Review: ASYLUM III - Crowtree Manor

ASYLUM III - Crowtree Manor by Matt Drabble
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: ASYLUM III by Matt Drabble

I'm quite a fan of Matt Drabble, a horror author who knows how to ensure the chills, and to make those chills creative, imaginative, and terrifying. So don't miss his oeuvre.

Asylum III begins explosively, and it never stops surprising. The author juggles a large cast of characters and multiple backstories, with excellent results. There's a lot of long-delayed justice, a lot of hungry vengeance, and tons of implacability. I like to play on the roller-coaster racketing trope, but here, it's true, in multiple senses. Start Asylum III: you shall not sleep.

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Review: Stiffs and Swine

Stiffs and Swine by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: STIFFS AND SWINE (SUPPER CLUB MYSTERY #4) by Ellery Adams

I've been "in hog heaven" since discovering the champion Supper Club Mystery Cozy series by prolific author Ellery Adams, and that's a really apropos expression, considering this particular installment focuses on the "Flab Five Supper Club" members judging a Blue Ridge community's popular annual Hog Fest. Invited as celebrity judges due to their growing reputations as small-town amateur sleuths and intuitive crime-solvers, the five friends quickly discover that where pride, corporate sponsorship, and large monetary prizes come into play, so do greed, envy, and resentment.

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Review: Chili con Corpses

Chili con Corpses by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: CHILI CON CORPSES (SUPPER CLUB MYSTERY #3) by Ellery Adams

I just can't praise this series, or author Ellery Adams, highly enough. Truly delightful, even literary, this series entertains with taut, tightly-knitted, plots, mysteries to be solved, justice to bring, but also good deep characterization, heartwarming friendships, family tensions, new hope and second chances, missed opportunities recovered or replaced. This time, a newcomer to little Quincy' s Gap, Virginia brings cuisine classes, and offers hope and inspiration to James Henry's widowed father Jackson. Of course, no Supper Club Mystery novel is complete without a mystery, and this one seems nearly inexplicable to the Flab Five.


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Review: Snow Woman

Snow Woman by Leena Lehtolainen
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Review: SNOW WOMAN by Leena Lehtonainen

SNOW WOMAN is #4 in the Maria Kallio series, about a female lawyer-trained police officer in Espoo, Finland. I love Scandicrime and was quite thrilled to discover this series, which to my perception, manages to combine Scandinavian police procedural with elements of cozy mystery and of women's fiction. It's definitely a modern approach, and reflects overtones of political frameworks as well as cultural changes.

Maria Kallio is a detective in Espoo, married recently and newly expecting (unexpectedly). She is a strong and aloof woman, who nevertheless fosters deep friendships. Much of her time is devoted to discovering the backstory of those she encounters, their "autobiography" if you will, and consequently the novel is highly, and winningly, character-driven. It also contains tautly-plotted and multilayered mystery, and fascinating backdrop of a very conservative fundamentalist sect, the Laestadians


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Review: Mine

Mine by Antti Tuomainen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE MINE by Antti Tuomainen

Wow! This author is incredibly gifted! I was expecting gritty Finnish crime; he is, after all, considered "The King of Helsinki Noir." I couldn't have expected his talent at exploring sensory imagery, riffing on each and every sense. He must have a hundred different metaphors, similes, and analogies for snow (which is important to me). He views the world as a painter would, drawing out the lines, then vivifying the natural world. And oh, does his love of the environment shine, in the pristine beauty of frozen Finland, but throughout the planet at large, that poor, environmentally toxic ecosystem which is all we have.

When he turns his view to humanity, he is a genius here too. A contract killer who suddenly determines to enter the life of his son after an absence of 30 years. A journalist driven by his need to expose Truth, even at the expense of his relationship and his own fatherhood {and yes, also driven by his own unacknowledged self-righteousness}. An earlier journalist whose quest for truth resulted in tons of research, but few completions. A suspicious Northern Finland nickel mine purchased for two euros, which is not as purported, whose board of directors are dying one by one, in bizarre "accidents."

