fuonlyknew

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2019! I did this the last few years and 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!

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!

~~~~~

 House Of Skin

by Jonathan Janz

Genre:  Horror / Paranormal

My Review

It wasn’t that long ago that I discovered Jonathan Janz and quickly devoured several of his books. House of Skin has another chilling, gorgeous cover and dark and mysterious title. After reading the synopsis I knew I wanted to read it.

So, what can I tell you about this book? I went in curious and it didn’t immediately grab me. That’s okay. I don’t always have to be mesmerized by an opening.  And then I met some very unlikable characters. That’s also okay. I’ve read many books where I didn’t like the characters. Makes it much more interesting when things go sideways. I was starting to wonder if this just wasn’t one for me. But, not one to be able to leave a story unread, I continued on. You just never know what might be coming. Then, it started to get real interesting. Real crazy. And there was the Janz story I was hoping for.

House Of Skin might have taken it’s time hooking me, but when the teeth sunk in, they had a big bite.

~~~~~

Synopsis

Myles Carver is dead. But his estate, Watermere, lives on, waiting for a new Carver to move in. Myles’s wife, Annabel, is dead too, but she is also waiting, lying in her grave in the woods. For nearly half a century she was responsible for a nightmarish reign of terror, and she’s not prepared to stop now. She is hungry to live again…and her unsuspecting nephew, Paul, will be the key. Julia Merrow has a secret almost as dark as Watermere’s. But when she and Paul fall in love they think their problems might be over. How can they know what Fate–and Annabel–have in store for them? Who could imagine that what was once a moldering corpse in a forest grave is growing stronger every day, eager to take her rightful place amongst the horrors of Watermere? 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.

Amazon / B&N

~~~~~

Click on the covers for more October Thrills And Chills reviews.

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. Product images are linked.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2019! I did this the last few years and 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!

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!

~~~~~

 Where The Dead Go To Die

by Aaron Dries and Mark Allan Gunnells

Genre:  Horror

My Review

It’s years after the infection started. The smilers are no longer hunted and killed on sight. Instead, they are tended to in facilities, allowed to spend remaining days with as much dignity as possible. Care givers tend to their needs until their last breath.

Emily is one of those care givers. She’s there to help them, give comfort and support, and protect them from others and themselves. She thinks she’s an ordinary woman. A single mother trying to make ends meet. I think she is brave. There’s still a risk of infection if careless. She watches as the night screams fade and the patients change. become the smilers, right before the end. Doesn’t shy from the dirty work. She’s already been through it on a much more personal level.

Where The Dead Go To Die is what I call a quiet horror story. It’s those hushed little scenes in between the ordinary ones that make the most impact. I know they have importance and stay in the back of mind, to be brought out later when the authors uncloak more.

I was so swept up in this story. The political machinations and moral ramifications bounced around in my head. The authors made me forget this was fiction and made me really think, Think how I would navigate this world, How I would feel about the smilers. Whether I might be one of those I looked down upon in the story or one of those I looked up to. How could I know? That questioning was very deep. Several times I actually stopped reading to contemplate what I’d just experienced.

And all through this quiet horror story, I knew bad things were coming. The quiet would be shattered by things horrific. The infrastructure would crumble. Things wouldn’t be contained. And the horror would become a roar.

This was an original and engrossing spin on zombie stories. I came away from it thinking I had to see what else these two authors had written. And I’m still catching myself thinking about what occurred in these pages.

~~~~~

Synopsis

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it’s time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible.

Post-infection Chicago. Christmas.

Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred.

Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse.

This emotional, political novel comes from two of horror’s freshest voices, and puts a new spin on an eternal topic: the undead. In the spirit of George A Romero meets Jack Ketchum, Where the Dead Go to Die it is an unforgettable epilogue to the zombie genre, one that will leave you shaken and questioning right from wrong…even when it’s the only right left.

It won’t be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood.

Amazon / B&N

~~~~~

Click on the covers for more October Thrills And Chills reviews.

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. Product images are linked.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2019! I did this the last couple of years and 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!

