Book Review: All Good People Here

 

Rating: 5/5!

From Goodreads: In the propulsive debut novel from the host of the #1 true crime podcast "Crime Junkie," a journalist uncovers her hometown’s dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor—and the disappearance of another girl twenty years later.

Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the case of January Jacobs, who was found dead in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January—and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist, but she’s always been haunted by the fear that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice.

When Margot returns home to help care for her sick uncle, it feels like walking into a time capsule. Wakarusa is exactly how she remembered: genial, stifled, secretive. Then news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over, who’s gone missing under eerily similar circumstances. With all the old feelings rushing back, Margot vows to find Natalie and solve January’s murder once and for all.

But the police, the family, the townspeople—they all seem to be hiding something. And the deeper Margot digs into Natalie’s disappearance, the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January’s case feels. Could the killer still be out there? Could it be the same person who kidnapped Natalie? And what will it cost to finally discover what truly happened that night?

This review is spoiler free.

I've been a long time listener and lover of the podcast Crime Junkie, and when I saw Ashley Flowers had a thriller coming out, of course I had to immediately request it on Netgalley.  I honestly couldn't believe it when I got approved, and am so honored to have gotten a chance to read this!  

If you are at all interested in the world of true crime, no doubt you've heard the case of JonBenet Ramsey - one of the most famous unsolved murders of the last few decades.  All Good People Here echoes the case closely, weaving an incredibly atmospheric and twisty tale of what might have happened in a similar situation.  

I truly enjoyed this book, and cannot wait for more by Ashley Flowers!  She is an expert storyteller, and All Good People Here is no exception!  

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

Book Review: Sundial

 

Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: Sundial is a new, twisty psychological horror novel from Catriona Ward, internationally bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street.

You can't escape what's in your blood...

All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. But Rob fears for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind.

She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.

Callie is worried about her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely, and speaks of past secrets. And Callie fears that only one of them will leave Sundial alive…

The mother and daughter embark on a dark, desert journey to the past in the hopes of redeeming their future.

This Review is spoiler free.

WOW.  Just.  Wow.  This is the first book in a long time that gave me literal GOOSEBUMPS.  Atmospheric, brilliantly plotted, super fast pacing, descriptions that leave *just enough* to the imagination to be truly terrifying - this was amazing.  

Rob, a fourth grade teacher and mother of two, is forced to revisit the past she tried so hard to run from when her eldest daughter, Callie, starts showing disturbing behavior.  Hoping a change of scenery will help, Rob brings Callie back to Sundial, the house in the Mojave Desert where Rob and her sister Jack grew up together.  However, Rob is acting strange, and starts to tell Callie secrets she isn't sure she wants to hear.  Secrets that make her begin to wonder whether both of them will leave alive.

I truly don't want to elaborate too much on anything about the plot as it's just such a whirlwind experience and I think it's best to go in without too much knowledge, but if you're looking for a very different type of psychological horror, this is the book to pick up.  I can't wait to read Catriona Ward's other book, and honestly want to go back to the beginning and reread this one as I truly was blindsided by all the twists and turns!  

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Things We Do In The Dark

 

Rating: 4/5

From Goodreads: When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her—she knows she'll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it's not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it's only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she's worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she's unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris's secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all.

Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges.

Things We Do in the Dark is a brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts. Paris Peralta is suspected of killing her celebrity husband, and her long-hidden past now threatens to destroy her future.

This review is spoiler free.

When Paris Peralta is found and then arrested in her bathroom, covered in her husband's blood and holding one of his straight razors while he lies dead in the tub, she knows that the trial will bring unwanted attention.  Media attention is the last thing Paris wants, because while she didn't murder her husband, she has plenty of other secrets she doesn't want to come to the surface.

Shockingly dark, twisty, and told through several different perspectives and timelines, Things We Do in the Dark is a fantastic slow burn thriller.  While the opening is slow, and I guessed a few of the twists before they were revealed, Jennifer Hillier has such a captivating writing style that it was impossible not to love this book.  