I couldn't stop reading this fabulous mystery of Literary Noir.

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2018 SPRING BREAK-A-THON.

Over at Goodreads Group 75 Books 75 BOOKS

SPRING BREAK READATHON: MACBETH, Jo Nesbo

6 by Camilla Lackberg

3 by Arnuldur Indridason

2 by Lars Kepler

2 by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen

3 by Antti Tuomainen

9 by Leehta Leotainen

Murder in the Locked Library--read and reviewed March 23

The Advice Club Murders--March 23-24--read and reviewed

Charity Ends At Home

The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau

DOWNFALL

BITTEN

Review: The Advice Column Murders

The Advice Column Murders by Leslie Nagel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE ADVICE COLUMN MURDERS by Leslie Nagel

I raced through this cozy mystery at practicality the speed of light. I love to read a cunning puzzle requiring me to think and think hard, one in which the number of clearly possible suspects is multiple, and one that wrings my emotions as well. This second in the Oakwood Mystery Series is set in real-life Oakwood, Ohio, a peaceful community near Dayton. Hard-charging heroine and amateur sleuths Charley is a delight, and far from the only empowered woman here. The male characters are pretty exciting, too, and the author knows how to paint with broad brushstrokes as well as how to pencil in the fine lines. Quite an enjoyable and fascinating mystery.

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Review: The Advice Column Murders

The Advice Column Murders by Leslie Nagel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE ADVICE COLUMN MURDERS by Leslie Nagel

I raced through this cozy mystery at practicality the speed of light. I love to read a cunning puzzle requiring me to think and think hard, one in which the number of clearly possible suspects is multiple, and one that wrings my emotions as well. This second in the Oakwood Mystery Series is set in real-life Oakwood, Ohio, a peaceful community near Dayton. Hard-charging heroine and amateur sleuths Charley is a delight, and far from the only empowered woman here. The male characters are pretty exciting, too, and the author knows how to paint with broad brushstrokes as well as how to pencil in the fine lines. Quite an enjoyable and fascinating mystery.

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Review: The Advice Column Murders

The Advice Column Murders by Leslie Nagel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE ADVICE COLUMN MURDERS by Leslie Hagel

I raced through this cozy mystery at practicality the speed of light. I love to read a cunning puzzle requiring me to think and think hard, one in which the number of clearly possible suspects is multiple, and one that wrings my emotions as well. This second in the Oakwood Mystery Series is set in real-life Oakwood, Ohio, a peaceful community near Dayton. Hard-charging heroine and amateur sleuths Charley is a delight, and far from the only empowered woman here. The male characters are pretty exciting, too, and the author knows how to paint with broad brushstrokes as well as how to pencil in the fine lines. Quite an enjoyable and fascinating mystery.

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Review: Murder in the Locked Library

Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: MURDER IN THE LOCKED LIBRARY by Ellery Adams (Book Retreat Mysteries)

Discovering Ellery Adams' cozy mysteries has given me true delight. MURDER IN THE LOCKED LIBRARY is my first read in the Book Retreat Mysteries series, a love letter to books, reading, book clubs, and bibliophiles--so much that makes life worthwhile. Additionally, this novel is a riveting mystery, with history, deep emotions, friendships, family loyalty--and secret societies. And you can't beat that. Guardian Jane Steward is one admirable heroine, and the world is a better place for her {and for her author, Ellery Adams!}

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Review: The Voice Inside

The Voice Inside by Brian Freeman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE VOICE INSIDE by Brian Freeman (Frost Easton #2)

A nonstop race, vividly in-your-face, police procedural plus mystery, THE VOICE INSIDE is also a meditation on ethics, morality, and integrity, and an excavation of the deepest of human emotions. The title reflects a Shel Silverstein title, but it also spotlights the obligation of each thinking human to recognize and adhere to her or his own ethics. This is the second in the series starring San Francisco native and homicide detective Frost Easton, but it can be read as is also.


