Review: Creature

Creature by Hunter Shea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: CREATURE by Hunter Shea


CREATURE is difficult going, because the experience of living vicariously through a protagonist who suffers autoimmune diseases is not only terribly painful even to read, I can't even stretch my imagination to accommodate this level of suffering. That applies to the suffering protagonist and to her dedicated caregiving husband. I can't imagine suffering in such agony, for months, years, decades. I just longed for the characters' misery to end.

That aside, the Horror here is about as implacable as it gets. It's horror of a failing physique, horror of a mind wigging out, and external horror, which eventually proves to be very horrifying indeed.

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LABOR DAY READATHON 2018

August 31-September 3.

The 48-Hour Kickoff Readathon to start Something Wicked This Fall Comes (September 1-October 31) falls in the middle two days.  Here's my planned Reading List:.

THE CASE OF JENNIE BRICE by Mary Roberts Rinehart.
THE BAT by Mary Roberts Rinehart


(I read these in childhood, and any other mysteries by this exceptional author.)



DANDELION WINE by Ray Bradbury

(This is the first in the Greentown Series. We'll be reading the second, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, in October.)



ARKHAM DETECTIVE AGENCY Tribute Anthology. (Lovecraft Noir).

Additionally during the Labor Day Readathon, I plan to read:

CARNIVAL OF FEAR by J. G. Faherty

SCRAPS OF PAPER by Kathryn Meyer Griffith (Spookie Town Mystery #1)

ALL THINGS SLIP AWAY by Kathryn Meyer Griffith (Spookie Town Mystery #2)

I HAVE THE SIGHT by Rick Wood (Edward King #1)

HUMPTY DUMPTY by Willow Rose

Books Read_Labor Day Readathon:

CREATURE by Hunter Shea.  August 31
DEAL OR NO DEAL by William Meikle.
I HAVE THE SIGHT by Rick Wood.
THE CASE OF JENNIE BRICE by Mary Roberts Rinehart.
CAT FANCY by A. E. Hodge.
ARKHAM DETECTIVE AGENCY (Tribute Anthology)
THE BIRD by Willow Rose
TROLLNIGHT by Peter Tremayne

Review: Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach

Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Review: THIRTEEN DAYS BY SUNSET BEACH by Ramsey Campbell

A wonderful new novel from a modern horror master, THIRTEEN DAYS BY SUNSET BEACH is a masterpiece of characterization, and deeply emotional. The horror is subtly approached, filtered through the viewpoint of senior citizen Ray, a man who knows full well real-life horror is approaching all too soon. So he sets high hopes on this extended family vacation on the Greek Isles.

Ray, his wife Sandra, adult offspring Doug and Natalie, their partners, and three grandchildren gather on the should-be sun-drenched island of Vasilema, expecting the usual Greek vacation: sight-seeing, tourist-catering restaurants, guided tours, and so forth. Instead, they find cloudy skies, no mirrors, strange disturbing nightmares, and evasive, secretive, locals.

I loved the wry humour and the subtlety of the horror. Mr. Campbell can stage a story with several characters of importance plus a wide cast of background characters, and make them all vibrant. I found in myself much empathy for Ray, Sandra, their son Doug and his wife Pris, and the three grandchildren, ages16, 15, and 5. Not so much for prissy daughter Natalie and second husband Julian. Julian is really a prize (a booby prize). A controlling Narcissist stacked on a deeply unconscious inferiority complex, he finds his purpose in playing Emperor of the Universe, controlling every one's lives and snarking when others inevitably fail to match his impossible standards. Mr. Campbell plays out Julian against the perfect background of his father-in-law Ray and brother-in-law Doug, both men of sterling integrity, high intellect, and good sense. A substantial portion of my delight in this special novel stemmed from watching this combination play out.

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Review: A Season in Hell

A Season in Hell by Kenneth W. Cain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: A SEASON IN HELL by Kenneth W. Cain

I know zilch about baseball, but I know about racism, bigotry, sexism, abuse, and violence. I also know about the human tendencies to blame, to ignore, and to think violence is an appropriate tool. I am aware of all that, and so is author Kenneth W. Cain, who created a novella that made me cry, copiously. Then.his brilliant, incisive, Afterword made me weep all over again.

I don't know baseball, but I know wrong and right. I know standing strong for what's right. So does Mr. Cain. Don't let this novella pass you by unread.

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Review: The Mouth of the Dark

The Mouth of the Dark by Tim Waggoner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE MOUTH OF THE DARK by Tim Waggoner

I loved this scary horror novel! In Oakmont, the underworld isn't organized crime. Instead, it's an extensive "region" called Shadow, a sort of shifting portal to that (and those) which lie Beyond. Open, to an extent, to "normals," Shadow magnetizes humans who possess "the Eye," and continued exposure results in "changes." Jayce can't remember a frightening incident when he was thirteen, nor can he account for the subsequent missing time. But now that his adult daughter may be missing, he discovers he does have "the Eye," and apparently daughter Emory inherited it. So, determined to locate and rescue her, Jayce starts hunting throughout shadow. THE MOUTH OF THE DARK is an exquisitely terrifying story.