Despite this being a thriller about a murder, I truly didn't go into this book expecting it to be as dark and disturbing as it was.  Please note that this book contains graphic descriptions of child abuse and sexual assault, and if those are especially triggering for you, you may want to sit this one out.  While it absolutely turned my stomach to read many of these passages, Jennifer Hillier truly brought sensitivity to these absolutely horrific scenes, and they are handled well.  

Looking forward to reading more by Jennifer Hillier - I get why everyone keeps recommending her books!

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

Book Review: Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives

 

Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: After barely making it out of the Kettle Springs cornfields alive, Quinn’s first year of college back in Philadelphia should be safe and comparatively easy. All Quinn wants is to forget what happened and be normal again. But instead, Quinn finds that her past won’t leave her alone when she becomes the focus of a host of online conspiracy theories that claim to prove that the Kettle Springs Massacre never happened. It’s a deranged but relentless fantasy, and there’s nothing Quinn can do to get people to hear the truth — not even on her own campus or in her own dorm room.

So when a murderous clown attacks Quinn at a frat party while another goes after her father in Kettle Springs at the same time, Quinn realizes that that the facts alone are never going to save her. Her only option is to go back home, back into the cornfields, back to where the nightmare began, to set the record straight the only way she knows how. Because when the truth gets lost in the lies, that’s when real people start to die.

It’s an all-new horror classic about what happens when the truth is the last thing we want to believe, the sequel to the 2020 Bram Stoker Award winner.

Spoiler Warning!  This review contains spoilers for the previous book in this series, Clown in a Cornfield, but does not contain spoilers for this installment!  

After the harrowing events of Clown in a Cornfield, Quinn Maybrook is off at college, trying to put the massacre behind her.  Cole and Rust are still in Kettle Springs, but take a road trip to visit Quinn.  But while all three of them are attending a dorm party, a man in a clown mask attacks.  At the same time back in Kettle Springs, Quinn's father - now Mayor Maybrook - is also attacked by a clown.

Adam Cesare nailed it with this one.  I found myself simultaneously wanting to turn the pages as fast as possible so I could find out what happened next, as well as desperately wanting to slow down so it wouldn't ever end.  Weaving together chilling current events (lots of creepy 4chan-y, InfoWars-y conspiracy fake news-ers) with classic slasher horror, Clown in a Cornfield 2 is wonderful.  Crossing fingers this won't be the last installment in the "Clown" saga, as these are just so, so fun to read!  

*I received an ARC from Adam Cesare and Harperteen in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Mary

 

Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: Nat Cassidy’s highly commercial, debut horror novel Mary: An Awakening of Terror, blends Midsommar with elements of American Psycho and a pinch of I'll Be Gone in the Dark.

Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. Unknown even to herself.

But lately, things have been changing inside Mary. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things.

Fired from her job in New York, she moves back to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her past and inner self. Instead, visions of terrifying, mutilated specters overwhelm her with increasing regularity and she begins auto-writing strange thoughts and phrases. Mary discovers that these experiences are echoes of an infamous serial killer.

Then the killings begin again.

Mary’s definitely going to find herself.

This review is Spoiler Free!

In Nat Cassidy's author's note, he begins by describing how as a child, he loved to look at the covers of horror movies to sort of "test" his own limits, (side note, I thought I was the only one who did this, this was literally my favorite thing ever to do as a kid), when he came across the cover of Stephen King's Carrie.  The blood-drenched Carrie White haunted him, and he confessed to his own mother that he was scared.  His mother explained the story of Carrie in a way that humanized her as a sad, bullied girl.  And that story stuck with him.

Mary, a middle aged, peri-menopausal woman, feels incredibly invisible.  Fired from her bookstore job, she goes back to her home town to help take care of her ailing aunt.  But as she returns, she begins to see things, well - more things.  In additions to the horrible visions she gets when she looks in the mirror, she begins to see terrible, bloody ghosts.  As she continues to adjust to her old town again, Mary begins to recover more from her own fractured past, and finds more questions than answers.  