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Review: Brutal Terminations

Brutal Terminations by Cherith Baldry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: BRUTAL TERMINATIONS by Cherith Baldry

Term it Oxford Cosy Noir: this is an utterly delightful story full of subtlety and wry humour with genuine emotions, and an amateur sleuth protagonist who is the scion of an ancestry ripe with English gentlemen, Etonians all. Gawaine St. Clair is a gentle soul, an intellectual plagued by neuroses. His Watson is David, advertising executive and occasional chauffeur, frequent sounding board, always best friend.

This was a one-day reading for me, maintaining my interest from first page to last, and leaving me eager for more outings of Gawaine St. Clair.

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SPRING INTO HORROR_APRIL 2018

An entire long life spent reading Horror voraciously, means I welcome gleefully any opportunity for a month-long focus on my beloved genre. Whether it's my self-composed October is Lovecraft Country, February Weird Fiction, March Shoggoth Madness, April Showers Bring_Fungi From Yuggoth, or November Is Nyarlathotep; Be it Horror, I am there.

I also never miss Spring Into Horror and Frightfall Readathons, hosted by Michelle Miller of Seasons of Reading.

April is Horror!

For me, there will be my icon, H. P. Lovecraft. Likely there will Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Robert W. Campbell; Caitlin R. Kiernan, Ruthann Emrys, Richard Chizmar, Curtis M. Lawson, the DARK SCREAMS series; and many, many others.

Rock on, April, rock on.

https://seasonsreading.blogspot.com/2018/03/spring-into-horror-readathon-time-to.html

SPRING INTO HORROR

PART I

(April 1-17)

34 Read

WIDOW'S POINT by Richard Chizmar and Billy Chizmar

THE ATROCITIES by Jeremy C. Shipping

IN COLD CHOCOLATE by Dorothy St. James

LITERARY STALKER by Roger Keen

KRYSTAL BLUE by Destiny Hawkins

THE HOUSE OF LONG SHADOWS by Ambrose ibsen

SQUIDTOONS: EXPLORING OCEAN SCIENCE WITH COMICS

ASYLUM by Ambrose ibsen

NIGHTMARE ABBEY by David Longhorn

NUMBER 13 by M. R. James. Audio

FOREST by Ambrose ibsen

THE EMPTY HOUSE by Algernon Blackwood. Audio

SKELETON LAKE by Algernon Blackwood. Audio

I HAVE NO MOUTH & I MUST SCREAM by Harlan Ellison. Audio.

SKULL-FACE by Robert E. Howard. Audio.

THE FEARSOME TRUTH OF DEATH. Audio and text

THE PARENTICIDE CLUB by Ambrose Bierce. Audio

THE MIDDLE TOE OF THE RIGHT FOOT by Ambrose Bierce. Audio

GHOST VIRUS by Graham Masterton

THE HORROR FROM THE MOUND by Robert E. Howard. Audio.

JURASSIC, FLORIDA by Hunter Shea

THE OCCUPANT by Ambrose ibsen

DON'T ASK ABOUT THE GUY IN THE BASEMENT by Jason Ingolfsland.

X3 by C. M. Saunders

THEY FEED by Jason Parent

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHEESECAKE by Sarah Graves

LIES by T. M. Logan

SHIVERS by Heather Beck

TOBERMORY by Saki. Audio

SCARBOROUGH FAIR by Margarita Morris

SCARBOROUGH BALL by Margarita Morris

SCARBOROUGH ROCK by Margarita Morris

FREAKY FRANKY by William Blackwell

THE DEAD GAME by Susanne Leist

SPRING INTO HORROR PART II April 18-30 "THE HYENA" by Robert E. Howard. AUDIO. Horror

THE SHIMMER. Mystery/Paranormal/Horror

LAND OF BONES (short story collection) by Glenn Rolfe Horror

"ONE WHO SAW" audio horror

"The Strange High House In the Mist" by HPL. Audio. Horror

IN THE BELLY OF JONAH by Sandra Brannan Mystery/Horror

THOSE WHO GO FORTH... by Curtis M. Lawson Beta Read 114 pp.