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48-Hour Readathon_SOMETHING WICKED THIS FALL COMES

September 1-2
48 Hour Readathon
I'll be reading Ray Bradbury' s classic, DANDELION WINE, and October will be the readalong of SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.
And a Tribute Anthology to C.J. Henderson, ARKHAM DETECTIVE AGENCY.

Here's my planned Reading List:.
THE CASE OF JENNIE BRICE by Mary Roberts Rinehart.
(I read this in childhood, and any other mysteries by this exceptional author.)

DANDELION WINE by Ray Bradbury
(This is the first in the Greentown Series. We'll be reading the second, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, in October.)

ARKHAM DETECTIVE AGENCY Tribute Anthology. (Lovecraft Noir).

Books Read:
THE CASE OF JENNIE BRICE by Mary Roberts Rinehart. (Classic Mystery.:
CAT FANCY: A SHORT HORROR STORY by A. E. Hodge.
ARKHAM DETECTIVE AGENCY (TRIBUTE ANTHOLOGY). (Lovecraftian-Noir).
THE BIRD by Willow Rose. (Florida Creature Horror. Novella.)
55%: TROLLNIGHT by Peter Tremayne. (Scandi-Horror. Think Nevill's Ritual)

Review: Ghost Boy

Ghost Boy by Stafford Betty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: GHOST BOY by Stafford Betty

A lovely coming of age tale about a boy who is subtly "different": Growing up in Bakersfield, the son of a strict Alabama-raised father and a generous, open-minded Hispanic mother, Ben sees ghosts. A young girl who appears to alert him to potential danger he names Abby. She doesn't speak, but his late grandmother does. His father thinks he needs psychiatric help; his mother believes, and nourishes Ben's truth. Ben faces the decision every day to turn aside from his gift, or to fully embrace it.

This novel I recommend to all. It's heartwarming, encouraging, and inspiring. Ben is twelve and thirteen during the story, but readers of all ages can discover excitement and encouragement within these well-written pages.


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BOUT OF BOOKS 23_WRAP

MY COMPLETED :



TEN THOUSAND THUNDERS by Brian Trent



HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins



KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer



NEVER SAY GOODBYE by Richard Parker



NOT HER DAUGHTER by Rea Frey



THE SWITCH HOUSE by Tim Meyer



THE CHANGELING by Molly Harper



PROVIDENCE by Caroline Kepnes



THE MURDERER'S WIFE by Daralyse Lyons



DADDY WON'T KILL YOU: HAUNTING IN THE WOODS by Caroline Clark



FLOWER POWER FATALITY by Sally Carpenter



DOORBELLS AT DUSK ANTHOLOGY.



THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER by Jonathan Janz.

I read 13 books: 12 novels, 1 Anthology. 12 Kindle, 1 print
 No Audio.

FRIGHTFALL 2018!!

Let's rock!

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Review: The Siren and The Specter

The Siren and The Specter by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER by Jonathan Janz

If you're desiring a Haunted House tale that will electrify, terrify, and provoke deeper levels of thinking, don't look away. THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER enthralls, intrigues, and frightens, even the most jaded or uninterested. While you're gleefully shaking and shivering along with the various characters, you'll also be appalled at certain other characters, pondering deeply on the nature of good and evil, and considering how it is that "good" citizens can ignore, overlook, or even collude with evil. (I give you Nazi Germany as one example, European witch hunts--including England and Scotland--as another. Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.") This novel contains so many ramifications I'm not likely to ever dislodge it from my mind.



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Review: Doorbells at Dusk: Halloween Stories

Doorbells at Dusk: Halloween Stories by Josh Malerman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: DOORBELLS AT DUSK ANTHOLOGY
(Various Authors; edited by Evans Light, Gregor Xane)

A delightfully rich collection, suffused with horror of many flavors and degrees, some subtle, some "up front." Whether you choose to sample one at a time, like bonbons, or devour the entirety, here's a fine selection designed to keep you eager for (or fearful of) that special holiday, when leaves drop, woodsmoke scents the air, children quest for candy...and the Veil thins...

"A Plague of Monsters" by Charles Gramlich: In a peaceful, quiet, Louisiana community, a middle-aged man gaslights himself during an earlier-than-usual "trick or treat" event--or does he? Paranoia doesn't always ensure no one's after you. Sometimes what's disguised as "paranoia" is simply Instinct and Intuition. Yes, Virginia, Monsters do exist.

"The Rye-Mother" by Curtis M. Lawson: Halloween is the very most magically powerful night of the year-Celtic New Year--and surely on All Hallows Eve a misunderstood boy who "doesn't belong" in this mundane routine world can find a way--carve a bargain--to return to the real life he deserves--with a little helpful guidance--from the Rye-Mother.

"Day of the Dead" by Amber Fallon: As an old-fashioned anachronism, I always enjoy contemporary versions of medieval morality plays and "Be careful what you wish for" cautionary tales, such as the classic "The Monkey's Paw." In this story, the traditional holiday "Dia de muertos" gains an entirely new and vivid twist.

