If you’re like me, you have a pile of books beckoning to you from your lists. Carole hosts this fun feature where you can share some of those older books and perhaps nudge you to finally read them. If you want to join in on the fun, head over to Carole’s Random Life In Books and leave a link to your post.
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Night Magic
Nightstruck #2
by Jenna Black
Genre: Horror / Fantasy
Synopsis
Jenna Black returns to the quarantined city of Philadelphia, where an unsuspecting seventeen-year-old has unknowingly unleashed a dark power that transforms the city into a monstrous hellscape in Night Magic.
Philadelphia is locked in the grip of an evil magic that transforms its streets into a nightmare landscape the minute the sun sets each night. While most of the city hunkers down and hopes to survive the long winter nights, Becket Walker is roaming the darkened streets having the time of her life.
Once, the guilt of having inadvertently let the night magic into the city―and of having killed her onetime best friend―had threatened to destroy her. But now she’s been Nightstruck, and all her grief and guilt and terror have been swept away―along with her conscience. So what if she’s lost her friends, her family, and her home? And so what if her hot new boyfriend is super-controlling and downright malevolent?
Mesmerized by the power and freedom of not having to care about anyone but herself, Becket is sinking ever deeper into the night magic’s grasp. But those who love her refuse to give up on her―even if she’s given up on them. If they can’t find a way to help Becket break the night magic’s hold, the entire city might soon find itself shrouded in perpetual night. But the last thing Becket wants is to be “rescued” from her brand new life, and she will fight tooth and claw to stay exactly where she is.
I added this to my list back in May of 2017. I really enjoyed the first book and as soon as I finished it, I ordered the second one. I won’t let this wait much longer to be read.
If you’re like me, you have a pile of books beckoning to you from your lists. Carole hosts this fun feature where you can share some of those older books and perhaps nudge you to finally read them. If you want to join in on the fun, head over to Carole’s Random Life In Books and leave a link to your post.
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Horrorstor
by Grady Hendrix
Genre: Horror
Synopsis
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 comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom.
I added this to my list back in September of 2014. I can’t believe I let it get buried on my shelf and stay there for so long. It’s sitting on my night stand now!
I don’t normally compare books to movies, but if I had to describe this story, it would be Rose Red meets The Burbs.
I thought of Rose Red because it wasn’t just the Eldreds that were odd and creepy. It was also the house. It appeared to be ordinary until the neighbors were lured inside. Then it became a house of horrors.
And I thought of The Burbs because of the vibes I got when the family first drove into the neighborhood. The weird automobile they drove, the way they remained unseen, until they wanted to be seen, and how you could sense something wasn’t right about them.
Right from the beginning, the author built this atmosphere of dread. Then he introduced the players. It’s pretty obvious why the Eldreds chose the people they did. Most had plenty of secrets and baggage to feed off of. Once it was time to feed, things got nuts. Each of the Eldred were different in form and they were wickedly creative in terrifying their victims to get the most out of their feedings.. And there’s this robot thing I grew to really like, in a weird way.
It all rushed to a bloody ending for most of the characters. And for those that did survive, well, the author threw a wicked curve ball about what happened to them.
4 STARS
Thanks so much to Flame Tree Press and Author Tim Waggoner for a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.
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Synopsis
In Rockridge, Ohio, a sinister family moves into a sleepy cul de sac. The Eldreds feed on the negative emotions of humans, creating nightmarish realms within their house to entrap their prey. Neighbors are lured into the Eldreds’ home and faced with challenges designed to heighten their darkest emotions so their inhuman captors can feed and feed well. If the humans are to have any hope of survival, they’ll have to learn to overcome their prejudices and resentments toward one another and work together. But which will prove more deadly in the end, the Eldred . . . or each other?
I was shocked to discover that I didn’t have anything scheduled on the blog for today. Since I’ve been sick all week I thought to do something that wouldn’t make my head ache more than than it already does. LOL
So, I’m sharing my recent read and it’s so my kind of story. White Anvil has a very unique spin on the sasquatch, and what better setting for things to go berserk than on a train, during a major snow storm, with some very angry cryptids.
