Archive for the ‘horror’ Category

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

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Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

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I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

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 They Hunger

By Scott Nicholson

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

I’ve been reading Scott’s books for years. This book is another winner for me. It’s like four stories in one.

The first revolves around a couple of FBI agents searching for a dangerous couple involved in bombing some abortion clinics. The agents were written so well. They worked like a well oiled machine. Laser focused and grounded in reality.

There’s the couple on vacation. They’re totally oblivious to any dangers. It’s all hotdogs and s’mores for them. Little do they know.

And next were the cocky, adrenaline seeking group looking to show off their skills and one up each other. I was excited to see who would step up and who would tuck tail.

I did mention four scenarios didn’t I? That would be the bomber and his girlfriend. Curiosity had me wondering if either one would have even a smidge of redeemable character. I had my doubts.

So, we have four groups scattered throughout the Appalachian Mountains. All have their own agendas. And none of them are looking at their surroundings as anything more than trees. This was my favorite part. The part where they realized something else was out there among those trees. Something with it’s own agenda. They stepped into it’s territory and became part of the food chain. The creatures could be called vampires. They could be called man eating bats. I called them both. Whoa, were they creepy, nasty buggers.

This author has thrilled and scared me in equal measures with his other books. The experience continued in They Hunger.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

In the rugged wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains, the treacherous Unegama River holds more than its share of mortal dangers. But something deadlier than any force of nature is about to be awakened. Something both unnatural and immortal.

Driven from their ancient hunting grounds, they have dwelt in their cave for hundreds of years… hiding, waiting – and hungering. Now, a group of whitewater rafters has made the mistake of passing through their hunting grounds, and for these awakened creatures of the night, their first blood is about to be unleashed.

AND THEY ARE GOING TO FEED…

Amazon

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Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

    

     

   

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 Stinger

By  Robert McCammon

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Genre: Horror / Science Fiction

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MY REVIEW 

Author Robert McCammon has been on my go to horror list for many years. I’ve read many of his books and still have my copies. Stinger is one of my favorites. Let me tell you why.

 What was this creature? Where did it come from? Why Inferno, Texas? And how bad was it going to get?

It got insane. So many horrific, skin crawling scenes had me wishing I could actually “see” them. Yeah, I’m a glutton for punishment.  The mutations. Awful. Maybe it’s a good thing they remain described on the written page. If I’d viewed them on the telly, I’m sure I would have missed a lot since I’d be peeking through my fingers.

Stinger is beyond dangerous. How do you fight something that has so many tricks up it’s sleeve? Lucky for the people of Inferno, there is something. Wait til you meet Daufin. The battle is out of this world.

Robert showed me, not told me, his story and it was killer.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

spider web photo: Spider Hanging from Web webwht.gifIn the remote Texas town of Inferno, a creature of evil beyond anything the world has ever encountered descends. He traps the town and ravages the land with grisly executions and horrible mutations . . . until the people rise up in a final, desperate battle.

Amazon

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The above cover is from Amazon. Here is the older hardcover copy I own.

And here are some other covers.

   

   

Which do you like better?

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Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

    

   

   

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

,

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 Hell’s Aquarium

Meg#4

By Steve Alten

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

I have no desire to go deep. Imploding and drowning is a big fear of mine. And let’s not forget that the oceans are one of the last places for discovery on the planet. If you thought a seventy-five foot megalodon was bad, wait til you get a gander at what’s lurking in the Philippine Plate. Or I should say, what’s beneath it.

What does this have to do with Jonas, you ask. Isn’t he busy dealing with Angel and her five female pups? They’re outgrowing their pen and the risk of escape is looming over his head. Jonas sells the two smallest of the litter to a rich Dubai prince but there’s one condition holding up the deal. The prince wants Jonas’s son, David, to come take care of the sharks in Dubai.  Distracted and desperate, Jonas agrees. Uh oh.