"Rusty Husk" by Evans Light:" Okay. I am now officially Halloween-terrified, afraid to open the door, afraid to look out the window, afraid to turn off the lights. From the first terrifying sentence to the last, this story's terror is unrelenting.

"Adam's Bed" by Josh Malerman: How scared am I? Terrified! The horror in this story is so subtle, as if creeping in on little cat feet, or tendrils of fog...But so frightening! Sometimes the Monstrous is in human form...but sometimes it's not!!

"Keeping Up Appearances" by Jason Parent: When I was a child, the popular phrase for social climbers and conspicuous consumers was "Keeping Up with the Joneses." Nowadays, it's "Keeping Up With the Kardashian." But nobody keeps up appearances like the family in this spooky tale--where the next "appearance" could be your own--countenance!

"Vigil" by Chad Lutzke: A tale both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, of an upper-class neighborhood with sturdy residents, bonded as neighbors and friends, apprised of each other's lives. A neighborhood where every resident participates in maintaining a long-abandoned property, preventing an eyesore. But ultimately, evidence of abandonment is not the problem: tragedy is.

"Mr. Impossible" by Gregor Xane: and sometimes the monsters are human. Greed, cupidity, hubris, make monsters out of "normal" folks...

"Between" by Ian Welke: A young woman at the crossroads of a life decision combines "weird mathematics" and hallucinogenic mushrooms with the thinning veil of Halloween and Dia de Muertos, and the magic of her native Los Angeles.

"The Friendly Man" by Thomas Vaughn. Out of the mouths of babes....Predators are not made but born...

"Many Carvings" by Sean Eads & Joshua Viola: Subtle and implacable horror, in a medieval type setting and framework. Pumpkins are not just for carving. Beware the one you trust the most.

"Trick 'em All" by Adam Light: gory Halloween horror, with masterful characterization. I reiterate: predators are not made but born.

"Offerings" by Joanna Koch: Terrifying! The implacability! There is no escape.

"Masks" by Lisa Lepovetsky: Subtly terrifying..There but for the grace...










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Bout of Books 23_Day 6

Sunday 8/26

Stretch Goal
I plan to finish 3 in-progress reads before midnight: a cozy mystery for Tuesday tour post; a Halloween Anthology ARC from Corpus Press for September 3 release; a wonderful horror novel ARC for September 6 release from a new publisher (Flame Tree Press).
{Update: Finished the historical Cozy Mystery.
Finished Halloween Horror Anthology.
Finished horror novel ARC.
Goals complete.)


MY COMPLETED :

TEN THOUSAND THUNDERS by Brian Trent

HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins

KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer

NEVER SAY GOODBYE by Richard Parker

NOT HER DAUGHTER by Rea Frey

THE SWITCH HOUSE by Tim Meyer

THE CHANGELING by Molly Harper

PROVIDENCE by Caroline Kepnes

THE MURDERER'S WIFE by Daralyse Lyons

DADDY WON'T KILL YOU: HAUNTING IN THE WOODS by Caroline Clark

FLOWER POWER FATALITY by Sally Carpenter

DOORBELLS AT DUSK ANTHOLOGY.

THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER by Jonathan Janz.

Bout of Books 23_Day 1-5 Progress

MY COMPLETED :

TEN THOUSAND THUNDERS by Brian Trent

HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins

KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer

NEVER SAY GOODBYE by Richard Parker

NOT HER DAUGHTER by Rea Frey

THE SWITCH HOUSE by Tim Meyer

THE CHANGELING by Molly Harper

PROVIDENCE by Caroline Kepnes

THE MURDERER'S WIFE by Daralyse Lyons

Review: Changeling

Changeling by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: CHANGELING by Molly Harper (Society and Sorcery #1)

A perfectly delightful YA Paranormal which easily maintained my interest throughout, CHANGELING is the story of Sarah Smith. A fourteen-year-old younger daughter of a servant family living in the slums. All "Snipes" (short for "guttersnipes") are indentured servants to Coven Guardian families. In this alternate Victorian England, ruled by Guardians (not Royal Family nor Parliament), the Restoration was not the return of King Charles II, but the ascension to rule of the magic-users--Covent Guardians.

But now the winds of change are blowing. Sarah, Snipe, was born with magic, but given suppression medicine by her parents. A random use of magic outs her to the Guardian family she serves, and soon she is reconfigured as a niece, and sent to magical boarding school.



