Tim and Adelaide Smithfield are haunted by memories of loss too raw to
forget, and too painful to remember. Their 11-year-old daughter,
Michaela, has her own set of sensory processing challenges, not to
mention an overwhelming sense of guilt that she might be at the root
of her parents’ problems.
The sprawling ranch house on the outskirts of the quaint West Texas town
of Big Spring promises a fresh start for a young family on the verge
of collapse.
But the house is haunted by memories of its own… and a guilt that West
Texas’ famed thunderstorms can’t wash away.
“Mother!”
Addie shook her head. “Sorry, Mack. I didn’t sleep well last night. What?”
“Are all Ritchie’s bad people?”
“I suppose it would depend on the person.”
Addie’s stomach rumbled. A couple of donuts were left in the box. Neither had equally dispersed sprinkles, so it’s not like Michaela would be eating one. Addie took a deep breath and chose the most smashed of the two before she continued.
Time to put the past to rest. Time to be normal.
Addie chewed the pastry and swallowed the bite. It tasted like sawdust. “Do you think Ritchie is the name of a bad guy?”
Michaela nodded. “Ritchie is mean. I don’t like anyone named Ritchie.”
Adelaide said a mental prayer for any of Michaela’s future classmates who had the bad luck to be named Ritchie.
Michaela folded her paper towel in half, then in half again. “Ritchies slam doors. And they don’t like dogs.”
Addie glanced at Tim. He must think he’s the only one among us who has a mind that operates halfway decent.
“Well baby, don’t judge all Ritchie’s just from one.”
Michaela shrugged and stacked the pepper shaker on top of the salt. “I don’t know. You’ve always said anyone that doesn’t like dogs can’t be trusted any further than you could throw them. And I don’t think I could throw Ritchie very far.”
Addie tried to conceal a laugh, but it escaped anyway as a snort. Sometimes, Michaela’s thought process was so entirely off the wall that it came full circle and made a bit of sense.
Tim, however, wasn’t laughing at all. “Who is Ritchie, Mack? Someone in one of your classes at school last year or something?”
Mack stared at her dad. A deadpan stare that had proven to give parents of non-autistic children the creeps. “Ritchie gets mad. He likes to slam things.”
An icy breeze brought goosebumps to Addie’s arms.
,
.
I began writing the House of Madness when I lived in the actual house I wrote about. Everything was so strange in that house — from the steel reinforced windows to the multiple safe rooms in the house. This story was so spooky that, as I wrote it, I slept with the lights on for three weeks.
Several of these spooky elements were real – including the little girl, Michaela, talking to the French speaking ghost in the closet mirror. Only this happened when we lived in Italy, which was really bizarre. I would think any ghosts living in the mirror in Italy would speak Italian?
People often ask me if I believe in ghosts. I have to say no – with all the spooky occurrences that have happened to me during the course of my life, if I actually believed in ghosts, I would never sleep with the lights off again! Hehe!
My most memorable ghostly occurrence was in Galveston, Texas. We were staying at one of the most haunted places on the island, the Tremont Hotel – room 333. My family and I checked in after hours, put the do not disturb sign out like we always do, unpacked, had a pillow fight, opened the TV cabinet and pulled out the television and positioned it to where it faced the beds, then went out on the town. We arrived back to the room about midnight to a spotless room. We asked the front desk if they always tidied rooms after guests checked in. They said housekeeping left at 5, and nobody would have come in the room without out consent with the do not disturb sign on the door. I wish could have brought that awesome ghost home with me!
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Sara is a mother of four, animal lover and advocate, and conservationist.
Little House on the Prairie, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and Lonesome
Dove are among her favorite shows/movies and books. Sara holds her
B.A. in History and is the author of the historical romance series,
An Everlasting Heart, from 5 Prince Publishing and recently debuted
into the children’s book realm with Chunky Sugars (5 Prince Kids),
written for her own chunky baby.
Welcome to my Saturday Screams where I share books that thrill and chill!
Today I thought it would be fun to share three scary books with similar titles.
~~~~~
Dark Corner
by Brandon Massey
Genre: Horror
My Review
Okay, I didn’t know exactly what this story was going to be about going in. I missed the clue in the blurb that mentioned something undead. When I found out what that was, I was thinking, oh no, not sure this book is what I was hoping it would be. About 8 chapters later I realized I didn’t want to put the book down.
Told from several points of view, you learn exactly what evil is hovering over the town. I think the multiple POVs made this story a richer experience for me. I really came to know the characters, to like them, to despair for them and, yes, to loath some of them. That goes without saying when evil comes out to play. Or bite you in the…..
I’d like to tell you more. Perhaps make some references to books and movies that came to mind while reading this, but why spoil things for you. I enjoyed Massey’s writing and how he had me wishing the one bad guy wasn’t so bad.
~~~~~
Synopsis
From award-winning author Brandon Massey comes a terrifying new novel about a town besieged by evil . . . and the one man who is determined to fight the darkness . . .