Wow, I loved this book.  I keep joking with my husband that my idea of an ideal horror novel is for it to just feel like an expertly crafted season of AHS.  With all the twists and gut-wrenching turns of Mary, this truly did have that feel.  Brilliantly crafted, with so much attention to detail, excellent pacing, and phenomenal mythos, this book was totally riveting!  I truly wasn't expecting to love this one as much as I did, but this was absolutely brilliant.  Terrifying and gory, Mary is a chilling character study that will stay with you.

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: The Game

 

Rating: 2/5

From Goodreads: To save their life, you have to play.

‘Exciting and original’ Simon McCleave
‘A twisty page-turner’ Liz Lawler
‘Chilling, packed with intrigue’ Dan Malakin

Across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number.

THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IS IN DANGER.

To save them, each must play The Game – a sinister unknown entity that has a single rule: there can only be one winner.

IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.

But what is The Game – and why have they been chosen?
There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…

WELCOME TO THE GAME. YOU’VE JUST STARTED PLAYING.

A breakneck thriller filled with non-stop suspense, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben, Mark Dawson and Terry Hayes’ I Am Pilgrim.

This Review is Spoiler Free!

The Game feels like a Black Mirror episode meets Taken meets The Amazing Race...and I'm not really sure it worked.  While the writing style itself was very cinematic and engaging, and there were five very unique voices throughout, the plot really didn't hold up.

While I don't always mind books that require me to suspend my disbelief, this one was just too much.  And even after the big reveal of the twist at the end, it was very hard to see this as plausible.  For a novel called "The Game" that revolves around rules, there really was a lack of clarity and it caused confusion.

The pacing and writing style were well done, but the plot just didn't work for me.  

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

Book Review: Clown in a Cornfield

 Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it until graduation. She might not make it to morning.

Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

This review is spoiler free!

So, I have to admit, I basically knew I was going to freaking love this book going in.  I mean, creepy clowns, middle of nowhere town, a group of Youtubing pranksters - essentially the perfect ingredients for a fabulous teen slasher novel.

However, rather than just being a violent, bloody good time (which heck yes this by all accounts still was!), there's also some well plotted political and social commentary throughout.  It gave me Scream vibes in literally the best way possible (which, that comparison alone should tell you how much I loved this because Scream is just the best).  

Like cinematic, fast paced, horror?  Adam Cesare is basically the master at it.  This book was a one sitting read.  I couldn't have put it down if I wanted to.  

This is a smart, self aware slasher that, while in the young adult section of the bookstore, would be a new favorite for grizzled horror readers and teens alike.  Cannot wait for the sequel.  Hurry up August, I freaking mean it.  

~ Charlotte

Book Review: What Moves the Dead

 

Rating: 4.5/5

From Goodreads: From the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives a letter from their childhood friend Madeline Usher informing them that she is dying, Alex travels to her home.  However, what they find is a crumbling manor covered in fungus, Madeline in a worse state than previously thought, and many, many strange hares.

I was honestly so pleasantly surprised by this oddly charming yet still horrifying tale.  This book truly falls into the "CottageGore" category - super dark, yet also incredibly atmospheric.  T. Kingfisher created a chilling yet strangely adorable read.  I highly recommend this one!

Oh, and Beatrix Potter's aunt is a character so....

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Night of the Mannequins

 Rating: 4/5

From Goodreads: Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both?

This Review is Spoiler Free!

I absolutely loved this chilling little novella! For such a small book, it truly packs a punch! Stephen Graham Jones has a phenomenal way with words, and truly is masterful as he unpacks this horrific story of a teenage prank gone wrong.

This is a truly wonderful example of the psychological horror/unreliable narrator genre done right. I cannot recommend this one enough!

