevin J. Kennedy – 5/5
Did not see that coming!
Hunger Pains by Chloe Lennon – 3/5
A lighter but interesting tale! This one will make ya think about what the world of tale one is like after getting this little glimpse…
Lair by Jacek Wilkos- 4/5
Yikes yikes yikes!
Awaken to Death by Tina Piney – 5/5
An absolute nightmare!!!
Bus Home by Russell Smeaton – 5/5
Oh no! Terribly sad but perfectly written.
Misadventures of an Aggrieved Recluse by Eric J. Guignard- 5/5
Love this!
Haunted House by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer- 5/5
So spooky!! I felt bad for the poor wheezing asthmatic girl.
Motivation by Andrew Lennon – 4/5
That’s some dedication!
Slaughter by the Full of the Moon by Toneye Eyenot – 4/5
Eek! Creepy!!
Predator by Lee Mountford – 5/5
Yasss! Perfect.
Grave Concerns by Zoey Xolton – 5/5
Love it! What a scene this one set in just two sentences!
Summer Snow by RJ Meldrum – 5/5
Oh no… A wicked sad one.
The Museum of Horrors by Sheldon Woodbury – 4/5
Eek!
Diamond Lake Killer by Jack Lothian – 5/5
Uh oh…
Long Limbs at the E.R. by Tristian Drue Rogers – 4/5
Yikes!!
Inescapable by Kevin Cathy – 5/5
Terrifying!
Undead Champion by Robin Braid – 4/5
Woah! What an idea!
You Look Prettier When You Smile by Lee Franklin – 5/5
Yikes!!!
Captive by P.J. Blakey-Novis – 4/5
Absolutely terrifying! Another situation right out of my nightmares!
Memory Stick by Ryan Colley – 5/5
So so so creepy!! Don’t use random memory sticks!
Terra by Steve Stred – 3/5
Oh gosh! What happened?!
I by Timothy Friesenhahn – 3/5
Oh no! What a creepy premise.
Compelled to Rise by Toneye Eyenot – 5/5
Beautifully written! What a tale!
Believe in Me by Joe X Young – 5/5
That ending!
The Old Man by Amber M. Simpson – 4/5
Yikes! So much for being polite….
All Alone by Veronica Smith – 4/5
Creepy!!
Poached Egg by Ross Jeffery – 4/5
Disgustingly disturbing.
Domestic Bliss by J.C. Michael – 4/5
Uh oh!!
Tiny Terrors by Greg Bennett – 4/5
Oh no! So creepy. Wonderful zombie tale!
Slithering by Josh A. Murphy – 4/5
Yikes!! Glad I don’t have a letterbox!
Getting Carried Away by Evans Light – 5/5
Oh my gosh! Love this! I always enjoy not really understanding what’s going on until the last sentence in a Drabble!
Asylum by Nerisha Kemraj – 5/5
Oh no!! So scary!
Fantasy by Regina Kenney – 4/5
Oh boy….
Coins by Harris Coverly – 3/5
Oh no!
New Home by Mark Cassell – 4/5
Oh no! What’s going on?!
Cannibal by Dawn DeBraal – 5/5
Clever trap! Terrifying people!
Advice by Valerie Lioudis – 5/5
Horrifying!!!
Take the Long Way Home by Kevin Wetmore – 5/5
Yikes!!
Cinema by Andrew Lennon –
Not for me.
Phantom by RJ Meldrum – 5/5
Woah!! That rules and is wonderfully scary!
Fiddlestyx by Toneye Eyenot – 4/5
Eep! I can’t remember the last time I hear someone say that term… high school maybe?
Ride-Hailing by Ryan Colley – 5/5
Another of my nightmares! I’ve only taken a Lyft once alone… never again.
Too Little Too Late by Veronica Smith – 5/5
Oh no! That last sentence!
Spectrum by J.C. Michael – 3/5
Oh boy!
This Little Piggy by Evans Light – 4/5
Yuck!
Afterward
A wonderful wrap up!
My Final Thoughts
I love this collection so much! I very highly recommend it to all types of horror fans! There’s something here for everyone. I cannot wait to return to this one again soon!
I just cannot get enough of these! These tales are perfect for readers that want to keep them on hand and read one or two every now and again. Of course, you can also cruise right through them all, like I did… I just can’t help myself!
Each tale is so wonderfully written. With each of these collections I’m just amazed at the world these authors can create in just 100 words.
My favorites are the drabbles that start light but then in the very last sentence turn dark.
Per usual with these types of collections, here are my rating breakdowns for each story along with some immediate thoughts/reactions:
Forward
In the quick forward, the author explains that this will be the last in this series for a bit. I totally understand and I’m wicked excited for his other future projects! Of course, if another Drabble collection is out together down the road, I’ll be here for it!
Extra-Curricular Clone by N. M. Brown – 5/5
Is there anything more horrific than being in a very scary situation and hearing a giggle?!
Water World by Ann Christine Tabaka – 5/5
Truly one of my nightmares!
Swamplands by Paul D. Brazill – 3/5
What the?!
Choke by Lee Mountford – 5/5
Yes!! What loyalty!
Eternal Life by Ross Baxter – 5/5
Aww a sad one, but interesting!
Mister Mushroom by Joel R Hunt – 4/5
That ending!
Chiaroscuro Morning by Kevin Wetmore – 5/5
Super creepy!!
Road Kill by Dawn DeBraal – 3/5
Oh gosh!!
The Wave by Andrew Lennon – 5/5
Terrifying!!
Better Off Dead by Zoey Xolton – 4/5
Woah!
The Children of Earth by Ann Christine Tabaka – 5/5
Ooh! An interesting and terrifying thought!
Swing Low by Evans Light – 4/5
Eek! This one is screaming for more info!
The Golden Sticker by David Owain Hughes- 5/5
Oh my gosh! What an awesome idea! I love led collecting stickers when I was a kid and actually thought about starting up again recently with stickers from local breweries! Monsters are way cooler though!
Livestock by RJ Meldrum – 5/5
Oh my goodness! Yikes!
Molly’s Wedding by Julian J. Guignard – 5/5
So spooky!!! I love this one!
Zombie by Jackk J. Killington – 5/5
Love, love, love this! What a claustrophobic Drabble!
Every Fifty Years the Roots Need Blood by Ellen A. Easton – 4/5
Eek! So creepy. Stay out of the forest!
Revived by Dawn DeBraal – 5/5
Oh no, poor Charlotte!
No Time Like the Present by Adam Light – 5/5
Woah! Not what I was expecting. I need more info here!!
A Prison Inside Us by Sheldon Woodbury – 5/5
Terrifying!!
To Feed A Monster by Terry Miller – 5/5
Heartbreaking!
Lanterns by Simon Cluett – 5/5
Goodness! Not where I saw this one going!
The Guest Room by Jack Lothian – 5/5
Yikes!!! Terrifying!
Wrath of the Old Ones by Kevin J. Kennedy- 5/5
What a terrifying idea!