White Anvil
Sasquatch Onslaught
by Matt Betts
Genre: Horror
Synopsis
As if the cold wasn’t enough…
Fleeing an approaching blizzard, a military train carrying prisoners and a handful of citizens derails in the mountains. The survivors fight to stay alive and regroup as the terrible storm buries them in snow. Only then do they discover the train also carried another cargo—two cars loaded with biological experiments—genetically-altered sasquatches conditioned to annihilate anything they find.
Can the few remaining soldiers team with a pair of sisters and a police constable to fight the relentless beasts, icy temperatures, and escaped prisoners long enough for help to arrive?
I was immediately sucked into the story. The author started to set up the plot. Major characters were introduced. And the creatures were hinted at. And that was just in the first chapter. While the train is a military transport of dangerous creatures, it’s not just soldiers onboard. There are some people hitching a ride that have no idea what’s in some of the cars, and some people using the train to hitch a ride for their own reasons.
I keep feasting my eyes on that cover. It’s perfect for the story.
The Dead Series, #1
Publication date: January 21st 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult
Synopsis
All Faye wants is another chance at being normal: hanging out with friends, playing video games, reading the latest Manga… As a wraith, her craving for a normal existence seems forever out of reach. When she makes the move to the small town of Hueman, Texas with her not-so dead nomadic family, she prays this fresh start will be the one that sticks.
Until… one of her kind is murdered by a mysterious man in a black mask.
With only Carter, an unlucky human witness, by her side, Faye must find a way to prevent the body count from rising and protect her family’s secret identity. As the man in the black mask lurks in the shadows waiting to strike again, her choice becomes a matter of life and death.
In the face of true evil, being normal is overrated.
Isaiyan Morrison was born and raised in Minneapolis, but her heart is in the impressive magical worlds she dreams up. She hopes to share her love for world-building with her readers and help guide them through the extraordinary settings she creates.
Her other passions include reading, and researching historical events. She also enjoys gardening, gaming, and spending quality time with her three cherished cats and beloved pitbull.
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Publication date: Jan 2020
Nominated for a Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a First Novel.
“A stark and frightening novel. Horror fans should definitely seek this one
out.” – Booklist
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My Review
This book is very much character driven. The author takes his time developing his characters. For some, it may seem like maybe too much time. Not for me. If I’d not gotten a grasp on what makes them tick, I wouldn’t have cared for the story at all.
And it’s also a slow burner. You don’t get instant horror. There were even some parts that lagged for me. But then things really started happening. At first I was confused. Couldn’t grasp what was happening. Once I did, everything turned upside down. I wasn’t sure who was crazy. The patients or the people who ran the asylum. Or both.
If you like psychological horror that makes you think, I recommend you give this a go. I enjoyed it and would happily read more by this author.
4 STARS
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Synopsis
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When a troubled psychiatrist loses funding to perform clinical trials on an
experimental cure for schizophrenia, he begins testing it on his asylum’s
criminally insane, triggering a series of side effects that opens the mind of
his hospital’s most dangerous patient, setting his inner demons free.
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FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing.
Launched recently in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and
the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
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About Author Brian Kirk
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Brian Kirk is an author of dark thrillers and psychological
suspense. His debut novel, We Are Monsters, was released
in July 2015 and was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award®
for Superior Achievement in a First Novel.
His short fiction has been published in many notable magazines and
anthologies. Most recently, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories and Behold!
Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders, where his work appears
alongside multiple New York Times bestselling authors, and received an
honorable mention in Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year compilation.
During the day, Brian works as a freelance marketing and creative consultant.
His experience working on large, integrated advertising campaigns for
international companies has helped him build an effective author platform,
and makes him a strong marketing ally for his publishing partners. In
addition, Brian has an eye for emerging media trends and an ability to
integrate storytelling into new technologies and platforms.
Alan M. Clark’s Jack the Ripper Victims Series is comprised of five novels, one for each of the canonical victims of the murderer. These stories are not only meant to appeal to those interested in the horror that was the Autumn of Terror, but also those interested in the struggles of women in the 19th century. They are well-researched, fictional dramatic stories meant to help readers walk in the shoes of the victims and give a sense of the world as each of the women may have experienced it. The timelines for the stories run mostly concurrently, so it doesn’t matter in what order the books in the series are read. They are simultaneously drama, mystery, thriller, historical fiction, and horror. They are novels concerning horror that happened.