~Charlotte

Book Review: Dark Stars

Rating: 3.5/5

From Goodreads: Dark Stars, edited by John F.D. Taff, is a tribute to horror’s longstanding short fiction legacy, featuring 12 terrifying original stories from today's most noteworthy authors, with an introduction by bestselling author Josh Malerman and an afterword by Ramsey Campbell.

Created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley, this collection contains 12 original novelettes showcasing today’s top horror talent. Dark Stars features all-new stories from award-winning authors and up-and-coming voices like Stephen Graham Jones, Priya Sharma, Usman T. Malik, Caroline Kepnes, and Alma Katsu, with seasoned author John F.D. Taff at the helm. An afterword from original Dark Forces contributor Ramsey Campbell is a poignant finale to this bone-chilling collection.

Within these pages you’ll find tales of dead men walking, an insidious secret summer fling, an island harboring unspeakable power, and a dark hallway that beckons. You’ll encounter terrible monsters—both human and supernatural—and be forever changed. The stories in Dark Stars run the gamut from traditional to modern, from dark fantasy to neo-noir, from explorations of beloved horror tropes to the unknown—possibly unknowable—threats.

It’s all in here because it’s all out there, now, in horror.
 

This Review is Spoiler Free! 

Dark Stars is a wonderful showcase of works from a broad range of some the horror genre's most iconic authors.  This collection is a great survey of several different subgenres, and there truly is a story here for everyone.  That being said, I think the best way to review this collection is to individually address and rate each story.

The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes

4/5 Stars.  I really enjoyed this look at suburban horror through the lens of a young girl.  Chilling and well done.

A Life in Nightmares, by Ramsey Campbell

2/5 Stars.  This one felt very stream of consciousness to me, not my cup of tea

Papa Eye, by Priya Sharma

3/5 stars.  Really loved the unique setting of this one.  

Volcano, by Livia Llewellyn

3/5 Stars.  The creepy basement of a college dorm was a fun setting to read, however the cosmic horror in this one felt a little bit vague.  I think that was the intention, but not my favorite.

All the Things He Called Memories, by Stephen Graham Jones

4/5 Stars.   I really liked this one!  A husband and wife trapped in their house during Covid find themselves talking about her latest scientific experiment put on hold by the pandemic.  The conversations awaken old demons.

Trinity River's Blues, by Chesya Burke

4/5 Stars.  This one was also really great, and I want to seek out more by this author!

The Familiar's Assistant, by Alma Katsu

4/5 Stars.  This one was super creepy and well done!  Great worldbuilding while still feeling "complete" as a short story.

Swim in the Blood of a Curious Dream, by John F.D. Taff

5/5 Stars.  This one was my favorite!  Which is surprising because I'm absolutely emetephobic.  However this fell into one of my favorite types of horror - expansion upon the already horrific.  

The Sanguintalist, by Gemma Files

2/5 Stars.  This one felt really rushed and more high concept than the short fiction lens allowed for.  While well written, I found myself really wanting more from this one.

Mrs. Addison's Nest, by Josh Malerman

2/5 Stars.  I really thought I'd like this one more, and there was some truly chilling imagery here.  Just, not for me.

Challawa, by Usman T. Malik

4/5 Stars.  While very different from the Taff story, this one also ended up blending in real world horror and expanding upon it.  Lots of great imagery and that ending was amazing.

Enough for Hunger and Enough for Hate, by John Langan

4.5/5 Stars.  This one was super creepy.  Clarice and Hannibal Lecter vibes with Creature Feature elements.  

Overall, Dark Stars was a fun read.  While there are certain stories I really liked and others that just weren't my thing, that always tends to happen with survey anthologies.  Definitely hoping to check out other works by many of these authors as well!

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Believe Me Not

Rating: 3/5

From Goodreads: What if everyone you love is lying to you?

When Megan wakes up in a hospital bed, her first question is: where's my baby?

But her husband, her sister, and her doctor said he doesn't exist.

Megan's not in a maternity ward, she's in a psychiatric unit.

Convinced that they're lying to her, Megan is determined to find out the truth.