My Brother Gets Released Today by Tristan Drue Rogers –
Unfortunately I think I’m missing something with this one…
A Shape in the Dark by Jason Parent – 5/5
Very suspenseful and spooky!!
The Coffin by Kevin Cathy – 4/5
Another straight from my nightmares!
Louie’s Room by C. M. Saunders – 5/5
Oh my god, that last sentence…
Mine by Nerisha Kemraj- 4/5
So scary!
The Theater of Screams by Howard Carlyle- 5/5
Oh my god! Terrifying!
Worth It by Matthew A Clarke – 3/5
Dark!
Blood in the Moonlight by Robin Braid – 5/5
Oooh!!! This one totally calls for more info but is also just perfect as is! Love it!!
Feeding the Beast by Lee Franklin – 4/5
Woah!! I loved how this one takes a minute to figure out!
A Friend for Ellie by P.J. Blakey-Novis – 5/5
Terrifying!!!
Cattle by Ryan Colley – 5/5
Absolutely horrible! Ah, internet rabbit holes…
Open Call by Steve Stred – 5/5
Oh my gosh!! How clever!
The Job Interview by Ron Davis – 4/5
Woah, what an interview!
The Transylvania Box by Joel R Hunt – 5/5
Oh no!
Hide and Seek by Eddie D. Moore – 4/5
Oh gosh! The end…
Inescapable End by Micha Castle – 3/5
Spooky!
Vulture by Veronica Smith – 4/5
Eerie!
Books-A-Million by David Owain Hughes – 5/5
Oh my gosh!!! What a way to go out.
Hair by Timothy Friesenhahn – 5/5
Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!! Terrifying!
Stop by Mark Steensland – 5/5
Eek!!!! Just like one of those chain letters!!
Meal by John Boden – 3/5
Oh no.
Sanatorium by Constanze Scheib – 5/5
Terrifying!!!
The Hunter by Darren Tarditi – 5/5
Absolutely horrifying!
Armageddon by Theresa Jacobs – 5/5
A perfect zombie tale!
Dark Legion by Toneye Eyenot – 4/5
Dark one!
The Hunter by Alanna Robertson-Webb – 5/5
Terrifying!! Oh my gosh. This one spooked me!
My Sincerest Apologies to Any Innocent Victims by Billy San Juan – 5/5
What payback!! But also… how scary does that title make the story?!
Blood and Bone by Stacey Jaine McIntosh – 3/5
Interesting. I want to know how the kid was born!
Shingles on a graham-cracker roof by Chad Lutzke – 5/5
Eeek! This one made me cringe so much!
Pants Season by Joe X Young – 5/5
Oh no! Horrific!
Cats by Callum Pearce – 5/5
Yikes! This one made me wish I had my back to a wall!
Curiosity by Gary McDonough – 4/5
So eerie!! Shoulda listened to mum!
Missing Halloween by Kevin J. Kennedy – 5/5
Did not see that coming!
Hunger Pains by Chloe Lennon – 3/5
A lighter but interesting tale! This one will make ya think about what the world of tale one is like after getting this little glimpse…
Lair by Jacek Wilkos- 4/5
Yikes yikes yikes!
Awaken to Death by Tina Piney – 5/5
An absolute nightmare!!!
Bus Home by Russell Smeaton – 5/5
Oh no! Terribly sad but perfectly written.
Misadventures of an Aggrieved Recluse by Eric J. Guignard- 5/5
Love this!
Haunted House by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer- 5/5
So spooky!! I felt bad for the poor wheezing asthmatic girl.
Motivation by Andrew Lennon – 4/5
That’s some dedication!
Slaughter by the Full of the Moon by Toneye Eyenot – 4/5
Eek! Creepy!!
Predator by Lee Mountford – 5/5
Yasss! Perfect.
Grave Concerns by Zoey Xolton – 5/5
Love it! What a scene this one set in just two sentences!
Summer Snow by RJ Meldrum – 5/5
Oh no… A wicked sad one.
The Museum of Horrors by Sheldon Woodbury – 4/5
Eek!
Diamond Lake Killer by Jack Lothian – 5/5
Uh oh…
Long Limbs at the E.R. by Tristian Drue Rogers – 4/5
Yikes!!
Inescapable by Kevin Cathy – 5/5
Terrifying!
Undead Champion by Robin Braid – 4/5
Woah! What an idea!
You Look Prettier When You Smile by Lee Franklin – 5/5
Yikes!!!
Captive by P.J. Blakey-Novis – 4/5
Absolutely terrifying! Another situation right out of my nightmares!
Memory Stick by Ryan Colley – 5/5
So so so creepy!! Don’t use random memory sticks!
Terra by Steve Stred – 3/5
Oh gosh! What happened?!
I by Timothy Friesenhahn – 3/5
Oh no! What a creepy premise.
Compelled to Rise by Toneye Eyenot – 5/5
Beautifully written! What a tale!
Believe in Me by Joe X Young – 5/5
That ending!
The Old Man by Amber M. Simpson – 4/5
Yikes! So much for being polite….
All Alone by Veronica Smith – 4/5
Creepy!!
Poached Egg by Ross Jeffery – 4/5
Disgustingly disturbing.
Domestic Bliss by J.C. Michael – 4/5
Uh oh!!
Tiny Terrors by Greg Bennett – 4/5
Oh no! So creepy. Wonderful zombie tale!
Slithering by Josh A. Murphy – 4/5
Yikes!! Glad I don’t have a letterbox!
Getting Carried Away by Evans Light – 5/5
Oh my gosh! Love this! I always enjoy not really understanding what’s going on until the last sentence in a Drabble!
Asylum by Nerisha Kemraj – 5/5
Oh no!! So scary!
Fantasy by Regina Kenney – 4/5
Oh boy….
Coins by Harris Coverly – 3/5
Oh no!
New Home by Mark Cassell – 4/5
Oh no! What’s going on?!
Cannibal by Dawn DeBraal – 5/5
Clever trap! Terrifying people!
Advice by Valerie Lioudis – 5/5
Horrifying!!!
Take the Long Way Home by Kevin Wetmore – 5/5
Yikes!!
Cinema by Andrew Lennon –
Not for me.
Phantom by RJ Meldrum – 5/5
Woah!! That rules and is wonderfully scary!
Fiddlestyx by Toneye Eyenot – 4/5
Eep! I can’t remember the last time I hear someone say that term… high school maybe?
Ride-Hailing by Ryan Colley – 5/5
Another of my nightmares! I’ve only taken a Lyft once alone… never again.
Too Little Too Late by Veronica Smith – 5/5
Oh no! That last sentence!
Spectrum by J.C. Michael – 3/5
Oh boy!
This Little Piggy by Evans Light – 4/5
Yuck!
Afterward
A wonderful wrap up!
My Final Thoughts
I love this collection so much! I very highly recommend it to all types of horror fans! There’s something here for everyone. I cannot wait to return to this one again soon!
Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear is the second fast-paced whodunit novel in the Cat Kinsella series.
I could not stop reading.
I had originally purchased this one as soon as it came out, but with how crazy 2019 got, it fell down my TBR list. I’m so thankful that I was finally able to get to it!
The very first page of this story really starts things with a bang!! I love when authors do this to help set the tone. Not that Caz Frear really needs any extra help, because what came next kept things rolling right along!
When the first chapter begins, we meet back up with Cat and Parnell, two investigators, as they have arrived at a crime scene. The body of a young girl is sprawled on a kitchen floor and due to her injuries, foul play is suspected.
We learn that the victim hasn’t been in town long, but that she did have a job. That’s where our investigators go to chat first.
Throughout the investigation, we are introduced to a number of characters, each of them interesting and infuriating in their own ways. We learn very quickly that a number of them are lying… but why?
I love the characters in this book so much. The main character, Cat, has her secrets, and while I don’t love all of her decisions, I do love her as a strong female lead! She’s so smart and I love her dedication to her work. I also love Parnell and his father-like relationship with Cat and how protective of her he is.
The plot was super engaging and I was so interested to see how things were going to unfold. With how many people were involved and because many of them had been lying, I didn’t know what to believe! I was fully on board with each path they took as each sounded totally plausible!
One of my favorite things about this series so far is just how easy they are to read. The characters seem so real and their banter with one another is perfect and so funny. The authors way of setting a scene really makes the tale come off the pages.
My Favorite Passages:
Dr. Allen’s face says she’d expect nothing different. “Narcissists have no concept of other people’s needs.”
“Here, that’s not narcissists, that’s toddlers.” Cooke gets the laugh.
“I don’t suppose there’s any point in ordering you to go home?” she says, turning back to me. “I’ll only find you in the loos with a stack of witness statements.”
Once. I did that once.
My Final Thoughts:
I had so much fun reading this and spending more time with these characters! I cannot wait to see what comes next!
This is definitely one that I would recommend to fans of fast paced mysteries with wonderful characters that really drove the story!
I could not stop reading.
I had originally purchased this one as soon as it came out, but with how crazy 2019 got, it fell down my TBR list. I’m so thankful that I was finally able to get to it!
The very first page of this story really starts things with a bang!! I love when authors do this to help set the tone. Not that Caz Frear really needs any extra help, because what came next kept things rolling right along!
When the first chapter begins, we meet back up with Cat and Parnell, two investigators, as they have arrived at a crime scene. The body of a young girl is sprawled on a kitchen floor and due to her injuries, foul play is suspected.
We learn that the victim hasn’t been in town long, but that she did have a job. That’s where our investigators go to chat first.
Throughout the investigation, we are introduced to a number of characters, each of them interesting and infuriating in their own ways. We learn very quickly that a number of them are lying… but why?
I love the characters in this book so much. The main character, Cat, has her secrets, and while I don’t love all of her decisions, I do love her as a strong female lead! She’s so smart and I love her dedication to her work. I also love Parnell and his father-like relationship with Cat and how protective of her he is.
The plot was super engaging and I was so interested to see how things were going to unfold. With how many people were involved and because many of them had been lying, I didn’t know what to believe! I was fully on board with each path they took as each sounded totally plausible!
One of my favorite things about this series so far is just how easy they are to read. The characters seem so real and their banter with one another is perfect and so funny. The authors way of setting a scene really makes the tale come off the pages.
My Favorite Passages:
Dr. Allen’s face says she’d expect nothing different. “Narcissists have no concept of other people’s needs.”
“Here, that’s not narcissists, that’s toddlers.” Cooke gets the laugh.
“I don’t suppose there’s any point in ordering you to go home?” she says, turning back to me. “I’ll only find you in the loos with a stack of witness statements.”
Once. I did that once.
My Final Thoughts:
I had so much fun reading this and spending more time with these characters! I cannot wait to see what comes next!
This is definitely one that I would recommend to fans of fast paced mysteries with wonderful characters that really drove the story!
The Horror Collection: Gold Edition is yet another awesome collection of tales that had a story for all types of horror fans; from light horror to heartbreaking and gore filled!
This collection was so much fun!
In this collection, Flesh by Kevin J. Kennedy and Ghost Train by Mike Duke were my two favorites.
Per usual, here are my quick breakdowns and reactions for each story that was included.
The Paperboy by Amy Cross – 4/5
Oh gosh! What an intense loop! I usually hate repetition, but in this case it made the story that much more suspenseful. The obsession with the adult seeing the paperboys eyes was certainly intriguing. I was definitely left wondering what happened after the hat was lifted… and what’s up with all the wounds?
The Man Who Lost Paradise by J.C. Michael -2/5
Woah. What an interesting take on addiction! I liked the possession element to this, but I’m personally not a fan of stories that center around addiction. It was wonderfully written, just not for me.
The September Laments of Annaleigh by Matthew Brockmeyer – 3/5
Jeeze! What a messed up little family. And what in the world were those critters bred for?!
Flesh by Kevin J. Kennedy – 5/5
Ever wonder what would happen if a family lived away from the public, in a cave that over the years, has the ability to change them into lizard-like creatures? Oh goodness!! This certainly made me was to go read The Tale of Sawney Bean again! I loved that this one picked up a time after that book ended. I had been wondering how the family may have fared in later years… What an interesting storyline! I loved the zombie element!
At Peace Now? by Lex H Jones – 4/5
Phew! What an intense tale right from the start! The afterlife is such an interesting thing. I love seeing the different settings that people come up with! I certainly wouldn’t want to end up in this one!
Ghost Train by Mike Duke – 5/5
Oh my goodness. That first scene was brutal. Thoughts of anyone getting into an accident with a train is horrific. But kids? So horrible! I felt bad for the kid that was supposed to be on the bus that day as well! Then we jump to when that kid is all grown up and has a kid of his own named Billy. Billy and his friends want to go see the rumored ghost train… of course that sets off a tale of mystery and determination to get their friends back.
My Final Thoughts:
I read this while on an early morning flight from Boston to Phoenix and I was totally drawn in. Thank goodness too, because I hate flying! This helped pass the time wonderfully!
This collection was so much fun!
In this collection, Flesh by Kevin J. Kennedy and Ghost Train by Mike Duke were my two favorites.
Per usual, here are my quick breakdowns and reactions for each story that was included.
The Paperboy by Amy Cross – 4/5
Oh gosh! What an intense loop! I usually hate repetition, but in this case it made the story that much more suspenseful. The obsession with the adult seeing the paperboys eyes was certainly intriguing. I was definitely left wondering what happened after the hat was lifted… and what’s up with all the wounds?
The Man Who Lost Paradise by J.C. Michael -2/5
Woah. What an interesting take on addiction! I liked the possession element to this, but I’m personally not a fan of stories that center around addiction. It was wonderfully written, just not for me.
The September Laments of Annaleigh by Matthew Brockmeyer – 3/5
Jeeze! What a messed up little family. And what in the world were those critters bred for?!