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Bout of Books Day 1-4

MY COMPLETED :

TEN THOUSAND THUNDERS by Brian Trent

HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins

KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer

NEVER SAY GOODBYE by Richard Parker

NOT HER DAUGHTER by Rea Frey

THE SWITCH HOUSE by Tim Meyer

Books I plan to complete:

THE CHANGELING by Molly Harper

PROVIDENCE by Caroline Kepnes

YOU by Caroline Kepnes

FLOWER POWER FATALITY by Sally Carpenter

Review: The Switch House: A Short Novel

The Switch House: A Short Novel by Tim Meyer
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Review: THE SWITCH HOUSE by Tim Meyer

Tim Meyer rocks! THE SWITCH HOUSE is fabulous! So many twists in this story! I never knew "what was up," because every time I got a grasp (or thought I did), Mr. Meyer yanked the rug out from under me. I don't like to compare fiction to cinema, but THE SWITCH HOUSE is, in flavor and in its twistiness, Twin Peaks-ish. You won't space out nor relax throughout this short novel: it's hard-driving, hard-charging, gory, scary (yes, extreme), and what the author does with his characters has to be read to be believed. Tim Meyer is a champion.

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RIP XIII at Readers Imbibe Peril_September 2018

RIP XIII



Beginning September 1!



I shall read for Peril the First (4 books),

Peril of the Short Story (audio and text),

Peril of the Review.

KIILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer_Review

#KillHillCarnage

Kill Hill Carnage, Synopsis

Publishing Date: July 15, 2018

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Page Length: 286 pages

These woods are dark and full of monsters…
In 1991, hell was unleashed upon Saint Christopher’s Summer Camp for Kids. The killers left behind piles of bodies and rivers of blood. Some say a family of inbred cannibals was responsible. A masked psychopath with a butcher's knife is another popular theory. Some still believe a camp counselor lost his mind and went crazy on everyone with an axe. But there’s also the mysterious, derelict factory that sits nearby, atop Kill Hill. A place where urban legends are manufactured, the grotesque and bizarre.

Twenty-five years later, the factory on Kill Hill is still said to be operational, but no one can get near it. It’s safely guarded along with the secrets within. But there are a few loose strings and hitman Frank Harmon has been sent to tie them up. His kill list is short, but the night is long and full of unspeakable horrors. With the help of a few college students on an impromptu camping adventure, Frank must contain the mess at Kill Hill before it spreads to the neighboring towns. Before it infects the entire country. Before it invades the entire world.

From the fantastical, high-octane mind of Tim Meyer, author of Sharkwater Beach and In the House of Mirrors, comes his most frightening tale yet! Summer camp this year is at your own risk.

Biography
Tim Meyer dwells in a dark cave near the Jersey Shore. He’s an author, husband, father, podcast host, blogger, coffee connoisseur, beer enthusiast, and explorer of worlds. He writes horror, mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers, although he prefers to blur genres and let the stories fall where they may. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter as @timmeyer11, or his blog -
http://www.timmeyerwrites.com.

Praise for Tim Meyer

“IN THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS is a great book! The sky is the limit for Tim Meyer.” – Cedar Hollow Reviews
"Meyer kills it with his action scenes, his gore, and does a great job with a number of these characters." - Glenn Rolfe, author of Blood and Rain and Becoming
"Author Tim Meyer really knows how to delve deep into his characters..." - The Haunted Reading Room
"I highly recommend… to anyone wanting an engaging, bloody, fun story." - Jeremy Hepler, author of The Boulevard Monster

Purchase Link
Amazon

Would you like to feature?

If you would like to review Kill Hill Carnage or feature Tim with an interview or guest article for a media publication, blog, or author blurb, please e-mail Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com.

The Haunted Reading Room's Review:

Kill Hill Carnage by Tim Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer

KILL HILL CARNAGE is straight out horror extreme, a homage to 80's-90's slasher splatterpunk, AND to the wonderful Grade-B horror films of the 1950's, which often featured "Science Gone Wrong." There's plenty of the latter in this novel, as human greed and cupidity reign, regardless of the environment or quality of human life. In a chemical plant in New England, owned by a foreign corporation and strongly suspected of dumping toxic waste in the adjacent river (think Love Canal), secret experiments have continued since the plant's official closure in 1991, following a brutal massacre at a nearby Christian youth camp. Security at the plant is akin to that in a Third-World dictatorship, but that doesn't halt the excursions of products of the covert experimentation occurring in the closed chemical plant (think Mengele).

Genetic mutations and lots of gore are not the only themes in this novel. Author Tim Meyer has a keen vision for character and a deep understanding of his people. If you love splatterpunk, you can't go wrong here.

Review: Never Say Goodbye

Never Say Goodbye by Richard Jay Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: NEVER SAY GOODBYE by Richard Parker

More twists than a rollercoaster and edge-of-your-seat tensely wrought suspense make a tremendously fast-paced novel from a prolific British author. A seemingly motiveless serial killer and victims with no commonalities keep the London Metropolitan Police detectives spinning in circles. Not until the end do readers discover the motivation, and the startling rationale behind this inexplicable series of seemingly random murders.



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Bout of Books 23_Day 1 Progress

Day 1_August 21

MY COMPLETED:

TEN THOUSAND THUNDERS by Brian Trent

HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins

KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer



Challenge Day 1

Monday 8/20

Introduce yourself #insixwords

Reader! Reviewer, Dog-Owned, Animal Lover

Review: Doorbells at Dusk: Halloween Stories

Doorbells at Dusk: Halloween Stories by Josh Malerman
My rating: 0 of 5 stars



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Review: The House by the Cemetery

The House by the Cemetery by John Everson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY by John Everson

Outstanding. I can seldom resist the Feckless Hero, which is certainly what we have here in Protagonist Mike, a young carpenter in Cook County, Illinois. I liked Mike (to a point), but he and a whole lot of others would have benefited if he had just--matured. Developed personal integrity. Got a life. {Sigh} Guess my opinion of him didn't rank as high as I thought.