When renowned author Richard Hunter dies in a boating accident, his son David travels to Mason’s Corner, Mississippi, to find out more about the father he never really knew. At first, Mason’s Corner seems friendly and unassuming-–the perfect small town. But after a newcomer moves into the old-–and supposedly haunted-–mansion on the hill, everything changes . . .
People begin to disappear. Dogs viciously attack. And soon David discovers that the terror consuming this place has its roots in his own family tree . . .
For something has risen in Mason’s Corner. Something with bloody ties to the town’s past. Something undead–and hungering for vengeance . . .
I enjoy short story collections. It gives me a fun way to sample the authors writing. From the synopsis and cover art I was expecting some pretty dark tales. They really weren’t. And of those offered, I’d say a few were good and some missed the mark.
I did enjoy the writing and would be curious to read some longer works by the author. Perhaps then I would get more involved in a story of his.
Not wowed but I’m glad I read these.
~~~~~
Synopsis
DARK CORNERS is a short story anthology showcasing the various styles, genres and influences of William Andrews. Most of these are dark as Hell. Embrace the darkness and read on…. If you dare!
After the murder of her husband, Ella withdraws from everyone. Shuts herself away. But someone or something won’t let her heal. As time passes, she sinks deeper into grief and doubt. Is the house causing the eerie events? Or is it someone who wants to harm her? Or is she just going insane?
The author smoothly takes you back to past events and forward to the present, keeping you unsettled and clueless about what is real and what could just be in Ella’s mind. I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. She went through such a tragedy and now she fears she’s either haunted, stalked or crazy. Closing herself off from the world aroused suspicion with people that maybe she killed her husband. i wondered about that myself.
Of course, I read this at night. Read it straight through, my eyes darting to the dark corners whenever I thought I heard something. There are some really spooky scenes in this that made me question why I waited until dark to read it. I guess I wasn’t expecting to get scared as I read a lot of horror. But scared I got and I couldn’t stop. This reads like a ride on a tilt-a-whirl. It went one way then the other, jerking me from one conclusion to another. A dizzying, haunting story and so well executed.
I had this book on my kindle for several years before reading it. That won’t happen with the rest of the series. Yes, there are more books and I’ve got them lined up to read.
If you enjoy a scary, haunting story with a good mystery and some drama and thrills thrown in, I recommend you give this a go.
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~~~~~
Synopsis
Ella Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting. Her husband’s violent murder sent her spiraling into a world of grief and isolation, but Ella isn’t alone. Who or what is responsible for her husband’s death is still with her.
Darkness has engulfed the past year of Ella’s life. Everyday reality slips a little more between her fingers as she struggles to break free from her memories. She must look deeper into her past as well as the present to discover truth of her husband’s homicide. A string of uncanny events takes place and practical explanations run thin as Ella follows the terrifying road to closure. As the past and present come to a head, Ella must decipher who or what the murderer is before it takes her as well.
What do you get when you pair a smart-mouthed geek with a fake English
accent and a disciplined, headstrong woman with incredible powers?
Meet Bud Hutchins, a socially awkward super genius who talks too much and
can’t get out of his own way. Will he heed the call to join the
Order and save humanity?
Eh, maybe.
Meet Maeve, a beautiful young woman who happens to be a monk of an ancient
Order tasked with keeping evil spirits at bay and saving Bud Hutchins from himself.
She rolls her eyes. Alot.
In this globe-trotting, action-packed supernatural thriller, our heroes
fight to contain an ancient evil that calls from beyond.
It’s time for you to join the Order. Battle monsters. Avenge the dead and
save the natural world from supernatural destruction.
“Check the desk for more shells.”
Bud walked to the mahogany desk. On the floor behind the desk was a dead man with a box of shotgun shells spilled next to him. The man looked emaciated not from decay but from starvation. Bud collected the shotgun shells, placed them in the box, and stood ready to provide ammo.
“Don’t just stand there. Let’s move the desk to the door so we can slow them some more!” Maeve grabbed an end of the desk. Bud shut the door and grabbed the other side of the desk.
“How long do you think this desk will hold them off?”
“Not very long at all. That is why I have the shotgun.”
Bud handed her two shells when the first thump on the door rattled the bookshelves of the old library. Bud’s heartbeat quickened.
THUMP. The second pound knocked some books off the shelves. The dust billowed as the books hit the hardwood floor.
“Is the gun even operational?”
Maeve loaded two shells into the double barrel and waited.
THUMP. The third impact showed a crack in the door.
“How, might I inquire, did you learn how to load, handle, and presumably shoot a gun that size?” Bud asked.
“My uncle took me hunting.” Maeve lifted the shotgun to shoulder height.
A crack in the door grew larger with each successive pounding. The undead soldiers were relentless. Bud and Maeve couldn’t tell if the audible cracking was wood or frail bones. The space in the door spread into a fissure. A deathly arm burst through. Another arm pulled at the opening and the fissure grew into a chasm.
Maeve readied the shotgun.