Flesh by Kevin J. Kennedy – 5/5
Ever wonder what would happen if a family lived away from the public, in a cave that over the years, has the ability to change them into lizard-like creatures? Oh goodness!! This certainly made me was to go read The Tale of Sawney Bean again! I loved that this one picked up a time after that book ended. I had been wondering how the family may have fared in later years… What an interesting storyline! I loved the zombie element!
At Peace Now? by Lex H Jones – 4/5
Phew! What an intense tale right from the start! The afterlife is such an interesting thing. I love seeing the different settings that people come up with! I certainly wouldn’t want to end up in this one!
Ghost Train by Mike Duke – 5/5
Oh my goodness. That first scene was brutal. Thoughts of anyone getting into an accident with a train is horrific. But kids? So horrible! I felt bad for the kid that was supposed to be on the bus that day as well! Then we jump to when that kid is all grown up and has a kid of his own named Billy. Billy and his friends want to go see the rumored ghost train… of course that sets off a tale of mystery and determination to get their friends back.
My Final Thoughts:
I read this while on an early morning flight from Boston to Phoenix and I was totally drawn in. Thank goodness too, because I hate flying! This helped pass the time wonderfully!
Killer Soul Mate by Anne Rothman-Hicks and Ken Hicks is another wonderful addition to the Jane Larson Mystery series. These tales are so wonderfully written. Once I begin reading, it’s so easy to get totally sucked in!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the authors in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Jane Larson is an awesome main character. She’s certainly not perfect, and while she is still dealing with some heavy things, she manages to be brave or strong when she needs to be. I was very happy to see that she has grown since I first read about her in Weave a Murderous Web. In the first book, I found Jane to be incredibly egotistical, superficial, and shallow. She’s still a bit judgmental, but in this book, it was her snap-judgments that really helped keep her safe!
As this story begins, we see Jane frustrated with a man from the gym that just won’t let up. He is determined to get her attention. As one thing leads to another, the two begin to get closer. However, while this little romance was the undercurrent of the story, the main elements that rushed along were quite intense!
Jane is still taking on jobs for people that don’t have much money from her mothers old office space. While she loves the work, she continues to debate with herself whether or not she should continue the practice. Per usual, while just trying to help a client, Jane winds up in the middle of a scary situation; there have been multiple murders and they all seem to be linked.
Jane quickly realizes that she isn’t sure who she can trust. To make matters worse, her love interest keeps popping up near the crime scenes…
I began reading this while on the way home from a work trip. If I hand’t been totally exhausted and in desperate need of sleep, this is one I would have dedicated a day of reading to because I just did not want to put it down.
I absolutely love the writing style of this series. It’s so engaging, and yet, reading it is so easy because it’s so light and realistic. In fact, how realistic the whole thing is… that’s my favorite element! The character development, the relationships between each of the characters, their conversations and banter, and what they do on a daily basis is so real. I mean, there were a few scenes where breakfast pastries made an appearance and those made my mouth water. I especially loved the scene where someone goes to hit Jane, but she was more concerned with dropping the muffin she had just purchased.
I also really enjoy how the series is written as though Jane is recording all of this to share with the reader. A few times, she pauses what is going on to address the reader, and fill them in on something that they may need to know before continuing on. I LOVE that!
Per usual, the twists and turns that this book took kept me guessing. I love how I kept trying to figure things out, but just couldn’t! Then when we reached the end of the book, everything began to fall together.
My Favorite Passage:
Martha had always preached that there was “no time like the present” to do the odious tasks that we might otherwise want to avoid.
My Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy crime thrillers that center around a wonderful cast and a light romance, then I highly recommend this one to you!
I had so much fun reading this book and I cannot wait to see where this series goes next!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the authors in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Jane Larson is an awesome main character. She’s certainly not perfect, and while she is still dealing with some heavy things, she manages to be brave or strong when she needs to be. I was very happy to see that she has grown since I first read about her in Weave a Murderous Web. In the first book, I found Jane to be incredibly egotistical, superficial, and shallow. She’s still a bit judgmental, but in this book, it was her snap-judgments that really helped keep her safe!
As this story begins, we see Jane frustrated with a man from the gym that just won’t let up. He is determined to get her attention. As one thing leads to another, the two begin to get closer. However, while this little romance was the undercurrent of the story, the main elements that rushed along were quite intense!
Jane is still taking on jobs for people that don’t have much money from her mothers old office space. While she loves the work, she continues to debate with herself whether or not she should continue the practice. Per usual, while just trying to help a client, Jane winds up in the middle of a scary situation; there have been multiple murders and they all seem to be linked.
Jane quickly realizes that she isn’t sure who she can trust. To make matters worse, her love interest keeps popping up near the crime scenes…
I began reading this while on the way home from a work trip. If I hand’t been totally exhausted and in desperate need of sleep, this is one I would have dedicated a day of reading to because I just did not want to put it down.
I absolutely love the writing style of this series. It’s so engaging, and yet, reading it is so easy because it’s so light and realistic. In fact, how realistic the whole thing is… that’s my favorite element! The character development, the relationships between each of the characters, their conversations and banter, and what they do on a daily basis is so real. I mean, there were a few scenes where breakfast pastries made an appearance and those made my mouth water. I especially loved the scene where someone goes to hit Jane, but she was more concerned with dropping the muffin she had just purchased.
I also really enjoy how the series is written as though Jane is recording all of this to share with the reader. A few times, she pauses what is going on to address the reader, and fill them in on something that they may need to know before continuing on. I LOVE that!
Per usual, the twists and turns that this book took kept me guessing. I love how I kept trying to figure things out, but just couldn’t! Then when we reached the end of the book, everything began to fall together.
My Favorite Passage:
Martha had always preached that there was “no time like the present” to do the odious tasks that we might otherwise want to avoid.
My Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy crime thrillers that center around a wonderful cast and a light romance, then I highly recommend this one to you!
I had so much fun reading this book and I cannot wait to see where this series goes next!
Snowball by Gregory Bastianelli is a horrifying tale of snow, ice, killer snowmen, and things from the past that just won’t rest…
This is a book that I actually had to put down from time to time because some of the things that occurred were so terrifying and heartbreaking… And yet, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next and see if everything would turn out okay!
This book will haunt me for a very long time.
I LOVED it.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
This tale is about a group of people that are traveling on Christmas Eve rather than staying home where it’s safe and warm. While traveling, a blizzard hits and they end up getting stuck on a stretch of highway.
In this lineup of people, we had:
Toby Hodge – The missing snowplow driver who was the first to get stuck in the snow. Toby was just one day away from retirement before he got into this mess.
Mason Drake – The SUV driver closest to the plow; he skidded to avoid the plow and ended up sideways in the roadway. In the car with his wife Joy. The two aren’t getting along very well.
Tucker Jenks – The driver of the tractor trailer that ended up jack-knifing to avoid hitting the SUV and getting stuck, blocking the roadway. Tucker is a man who just wants to keep to himself to ride out the storm.