Nevertheless, the story is outstanding. Quite extreme, but given the context of the plot, not over the top. I particularly admired author John Everson' s gift with characterization, which I fondly remember from his novel FAMILY TREE. He delineates his characters quite fully but subtly, without telegraphing in advance, but letting readers' realization gradually unfold. This was a one-session reading for me, as I was so absorbed in both plot and characters. I adored the setting, too, and Mr. Everson delivers suspense and revelation in perfect doses for a tale of haunted locales and haunted character.

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August ONCEUPONATHON

ONCEUPONATHON
August 19-26, 2018
My COMPLETED:
Aug. 19:
BENEATH THE EARTH by H. S. Stone. Category: YA. Horror.
THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY by John Everson. Category: Horror.
TEN THOUSAND THUNDERS by Brian Trent. Science Fiction.
HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins.. YA/boarding school. YA Paranormal.
KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer. Horror/NA
NEVER SAY GOODBYE by Richard Parker. British police procedural.
NOT HER DAUGHTER by Rea Frey
THE SWITCH HOUSE by Tim Meyer
THE CHANGELING by Molly Harper
PROVIDENCE  by Caroline Kepnes
THE MURDERER'S WIFE by Daralyse Lyons
DADDY WON'T KILL YOU: HAUNTING in the Woods By Caroline Clark
FLOWER POWER FATALITY by Sally Carpenter.
DOORBELLS AT DUSK ANTHOLOGY.
THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER by Jonathan Janz.

Review: Beneath the Earth

Beneath the Earth by H.S. Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: BENEATH THE EARTH by H. S. Stone

A fast-paced YA creature thriller with excellent characterization, BENEATH THE EARTH stands on a realistic premise: a California earthquake has resulted in a shift in geography and unleashed something previously confined underground. Something is on the isolated lake island: something implacable, and very deadly. As the Pine Hill High Senior class campers discover, there's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

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Review: The Babysitter

The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE BABYSITTER by Sheryl Browne

If THE BABYSITTER came packaged with a warning label, that label would read: "CAUTION: If it seems too good to be true, WATCH OUT!!" In smaller print, a second warning, "BEWARE OF GASLIGHTING!"

Detective Inspector Mark Cain, his sculptor wife Melissa, and their daughters, Poppy, age seven, and infant Evie, seem to be a fairy-tale happy family. A marriage built on a strong foundation of mutual love and trust, dual devotion to their children--seems a happily-ever-after often unheard of in modern times. Mark and Melissa have suffered tragedy and depression, surviving and eventually thriving. But now--will their marriage--and their lives and children--survive gaslighting? Insanity can be contagious.


["Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, and sanity." Wikipedia. Term derives from the 1944 film "Gaslight," starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten.]

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Review: Rattus New Yorkus

Rattus New Yorkus by Hunter Shea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: RATTUS NEW YORKUS by Hunter Shea

Author Hunter Shea, who is about as prolific as they get, possesses a particular (and peculiar) talent for cryptozoology and cryptobotany {see THE DEVIL'S FINGERS}. He also demonstrates a scientific bent for mutations of the natural order. (He also has an unbelievably eidetic memory of 1950's sci fi and horror B-films). Here are science, decadence of civilization, and genetics clashing. If you loved the films "Ben" and "Willard" (I did), for sure you are gonna love RATTUS NEW YORKUS. Be aware, the good guys don't always win (this is Hunter Shea' s horror playground, after all), and Mr. Shea is no stranger to Apocalypse.

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Review: Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked

Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked by Christa Carmen
Unnerving Press

Publicist/Marketing: Erin Al-Mehairi
Hook of a Book Media and Publicity
Contact: hookofabook@hotmail.com
#SomethingBorrowed

Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked, Synopsis

Publishing Date: August 21, 2018

Publisher: Unnerving Press

Page Length: 282 pages

A young woman’s fears regarding the gruesome photos appearing on her cell phone prove justified in a ghastly and unexpected way. A chainsaw-wielding Evil Dead fan defends herself against a trio of undead intruders. A bride-to-be comes to wish that the door between the physical and spiritual worlds had stayed shut on All Hallows’ Eve. A lone passenger on a midnight train finds that the engineer has rerouted them toward a past she’d prefer to forget. A mother abandons a life she no longer recognizes as her own to walk up a mysterious staircase in the woods.

In her debut collection, Christa Carmen combines horror, charm, humor, and social critique to shape thirteen haunting, harrowing narratives of women struggling with both otherworldly and real-world problems. From grief, substance abuse, and mental health disorders, to a post-apocalyptic exodus, a seemingly sinister babysitter with unusual motivations, and a group of pesky ex-boyfriends who won’t stay dead, Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked is a compelling exploration of horrors both supernatural and psychological, and an undeniable affirmation of Carmen’s flair for short fiction.