But how can you prove your baby exists when you can't trust your own memories?

An utterly chilling psychological thriller with a heart-stopping twist. You'll love this if you enjoyed THE PERFECT FATHER, THE RECOVERY OF ROSE GOLD, or PLAYING NICE.

This review is spoiler free!

When Megan wakes up in a hospital bed, she realizes she's missing something.  Her baby.  The baby that everyone around her tells her never existed.  As she's treated for psychosis, Megan can't escape the feeling that her husband, sister, and her psychiatrist Dr. Mac, are all keeping something from her.

Believe Me Not was a ton of fun to read.  Fast paced and filled with endless twists and turns, I read this nearly in one sitting and truly enjoyed it.  

I wish there had been a bit more punch to the ending, as the whole thing felt like it was building to the biggest betrayal/reveal of all. However, compared to some of the other twists and reveals throughout, it was a tad lackluster.  

The whole thing felt a lot like a Lifetime movie in the best way with how over the top it got at parts, it was truly a fun thriller!

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

Book Review: Dead Silence

 

Rating: 4/5

From Goodreads: Titanic meets The Shining in S.A. Barnes’ Dead Silence, a SF horror novel in which a woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn't yet ended.

A GHOST SHIP.
A SALVAGE CREW.
UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate. 

This review is spoiler free!

When Claire Kovalik and her crew are finishing up their final mission together at the outer corners of charted space, they pick up a strange distress signal.  After investigating it, they realize it's a signal coming from the Aurora luxury space liner, which had been lost in space for over 20 years.  When they head aboard to investigate, they are met with scenes of frozen carnage, and can only guess as to what happened all those years ago and why.  

Dead Silence was a fast paced horror sci-fi novel.  While a standalone, it still created a developed world with an expansive, space opera feel.  As a huge fan of space opera and horror, it was a blast to see the two combined in this book.  S. A. Barnes creates an all too real hellscape of sinister mega corporations (one of my favorite sci-fi tropes!). 

This novel will have you second guessing yourself, and it's fast pacing will have you turning pages to find the answers!  I highly recommend this one!

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Paperbacks from Hell

 

Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: Written in dead letters... and covered in blood!

Demonic possession! Haunted condominiums! Murderous babies! Man-eating moths! No plot was too ludicrous, no cover art too appalling, no evil too despicable for the Paperbacks From Hell.

Where did they come from? Where did they go? Horror author Grady Hendrix risks his soul and sanity (not to mention yours) to relate the true, untold story of the Paperbacks From Hell.

Shocking story summaries! Incredible cover art! And true tales of writers, artists, and publishers who violated every literary law but one: never be boring. All this awaits, if you dare experience the Paperbacks From Hell.

I'm not usually a big reader of nonfiction, but the fact that I'm an Autistic woman with a special interest in horror made picking this book up a no brainer for me. Add the fact that this isn't just any nonfiction, it's nonfiction by Grady Hendrix, and I was hooked instantly. I read this book in one sitting. Similarly to many of Hendrix's other books, the attention to detail was absolutely delightful. This truly feels like a love letter to the genre as a whole, and every chapter was fascinating.   Covering the history of the pulp horror novel boom itself, as well as describing the historical origins of many of the subgenres readers now are familiar with, Paperbacks from Hell is an essential book for any horror fan. If you are the type of person who finds themselves happy just strolling through vintage bookstores looking at some of the crazy looking older horror books(hi hello it's me) , then do yourself a favor and pick this one up!

Book Review: Horrorstor

 

Ratings: 4/5

From Goodreads: Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.

Designed by Andie Reid, cover photography by Christine Ferrara.

This Review is Spoiler Free

Ah, the horrors of working retail.  

Amy is just trying to get through her shift without getting fired while working at Orsk.  When she's called in by her manager, she fears the worst, but is asked to stay behind for an overnight shift to investigate the weird happenings in the store.  Her manager Basil suspects the vandalism is likely the work of petty criminals or maybe bored teenagers.  He is wrong.