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!

~~~~~

 Terminal

by Michaelbrent Collings

Genre:  Horror / Thriller

My Review

Take a bunch of strangers. Trap them in a confined place with no way out. Then have something horrific wanting inside. This scenario never gets old for me. I love discovering who  bends, who breaks and who steps up.

The real fun begins when the captives realize an otherworldly force is keeping them trapped. And there are rules. One will survive. And they must choose who it will be. Getting it now? The rest will die. I had to know how it would happen. Would they kill each other? Would something else get them? And would they really be doing the choosing?

Once the dying began, the pace of the book really picked up. I met the characters. Got the scoop on most of them. And made my choice for the chosen survivor. Was I right? Nope. Was that the end? Nope. Of course there was a twist, and what a doozie it was. I really should have seen it coming. But that’s what make scenarios like this so much fun. You often don’t.

Terminal was a chilling, twisted read with lots of suspense and plenty of surprises. I’ve read some other books by the author and happy to say I enjoyed this one too.

~~~~~

Synopsis

All passengers, please prepare for departure…

An employee, a cop, and five prisoners; a prisoner, a stowaway, and a madman.

These are the people waiting at the Lawton bus terminal. Mostly late-night travelers who want nothing more than to get to their destinations, and employees who want nothing more than to get through the graveyard shift.

But when a strange, otherworldly fog rolls in, the night changes to nightmare. Because something hides in the fog. Something powerful. Something strange. Something… inhuman.

Soon, those in the terminal have been cut off from the rest of the world. No phones, no computers. Just ten strangers in the terminal… and The Other.

The Other is the force in the mist. The Other is the thing that has captured them. And The Other wants to play a game.

The rules are simple:

1) The people in the terminal must choose a single person from among them. That person will live. The rest will die.
2) Anyone who attempts to leave the terminal before the final vote will die.
3) The final vote… must be unanimous.

A nightmare. And getting worse, because the best way to make a vote unanimous… is to kill the other voters.

Welcome to the end of the line. Welcome to the Terminal.

Amazon

~~~~~

The above cover is the one I own. Here is an alternative cover.

Which do you like more?

~~~~~

Click on the covers for more October Thrills And Chills reviews.

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. Product images are linked.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2018! I did this the last couple of years and 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!

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!

~~~~~

 Slash

by Hunter Shea

Genre:  Horror / Thriller

My Review

I’ve read most of Hunter Shea’s books and the tile for his new book was a warning for me. Dark things were ahead. And boy, were they. Once I got past meeting the characters and learning why they had to visit the crumbling old resort, the running and screaming began.

Hunter is known to me for killing off his characters. Usually in horrific fashion. This happened again in Slash. But it felt different. Yes, he killed some off. And yes, they died horrifically. But there was a whole lot in between deaths. They struggled to survive against a being that was a huge mystery to them. They had to uncover the history behind it. One thing they knew, they had to stick together in order to get out alive.

This is the meat and bones of the story for me. Throw a bunch of friends together, add in a maniacal killer, and let’s see how strong those friendships are. In between the blood and body parts strewn throughout, you get to know these characters. Their strengths and weaknesses. You want them to live through this. But, remember what I said about Hunter killing off his characters. Ouch.

The story has a nice pace in the beginning. Every page has something important to reveal. Then the real horror begins. The Wraith is a mystery at first. Once I found out his history, which was crazy evil, I was fascinated to see how it would end. I really wish I could talk about that. All I can say is, if you enjoy horror stories that have the feel of those old slasher films, Hunter gives you his own unique spin, and I recommend you give this a go. Hang on to your hat. The train to nightmares has left the station.

Synopsis

Five years after Ashley King survived the infamous Resort Massacre, she’s found hanging in her basement by her fiancé, Todd Matthews. She left behind clues as to what really happened that night, clues that may reveal the identity of the killer the press has called The Wraith.

With the help of his friends, Todd goes back to the crumbling Hayden Resort, a death-tinged ruin in the Catskills Mountains. What they find is a haunted history that’s been lying in wait for a fresh set of victims. The Wraith is back, and he’s nothing what they expected.

Amazon / B&N

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. Product images are linked.