LOT'S RETURN TO SODOM by Sandra Brannan Mystery

"The Unnameable" audio HPL. Horror

"He" audio HPL. Horror

"Herbert West Reanimator" audio HPL. Horror

WIDOW'S MIGHT by Sandra Brannan Mystery

"The Waxwork" by A. M. Burrage Audio Horror

"Witches Hollow" Audio HPL and August Derleth Horror

"The Horror From the Middle Span" by HPL AD audio Horror

NOAH'S RAINY DAY by Sandra Brannan Mystery

SOLOMON'S WHISPER by Sandra Brannan Mystery

CHILLY DAVINCI by Jarrett Rutland Children

JACOB'S DESCENT by Sandra Brannan Mystery

SNOWMAN by Karen A. Foster Horror

THE TWELVE by D. E. McCluskey

21 completed April 18-30

34 completed April 1-17

APRIL SPRING INTO HORROR Total: 55

Partially read but not completed:

RUST & STARDUST by T Greenwood 52% True Crime, Literary Fiction

THE OWLMEN by Sarah England Horror 13%

THE HAUNTING OF CABIN GREEN by April A. Taylor Horror 20%

PECULIAR COUNTRY by Stuart R. West Horror 5%

WE SOLD OUR SOULS by Grady Hendrix Horror 6%

Review: Mission Clockwork

Mission Clockwork by Arthur Slade
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: MISSION CLOCKWORK by Arthur Slade

This is my second novel intriguing read from author Arthur Slade. Victorian Steampunk plus upper-class manipulation, behind-the-scenes political intrigue, spies, secret conclave, and a true mad scientist (he is a clever devotee of biology, chemistry, and clean clockwork mechanisms; and he is definitely "mad" in the sociopathic sense: knowledge of course is the ultimate goal, and the costs never matter) roil in a rapid-paced blizzard of intrigue, conspiracy, and excitement. Think Mr. Hyde, if he maintained Dr. Jekyll' s intellect, learning, and charisma. Think H. G. Wells' ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. Stir in a protagonist who will wrench your heartstrings with pity, sympathy, empathy, and admiration (now think Victor Hugo).

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Review: Come Back to the Swamp

Come Back to the Swamp by Laura Morrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

REVIEW: COME BACK TO THE SWAMP by Laura Morrison

A darling, hopeful, and inspiring story, COME BACK TO THE SWAMP is a story of Cleary Swamp near Detroit, and the amazing adventures of a graduate student in Ecology. Bernice is determined on a Ph.D. track in environmental sciences, and part of her work is to try to eradicate invasive, non-native species. But in the swamp Bernice encounters a wild woman who insists she stop, because she is the swamp. Only a short time passes before the woman announces that Bernice is the swamp' s choice to replace her. Give up everything she's planned? Bernice thinks not, but this wild woman and the swamp definitely possess other, implacable, ideas.

I totally enjoyed this story. Suspension of disbelief was facile and nearly immediate (although not so for Bernice!)


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Review: Alter Ego

Alter Ego by Brian Freeman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

REVIEW: ALTER EGO by Brian Freeman
(Jonathan Stride #9)

I love this series and this novel is no exception. The plot, however, does deal with some especially painful and serious issues, including some very newsworthy. It's also heartwrenching, and I freely admit to reading heart in mouth, breath held.

A film is shooting in Duluth, inexplicably based on a crime Jonathan Stride investigated; Inexplicable because the screenwriter is the son of the accused. Stride isn't pleased, but worse is yet to come, including murders and the exposure of a serial sexual predator, and revelations impossible to predict.

The action is non-stop and breathless, the conclusion ultimately fulfilling.