This book is a whole experience.  I cannot recommend enough reading the physical copy if you can.  The book is formatted to resemble a catalog, and every page is just filled with so much attention to detail and realism.  This novel reads both as a love letter to the horror genre (particular the paranormal!) and an honest examination and takedown of corporate America.  

Truly horrifying at times yet also laugh out loud hilarious at others, Horrorstor is definitely worth the hype!  

Book Review: The Troop

 

Rating: 4.5/5

From Goodreads: “The Troop scared the hell out of me, and I couldn’t put it down. This is old-school horror at its best.” —Stephen King

This “grim microcosm of terror and desperation haunting” (Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author) follows a scout troop on a terrifying fight for survival when they come across a mysterious—and deadly—stranger in the Canadian wilderness.

Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip—a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfire. But when an unexpected intruder stumbles upon their campsite—shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry—Tim and the boys are exposed to something far more frightening than any tale of terror. The human carrier of a bioengineered nightmare. A horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival with no escape from the elements, the infected…or one another.

Part Lord of the Flies, part 28 Days Later—and all-consuming—this tightly written, edge-of-your-seat thriller takes you deep into the heart of darkness, where fear feeds on sanity…and terror hungers for more.

Spoiler Free Review!

Nick Cutter is a phenomenal writer.  This book felt was the literary equivalent of witnessing a car crash - disgusting, terrifying, but impossible to look away from.  

When an emaciated, sick man stumbles into a boy scout retreat, the doctor leading the troop feels like he must help.  However, when The Scoutmaster lets the man into the camp, he never could have predicted the horrors that would soon follow.

The Troop is body horror done well.  Definitely my least favorite horror subgenre, I never would have thought I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did.  While there were a couple passages I wouldn't mind having some brain bleach for, even for the squeamish, this book is not worth passing up!

So, not particularly a spoiler, but more of a trigger warning.  Please be aware that this book contains graphic animal abuse scenes.  I had to skip a few of them, and I highly recommend if you are sensitive to the subject matter that rather than avoiding the whole book, you also skim those passages.  

Overall, this was a read I will not soon stop thinking about.  Cannot wait to read more by Nick Cutter!

Book Review: Black Tide

 

Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: KC Jones’ Black Tide, a character-driven science fiction/horror novel that explores what happens after a cataclysmic event leaves the world crawling with nightmares, will be published by Nightfire in May 2022!

A story with a cinematic feel, Black Tide is Cujo meets A Quiet Place.

It was just another day at the beach. And then the world ended.

Mike and Beth didn’t know each other existed before the night of the meteor shower. A melancholy film producer and a house sitter barely scraping by, chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more.

After a drunken and desperate one-night-stand, the two strangers awake to discover a surprise astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only a part of something much bigger, and far more terrifying. When a set of lost car keys leaves them stranded on an empty stretch of Oregon coast, when their emergency calls go unanswered and inhuman screams echo from the dunes, when the rising tide reaches for the car and unspeakable horrors close in around them, these two self-destructive souls must find in each other the strength to overcome past pain and the fight to survive a nightmare of apocalyptic scale.

Black Tide by K.C. Jones was unlike anything I've ever read before. Cosmic Horror, Sci-Fi, Morbid Humor, and a Romance all into one, this book had me hooked from the first page.

Beth is a self-proclaimed (and mother proclaimed) human car-wreck, and while house sitting/dog watching in the PNW, she meets Mike. After a one night stand, the two of them wake up in a fractured and horrifying new world. Together with Jake, the adorable (and perfect and amazing and all the good words) dog Beth is watching, they go to investigate the strange meteorites that fell from the sky the night before. However, when Beth loses their car keys while they're searching the beach, they are trapped in a hellscape.