“You are planning to use the shotgun?” Bud asked.
BOOM. Maeve squeezed off the first shot. Three undead soldier’s heads blew off their shoulders. Bone splinters and rotted flesh sprayed the doorway.
The second line moved forward with many more intact heads and shoulders. One soldier’s eye dangled from his skull. Another’s jaw detached and fell to the ground.
BOOM.
Another shot rattled Bud’s ears. Maeve stood three feet behind the blockade desk calm as can be. She put her hand toward Bud for more shells which he happily provided. The second shell had blown back three more soldiers.
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The Elixir
Bud Hutchins Supernatural Thrillers Book 2
How far would you go to save a friend?
From award-winning author JB Michaels, author of The Order of St. Michael
and the award-winning Tannenbaum Tailors series
Join Bud Hutchins in an action-packed urban fantasy set in Chicago, home
to the world’s most notorious urban legends. A murder rocks Chicago
Metro University. Maeve, a monk of the Order of St. Michael, faces
possible annihilation. A poltergeist wreaks havoc across the city.
With the help of the brilliant Ivy, a doctoral candidate, Bud will
need to employ science and the supernatural in his most harrowing
adventure yet, The Elixir: A Bud Hutchins Thriller.
The Ghost of Capone Mt. Olivet Cemetery, the original resting place of
gangster Al Capone, is disturbed by an ungodly menace.
Resurrection Mary strikes
The forested roads of Archer Avenue are once again stalked by the deathly
and cunning Resurrection Mary.
Murder, Mayhem, and the Elixir
A beautiful, young teacher’s assistant is murdered over a mysterious
elixir: an ancient concoction that could change history!
From Wrigleyville to the Willis Tower, the Museum of Science and Industry
to Beverly…
…join Bud Hutchins on an epic adventure through Chicago!
The Elixir is ready. Scroll up and grab a copy today.
Maeve moved further into the cemetery and ascended the hilltop towards the mausoleums at the crest. There were trees up there. The scent grew stronger. She reached the top of the hill and down the path saw a police squad car. Parked. No lights were on. Maeve quickly dropped on all fours, bounded off the path and used the tombstones for cover as she approached. The squad car’s passenger door and rear passenger side door were open. Maeve stood back up and examined the car closely. There was an unconscious police officer inside, leaning on the passenger door. Another officer’s head rested on the steering wheel. Maeve noticed their sidearms were missing. Normal chatter and codes burst forth from the radio. The rack that usually held a bigger weapon was bent and broken. The shotgun missing.
The source of the odor had to have been here. It was strongest in this area.
A piercing, booming, sound resonated in the cemetery and rattled Maeve’s sensitive ear drums. A bullet smacked up against the front passenger door, which Maeve stood behind. Another shot hit the window. It cracked. Maeve ducked behind the cover of the door. She waited to see if another shot would ring out. Nothing. She surmised that the gunman was near the mausoleum closer to the entrance. She bounded back to the tombstones for cover. Then she saw him–a man dressed in a cream trench coat and a suit that matched the jacket. He wore a fedora cocked to the left. The man’s face bore a large scar. Al Capone had risen from the dead. The notorious world-famous gangster and king of Prohibition lived again.
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The Castle
Bud Hutchins Supernatural Thrillers Book 3
No rest for the wicked they say.
Barely catching their breath, Bud, Ivy, and Maeve find themselves pitted
against the Chicago police, the FBI, and the world’s most powerful
vampire. Will they escape injury-free or will the fangs of doom
pierce their jugular veins?
The answers can only be found in The Castle: A Bud Hutchins Thriller.
The three slayers of the supernatural will face their most formidable
threats, seek solutions to their most important problems, and be
forever changed.
The threats are plenty. The stakes are higher. The tasks nigh impossible.
Time to grab your favorite monster-slaying weapon, raise your torch, and
storm the Castle walls.
The candlelight flickered. The soft glow accentuated his finely drawn cheekbones and strong jawline. His blue eyes bore a look of joy in the laughter he shared with his female companion. The brunette with the green eyes and ruby-red lipstick closed her eyes and laughed, nearly spilling the wine from her medieval goblet. Before she stopped giggling and her eyes reopened in recovery of her jovial fit, his brow furrowed. His eyes showed his true condition—a menacing yet brief look, one of lust and of hunger in full and equitable measure. The look vanished. His courtly composure retained.
“Oh, my dear Vincentas, who knew you could be so amusing?”
“Shall I take umbrage with your last statement and just kill you right now?” Vincentas grinned.
Another loud burst of laughter.
The Cabernet Sauvignon didn’t have a higher level of spirits than any other wine he usually picked from his cellar. Still, Vincentas poured more into her goblet. His attempts at humor could land, but usually with a casual, rather weak effect. She acted as if he’d performed a comedy routine for years and had earned his own television show.
“That is enough wine for me, Vincentas. What are you trying to do me?” She leaned over the small table, giving him full view of her cleavage.