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A Brutal Chill in August
The First Victim of Jack the Ripper
by Alan M. Clark
Genre: Crime Horror
Publisher: IFD Publishing
Publication Date: December 7, 2019
We all know about Jack the Ripper, the serial murderer who terrorized Whitechapel and confounded police in 1888, but how much do we really know about his victims?
Pursued by one demon into the clutches of another, the ordinary life of Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols is made extraordinary by horrible, inhuman circumstance. Jack the Ripper’s first victim comes to life in this sensitive and intimate fictionalized portrait, from humble beginnings, to building a family with an abusive husband, her escape into poverty and the workhouse, alcoholism, and finally abandoned on the streets of London where the Whitechapel Murderer found her.
With A Brutal Chill in August, Alan M. Clark gives readers an uncompromising and terrifying look at the nearly forgotten human story behind one of the most sensational crimes in history. This is horror that happened.
The song sung by the ghost that haunts Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols
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Apologies to the Cat’s Meat Man
The Second Victim of Jack the Ripper
Publication Date: June 9, 2017
This novel is part of the Jack the Ripper Victims Series. Each novel in the series is a stand-alone story.
Annie Chapman led a hard, lower class life in filthy 19th century London. Late in life, circumstances and and her choices led her to earn her crust by solicitation. After a bruising brawl with another woman over money and a man, she lost her lodgings and found herself sleeping rough. That dangerous turn of events delivered her into the hands of London’s most notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
Contrasting her last week alive with the experiences of her earlier life, the author helps readers understand how she might have made the decisions that put her in the wrong place at the wrong time
This novel is part of the Jack the Ripper Victims Series. Each novel in the series is a stand-alone story.
An imaginative reconstruction of the life of Elizabeth Stride, the third victim of Jack the Ripper. The beast of poverty and disease had stalked Elizabeth all her life, waiting for the right moment to take her down. To survive, she listened to the two extremes within herself–Bess, the innocent child of hope, and Liza, the cynical, hardbitten opportunist. While Bess paints rosy pictures of what lies ahead and Liza warns of dangers everywhere, the beast, in the guise of a man offering something better, circles ever closer.
In Victorian London, the greatest city of the richest country in the world, the industrial revolution has created a world of decadence and prosperity, but also one of unimaginable squalor and suffering. Filth, decay, danger, sorrow, and death are ever-present in the streets. Catherine Eddowes is found murdered gruesomely in the city’s East End. When the police make their report, the only indicators of her life are the possessions carried on her person, likely everything she owned in the world. In Of Thimble and Threat, Alan M. Clark tells the heartbreaking story of Catherine Eddowes, the fourth victim of Jack the Ripper, explaining the origin and acquisition of the items found with her at the time of her death, chronicling her life from childhood to adulthood, motherhood, her descent into alcoholism, and finally her death. Of Thimble and Threat is a story of the intense love between a mother and a child, a story of poverty and loss, fierce independence, and unconquerable will. It is the devastating portrayal of a self-perpetuated descent into Hell, a lucid view into the darkest parts of the human heart.
A novel that beats back our assumptions about the time of Jack the Ripper. Not the grim story of an unfortunate drunken prostitute killed before her time, but one of a young woman alive with all the emotional complexity of women today. Running from a man wanting her to pay for her crimes against his brother, Mary Jane Kelly must recover a valuable hidden necklace and sell it to gain the funds to leave London and start over elsewhere. Driven by powerful, if at times conflicting emotion, she runs the dystopian labyrinth of the East End, and tries to sneak past the deadly menace that bars her exit.
Although THE PROSTITUTE’S PRICE is a standalone tale, and part of the Jack the Ripper Victims Series, it is also a companion story to the novel, THE ASSASSIN’S COIN, by John Linwood Grant. The gain a broader experience of each novel, read both.