Dean Hagen – The rental coupe driver. A middle aged businessman who refuses to leave his vehicle, even though it just keeps getting warmer and warmer…
Graham Sawyer – The sedan driver. He was one of the three that went to see what happened first and ended up being a bit of the leader for the group. Married to Natalie, and they have kids who he is determined to get back to.
Clark Brooks – The man that is in the car with Graham. Graham had picked him up from the airport.
Kirk Britton – The hatchback driver. A younger kid about to graduate college, traveling with his girlfriend Sonya.
Shelby Wallace – The minivan driver with two kids; 8 year old Luke and 10 year old Macey. Shelby is at her wits end.
Werner and Francine – The older RV owners who seem very welcoming.
Lewis Felker – The man that left to try find the exit off the highway. Shows up wearing a Salvation Army Jacket and drinks through most of the story.
Phew, what a group of characters we had!
One thing that I should stop to note here is that the story is formatted where each chapter focuses on one character’s perspective. I always get nervous with this format because I usually prefer certain perspectives over the others. In this case, I was so pleased to see that the author did an excellent job that worked well with my reading tastes! Each chapter and perspective flowed together in a perfect pattern. It was a tad bit repetitive at times, but the repetition helped to remind the reader of key elements that you needed to keep track of with each character, so I found it to be incredibly useful!
At first, each person stays in their vehicles while three people go to check out what’s going on and why they all stopped. They soon see that there is a snowplow stopped in the road, and it doesn’t have any lights on. When they investigate and open the door of a snowplow, one character, Graham, see’s blood on the seat, dashboard and window. He quickly gets away from the truck and they each go back to their vehicles for a bit.
After a while, they end up deciding it would be best to stick together in the RV that was the last vehicle in the line of cars that got stuck. Unfortunately, it’s already too late for a few of the characters.
To pass the time, the owners of the RV start asking everyone about their worst winter memories… From here, we continue jumping from one character’s perspective to the next, but we also get little flashbacks into their pasts as they tell their stories.
These stories… Oh my goodness. They were all so different, and yet, they were all similar because each was heartbreaking in it’s own way, some were horrifying, and many of them actually had similar elements.
Right from the very first chapter, it’s clear that our characters are not safe out there in the storm. But they all need to be much more concerned about their well-being than they may think. Staying warm until help arrives isn’t the only thing they should be worried about…
I absolutely loved this book! It was wonderfully written and it was totally captivating. I loved that the story began with a scary scene that quickly turned bloody, that there was a short lull in the action, and then that the tale becomes more twisted and more terrifying with each chapter as the story goes on!
All of the characters were interesting in their own ways and I loved getting to know them and why they were all a bit haunted by their pasts. Also seeing how they all interacted with one another was interesting.
Speaking of the characters and their pasts… I mentioned earlier that this is a book that will haunt me. The stories that some of the characters told, and the things that happened to our characters while stranded on that highway… those things were so horrific.
Many of the things were real-life nightmares. I mean, I can’t tell you how many times my parents lectured me on being careful with snow forts and tunnels, being careful while sledding on the hills that they didn’t approve of, watching out for old wires while walking in the woods, and how important it is to clear away any exhaust pipes when it snows…
Each of these things comes into play in the story. But there are many more horrific situations that come up as well.
From the plot overall, I have to say that I did not see the core of it coming at all. I was so pleased with how everything was revealed and how it all played out!
This is a book that I cannot wait to re-read to see if I can pick up on some foreshadowing the second time around.
My Favorite Passages:
The wind, finally still, had lost its voice.
“Our lives can follow different paths,” Sledge said, turning the knobs that tilted the surface and maneuvered the ball through the labyrinth and around the holes. “And along the way, obstacles intervene and alter our course, and of we’re not careful -“ the ball dropped through a hole, “- we get lost.”
My Final Thoughts:
I could just go on and on about this book, but I will save the rest of the terror for you to discover if you pick it up.
I cannot recommend this one highly enough. It was so eerie and it made me feel incredibly claustrophobic! I loved the characters and I found myself really invested in their well being right from the start.
For horror fans, and especially for those that enjoy darker horror with supernatural twists, I would be willing to bet that this one will be a home-run for you!
I cannot wait to get my hands on copies of Jokers Club and Loonies from Gregory Bastianelli next!
This is a book that I actually had to put down from time to time because some of the things that occurred were so terrifying and heartbreaking… And yet, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next and see if everything would turn out okay!
This book will haunt me for a very long time.
I LOVED it.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
This tale is about a group of people that are traveling on Christmas Eve rather than staying home where it’s safe and warm. While traveling, a blizzard hits and they end up getting stuck on a stretch of highway.
In this lineup of people, we had:
Toby Hodge – The missing snowplow driver who was the first to get stuck in the snow. Toby was just one day away from retirement before he got into this mess.
Mason Drake – The SUV driver closest to the plow; he skidded to avoid the plow and ended up sideways in the roadway. In the car with his wife Joy. The two aren’t getting along very well.
Tucker Jenks – The driver of the tractor trailer that ended up jack-knifing to avoid hitting the SUV and getting stuck, blocking the roadway. Tucker is a man who just wants to keep to himself to ride out the storm.
Dean Hagen – The rental coupe driver. A middle aged businessman who refuses to leave his vehicle, even though it just keeps getting warmer and warmer…
Graham Sawyer – The sedan driver. He was one of the three that went to see what happened first and ended up being a bit of the leader for the group. Married to Natalie, and they have kids who he is determined to get back to.
Clark Brooks – The man that is in the car with Graham. Graham had picked him up from the airport.
Kirk Britton – The hatchback driver. A younger kid about to graduate college, traveling with his girlfriend Sonya.
Shelby Wallace – The minivan driver with two kids; 8 year old Luke and 10 year old Macey. Shelby is at her wits end.
Werner and Francine – The older RV owners who seem very welcoming.
Lewis Felker – The man that left to try find the exit off the highway. Shows up wearing a Salvation Army Jacket and drinks through most of the story.
Phew, what a group of characters we had!
One thing that I should stop to note here is that the story is formatted where each chapter focuses on one character’s perspective. I always get nervous with this format because I usually prefer certain perspectives over the others. In this case, I was so pleased to see that the author did an excellent job that worked well with my reading tastes! Each chapter and perspective flowed together in a perfect pattern. It was a tad bit repetitive at times, but the repetition helped to remind the reader of key elements that you needed to keep track of with each character, so I found it to be incredibly useful!
At first, each person stays in their vehicles while three people go to check out what’s going on and why they all stopped. They soon see that there is a snowplow stopped in the road, and it doesn’t have any lights on. When they investigate and open the door of a snowplow, one character, Graham, see’s blood on the seat, dashboard and window. He quickly gets away from the truck and they each go back to their vehicles for a bit.
After a while, they end up deciding it would be best to stick together in the RV that was the last vehicle in the line of cars that got stuck. Unfortunately, it’s already too late for a few of the characters.