I loved this book. It was unlike anything I've ever read before. Wholly original, terrifying, and even funny at times, Black Tide is a summer read unlike any other. K.C. Jones does a fantastic job at creating a character study of both Mike and Beth. They both felt unique and well rounded, and I couldn't help but root for them both throughout. The pacing was absolutely perfect, and I read this in one sitting, totally unable to put it down. This story is chilling and unnerving and I cannot recommend it enough!

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Suburban Hell

 

Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: Bad Moms meets My Best Friend’s Exorcism in this lite-horror-comedy about a group of women in the Chicago 'burbs, whose cul-de-sac gets a new neighbor: a demon.

Amy Foster considers herself lucky. After she left the city and went full minivan, she found her place quickly with neighbors Liz, Jess, and Melissa, together snarking the “Mom Mafia” from the outskirts of the PTA mom crowd. So, one night during their monthly wine get-together, the newfound crew concoct a plan for a clubhouse She Shed in Liz’s backyard – the perfect space for just them, no spouses or kids allowed.

But the night after they christen the space with a ceremonial drink, things start to feel…off. What they didn’t expect was for Liz’s little home improvement project to release a demonic force that turns their quiet suburban enclave into something out of a nightmare. And that’s before the Homeowners’ Association gets wind of it.

Just as Liz is turned into a creepy doll face overnight, cases of haunting activity around the neighborhood intensify, and even the calmest moms can’t justify the strange burn marks, self-moving dolls, and horrible smells surrounding their possessed friend, Liz. Together, Amy, Jess, and Melissa must fight back the evil spirit to save Liz and the neighborhood…before the suburbs go completely to hell. But at least they don’t have to deal with the PTA, right?

I'm always a sucker for a good horror comedy, and Suburban Hell didn't disappoint!  Amy and her friends Jess, Melissa, and Liz look forward to their monthly ladies nights, drinking bad wine and unwinding from the stress of their lives.  When Liz decides to break ground on a She-Shed in her backyard, a special space just for the four of them, all hell breaks loose.

Literally.

Filled with the usual fun horror tropes - Ouija Boards, Exorcisms, Creepy Kids, Creepy Kids Drawing *shudders,* this book was a blast from start to finish.  But at the core, this is a book about friendship and the importance of community and support.  At times gripping and creepy, at other times, totally poignant and moving, Suburban Hell is a fun, morbid time!

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Look What You Made Me Do

Rating: 3/5

From Goodreads: A gripping thriller about a woman who must help cover the tracks of her serial killer sister -- only to discover her sibling isn't the only serial killer in town . . . and they're both next on his kill list.

Carrie wants a normal life.
Carrie Lawrence doesn’t need a happily ever after. She’ll just settle for “after.” After a decade of helping her sister hide her victims. After a lifetime of lies. She just wants to be safe, boring, and not trekking through the woods at night with a dead body wrapped in a carpet.

Becca wants to get away with murder.
Becca Lawrence doesn’t believe in happily ever after because she’s already happy. She’s gotten away with murder for a decade and has blackmailed her sister into helping her hide the evidence—what more could a girl want?

But first they have to stop a serial killer.
When thirteen bodies are discovered in their small town, people are shocked. But not as shocked as Carrie, who thought she knew all the details of Becca’s sordid pastime. When Becca swears she’s not behind the grisly new crimes, they realize the town has a second serial killer who has the sisters in his sights, and what he wants is…Carrie.

From the premise of this book alone, I knew it would be a fun book.  I'm a sucker for a well paced thriller, and Elaine Murphy delivered!  This was a one sitting read for me!  Look What You Made Me Do is a darkly humorous tale of a toxic sister relationship.  

That being said, be prepared to suspend your disbelief...quite a bit.  I definitely enjoyed reading it, but there were absolutely portions where I found myself thinking, "really?"  As the book goes on, it gets more and more outlandish, and honestly while I think the ending of the book was fantastic, most of the last 30ish% had me scratching my head a bit.  

However, this book was absolutely a ton of fun to read, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a fast paced thriller!

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Blood Sugar

 

Rating: 4/5

From Goodreads: An utterly delicious debut thriller that tells the story of the most likable murderess you will ever meet, perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Jessica Knoll.