Author and illustrator, Alan M. Clark grew up in Tennessee in a house full of bones and old medical books. His awards include the World Fantasy Award and four Chesley Awards. He is the author of seventeen books, including twelve novels, a couple of novellas, four collections of fiction, some of them lavishly illustrated, and a nonfiction full-color book of his artwork. Mr. Clark’s company, IFD Publishing, has released 42 titles of various editions, including traditional books, both paperback and hardcover, audio books, and ebooks by such authors as F. Paul Wilson, Elizabeth Engstrom, and Jeremy Robert Johnson. Alan M. Clark and his wife, Melody, live in Oregon. www.alanmclark.com Visit his blog: https://ifdpublishing.com/blog
A beer bottle thrown carelessly at the windshield of a passing car sends the vehicle careening off the road, and the lives of high school seniors Denny Ford, his foster sister Jen McKnatt, and her sometimes boyfriend Brody Erwin, spinning out of control.
Over the next several days as the three experience increasingly bizarre, frightening, and seemingly unrelated events, they are forced to examine the ramifications of their actions and how their lives have been irrevocably altered.
What they’ve done can never be undone.
After all, it only takes one bottle toss to turn their world cockeyed forever.
Praise for Howard Odentz
“A simmering psychological thriller bolstered by a dynamic narrative voice and a few unexpected twists.” —Kirkus Reviews on What We Kill
“This author has a real knack for the weird and the wonderful.” —TheMostSublime.com
Author and playwright Howard Odentz is a lifelong resident of the gray area between Western Massachusetts and North Central Connecticut. His love of the region is evident in his writing as he often incorporates the foothills of the Berkshires and the small towns of the Bay and Nutmeg states into his work.
In addition to The Dead (A Lot) Series, he has written the horror novel Bloody Bloody Apple, the short story collection Little Killers A to Z, and a couple of horror-themed, musical comedies produced for the stage.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
My Teaser for this week is from
Nightfall
by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski
Genre: Horror / YA
Teaser from page 74 in the hard cover.
“Everything that we’ve been doing, we do for one simple reason. For generations, it has kept us safe. Every household in Bliss follows these directions, and upon return to our homes fourteen years later, everything is in perfect order. ”
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Synopsis
After fourteen years of Day comes fourteen years of Night. Be sure not to get left in the dark.
On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours – it comes every twenty-eight years. Now the sun is just a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold. The shadows are growing long. The dark is rising. And soon it will be Night.
The eerie Evening sunset is causing the tide to begin its slow roll out hundreds of miles, and so Marin, along with her twin brother Kana and the rest of the islanders, must frantically begin preparations to sail south, where they will wait out the long Night. But first the house must be made ready for their departure. Locks must be taken off doors. Furniture must be arranged just so. Tables must be set as if for dinner. The rituals are bizzare – unnerving, even – but none of the adults will discuss why things must be this way. And then just as the ships are about to sail, the twins’ friend Line goes missing. Marin and Kana know where he has gone, and that the only way to rescue him is to do it themselves. And surely the ships will wait?
Because Night is falling. Their island is changing. And something is stirring in the dark.
The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!
My 56 for this week is from:
Boy In The Box
by Marc E. Fitch
Genre: Horror
From page 56 in the paperback.
But then the figure stepped closer to the lamplight, and suddenly Jonathan could make out its features. The face was a crude mask of wood with poorly carved slits for eyes, mouth and nose and primitive designs of dull color painted on the flat face. Upon its head were the antlers of a tremendous stag, which reached like bony fingers up into the night.
I’m well into this one and it sure has some eerie atmosphere.
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Synopsis
“This is what true horror is meant to be, quiet and thoughtful, an eerie sense of something lurking just ahead in your path with no way of escape; BOY IN THE BOX by Marc E. Fitch is the haunting guilt that reminds us mistakes from the past can return at any time, and in the worst of ways.” — Eric J. Guignard, award-winning author and editor, including That Which Grows Wild and A World of Horror Ten years ago a mysterious and tragic hunting accident deep in the Adirondack Mountains left a boy buried in a storied piece of land known as Coombs’ Gulch and four friends with a terrible secret. Now, Jonathan Hollis and brothers Michael and Conner Braddick must return to the place that changed their lives forever in order to keep their secret buried. What they don’t realize is that they are walking into a trap — one set decades earlier by a supernatural being who is not confined by time or place: a demon that demands a sacrifice. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