Biography

Christa Carmen is a writer of dark fiction, and her short stories have appeared in places like Fireside Fiction Company, Unnerving Magazine, Year's Best Hardcore Horror, Outpost 28, DarkFuse Magazine, and Tales to Terrify, to name a few. She has additional work forthcoming from Lycan Valley Press Publications' all-female horror anthology, Dark Voices, and her debut fiction collection, Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked, will be released in August 2018 by Unnerving.

Christa lives in Westerly, Rhode Island with her husband and their ten-year-old bluetick beagle, Maya. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and psychology, and a master's degree from Boston College in counseling psychology, and she's currently pursuing a Master of Liberal Arts in Creative Writing & Literature from Harvard Extension School. Christa works at a pharmaceutical company as a Research & Development Packaging Coordinator, and at a local hospital as a mental health clinician. When she's not writing, she is volunteering with one of several organizations that aim to maximize public awareness and seek solutions to the ever-growing opioid crisis in southern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut.

Praise for Christa Carmen “Christa Carmen’s 'Red Room' is a different beast altogether. This story has some wicked imagery, a sinister and brooding atmosphere and a terrific ending. I’d go as far to say that this is one of the best short stories Unnerving has published in the magazine." – The Grim Reader

“I was pulled in from the first story: ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,’ by Christa Carmen. It was also one of my favorites and I have to say that the title gave me a dark chuckle when paired with the band mentioned in the story.” – Sci-Fi and Scary

Purchase Link

Amazon

Would you like to feature?

If you would like to review Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked or feature Christa with an interview or guest article for a media publication, blog, or author blurb, please e-mail Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com.

The Haunted Reading Room's Review: Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked by Christa Carmen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLOOD-SOAKED by Christa Carmen

Wow! When I started the first story of thirteen in this very special single-author collection, I wasn't sure I would like it. This first story is apocalyptic and surreal--the flavor of Tanith Lee if she ever took up Apocalypse. That question lasted a nano-moment as quickly I was off and running, completely absorbed. Ms. Carmen possesses both an extensive imagination, and the sensory capacity of an artist or poet. She also possesses a deep understanding of human outliers, those who walk apart from the well-trodden path.

Review: The Ostermann House

The Ostermann House by J.R. Klein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE OSTERMANN HOUSE by J. R. Klein

I am so pleased to discover this genre-blending novel, which combines horror, science fiction, metaphysics, physics, and outer space into a rewarding and engrossing novel. Probability shifts and altered perception, history that changes--not just according to the teller, but sometimes changes in narratives from the same teller, science, military "snooping," small-town "strangeness": university professors Michael and Audrey Felton didn't know what they were taking on in their simple quest for a country getaway from their busy Houston life. They sought peace and quiet; instead they found the bizarre community of Krivac, Texas, and out in the country, the Ostermann House, land like no other. I couldn't put this novel down, and I'm still turning it over in my mind.

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Review: The Dowling House

The Dowling House by A. Drew
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE DOWLING HOUSE by A. Drew

For me the strength of this supernatural horror lay in the characters as much as in the haunting, which is implacable and quite scary. The characters, of two different eras, are well-developed and the authors do well at drawing out the hidden issues and revealing them transposed against the era's cultural mores.
The earlier period (1954) reminded me (in characters and plotting and setting) of the Gothic suspense I devoured as a child antiquities ago.

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Review: The House of Nodens

The House of Nodens by Sam Gafford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: HOUSE OF NODENS by

I raced through this novel in one session; I simply couldn't stop. HOUSE OF NODENS is now one of ny very favourite coming-of-age horror stories, well-nuanced and intricately balanced. The plot is both horrifying and twisty, with terror coming at readers from otherworldly realms and via the terrifying monsters deep in the human soul. Riveting and absorbing, HOUSE OF NODENS is a finely-tuned, unforgettable, horror masterpiece.

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Review: Spores

Spores by Ike Hamill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: SPORES by Ike Hamill

I can't resist "fungi fiction" (it "stems" from my love of Lovecraft), so discovering Ike Hamill' s newest novel SPORES was a delightful experience. Indeed, the story proved quite involving, as it also interwove two more of my favorite topics, Maine and Winter (snow, ice, frozen lake, November, cabins). Mr. Hamill does a superb job of delineating a Narcissistic, superiority-complex driven, academic scientist (almost too superb), which truly increased my delight, and the mycologist' s foil character, Marie, who needs to be read to be believed--all the characters play off her refrain, which you will discover throughout the novel. Finally, there's a lot of science turned science fiction in this story--or vice versa--and if you remember/love/admire The Borg, you will understand exactly; plus "a heapin' helpin'" of human greed and cupidity--naturally {frown}. A lot to ponder, the novel will tickle your ingrained "What If--?"