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Review: Code for Murder

Code for Murder by Eliot Parker
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Review: CODE FOR MURDER by Eliot Parker

Since her near-death in the Cuyahoga River, caused by a pair of criminals with few brain cells, Detective (now Lieutenant) Stacy Tavitt of the Cleveland Police Department has become a cold-hearted individual, a strong investigator but with difficulty in interpersonal encounters. When the corpse of a professional football player is discovered outdoors, the wounds clearly indicating a crime of passion, Stacy finds herself floundering in an unknown milieu, her investigative talents and her health stretched to the fullest.

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Review: Night Fall

Night Fall by Simon R. Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: NIGHT FALL by Simon R. Green
(Secret Histories #12)

Author Simon Green brings to a conclusion his Secret Histories and the alternate dimension of London known as the Nightside. Where good and evil are not white and black but infinite shades of gray, where literally anything imaginable is available and so is the unimaginable, where anyone can lose wallet, life, soul: this is the Nghtside. Suddenly it's boundaries expand, so the Droods, the extended and extensive ancient clan sworn to protect Humanity, leaps into the fray. The results are disastrous, but the pace is unrelentingly riveting. I'm sorry to see the Nightside move offstage--but Mr. Green sure did it up right. An amazing finale.


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Review: The Woman in the Woods

The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS by John Connolly (Charlie Parker #16)

The inimitable private detective Charlie Parker never disappoints, nor does his creator, John Connolly. Every adventure of Parker's is riveting, raising further the veil hiding the Other Side. In this novel, Charlie Parker becomes if possible more philosophical, more metaphysical, even more attuned to the supernatural, preternatural, the otherworldly. His deep and abiding capacity for self-analysis put me in mind of St. Teresa of Avila' s "The Interior Castle" (1588), an apt comparison given that the major villain here believes he has been alive since the Reformation.

As Parker faced down a continuing Nazi presence in
A SONG OF SHADOWS, here the political/cultural bogey is the rise of bigotry in the form of white supremacism, and Parker becomes my hero for life at the conclusion. Of course, racism is not the only villain here; even more terrifying is the threat of the literal End of All from the Not-Gods (yes, you read that correctly), and if that isn't sufficient, there are humans whose hatred is so all-encompassing as to render the End of All the preferred option.

This isn't my favorite Charlie Parker novel (not enough for me of my favorite series character); those remain A GAME OF GHOSTS; THE WOLF IN WINTER; and of course, THE REAPERS. But THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS is important, in the character evolution of Parker and Louis and lawyer Moxie Castin; more on the Backers, and the villains Quayle and Pallida Mors. It's also holds a very significant position in the supernatural milieu of this series.

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Review: The Last Time I Lied

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: THE LAST TIME I LIED by Riley Sager

I leaped to read this psychological suspense novel because I had loved Riley Sager' s first pseudonymous novel, FINAL GIRLS. This one started a little slow for me, and I never really warmed up to the protagonist, whom I considered whiny and far too self-absorbed. However, it wasn't too long before I became engrossed in the story, and I thought both the denouement and the penultimate conclusion made the wait worth while. Then the final conclusion! Let me just add, this plot line is seriously twisty. Like the X-Files mantra, "Trust No One" is the order of the day here.

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Review: The New Neighbors

The New Neighbors by Simon Lelic
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE NEW NEIGHBORS by Simon Lelic

Psychological thrillers, as a subgenre, are often billed or blurbed as "complex, riveting, horrifying." As a lifelong devourer of hauntings, I ponder: "horrifying? Really?" But sometimes this category of fiction delivers exactly that: I think of Ann Troup, Riley Sager, and now, of Simon Lelic. I really expected this engrossing novel to offer a spooky haunted house. There are hauntings, all right: individuals haunted by the past that is ever with them, the never-ending horror of their present, and more than one haunted by their own evil. So even though I didn't find the traditional haunted house, even though I didn't find a murderous neighbor, shades of Dr. Crippen, I found a riveting and compelling psychological mystery with plenty of past and present horror and more twists than an angry python.

