William W. Johnstone is a prolific author, with a whole lot of books in his lineup.
Known for his Western’s many don’t know he also writes horror.
When I was browsing his titles, I was surprised to discover that I have some of them on my bookshelves. They have those scary good covers you can’t resist when you spot them on a shelf.
I haunt my local used book store just for these.
So how could I not read these three? Can’t wait to tell you about them, so enjoy!
~~~
Title: A Crying Shame
Author: William Johnstone
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Format: Kindle
My Review
This was wicked creepy. I love creatures with my horror and you get some new ones in this story.
I tried to visualize them and came up with a cross between a bigfoot from the movie Sasquatch and the vampire creatures in Priest. Probably not even close but that’s scary enough for me.
I know the blurb mentions these monsters emerging from the swamp to kidnap human females and impregnate them. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But the author manages to pull it off, giving you a believable enough explanation for their actions and how it works.
That’s not even the tip of the iceberg. These creatures have super strength, are savage, and hungry. And we are on the menu.
Great characters too. Lots to like. And so many to pity when the creatures really get cranked up. A horror story wouldn’t be good without some killing off of likable characters and there’s some of that for sure. Don’t count on your favorite making it to the end. Lots don’t. This is home invasion on a whole new level.
For all of you horror fans, come and get it!
5 Stars
~~~~
Each night they emerged from the murky depths of the swamp to claim another victim—a lovely, innocent, fertile female who would be carried off in huge hairy arms and plunged into a nightmare world of terror. Her screams would echo in the darkness. Her face would contort in the throes of horror and pain. But once taken, each became a mother of an unholy child, a link in the chain of madness and evil, a spawn to carry on the devil’s name!
A Crying Shame is available for pre-order at Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Google Play
~~~
Title: The Uninvited
Author: William Johnstone
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Format: Kindle
My Review
It starts with a little spill. Just some toxic junk. No big deal.
Until that stuff changes something. Creates something new and deadly.
If you hear the clicking, it’s already too late.
Another scary good story from this author with more creatures. I can’t tell you what they are. I can tell you they appear from out of nowhere, strip a body down to the bare bones in the time it takes to say, Oh sh#t!, and vanish just as quickly.
No place is safe. As the town is slowly cut off from the rest of the world, the reports of missing animals and people rises and more dessicated bodies are discovered.
Once again, this author gave me horror the way I like it. Creatures, a desperate struggle to survive, and no guarantees that your favorite characters will still be standing at the end.
5 Stars
~~~~
It was like any other spring day in the quiet, peaceful community of Lapeer Parish, Louisiana. But for Sheriff Vic Ransonet it was the beginning of a nightmare. People were disappearing without a trace. Animals were being eaten right down to the bone. Lush fertile fields of crops were being stripped bare. But the sheriff knew the evil that lurked in the barns, sheds, and homes of the sleepy parish. He had seen the creatures with his own eyes. He had heard the clicking of their jaws, the signal that they were on the move to feed their ravenous appetites. And if he couldn’t stop them, then every man, woman, and child would die, and Lapeer Parish would be wiped off the map.
The Uninvited is available for pre-order at Amazon, B&N, and Google Play
~~~
Title: Them
Author: William Johnstone
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Format: Kindle
My Review
Them. They came from far away, another world. Not pretty to look at. Just an ugly glowing brain thing.
They have a plan. A truly horrific agenda.
Jake’s father beats him at the drop of a hat. Hates him, actually. His peers torment him. His teachers look on, smirks on their faces.
No wonder there’s something dark, demented hidden deep inside Jake. When he stumbles upon one of Them, he finds a friend. Someone he can talk to, well, telepathically he can. Someone who cares.
All it asks in return is his help to bring others to Earth. What could be the harm in that?
Well, a lot. Jake may be hiding his dark desires for revenge from Them, but they are hiding something too.
I felt sorry for Jake. His father hates him, as do his peers. He only has a few friends. They are in the same boat. Perhaps these aliens will be good for them. Or maybe not.
An evil alien invasion and psychological horror that takes you hostage.
4 Stars
~~~~
Jake Silver was a teenage misfit, a misunderstood genius who’d been cruelly tormented by his own sadistic father and others in his little Louisiana hometown. Jake was the perfect disciple for Them.
They’d come from another world; disembodied beings who understood Jake’s need for revenge. . .They would offer Jake the power to finally take it. . .All they wanted in return was his help in bringing others of their kind to Jake’s world.
It begins so slowly, so innocently, even Jake didn’t see the danger. . .until it was too late to realize that he had helped unleash a devastating power in the universe–and opened a gateway for a horrific struggle between mere human beings and. . .
Them
Them is available for pre-order at Amazon, B&N, and Google Play
~~~
Author William W. Johnstone
William W. Johnstone was born in Southern Missouri, the youngest of four children. Raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and well-tutored by his school teacher mother, Bill quit school when he was fifteen. He was kicked out of the French Foreign Legion for being under age and joined the carnival. But still valuing his education, he returned home to finish his high school education in 1957.
He went on to work as a deputy sheriff, did a hitch in the army, and began a career in radio broadcasting, where he worked daily on his verbal and storytelling skills for the next sixteen years on the air. Much of his knowledge of the early frontier began from listening to family experiences told to him by his Grandparents.
His love of animals is displayed in many of his books as well as finding several Huskies and Malamutes roaming freely around his home. As an avid gun and knife collector, hours of research are devoted to the types of weapons commonly used during the eras of his writings.
One little known fact, is his love for music … from “rockabilly to classical”. Bill has written and recorded several songs which may be released for his fans in the future.
He started writing in 1970, but it wasn’t until late 1979 when The Devil’s Kiss was published that William W. Johnstone became a full-time writer. Since that time he has written over two hundred books in a variety of genres including action, suspense, western, science fiction, and horror. Two of his books, Eagle Down and Dagger, were written under the pen name of William Mason.
To the true William W. Johnstone reader, he is a best-selling author admired for the great diversity in his writing talents. Though most known for his western adventures, Johnstone was also a visionary writer. His prophetic stories within his Ashes Series, Code Name Series, and his science fiction books, predicting the Gulf War and the political climate we live in today, was ahead of its time when it was written.
For More Information
Visit William’s website.
~~~
Follow the tour for more fun posts!
June 15
Interviewed at C.A. Milson
June 16
Book featured at 3 Partners in Shopping
June 17
Guest blogging at Gothic Moms
June 18
Book featured at The Literary Nook
June 19
Interviewed at I’m Shelf-ish
June 22
Book featured at The Dark Phantom
June 23
Interviewed at Review From Here
June 24
Guest blogging at Fiction to Fruition
June 25
Book featured at Celticlady’s Reviews
June 26
Guest blogging at The Book Czar
June 29
Book featured at From Paperback to Leatherbound
June 30
Book featured at Lover of Literature
July 1
Book featured at The Revolving Bookshelf
July 2
Review of Them, The Uninvited and A Crying Shame at A Room Without Books is Empty
July 3
Review of Them, The Uninvited and A Crying Shame at FUOnlyKnew
~~~~
Until the next time….
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!