“I do nothing that one does not allow amicably.” He smiled, leaned forward, and kissed both of her cheeks then pulled back to survey her reaction.
She stood up from her chair, took another swig from her goblet, walked to his side of the table, and pulled him off his chair. She grasped his shirt collar with both hands and kissed him like a lioness devoured a fresh kill. Her aggression took Vincentas by surprise.
She wasn’t the real monster though.
The candlelight moved violently, then the flames extinguished, and darkness overtook the room.
Vincentas didn’t need the light. His hands caressed her where they had touched many other women in his long life. He loved discovering the slight variations of the female physique. The curves, the hips, the muscles both hard and soft, the flesh. His particular favorite: the length of the neck.
She moaned.
The sensual and soft sounds of sexual assurance turned to a panicked scream.
A loud crash filled the dark room. In the struggle to free herself, she kicked over the dinner table.
“No! No! Please! Plea—” Her voice gargled with blood.
.
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Greetings!
For the official site of JB Michaels head on over
to http://mistermichaels.com/for two free books!
J. B. Michaels, multi-award winning author and member of the Society of Children’s
Book Writers and Illustrators, has written stories since he was in
fourth grade. He is a history teacher who loves his job.
Married and with a son, Michaels has a great love of family. He has two
series: the Gold and Bronze medal-winning Tannenbaum Tailors and Bud
Hutchins Thrillers.
Hell Bound is the first Novella in a post-apocalyptic series.
How far would you go to save your family?
Sam and Mathew finally get a chance to go on a train ride to the Grand
Canyon– alone. Leaving their two kids back in California, they are
excited for a weekend of rest.
When a zombie Apocalypse breaks out, the couple must try to fight their
way back to California to see if their kids are still alive. In this
harrowing story of love and survival in a world that is crumbling by
death and destruction, we follow Sam and Mathew through their
struggle to reunite with their children.
Mathew and Sam fought their way back home to where their kids were supposed
to be waiting. Instead they find out they have already moved on with
Sam’s parents to seek safety.
Now they are in a rush to be back with their kids, fighting hordes of
flesh eating zombies ,gaining and losing friends along the way.
In a world full of death and destruction where the dead come to life and
the living are just as bad as the dead, will Mathew and Sam find
their kids before its too late or die trying?
Sam and Mathew have come so far to receive the bad news that the safe
haven is no longer safe. No one can tell them where their kids are.
Trained soldiers have retreated, and all are too scared to fight
against the raging zombies. A stranded Soldier offers them his help
to find their family but will it be enough to fight all the obstacles
in their way? Can Mathew and Sam survive their last journey?
Three years after the apocalypse Sam and her three kids continue their life
in the safe haven. Well,as safe as they can be. The military is at a
constant battle to keep the walls standing but the zombie herd just
keeps growing stronger by each passing day and keeps finding their
way into the compound that once protected everyone.
Supplies are running low, weapons are far and few. Now Sam must help a group
of soldiers find weapons and food. Her journey continues with her
fighting to save the only home she has left and the only family still
living.
The End Is Near is the fourth book in the Hell Bound series but can be
read as a standalone. To understand Sam’s story you may want to read
the Hell Bound series from the beginning.
Kathy Dinisi is an award winning author,Amazon best seller, International
best sellier. She is born and raised in Southern California where she
currently resides with her husband and two kids. She usually spends
her time watching Horror movies and reading a good old horror Novel.
She enjoys crazy hikes to unknown places you usually cant find on a
map, where she gets her crazy ideas.
Sara Barnes has her life totally under control. All she has to worry about
is college exams, Christmas shopping, applying to medical school–and
what to do about the cute freshman who has a crush on her. And
everything is going according to plan, until the night she starts
dreaming other people’s dreams.
It’s bad enough that every night is a theater of her friends’ and
classmates’ secret fantasies. Worse yet are the other dreams, the
dark ones featuring a strange, terrifying man committing unspeakable
crimes.
As the nightmares increase, Sara’s life becomes a blur of waking and
sleeping, of terror and urgency. Because if she was given this
dream-sharing gift for a reason, it must be to stop the killer madman
she’s come to know all too well. But how can she stop him when she’s
just a student, and they’re only dreams?
Dream Studentis
the thrilling prequel to the Dream Doctor Mysteries.
Between adjusting to life as a newlywed and trying to survive the first month
of medical school, Sara Alderson has a lot on her plate. She
definitely doesn’t need to start visiting other people’s dreams
again. Unfortunately for her, it’s happening anyway.
Every night, she sees a different person and a different dream. But every
dreamer has one thing in common: they all hate Dr. Morris, the least
popular professor in the medical school, and they’re all dreaming
about seeing him – or making him – dead.
Once again, Sara finds herself in the role of unwilling witness to a
murder before it happens. But this time, there are too many suspects
to count, and it doesn’t help matters that she hates Dr. Morris
every bit as much as any of his would-be murderers do.