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Review: To Hell in a Handbasket

To Hell in a Handbasket by Willow Rose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET by Willow Rose

Scary! That's my word for this novel. Scary! Straight-on supernatural horror, implacable, unavoidable, "the goblins are gonna get you if you don't watch out." Oh yes, abundance of fairy tale resonances here, and the characters really feel that.The plot is very suspenseful (scary!) with a number of unexpected twists. The author selects an unusual type for the horror (unusual in modern culture) and makes the horror seem impossible to bystanders, and even to the victims. Believing is difficult for the characters, until it's too late. I found the ending startling but quite satisfactory. Throughout, the level of suspense was kept ratcheted up with quite a number of edge-of-the-seat moments.

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Review_CALIFORNIA by Edan Lepucki

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774020-california" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="California" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400863574m/18774020.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774020-california">California</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4395695.Edan_Lepucki">Edan Lepucki</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/986809812">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Review: CALIFORNIA by Edan Lepucki<br /><br />CALIFORNIA was the 2014 debut novel of author Edan Lepucki. Set in a very near-future Southern and Central California, the novel is Dystopian. It is post-apocalyptic in a sense, but in this case the "end" arrives almost subtly, not with a bang (no nuclear holocaust, North Korean invasion, plague, nor zombie uprising). Instead, civilization just fizzles. The novel goes into some detail about life in L.A. during postmodernity, but primarily concentrates on protagonists Frida and Cal as they make the life-changing decision to move out of the city and homestead on "found land" (emphasis mine).
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Review: The Obsession of Dr. Pendergrass: Murder in Whitechapel

The Obsession of Dr. Pendergrass: Murder in Whitechapel by John David Buchanan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE OBSESSION OF DR. PENDERGRASS: MURDER IN WHITECHAPEL by John David Buchanan

In the late Victorian Era, London was a cultural and social beacon. Seat of an Empire, governed by a long-widowed crowned head genetically connected to thrones throughout Europe, London expanded, seemingly blessed both financially and socially. But with great wealth and abundance, inevitably there is also great suffering, poverty, and crime. One man surely cannot combat it all, when Sir Robert Peel' s bobbies cannot succeed. But one determined and diligent man will never cease to combat the evils in the darkness and ugly forgotten slums of London.

THE OBSESSION OF DR. PENDERGRASS is a sensorily stimulating narrative, a close look at Victorian London in the latter 19th century, and an examination of Whitechapel' s most well-known denizen.







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BOUT OF BOOKS 23!

Official:The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

2018_bout-of-books_23 at Goodreads


BOUT OF BOOKS
Monday 8/20
Introduce yourself #insixwords
Reader! Reviewer, Dog-Owned, Animal Lover
Tuesday 8/21
Book Plot Emoji
Wednesday 8/22
Literary Villain
Thursday 8/23
Book Trip
Friday 8/24
Bookish Playlist
Saturday 8/25
Discover Books
Sunday 8/26
Stretch Goal

MY COMPLETED :
TEN THOUSAND THUNDERS by Brian Trent
HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins
KILL HILL CARNAGE by Tim Meyer
NEVER SAY GOODBYE by Richard Parker
NOT HER DAUGHTER by Rea Frey
THE SWITCH HOUSE by Tim Meyer
THE CHANGELING by Molly Harper
PROVIDENCE by Caroline Kepnes
THE MURDERER'S WIFE by Daralyse Lyons
DADDY WON'T KILL YOU: HAUNTING IN THE WOODS by Caroline Clark
FLOWER POWER FATALITY by Sally Carpenter.
DOORBELLS AT DUSK ANTHOLOGY.
THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER by Jonathan Janz.

Review: Ghosts of Gannaway

Ghosts of Gannaway by Stuart R. West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE GHOSTS OF GANNAWAY by Stuart R. West

I so admire novels that encapsulate expanded moral and social issues while delivering excellent characterization and suspenseful plotting. I give you THE GHOSTS OF GANNAWAY, a novel of history (1929, 1935; and 1969) and of individuals, families, social movements; and the Supernatural.

In 1969, the U S. Corps of Engineers sends an environmental scientist to tiny, almost abandoned Gannaway, Kansas, to test the potential toxicity of the soil, water table, and air. Gannaway appears practically a ghost town (in multiple senses), stores and homes collapsing, dust-ridden, scarcely a semblance of life--except for the expansive home of the man who "made" Gannaway, mine company owner Kyle Gannaway, who opened mines there and founded the community in the 1920's.

Author West also interweaves a plot line which occurs in 1929, and continues in 1935--deep in the Great Depression, in the fiery throes of beginning attempts at unionization and rights for workers. Readers who know anything about the Harlan, Kentucky, unionization tragedies of the 1930's, or such attempts at other mines, will find resonance in the ideals and efforts of young Tommy Donnelly, ground boss at a Gannaway mine, as he diligently strives to make the wealthy company owner "see sense." But Kyle Gannaway and his right-hand man are terrifyingly inhuman individuals, totally devoid of compassion, empathy, or just plain human feeling.