To pass the time, the owners of the RV start asking everyone about their worst winter memories… From here, we continue jumping from one character’s perspective to the next, but we also get little flashbacks into their pasts as they tell their stories.
These stories… Oh my goodness. They were all so different, and yet, they were all similar because each was heartbreaking in it’s own way, some were horrifying, and many of them actually had similar elements.
Right from the very first chapter, it’s clear that our characters are not safe out there in the storm. But they all need to be much more concerned about their well-being than they may think. Staying warm until help arrives isn’t the only thing they should be worried about…
I absolutely loved this book! It was wonderfully written and it was totally captivating. I loved that the story began with a scary scene that quickly turned bloody, that there was a short lull in the action, and then that the tale becomes more twisted and more terrifying with each chapter as the story goes on!
All of the characters were interesting in their own ways and I loved getting to know them and why they were all a bit haunted by their pasts. Also seeing how they all interacted with one another was interesting.
Speaking of the characters and their pasts… I mentioned earlier that this is a book that will haunt me. The stories that some of the characters told, and the things that happened to our characters while stranded on that highway… those things were so horrific.
Many of the things were real-life nightmares. I mean, I can’t tell you how many times my parents lectured me on being careful with snow forts and tunnels, being careful while sledding on the hills that they didn’t approve of, watching out for old wires while walking in the woods, and how important it is to clear away any exhaust pipes when it snows…
Each of these things comes into play in the story. But there are many more horrific situations that come up as well.
From the plot overall, I have to say that I did not see the core of it coming at all. I was so pleased with how everything was revealed and how it all played out!
This is a book that I cannot wait to re-read to see if I can pick up on some foreshadowing the second time around.
My Favorite Passages:
The wind, finally still, had lost its voice.
“Our lives can follow different paths,” Sledge said, turning the knobs that tilted the surface and maneuvered the ball through the labyrinth and around the holes. “And along the way, obstacles intervene and alter our course, and of we’re not careful -“ the ball dropped through a hole, “- we get lost.”
My Final Thoughts:
I could just go on and on about this book, but I will save the rest of the terror for you to discover if you pick it up.
I cannot recommend this one highly enough. It was so eerie and it made me feel incredibly claustrophobic! I loved the characters and I found myself really invested in their well being right from the start.
For horror fans, and especially for those that enjoy darker horror with supernatural twists, I would be willing to bet that this one will be a home-run for you!
I cannot wait to get my hands on copies of Jokers Club and Loonies from Gregory Bastianelli next!
Sadie by Courtney Summers is a YA suspense novel that follows two story lines; one of a podcaster as he worked to unravel the story of a missing girl, and the other about life of the girl that goes missing.
In this tale, we follow West McCray who is a a radio personality that overheard Sadie’s story at a local gas station while on another assignment. He is hesitant to dive in at first as he doesn’t think that there is much of a story there, but he quickly becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl.
As the story continues, we follow West as he picks up clues here and there and gets closer to figuring out what exactly was going on. Meanwhile, the podcast episodes are broken up by the story of Sadie and what she actually did. The two story lines worked so wonderfully together! This was definitely a case where I had trouble putting the book down because I just wanted to hurry up and see if the two story lines ever converged, and how everything would turn out!
Even though I knew the buzz around this book was still pretty active, I had totally forgotten what the premise was. When I started reading, I was so excited to see that some of it was set up in podcast format, like we were reading the transcription!
When Heather texted me to remind me of the podcast, I went to subscribe immediately. It was SO much fun listening along to the podcast while reading! I especially loved that the podcast only covered the chapters that were formatted like the podcast, and that you could pause to then read the section that were focused on what Sadie was doing.
The only bummer here was that the feeds stopped at episode six, which was episode five in the book. So for the remainder of the book, I didn’t have the additional podcast narration so I just read through it.
Overall, I did really enjoy the story. It was difficult, it was dark, and it was written really well. It certainly reminded me of a few true crime podcasts that I had listened to, with a more fun fictional twist as we got in the mind of the character that was the main character.
In true crime, I always get so sad that we can’t hear things from the victim’s perspective, so this fiction take was refreshing.
I felt so bad for poor Sadie. She certainly had a rough upbringing which made her a bit cold and reserved, but she also knew exactly what she was doing and how to accomplish her task as she didn’t have anything to lose after her sister was murdered. One element that really got me was the shock that Sadie kept feeling about being violent, and continuously having to tell herself that shes dangerous so she could stay brave.
My only tiny gripe was with the formatting; it wasn’t super consistent. Like when West McCray was narrating, most of the time it had the [studio] disclaimer, but many times it didn’t. Where the podcast was very choppy and jumped from one interview to the next, having the formatting to make things clear would help a lot.
Another small item was that not all of the new episode pages began with [The Girls Theme], only episode 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 had the theme. Strictly from a reading standpoint, comparing it to the podcast, which would very likely have the theme song at or near the beginning of each episode, that would have been nice as well.
My nitpickyness is showing! Moving on!
My Favorite Passages
And it begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl.
It’s the kind of motel that makes you feel every one of your secrets.
You can’t really recover from the moment you make someone else feel like a freak. You just have to hope the person you made feel that way extends a level of grace toward you that you probably don’t deserve.
My Final Thoughts
I definitely enjoyed reading Sadie. The podcast was super fun as well. I loved being able to read and listen to the content. However, I think this may be a book that I can only read once, but we’ll see! It will definitely be holding it’s place on my shelves for some time.
I would recommend this to other fans of YA Suspense with troubling family dynamics. Just a warning about the difficult content around child sexual abuse. Nothing was ever fully explained in detail or anything, but it made it very clear what was going on.
In this tale, we follow West McCray who is a a radio personality that overheard Sadie’s story at a local gas station while on another assignment. He is hesitant to dive in at first as he doesn’t think that there is much of a story there, but he quickly becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl.
As the story continues, we follow West as he picks up clues here and there and gets closer to figuring out what exactly was going on. Meanwhile, the podcast episodes are broken up by the story of Sadie and what she actually did. The two story lines worked so wonderfully together! This was definitely a case where I had trouble putting the book down because I just wanted to hurry up and see if the two story lines ever converged, and how everything would turn out!
Even though I knew the buzz around this book was still pretty active, I had totally forgotten what the premise was. When I started reading, I was so excited to see that some of it was set up in podcast format, like we were reading the transcription!
When Heather texted me to remind me of the podcast, I went to subscribe immediately. It was SO much fun listening along to the podcast while reading! I especially loved that the podcast only covered the chapters that were formatted like the podcast, and that you could pause to then read the section that were focused on what Sadie was doing.
The only bummer here was that the feeds stopped at episode six, which was episode five in the book. So for the remainder of the book, I didn’t have the additional podcast narration so I just read through it.