Dr. Sara Alderson can deal with eighty-hour workweeks as a resident at
Children’s Hospital. Dealing with crises in the Emergency Room or
the OR is second nature to her. But now she faces a challenge that
all of her training and experience hasn’t prepared her for: Lizzie,
her four-year-old daughter, has inherited her ability to see other
people’s dreams.
After Lizzie befriends a young boy on a trip to Washington, DC, and then
wakes up in a panic that night because of a “bad funny dream,”
Sara knows exactly what it means: her daughter is visiting the boy’s
dreams. Complicating matters is the fact that the boy’s father is a
Congressman, and he’s dreaming about a “scary man in a big black
car” threatening his Daddy.
Unraveling a case of political corruption and blackmail would be hard
enough for Sara under the best of circumstances. But when she has to view
everything through the eyes of a toddler, it may be an impossible task.
Dr. Sara Alderson didn’t think she had a problem in the world, when she
walked into the office for her first day as a partner in her own
medical practice. And then the police showed up and arrested her for
a crime she couldn’t possibly have committed. Twenty four hours
later, after a horrifying day and night in jail, Sara comes home a
different – and completely broken – woman.
Clearing her name is her first challenge, but that’s nothing compared to the
task of rebuilding her shattered psyche. And the only way she can do
that is with the help of the supernatural dreams, the same dreams
that have nearly cost Sara her sanity – and almost got her killed –
in the past.
After nearly a decade of visiting other people’s dreams, Sara Alderson
thought she had made peace with her supernatural gift. Until one
night, while watching her husband dream, she saw someone else
watching him, too: a mysterious woman in a red dress.
The woman in red keeps appearing in the dreams of Sara’s husband and
his co-workers. Sara doesn’t know if this mystery woman is trying
to steal her husband, drive him mad or something even worse. All she
does know is that now she has something she never imagined: a
nemesis. And the only thing more dangerous than a nemesis who shares
her ability to step into other people’s dreams, is one who knows
far more about that ability and how to control it than Sara does.
Dr. Sara Alderson is heading back to college for her ten-year class
reunion. Her husband and two of her children are coming with her –
and so are her supernatural dreams.
One of her old classmates is becoming more frantic with every passing
night. Sara can’t see his face, but she can see everything else in
his dreams, and he’s coming closer and closer to committing a
desperate act to try and save his business. Sara’s the only one who
can save him, and his family – if she can figure out who he is and
what he’s planning in time.
Dr. Sara Alderson thought she was securing her and her family’s future
when she moved them to a small town in New York and took a job as
Chief of Pediatrics at the local hospital. Unfortunately, things
aren’t going quite according to plan. For one thing, she has
enemies at work who resent her from the moment she sets foot in the
hospital.
For another, she’s visiting the dreams of an old man who’s seeing
nightly visions of a storm that will wipe out the entire town. He’s
convinced that the visions are true – and as winter closes in, Sara
is starting to think he might be right.
Thanks to her unique ability to step into other people’s dreams, Dr. Sara
Alderson has solved murders, unraveled conspiracies and saved lives.
But when a crisis hits close to home, even her supernatural gift
might not be enough to avert disaster.
On a family vacation to Paris, Sara’s fifteen-year-old daughter Grace
disappears without a trace. The only way to find her is through
Sara’s dreams. But her gift has taken an unwanted vacation, and
without it, Sara has no idea how to rescue Grace. In a foreign city,
with no clues, and her dreaming talent failing her for the first
time, Sara must figure out another way to find Grace before it’s too late.
Dr. Sara Alderson isn’t used to her patients dying for no reason. When
a young boy succumbs to a mysterious illness that defies all her
efforts to treat it, she refuses to accept defeat.
After two months of questions, Sara has attracted the attention of powerful
people who don’t want their secrets uncovered, and will go to any
lengths to make sure they stay hidden.
Now, time is running out for Sara to unravel the mystery before anyone
else falls victim to the illness. And before her career, her family
and her freedom are taken from her by enemies she doesn’t even know
she has.
It ought to be a joyful time for Dr. Sara Alderson. Her daughter,
Lizzie, is about to graduate college, and marry her longtime
boyfriend. But the family’s happiness is shattered when a drunk
driver seriously injures her teenage son in a hit-and-run accident.
Now, instead of planning her daughter’s wedding, Sara must fight to save
her son’s life. And when she discovers who the drunk driver was –
someone she thought was a colleague and a friend – she has to fight
her desire for revenge. Because Sara knows she has the power to visit
the driver’s dreams, and in those dreams, she holds the power of
life and death.
Readers of the Dream Doctor Mysteries know that Sara and her family have a
very busy life outside the pages of the ten Dream Doctor Mysteries,
and here’s your chance to peek into it.
Twelve stories are included in this collection, and you’ll discover what
happened on Sara’s final Spring Break of college; Lizzie’s first
day of school; Betty and Howard’s first trip out of the country;
and much more!