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Review: Winward

Winward by Chad A. Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: WINWARD by Chad A. Clark

While I raced through this novella, all sorts of reference memories flocked in: Tom Deady' s WEEKEND GETAWAY, the B-film "Highway to Hell" with its psychotic cop, Twilight Zone, the original Outer Limits. All through that was the constant refrain "oh no oh no surely that won't happen" as if I myself was a character in a 1980's B-horror who doesn't know when to give up. The author warned me of the implacability in this story, and he sure didn't exaggerate: the "villain" is near to preternatural in his ability to be seemingly everywhere and to seemingly know everything. In this, I am reminded of Stoker' s Dracula.

The author who rocked my imagination with the ever-incredible CHILD AT THE END OF TIME has now given me another reason to sleep with all the lights on (or maybe not sleep at all).

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Review: Hangman

Hangman by Erin Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: HANGMAN by Erin Lee and Sara Schoen

HANGMAN is a gritty Noir tale with a significant theme of justice and human rights and the need for change in the justice system, from initial law enforcement at the street level on to punishment. A decade ago, a series of a dozen murders was attributed to an unidentified serial killer known as the Hangman. Now the Hangman is back, and he wants to play the traditional paper game with a young woman whose life dream had been to become a detective, until an accident put paid to that. But the Hangman isn't playing on paper, but on a macro scale, and the cost will be counted in lives lost or ruined.

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Review: My Hungry Friend

My Hungry Friend by Daniel Barnett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: MY HUNGRY FRIEND by Daniel Barnett

Literally I devoured this novella in one evening (and "devoured" is apropos here). This is my third read by Mr. Barnett {the first was THE SAFE, the second LONGREAVE} and once again, I found my mind and horizons incredibly stretched. (Again, "horizons" is apropos.) I was not fond of the protagonist (though I did appreciate his literate mother and her highly intelligent and perceptive caregiver). I just found dentist Mike one who took the easy road way too often (and was quite a bit a spoiled brat).

But the protagonist wasn't my focus in the story. Although he did undergo a character arc (devolution, then evolution), what fired my imagination was the truly Lovecraftian overlay. {It is not true that as a Lovecraft devotee I find Mythos anywhere.} The overlay world that Mr. Barnett illustrates is wildly imaginative and highly creative, and deserves a wild audience. If you like the imaginative ponderings of author Tim Meyer, do snatch up MY HUNGRY FRIEND.

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Review: Shoggoth

Shoggoth by Byron Craft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: SHOGGOTH by Byron Craft

For a Lovecraft devotee such as myself, to discover a new Mythos author is sheer delight. SHOGGOTH is my first reading of Byron Craft. I perhaps chose SHOGGOTH to read first, because I spent January invested in rereads (and listening) of Lovecraft' s "At the Mountains of Madness," in which those bizarre creations, the Shoggoth, figure so prominently.

In this novel, the setting is not the frozen wilds of early 20th century Antarctica, but the U.S. Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California. Deep in the Mojave Desert are petroglyphs tens of thousands of years old, inexplicable hieroglyphs, and impossible monsters. For the history and science we learn in school missed out on a lot, including Elder Gods.

SHOGGOTH strongly resonates with HPL' s "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Shadow Out of Time," with the latter's explication of a long-term "Walk-In" experience caused by a race of Elder Gods (regardless of the effect on the human recipient). Mr. Croft also strums one of Lovecraft' s most cherished themes: when science and philosophy's driving quest for knowledge meets that which humanity is not meant to discover, something's gonna break (usually sanity).

I had a totally enjoyable time reading SHOGGOTH. In fact, I found myself envying the characters their exploration of hidden prehistory and their Lovecraftian encounters.


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Review: Soul Siphon

Soul Siphon by T.L. Branson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ASH AND STEEL by T. L. Branson

I really enjoyed this tremendously fast-paced fantasy short story, and I'm eager to delve into the upcoming series. Any time I like fantasy, pay heed; it's not my general genre. This story was non-stop suspense, heightened emotions, and I really liked the magical element. The respectful tension between Drago and his Master of Arms, Callum, and between Drago and the Lord Commander, and Drago and his enemy king, are super cool. Then there was the denouement--do good!

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