From both sides of the globe humans were on the menu. The megalodon was believed to be extinct and it made it’s bloody appearance. If you could believe it, what’s discovered next was even more deadly. I said bring it on and Alten did it. The series kept giving me what I wanted.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

The Philippine Sea Plate: — The most unexplored realm on the planet. Surrounded by subduction zones and no less than six abyssal gorges — including the seven-mile-deep, 1,500 mile long Mariana Trench — the sea is also home to an incredibly anomaly, for hidden beneath its primordial crust lies the remains of the Phantalassa, an ocean that dates back 220 million years. vast and isolated, the Phantalassa is a purgatory of existence, inhabited by nightmarish sea creatures long believed extinct.

Tanaka Institute, Monterey, CA:

Four years have passed since Angel, the 76-foot, 100,000 pound Megalodon returned from the Mariana Trench to birth her litter of pups — five females — far too numerous and aggressive to keep in one pen. As accidents mounts, one solutions presents itself: A Dubai royal prince is building the largest aquarium in the world and seeks to purchase two of the “runts”.

The deal hinges on hiring Jonas Taylor’s twenty-one year old son, David, to be their handler.

Jonas reluctantly agrees, and David is off to Dubai for the summer of his life, not realizing he is being set up to lead an expedition that will hunt down and capture the most dangerous creatures ever to inhabit Earth.

Amazon

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Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

    

   

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 Primal Waters

Meg #3

By Steve Alten

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

It’s been eighteen years since Jonas has been eye to eye with a megalodon. That’s fine by him. What’s not fine is how his life is going. He’s in debt and the financial situation is putting a strain on his family. So, when a production company offers him a job doing the commentary on their new show Daredevils he thinks what can go wrong. Well, plenty. You have a bunch of adrenaline fueled competitors trying to outdo each other. The cocky arrogance could fuel the ship.

The first thing I thought was why Jonas. His fame has faded. My suspicion grew and it turns out I was right. Then the screaming and dying begins and the drive to win is now the drive to survive. There are a couple of scenes that had me realizing I was so right in my decision from some time ago to stop swimming in the ocean.

This was not my favorite in the series but still a lot of sharky fun. 

4 STARS

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Synopsis

It was the apex predator of all time, the most fearsome creature that ever lived — a 70-foot, 70,000 pound Great White shark. Hundreds of 7-inch serrated teeth filled jaws that could swallow an elephant whole. It could sense its prey miles away, inhaling its scent as it registered the beat of its fluttering heart, and if you ever came close enough to see the monster…it was already too late.

Eighteen years have passed since Jonas Taylor last crossed paths with carcharodon Megalodon. Now a middle-aged father of two, he is overwhelmed by mountains of bills and the daily strife of raising a family. But life is about to change. A Hollywood television producer wants Jonas to join his new survival series: Daredevils. For the next six weeks, two teams of crazy daredevils on a South Pacific Ocean voyage will try to outperform one another in front of the cameras. Jonas needs the money, and the job of doing the color commentary seems easy enough. But behind the scenes, someone else is pulling the strings. And before it’s over, Jonas will again come face to face with the most dangerous creatures ever to stalk the Earth.

Amazon

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Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

    

     

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

 

 

The Forgotten Bruja

By Johanny Ortega

 

Publication date: March 16 2027
Genres: Gothic, Horror

Freedom has always meant leaving.

For Isadora Espinal, escape was the only way to survive the life her mother tried to force upon her—a legacy built on silence, blind obedience, and a responsibility Isadora never agreed to carry. So she left Willowshade behind and built a future far beyond her mother’s reach.

Twelve years later, Altagracia Espinal is dead, and Isadora has been summoned home.

What awaits her is not an explanation but a trail of unfinished warnings, fractured family histories, and whispers that seem to seep from the walls themselves, blurring the line between guidance and manipulation. The deeper Isadora searches, the more she suspects her mother’s secrets were never meant to protect the family. They were meant to bind it.

Now the house remembers her. The land is watching her. And the inheritance Isadora once rejected may not allow her to leave a second time.

Set in late-1960s Ohio, The Forgotten Bruja is a slow-burn gothic horror novel steeped in Dominican folklore, Spanglish dread, and magical realism. It is a story of inherited obligation, buried history, queer love, and the devastating cost of deciding which parts of a legacy deserve to survive.