J.J. DiBenedetto is author of the Dream Series and the Jane Barnaby
Adventures and lives in Arlington, Virginia with the love of his life
and a white cat who rules the roost.
His passions are photography, travel, the opera,
the New York Giants, and of course writing.
Mr. DiBenedetto is devoted to writing books with a sense of mysticism to
entertain and perhaps invite his readers to suspend belief in a way
they might never have.
Since he was very young , he has always been intrigued with the
supernatural and things that can’t be explained rationally.
By always asking way too many questions, it piqued his interest to the
point of setting his writing off and running when he grew up! All the
curiosity building up all those years were finally getting put into
words to captivate readers. And it hasn’t ended. His main goal is to
share all the stories he has inside, putting pen to paper. And that’s
how the Dream Series was born.
EVO by Diane May
Publication date: July 23rd 2018
Genres: Adult, Thriller
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.
Synopsis
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A covert CIA operation that involves genetic engineering.
A serial killer nicknamed “The Hypnotist”.
And the most terrifying threat humanity has to face.
What if someone could take complete control over your mind?
And what if that someone was a serial killer?
Discover EVO, a gripping crime thriller that reviewers and readers describe as “spellbinding”, “high-energy” and “impossible to put down”.
Langley, Virginia, twenty years earlier:
John Blake, a CIA special agent, stumbles upon an illegal genetic experiment within the agency, conducted on unborn babies and officially presented as a fertility program designed to help couples get pregnant. When he realizes that his very own daughter is a product of this sinister plot and that she is in grave danger, he vows to do everything it takes to make sure Maya will be safe and the people behind the experiment will all pay. With their lives.
Verona, Italy, present time:
Livio Marchiori, a homicide detective with the highest rate of solved cases in Verona, is faced with The Hypnotist, a serial killer the likes of which he’s never seen before. He never touches his victims and he leaves no evidence behind, except for the detailed videos of his murders. And what Marchiori and his team see on those videos is more disturbing than all their other cases combined. Because this one is different. This one defies all rational thinking and borders the impossible.
Then The Hypnotist gets personal and threatens to kill Dr. Abby Jones, the chief medical examiner and the woman Marchiori is in love with. Caught in a cat-and-mouse game with the elusive killer, Marchiori knows he is quickly running out of time.
So when Captain Victor Miller from Interpol walks into town, Marchiori is more than happy to partner again with the man who two years ago helped him put an entire mafia clan behind bars. But Miller has his own agenda, and Marchiori soon discovers that there is more to these crimes than meets the eye, an entire thread of things way beyond his pay grade – illegal experiments, secret agencies, and the most terrifying threat humanity has to face.
A gripping serial killer thriller with a “hit-the-brakes-with-both-feet plot twist that may leave even the most jaded among us feeling good about humanity.”
“He stripped down, threw his clothes in the blue hamper behind the door, and got in the shower. He turned his body away from the faucet and placed his hands on the wall, letting the hot water beat down his back. Doing this usually relaxed him, but now it somehow amplified this weird restlessness, this foreboding feeling he couldn’t shake off. Annoyed at himself, he quickly washed his body, turned off the faucet and reached for the brown towel on the hook.
A heavy silence filled his apartment. A few drops of water from the shower head splashed onto the ceramic tiles below, the sound deafening to his ears. His heart started beating faster. All of a sudden he wanted to hear human voices, his neighbours yelling at each other, their baby crying, anything but this dead silence and the rhythmic tapping of the water drops.
An icy shiver rippled down his spine and his body started shaking. Unseen walls were sliding down around him, trapping him. Suffocating him.”
Diane May is a crime thriller writer and she lives in Verona, Italy, with her husband. When she’s not in her office writing, she can usually be found curled up on the sofa with a good book in her lap and a cup of green tea next to her.
The only daughter of an army colonel, she grew up on military bases where she learnt about weapons, discipline and the sacrifices of military life. She also worked for many years as a translator and interpreter for the Court of Law on mostly criminal cases.
EVO is her debut novel and she is currently working on her second crime thriller, Till Death Do Us Part, scheduled to be released in 2019.
Piggybacker by Mikki Noble
(Vessel of Lost Souls, #1)
Publication date: January 28th 2019
Genres: Thriller, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
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Synopsis
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TOO LATE TO SAVE HIS LIFE. NOT TOO LATE TO BRING HIM BACK.
Everyone thinks Marley tried to take her own life, that is, except Marley. After her mother sends her to a youth center for troubled teens, she starts hearing the voice of a boy who claims he was murdered and begins questioning her own sanity. The voice is Gavin, a seventeen-year-old boy who promises Marley he can help her find the truth about what happened the day she supposedly tried to kill herself—if she completes a resurrection spell in the next four days.
Upon discovering Gavin’s death in the newspaper, Marley realizes she’s not hallucinating, and that she has a chance to save Gavin’s soul and clear her name. The task seems simple: complete the spell, then she and Gavin are free, right? But a powerful, unseen force is determined to stop her, and soon Marley finds herself following clues from the universe to find ingredients for the ritual to save herself and her newfound friend, and most of all, to find the truth about what really happened that day.