“I could just kill you right now!” It’s something we’ve all thought at one time or another. But Ruby has actually acted on it. Three times, to be exact.

Though she may be a murderer, Ruby is not a sociopath. She is an animal-loving therapist with a thriving practice. She’s felt empathy and sympathy. She’s had long-lasting friendships and relationships, and has a husband, Jason, whom she adores. But the homicide detectives at Miami Beach PD are not convinced of her happy marriage. When we meet Ruby, she is in a police interrogation room, being accused of Jason’s murder. Which, ironically, is one murder that she did not commit, though her vicious mother-in-law and a scandal-obsessed public believe differently. As she undergoes questioning, Ruby’s mind races back to all the details of her life that led her to this exact moment, and to the three dead bodies in her wake. Because though she may not have killed her husband, Ruby certainly isn’t innocent.

Alternating between Ruby’s memories of her past crimes and her present-day fight to clear her name, Blood Sugar is a twisty, clever debut with an unforgettable protagonist who you can’t help but root for—an addicting mixture of sour and sweet.

Spoiler free review! (Well, except for one EXTREMELY mild spoiler that doesn't affect the plot but talks about something specific that happens later on in the book)

Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild was absolutely captivating. Brilliantly written, and impossible to put down, I read this in nearly one sitting, stopping only to go to work, then immediately resuming. Written from the perspective of Ruby, a woman who at age thirty has already killed three people, who is now suspected for killing her husband.

Except, despite being guilty of three murders, her husband's is not one of them.

Alternating between the past of Ruby's life, as well as the present during the investigation of her husband Jason's death, Blood Sugar is a heart pounding thriller and I cannot recommend picking this book up enough. Sascha Rothchild does an excellent job of creating a moral grey area throughout the story.

Okay here's the mild spoiler. Stop reading if you don't want a mild spoiler!

This literally has nothing to do with the plot, but I literally nearly burst out sobbing with nostalgia because at one point, Ruby and Jason's cat develops diabetes, and so the cat and Jason both have to take insulin together. Why did this make me nearly sob? Because this exact scenario (minus the murder investigation) happened to my grandfather and his cat. We used to call them diabuddies. That is all.

Anyway, my own personal nostalgia aside, this book is fantastic, and I definitely recommend reading this twisty and well paced thriller!

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: The Book of Cold Cases

 

Rating: 4/5

From Goodreads: In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect--a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion.

Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases--a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea's surprise, Beth says yes.

They meet regularly at Beth's mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she's not looking, and she could swear she's seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, Shea senses something isn't right. Is she making friends with a manipulative murderer, or are there other dangers lurking in the darkness of the Greer house?

A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two cold case slayings in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.

This review is spoiler free!

This was my first book by Simone St. James, and it certainly won't be my last! A true-crime based thriller with a touch of the paranormal? I was hooked as soon as I heard the premise!

The Book of Cold Cases is the name of a true crime blog ran by doctor's office receptionist Shea Collins. True Crime has been an obsession for her since her harrowing near-death experience as a child when she was kidnapped and nearly murdered in her hometown. However, the man who nearly killed Shea is only one of the two most famous murderers in her town. The other is Beth Greer...maybe? A woman who'd been legally acquitted but still always condemned by the court of public opinion in regards to the murders of two men in the seventies.

When given the opportunity to interview Beth, who famously has dodged interviews for years, Shea begins to realize that there is a lot more to the "Lady Killer Murders," then she ever could have imagined.

The Book of Cold Cases is a truly atmospheric read, flashing back from memories of the seventies, to present day, from Beth's perspective and back to Shea's. With such a disjointed narration, it would be easy to assume the book could feel unsettled or hard to follow, however the narration style fits so well for the masterfully plotted story.

Whether you love reading about True Crime or are a fan of modern day ghost stories, I cannot recommend The Book of Cold Cases enough for a fun, well paced read! 

~ Charlotte