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Add to Goodreads

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About Author Johanny Ortega:

Johanny Ortega is a Dominican American author who writes across genres—blending psychological horror, literary fiction, magical realism, and thrillers that punch you right in the gut. Whether writing about haunted hills, generational trauma, or the quiet unraveling of everyday life, her stories center marginalized voices, morally complex women, and the messy truth about survival.

She is the founder of Have a Cup of Johanny, a creative platform where she blogs, podcasts, and advocates for inclusive storytelling. Her award-winning middle-grade and adult fiction has resonated with readers who crave depth, grit, and emotional honesty.

When she’s not writing, she’s raising kids in a blended military family, reading books that wreck her soul in the best way, and saying what others are afraid to.

Website / Instagram / TikTok / Goodreads

 

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 The Trench

Meg #2

By Steve Alten

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

Once again Jonas is having to face his fears. Four years ago he proved Megalodon’s existed and killed it, capturing it’s offspring. Angel, I call her the angel of death, is outgrowing the aquarium she’s held in. Solutions must be found, quickly. Can he convince a billionaire to finance his failing institute and keep the shark contained? Will Angel escape and wreak havoc?

I don’t think I’m alone in finding sharks fascinating. In fact, the bigger the better. I watch the documentaries and wait each year for Shark week. And I watch most of the movies. I loved Meg, the first book in Alten’s series, so it was a no-brainer to continue with the series.

Well, Angel does escape and it ain’t pretty. Not pretty at all. Blood is in the water and anything, and I mean anything, is on the menu. Am I a bad person? Some of my favorite scenes were the bloodiest.

Do you believe a megalodon can exist? Me, probably not. I can’t see how they’d survive so deep. There’s not much to eat. To really enjoy this book, I suspended my belief and rolled with it. Pure adrenaline spike!

5 STARS

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Synopsis

In this thrilling sequel to Steve Alten’s sci-fi thriller, MEG: Deep Terror, paleobiologist and Megaladon expert Jonas Taylor must face his deepest fears in order to save his job, his family, and himself.

Four years after the incident at the Mariana Trench that unleashed a pregnant Megaladon, Jonas Taylor now houses her one surviving offspring at the Tanaka Institute. Deep in debt, Taylor has turned to an eccentric billionaire to help keep the institute afloat, but it doesn’t come without a price. Drawn into a web of deceit and lies, plagued by nightmares of his own death, Taylor must once again face frightening monsters of unimaginable power. Only this time, it’s not just the sharks he has to watch out for.

Amazon

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Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

    

 

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 Meg

Meg #1

By Steve Alten

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

I don’t even know how many times I’ve read this book and the rest of the series. It’s one of my go to books when I want to just relax and enjoy the story. Plus, I love anything sharks. Who doesn’t.

Jonas Taylor is one the best in deep sea submersible dives. When he’s sent down on a secret dive into the Marianna Trench, he barely makes it back alive. His claims that a Megalodon almost ended his life are met with derision by his peers and he sinks into depression. After years trying to prove he’s right and waking up screaming from freakish nightmares, Joans is compelled to once again brave the deep, and what happens next is worse than any nightmare he’s ever had.

Oh yeah, I loved this book. From the character’s, to the shark, and everything in-between, it was awesome. Steve is a wonderful storyteller and has you believing Megs do still exist. There’s much argument about that, which I won’t go into, but I choose to say, who knows? The ocean is the least explored place on our planet and new species are discovered all the time.

I myself, hope they do but, then I don’t. After reading books and seeing movies about Great White Sharks, I think they’re bad enough. For something that could use a 20 footer as a toothpick to arrive in our waters is truly terrifying.

Dive into MEG. Meet her up close and personal. Once the action starts, it’s a whole lot of gnashing and blood. If your a fan of sharks and horror, you’ll eat this up.

This one is from my bookshelf. My review is voluntarily given.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

On a top-secret dive into the Pacific Ocean’s deepest canyon, Jonas Taylor found himself face-to-face with the largest and most ferocious predator in the history of the animal kingdom. The sole survivor of the mission, Taylor is haunted by what he’s sure he saw but still can’t prove exists–Carcharodon megalodon, the massive mother of the great white shark. The average prehistoric Meg weighs in at twenty tons and could tear apart a Tyrannosaurus rex in seconds

Written off as a crackpot suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Taylor refuses to forget the depths that nearly cost him his life. With a Ph.D. in paleontology under his belt, Taylor spends years theorizing, lecturing, and writing about the possibility that Meg still feeds at the deepest levels of the sea. But it takes an old friend in need to get him to return to the water, and a hotshot female submarine pilot to dare him back into a high-tech miniature sub.