In 1969, the environmental scientist and an elderly Native American, Ahanu ("Bob"), combine forces to uncover the truth, all the truths, about Gannaway' s evil past and toxic present, to settle the ghosts of Gannaway, and to cope with its environmental future.

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Review: The Witching Well

The Witching Well by S.D. Hintz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE WITCHING WELL by S. D. Hintz

Who knew picturesque Northern Minnesota could be so dangerous, so magical, so--dare I say it--witchy? S. D. Hintz knows, and now we readers know too. THE WITCHING WELL is a very fast-paced, snappy, edgy tale of a 13-year-old who has tragically lost his mother to murder. Taken in by his maternal grandmother Anna, Murray moves to her house in tiny Windom, Minnesota. He's scarcely there a day when one vicious neighbor sics his Rottweiler on Murray, another gives him a painful welcoming gift, and he gets in Dutch with Grandma Anna, then discovering a captive boy in the basement next door. On a residential block with only two normal homeowners, Murray is a perfect target, and in a very short time, a lot of lives are in dire danger, including Murray's. Can good triumph over evil (with a little trickery)--or will Evil carry the Day?

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Review: She Was the Quiet One

She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE by Micheledorn Campbell

From the beginning, we know of a murder; we know the victim is a sibling, and we realize that the remaining sibling, proclaiming innocence, is suspected and accused. What we don't discover until much later in the novel is the identity of the victim, and conversely, the identity of the survivor as well. I paged through the novel with the nagging thoughts in the forefront of my mind: "Who died? Who survived? Who is the killer? Could the murder have been circumvented?" So for me there was much continuing suspense and tension. What I didn't achieve a lot of was character empathy. I managed some for Rose, and for Bel' s roommate Emily, and some for dorm co-head Sarah Donovan. Most of the characters, including the school's administration and board, elicited either dislike or actual contempt. Perhaps it was {tongue in cheek} class envy.

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Review: Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday by Ben Coes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: BLOODY SUNDAY by Ben Coes
(Dewey Andreas #8)

Those of us who fear North Korea's aggression and nuclear capability and the leader's instability will find much foundation for that anxiety here. In this 8th installment in Ben Coes' Dewey Andreas Series, Kim Jong-Un is diagnosed with aggressively metastasized cancer, and decides to go out in a literal blaze of glory: the glory to accrue to himself, while the great enemy America perishes in nuclear travail.

Fortunately, there is tragic hero Dewey Andreas, still diligently drinking himself to death. Hot on the trail of the remaining culprits responsible for the murder of his wife, he will be put into play to save the US from utter destruction--somehow.

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Review: THE LAST HELLFIGHTER

THE LAST HELLFIGHTER by Thomas S. Flowers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE LAST HELLFIGHTER by Thomas S. Flowers

THE LAST HELLFIGHTER is an extraordinarily enthralling novel which weaves from contemporaneous society into the future and back to the early 20th century American culture and the Great War, and points in between. Commencing with a blow-me-out-of-the-water reader's hook, set in the Port of Jerusalem, Maine (a beginning that rendered me speechless), THE LAST HELLFIGHTER wings us forward to the ugly and dismaying political climate of 2044 in the United States. The central figure is Benjamin Harker, native of Harlem, black WWI soldier, later Oklahoma homesteader--and vampire-fighter. I love this character (and James Reese Europe, jazz musician and WWI Lieutenant). I love and admire them, for their character, integrity, and truth is what I've always aspired to.

Author Flowers loves history as do I, and always brings it to us, alive and very present. I found a lot here astonishing (and terribly sad), but I've come away with improved understanding, knowledge, and empathy. I now have a new set of favorite fictional characters, and a new best-loved book.

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Review: Murder in the Dark: A Paranormal Mystery

Murder in the Dark: A Paranormal Mystery by Simon R. Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: MURDER IN THE DARK by Simon R. Green

Another totally gripping paranormal/sci-fi thriller from an author who consistently delivers engrossing, compelling. and thought-provoking paranormal fiction. MURDER IN THE DARK is the newest in the Ishmael Jones Series, about the secretive agent for a hush-hush covert organization in the UK. I totally admire Ishmael, who can do no wrong in my eyes, and find his background fascinating. This adventure was particularly scrumptious in that it includes some revelations about Ishmael' s earlier history (and of course I managed to perceive Lovecraftian Mythos themes throughout). The denouement and conclusion are stunning, in an all-round superb novel.

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Review: Purrder She Wrote

Purrder She Wrote by Cate Conte
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: PURRDER SHE WROTE by Cate Conte

I totally adored this delightful and heartwarming cozy mystery, and I hope this series continues forever. I loved characters, setting, and of course, the cats (and some dogs). The characters are realistic, well drawn, and it's easy to feel empathy for them. I even managed to shed a tear or two when their lives hit a downturn. Protagonist Maddie, an entrepreneur who has recently returned to her home island after several years in San Francisco, has opened a cat cafe. Interested parties spend time with the felines, and can apply to adopt them. Maddie and an older volunteer, Adele, reminded me so much of myself, as they are outspoken, often tactless, and all out for the cats! PURRDER SHE WROTE is a Reading Delight!

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