Overall, I did really enjoy the story. It was difficult, it was dark, and it was written really well. It certainly reminded me of a few true crime podcasts that I had listened to, with a more fun fictional twist as we got in the mind of the character that was the main character.
In true crime, I always get so sad that we can’t hear things from the victim’s perspective, so this fiction take was refreshing.
I felt so bad for poor Sadie. She certainly had a rough upbringing which made her a bit cold and reserved, but she also knew exactly what she was doing and how to accomplish her task as she didn’t have anything to lose after her sister was murdered. One element that really got me was the shock that Sadie kept feeling about being violent, and continuously having to tell herself that shes dangerous so she could stay brave.
My only tiny gripe was with the formatting; it wasn’t super consistent. Like when West McCray was narrating, most of the time it had the [studio] disclaimer, but many times it didn’t. Where the podcast was very choppy and jumped from one interview to the next, having the formatting to make things clear would help a lot.
Another small item was that not all of the new episode pages began with [The Girls Theme], only episode 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 had the theme. Strictly from a reading standpoint, comparing it to the podcast, which would very likely have the theme song at or near the beginning of each episode, that would have been nice as well.
My nitpickyness is showing! Moving on!
My Favorite Passages
And it begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl.
It’s the kind of motel that makes you feel every one of your secrets.
You can’t really recover from the moment you make someone else feel like a freak. You just have to hope the person you made feel that way extends a level of grace toward you that you probably don’t deserve.
My Final Thoughts
I definitely enjoyed reading Sadie. The podcast was super fun as well. I loved being able to read and listen to the content. However, I think this may be a book that I can only read once, but we’ll see! It will definitely be holding it’s place on my shelves for some time.
I would recommend this to other fans of YA Suspense with troubling family dynamics. Just a warning about the difficult content around child sexual abuse. Nothing was ever fully explained in detail or anything, but it made it very clear what was going on.
The Other People is another novel by C.J. Tudor that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Filled with heartbreak, sheer determination, and the fight to stay ahead in order to stay alive… this book had me totally hooked!
When I got an email letting me know that I had won a copy in a giveaway, I was ecstatic!
Let’s dive in!
When this story begins, we meet a man named Gabe who is desperately trying to get home in time to eat dinner with his wife and daughter. It’s clear that Gabe has been quite busy and that it has been causing strain on his marriage. He wants to fulfill this one request more than anything, but of course, he gets stuck in traffic on his way home that causes a major delay.
Then Gabe sees a little girl pop up in the backseat of the car that he has been stuck in traffic behind. His first thought is about why she isn’t strapped in a car seat, but the next, he realizes that it’s his daughter!
As that thought really hits him, someone makes the girl duck back down and then traffic begins to let up. Gabe flashes his lights and honks, but the car just keeps speeding up! Soon, the car weaves in and out of traffic recklessly and gets too far ahead of him. Gabe ends up pulling off to call home, trying to convince himself that it wasn’t actually Izzy…
When he calls his house, he is greeted by someone that is not his wife. They tell him that he needs to get home immediately, that; “It’s about your wife… and your daughter.”
From there, the story jumps ahead. We learn that Gabe has gone from busy family man, to a shell of his former self that is very close to crumbling away to dust. After he had returned home that day, he found out that his wife and daughter had been killed. While he grieves, he also denies that his daughter is really dead. After all, he saw his daughter in that car, didn’t he? It doesn’t make sense to him.
Since that horrible day, Gabe has lost weight, he has dark circles under his eyes, and looks like he is suffering from an illness. Gabe is desperately trying to prove that it couldn’t have been his daughter that was found in his home despite everyone that tells him to let it go and move on. He spends his time traveling the highways, trying to spot the car that he saw his daughter in, stopping at service stations to hand out fliers. He hardly sleeps; he’s fueled by sheer determination and caffeine.
We also meet Katie, a single mom just trying to provide for her kids. Katie works in one of the service stations that Gabe frequently stops in. She can tell that he is going through something horrible and is kind to him, but they don’t talk much. But soon, that will change.
The third perspective we encounter is from a woman named Fran that is a ball of jittery nervousness and paranoia; always with a packed bag ready that she can grab and run. To make matters more difficult, there is a young girl with her that she is trying to protect, and this young girl suffers from narcolepsy that seems to be triggered by looking into mirrors. But if it’s just narcolepsy, then where do all the pebbles come from?
The story centers around these three main story lines; Gabe, the mourning father, Katie, the coffee shop employee, and Fran, the woman who is looking after a young girl called Alice. Each of these story lines were so interesting! I loved each of them equally and couldn’t stop reading because I just had to see what was going to happen next for each of them.
The characters were each developed perfectly! I loved that we got to know them on just a high level at first, but that we learned more and more about them as time progressed. It was so much fun to learn more, but it also made it a little suspenseful as well, as it was clear that each person had some secrets they were keeping.
This novel was wonderfully written. It wasn’t just the characters, it was they way that each of the story lines flowed together while slowly leading us toward the ending. This novel also certainly didn’t shy away from elements of suspense and thrill with a dash of violence and the unknown.
My copy was 318 pages, and man, if I hadn’t forced myself to put this down so I could do some blog hopping… I could have easily spent my day reading it cover to cover.
My Favorite Passages:
Gabe let the door fall shut. He waded awkwardly back out, clutching the plastic folder. He was cold now, shivering. Well, his top half was shivering. His bottom half could well have been doing a tango beneath the water for all he knew- he had lost all feeling below the waist a while ago.
You could spend a lifetime running from one life and chasing another. Gold at the end of the rainbow. Greener grass across the meadow. But, in most cases, the gold would be fake and the green grass would be AstroTurf.
Blood may be thicker than water but it’s a pretty useless substance for sticking anything together.
You don’t need another person to make your life complete. But life, like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, is hard to complete on your own.
Memories didn’t just evaporate like steam. They were more like lost keys. You might have put them somewhere for safe keeping or thrown them into a deep well because you didn’t ever want to unlock that particular door again, but they were still there, somewhere. You just had to find a was to retrieve them.
Katie picked up her mug of tea and took a sip. Predictably, it had gone cold. Sometimes, it seemed like her entire life was measured out in undrunk mugs of tea.
He hadn’t quite rejoined life but, somehow, life had found him.
My Final Thoughts:
C.J. Tudor has certainly done it again! This page-turner was SO GOOD.
When I started reading this novel, I very quickly became invested in these characters and I felt very protective of them all. I really enjoyed slowing learning answers here and there, and working toward solving the mysteries as the story progressed.
When I finally finished the story, I couldn’t help but stop to think about how incredibly satisfying the conclusion was. Each little detail was tied up in a perfect little bow. Never before have I seen a conclusion to a mystery and suspense novel that ended as perfectly as this!
This is another book that I really wish would have a movie or series adaptation; it’s just screaming to be on the screen!
If you enjoy character-driven suspense novels with wonderful layering and a dash of the unknown, then I highly recommend this one to you!
I cannot wait to see what C.J. Tudor writes next! You bet I’ll be here for it!