Diving deeper than he ever has before, Taylor will face terror like he’s never imagined, and what he finds could turn the tides bloody red until the end of time.

Amazon

~~~~~

Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

    

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

,

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 The Wolfen

By Whitley Strieber

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

This review is long overdue. I read Wolfen back in the late 1970s and loved it. Then they came out with the movie in 1981 and I loved that too.

The wolf creatures are mentioned as werewolves but that doesn’t do them justice. They’ve lived among us silently, evolving and preying on those who won’t be missed. They don’t change from man to wolf. They are super intelligent and deadly. And woe to those who threaten them.

Two police officers are torn apart and the man and woman brought together to investigate couldn’t be more different. I liked how events forced them to accept what shouldn’t exist and use their individual skills to find a solution. One figured annihilation would be best while the other wanted to figure out why the animals had shifted their strategy.

Whitley was good at accelerating the story and allowing me to see through the animals eyes. I was sympathetic for their plight but I also wouldn’t want to cross paths with them.  They slipped in and out of your vision like ghosts and when they decided a confrontation was required it was executed with almost military precision.

I’ve still got my original copy. The cover is worn, the edges curling up from multiple reads and I loved everything about it.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

The savage killing of two New York City policemen leads two detectives, a man and a woman bound together by a strange, tough passion, to hunt down the wolfen, called werewolves in former days.

Amazon

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THE MOVIE

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Other Covers.

The one I shared at the top of the post is the one I own. These are some alternates. Which one do you like the most?

  

   

   

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Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

    

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires

By Grady Hendrix

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

A true crime book club. I wish there was one in my area. I’d be all in. And I hope I’d be as nosy as Patricia.

Routine can get monotonous. The  one thing that breaks that up is the book club. Patricia and the other members have lively conversations not confined to just books. For instance, the handsome new neighbor. He’s worthy of their attention and is on the top of their list. Then the children start going missing.

I get that Patricia zeroed in on the new guy when the kids kept disappearing. My radar pinged at what seemed an obvious suspect. And that was where the story really sunk it’s teeth into me, pardon the pun. A grip that didn’t let go until the end.

Egads, Grady writes like he’s speaking out loud, with a voice that has you leaning forward. To say I couldn’t wait to turn each page is true. The light hearted scenes became overshadowed the further in I got. Then, the dark settled in and I loved all of it. Especially the ending. Just you wait and see.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families.

One evening after book club, Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing the neighbor’s handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in years. But when children on the other side of town go missing, their deaths written off by local police, Patricia has reason to believe James Harris is more of a Bundy than a Brad Pitt. The real problem? James is a monster of a different kind—and Patricia has already invited him in.

Little by little, James will insinuate himself into Patricia’s life and try to take everything she took for granted—including the book club—but she won’t surrender without a fight in this blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.

Amazon

~~~~~

Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

  

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 The Sun Down Motel

By  Simone St. James

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Genre: Mystery / Horror / Thriller

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MY REVIEW

Horror with some paranormal mixed in is my cuppa tea. Wrap it with some awesome cover art and a tantalizing synopsis and I’m all in.

The Sun Down Motel was so easy to envision. In my younger years these motels dotted the highways and exits. They’re in no way fancy yet they have their own quaint charm and personalities. I’m glad to tell ya I never had the experience this young woman did.

Viv is just trying to earn a paycheck. The night shift at the hotel would be easy money. Most people would already be checked in and she would have little to do. But, the hotel and the guests have other ideas. And that’s when it gets creepy.

Buckle up. The Sun Down Motel isn’t going quietly into the night. It reveals it’s secrets with no apologies and the experience is thrilling, intense and lasting.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

Amazon

~~~~~

Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

 

 

    

   

 

    

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.