Piggybacker is the first in Mikki Noble’s spell-binding Vessel of Lost Souls trilogy, and promises a thrilling mystery with powerful enemies, broken relationships, captivating magic, and two souls both caught up in a plot beyond any they could ever imagine.
As far back as she can remember, Mikki was creating characters and stories in her head. It wasn’t until fate brushed the tip of its wings over her eyes that she began to see that writing was what she was born to do. She loves animals, reading, everything supernatural related, and enjoys spending her free time on social media whenever she can.
Girl with all the Pain by Michael Herman
(Aliens, Tequila & Us #4)
Publication date: February 23rd 2018
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
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Synopsis
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Sometimes an ugly duckling becomes more than just a swan.
In the streets of Santiago, Chile, a young homeless girl named Isabel screams a scream of rage that is the last sound the gang tormenting her ever hears.
Deep within the city, a family feels her cry and sets out to find her for their sake as well as hers.
Never straying far from Isabel, Skunk Mountain, a homeless pile of walking filth, visible to only the neighborhood kids, maintains a guardian presence that is key to her survival in a world where, beneath the very ground they walk, a dark ancient intelligent entity prepares to unleash forces that will devastate Chile.
Sometimes that swan has claws and teeth.
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Girl with all the Pain is the first of the Global Invasion Chronicles.
The Aliens, Tequila & Us series is prologue to Girl with all the Pain
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If you are interested in mass extinction events, Chinchorro mummies, alien creatures, tequila, Pisco Sours, Very Large Telescopes, foreign tongues, evolution theories, witchcraft beliefs, Santiago Chile, underground caves, vineyards, million dollar concept bikes, interstellar space travel, abandoned mines, the Atacama Desert, Russian ATVs, Himmler’s Nazis Lebensborn, predictions of future times, earthquakes, orchids, avatars, and people with mutant powers, then this is the book for you.
Kind reviews go far and help keep up the spirit while I work to bring the second Global Invasion Chronicle to life.
When he isn’t doing construction or creating 3D simulations for the AEC industry, Michael Herman writes from his small urban hillside farm in California where he types away to the sounds of chickens, coyotes, the occasional fox and his household pets.
Ten years after the world’s oil went sour and a pandemic killed most of
the population, Sam Edison is the chief of police of The Little Five,
a walled-in community near Atlanta, Georgia. Those who survived share
the world with what are known as hollow-heads: creatures who are no
longer fully human.
A man and a pregnant teenager arrive at the gate and are welcomed into
the town. They begin to settle in when suddenly both are murdered by
an unknown assailant. In the course of investigation, Chief Edison
discovers that the girl was fleeing a life of sexual slavery, and
that some members of the Atlanta community were complicit in the
human trafficking network that had ensnared her.
In retaliation for Edison’s discoveries, agents of the network abduct
the stepdaughter of the town’s mayor. Chief Edison and three
companions track the kidnappers to Athens, Georgia, where they
discover that the entire city is engaged in human trafficking. By the
time Edison has recovered the kidnapped girl, the other three
rescuers have been killed, leaving Edison alone to bring the mayor’s
stepdaughter home while evading both human and non-human monsters.
Against such great odds, will Sam ever make it to Little Five alive?
Kevin Muñoz grew up just outside of Philadelphia. After wandering across
the country for a few years, he received a PhD from Emory University
in 2008. A little later, he decided to leave the academic life behind
to pursue his first passion: writing. He has lived in seven U.S.
states over the years, observing and adopting each new place as
settings and inspiration for his fiction. He spent fifteen years in
Georgia, where the seeds of THE POST were planted. He now lives near
Seattle with his two beagle traveling companions.
“The super-fast pacing and creepy touches give this teen adventure plenty
of character.”—Publishers Weekly
Returning to her home in London, teen Jasmine Towne realizes just how long
she’s been training for the moment she would be on her own. Her
paranoid mother’s last words, scrawled in her own blood, demand her
action: JAZZ HIDE FOREVER. In this moment, the strange men who have
always hung around her family’s life—whom her mother called the
Uncles—become starkly sinister. And they’re on her trail.
Seeking cover in the Underground, Jazz slips through a mysterious gate, down
tunnels, and seemingly through time. Inside an abandoned city of bomb
shelters and forgotten Tube stations, she finds temporary refuge with
a gang of petty thieves. Flashes of the past, spectral and haunting,
share the tunnels…with no regard for the living. For how long can
Jazz hide from the terrors of both her worlds?
To what lengths would you go to undo the pain of the past?
“Golden and Lebbon have far outstripped their past efforts with this
wonderfully creepy thriller of a ghost story.”
—Publishers Weekly starred review
“Golden and Lebbon vividly evoke the rich, enduring character of New Orleans,
as well as spinning a compelling fantasy yarn that builds momentum as
Max works his way through the city’s history.” —Booklist
Max Corbett has returned to New Orleans for the funeral of his former
girlfriend, Gabrielle Doucette, but between the destruction wrought
by Hurricane Katrina and the devastation of his ruined relationship,
the city feels alien.