When I got an email letting me know that I had won a copy in a giveaway, I was ecstatic!
Let’s dive in!
When this story begins, we meet a man named Gabe who is desperately trying to get home in time to eat dinner with his wife and daughter. It’s clear that Gabe has been quite busy and that it has been causing strain on his marriage. He wants to fulfill this one request more than anything, but of course, he gets stuck in traffic on his way home that causes a major delay.
Then Gabe sees a little girl pop up in the backseat of the car that he has been stuck in traffic behind. His first thought is about why she isn’t strapped in a car seat, but the next, he realizes that it’s his daughter!
As that thought really hits him, someone makes the girl duck back down and then traffic begins to let up. Gabe flashes his lights and honks, but the car just keeps speeding up! Soon, the car weaves in and out of traffic recklessly and gets too far ahead of him. Gabe ends up pulling off to call home, trying to convince himself that it wasn’t actually Izzy…
When he calls his house, he is greeted by someone that is not his wife. They tell him that he needs to get home immediately, that; “It’s about your wife… and your daughter.”
From there, the story jumps ahead. We learn that Gabe has gone from busy family man, to a shell of his former self that is very close to crumbling away to dust. After he had returned home that day, he found out that his wife and daughter had been killed. While he grieves, he also denies that his daughter is really dead. After all, he saw his daughter in that car, didn’t he? It doesn’t make sense to him.
Since that horrible day, Gabe has lost weight, he has dark circles under his eyes, and looks like he is suffering from an illness. Gabe is desperately trying to prove that it couldn’t have been his daughter that was found in his home despite everyone that tells him to let it go and move on. He spends his time traveling the highways, trying to spot the car that he saw his daughter in, stopping at service stations to hand out fliers. He hardly sleeps; he’s fueled by sheer determination and caffeine.
We also meet Katie, a single mom just trying to provide for her kids. Katie works in one of the service stations that Gabe frequently stops in. She can tell that he is going through something horrible and is kind to him, but they don’t talk much. But soon, that will change.
The third perspective we encounter is from a woman named Fran that is a ball of jittery nervousness and paranoia; always with a packed bag ready that she can grab and run. To make matters more difficult, there is a young girl with her that she is trying to protect, and this young girl suffers from narcolepsy that seems to be triggered by looking into mirrors. But if it’s just narcolepsy, then where do all the pebbles come from?
The story centers around these three main story lines; Gabe, the mourning father, Katie, the coffee shop employee, and Fran, the woman who is looking after a young girl called Alice. Each of these story lines were so interesting! I loved each of them equally and couldn’t stop reading because I just had to see what was going to happen next for each of them.
The characters were each developed perfectly! I loved that we got to know them on just a high level at first, but that we learned more and more about them as time progressed. It was so much fun to learn more, but it also made it a little suspenseful as well, as it was clear that each person had some secrets they were keeping.
This novel was wonderfully written. It wasn’t just the characters, it was they way that each of the story lines flowed together while slowly leading us toward the ending. This novel also certainly didn’t shy away from elements of suspense and thrill with a dash of violence and the unknown.
My copy was 318 pages, and man, if I hadn’t forced myself to put this down so I could do some blog hopping… I could have easily spent my day reading it cover to cover.
My Favorite Passages:
Gabe let the door fall shut. He waded awkwardly back out, clutching the plastic folder. He was cold now, shivering. Well, his top half was shivering. His bottom half could well have been doing a tango beneath the water for all he knew- he had lost all feeling below the waist a while ago.
You could spend a lifetime running from one life and chasing another. Gold at the end of the rainbow. Greener grass across the meadow. But, in most cases, the gold would be fake and the green grass would be AstroTurf.
Blood may be thicker than water but it’s a pretty useless substance for sticking anything together.
You don’t need another person to make your life complete. But life, like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, is hard to complete on your own.
Memories didn’t just evaporate like steam. They were more like lost keys. You might have put them somewhere for safe keeping or thrown them into a deep well because you didn’t ever want to unlock that particular door again, but they were still there, somewhere. You just had to find a was to retrieve them.
Katie picked up her mug of tea and took a sip. Predictably, it had gone cold. Sometimes, it seemed like her entire life was measured out in undrunk mugs of tea.
He hadn’t quite rejoined life but, somehow, life had found him.
My Final Thoughts:
C.J. Tudor has certainly done it again! This page-turner was SO GOOD.
When I started reading this novel, I very quickly became invested in these characters and I felt very protective of them all. I really enjoyed slowing learning answers here and there, and working toward solving the mysteries as the story progressed.
When I finally finished the story, I couldn’t help but stop to think about how incredibly satisfying the conclusion was. Each little detail was tied up in a perfect little bow. Never before have I seen a conclusion to a mystery and suspense novel that ended as perfectly as this!
This is another book that I really wish would have a movie or series adaptation; it’s just screaming to be on the screen!
If you enjoy character-driven suspense novels with wonderful layering and a dash of the unknown, then I highly recommend this one to you!
I cannot wait to see what C.J. Tudor writes next! You bet I’ll be here for it!
100 Word Horrors 3
Steve Stred, Michael D. Davis, David Owain Hughes, Michelle Garza, Kevin J. Kennedy, Evans Light, Chris Miller, Chad Lutzke, John Boden, Larry Hinkle, Melissa Lason, Amber M. Simpson, Ryan Colley, Eric J. Guignard, Tristan Drue Rogers, Andrew Lennon, Mark Matthews, J.C. Michael, Jason M. Light, Ellen A. Easton
Just in time for the beginning of the Fall spooky season, Kevin J. Kennedy is back with another killer collection of horror drabbles that will keep you up at night!
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.
Just like the previous books, my favorite stories from this collection were the ones that spooked me or had an awesome twist that I wasn’t expecting! This collection also had a number of horribly sad drabbles.
Of course, with any type of collection, it’s normal for me to love some and dislike some. In this case, I loved a majority of the tales! There were so many that I thought were just perfect but I couldn’t help but want to learn more about what was going on! I would love to see some of these become the base of a longer story!
However, there were a few that I didn’t really understand…
This is another collection that I will definitely be going back to time and time again to revisit the tales!
Ah, these drabbles were so fun to read! I was so sad when I reached the end of the collection…
I highly recommend checking this one out if you’re a fan of horror and very short stories!
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.
Just like the previous books, my favorite stories from this collection were the ones that spooked me or had an awesome twist that I wasn’t expecting! This collection also had a number of horribly sad drabbles.
Of course, with any type of collection, it’s normal for me to love some and dislike some. In this case, I loved a majority of the tales! There were so many that I thought were just perfect but I couldn’t help but want to learn more about what was going on! I would love to see some of these become the base of a longer story!
However, there were a few that I didn’t really understand…
This is another collection that I will definitely be going back to time and time again to revisit the tales!
Ah, these drabbles were so fun to read! I was so sad when I reached the end of the collection…
I highly recommend checking this one out if you’re a fan of horror and very short stories!