At Gabrielle’s graveside, Max meets Ray. Over a bottle of bourbon in a
dive bar, the two discuss Gabrielle’s unique connection to the city.
Ray suggests that this connection might mean her tragic death is not
truly her end. And he happens to know a real magic practitioner—not
some Bourbon Street phony—who could open a window to the past and
send a warning to Gabrielle. Maybe Max can even deliver the warning
in person? Ray offers him a cheap map and says the process is simple.
Follow the charted moments to build up a little bit of magical clout
and then find the man with the gift.
Surging with liquid courage, Max takes the ludicrous tourist map and sets
off. But it turns out this quest is not so easy. When Max enters the
First Moment, he is drawn into the fabric of history to witness dark
and violent periods, and with each passing step, a grim conspiracy is
revealed. Suddenly in too deep, there is nowhere for Max to go but
through. But when you trudge through a swamp, you’re going to get muddy.
Archaeologist Dr. Geena Hodge is on the precipice of success: her team has found an
entrance to an underground chamber while searching for the Petrarch’s
lost library. A documentarian is joining her team for the descent
into the long-hidden structure and may be the key to extensive
funding. Best of all, she is able to share the excitement of this
momentous occasion with her assistant-slash-lover, Nico, whose
psychic presence resonates in her own mind.
Within a strikingly preserved room—unlike any Venetian excavation—the
team finds only one artifact: a small vessel that immediately
mesmerizes Nico. While the team investigates a slab of granite inlaid
in the floor, Nico becomes transfixed by the object, and before he
can be stopped, he has the urn in his hands. Then, it is broken open
on the ground. And with that, the impossibly withheld groundwater
begins to fill the chamber…
In the clamor to escape the rapidly flooding room and save the found
texts, the team is sent in all directions. And Nico’s mind, always
attuned to Geena’s, seems to go quiet. His actions in the days
after the incident feel unlike him, and his consciousness seems to
dissolve beneath the weight of his experience with the artifact. What
insidious force was within? And what can satisfy its restless will?
From Beacon Hill to Southie, historic Boston is a town of vibrant
neighborhoods knit into a seamless whole. But as Jim Banks and Trix
Newcomb learn in a terrifying instant, it is also a city
divided—split into three separate versions of itself by a mad
magician once tasked with its protection.
Jim is happily married to Jenny, with whom he has a young daughter,
Holly. Trix is Jenny’s best friend, practically a member of the
family—although she has secretly been in love with Jenny for years.
Then Jenny and Holly inexplicably disappear—and leave behind a
Boston in which they never existed. Only Jim and Trix remember them.
Only Jim and Trix can bring them back.
With the help of Boston’s Oracle, an elderly woman with magical powers,
Jim and Trix travel between the fractured cities, for that is where
Jenny and Holly have gone. But more is at stake than one family’s
happiness. If Jim and Trix should fail, the spell holding the
separate Bostons apart will fail too, and the cities will reintegrate
in a cataclysmic implosion. Someone, it seems, wants just that.
Someone with deadly shadow men at their disposal.
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN
is the New York Times bestselling author of such novels as Ararat,
Snowblind, Tin Men, The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are
Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, and Of Saints and Shadows.
He has also written books for teens and young adults, including
Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence,
honored by the New York Public Library and chosen as one of YALSA’s
Best Books for Young Readers.
Goldenco-created (with Mike Mignola) two cult favorite comic book series,
Baltimore and Joe Golem: Occult Detective. As an editor, he has
worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, The New Dead,
and Dark Cities, among others, and has also written and co-written
comic books, video games, screenplays, a BBC radio play, the online
animated series Ghosts of Albion (with Amber Benson), and a network
television pilot. A frequent speaker at conferences, schools, and
libraries, Golden is also co-host of the podcasts Three Guys with
Beards and Defenders Dialogue, and the founder of the Merrimack
Valley Halloween Book Festival.
Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his
family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen
languages in countries around the world.
TIM LEBBON
has been published for over twenty years and have written over forty
horror, dark fantasy and tie-in novels, including The Silence,
Relics, Coldbrook, The Cabin in the Woods, the Noreela series of
fantasy books (Dusk, Dawn, Fallen and The Island), the NY Times
Bestselling novelisation of the movie 30 Days of Night, Alien: Out of
the Shadows, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi – Into the Void, and several
books with Christopher Golden, including Blood of the Four, The Map
of Moments and The Secret Journeys of Jack London. He’s also written
hundreds of novellas and novels and have won several prestigious awards.
The movie of The Silence, starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka, is
out summer 2018. Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage, was released
in 2016. More of his work is currently in development for the big screen.
![Dark Corners (The Ella Reynolds Series Book 1) by [Schulte, Liz]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51XOYPdInsL._SY346_.jpg)
