On Vacation See You Soon

I didn't want you to think I've abandoned you. We will be away for 2 weeks at the lake house. I will still be reading, especially considering we are expecting on and off thunderstorms, but I won't be posting reviews until we return on August 12.
My current read is "Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach" by one of my favorite authors Ramsey Campbell. That will be my first review when I return.
Be good! I'll miss you!

The Witching Well by S.D. Hintz

It's the end of the world…
as Murray Macabe knows it. The security of his home life has been ripped out from under him when his mother was brutally murdered. Rejected by his aunt, Murray only has one place left to go, and that's to live the rest of his life with a woman he barely knows.

To Grandmother's House He Goes

At first, life with his grandmother doesn't seem like it's going to be that bad, but Murray soon learns his grandmother harbors dark secrets.

Double, Double Toil and Trouble; Fire Burn and Caldron Bubble
As bad as Grandma's secrets might be, they are nothing compared to the secrets held by the neighbors, three elderly women who have set their sights on Murray for their own dastardly purposes. Soon Murray finds himself fighting for his very life, and there's no one to turn to for help because everyone knows there's no such thing as witches.

Murder and witches and scorch-roaches Oh My! Supernatural elements and mystery abound in this engaging YA novel about a young boy uprooted from his home. When Murray's mother is killed he has no choice but to move in with Grandma Anna, a woman he barely knows since his mother and she kept very little contact over the years. Grandma Ana lives in a very strange neighborhood occupied by a vicious dog and odd neighbors who hate children and keep strange secrets. Grandma has lived there for years without suspecting their true nature but when Murray begins to figure out what's going on will she believe him? This was an exciting read with a hair raising climax.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Dark Entry by John B. Kachuba

Description

In the 18th century, members of the Dudley family settled in the deep woods of the Dark Entry Forest in northwestern Connecticut. Only a century later, Dudleytown was a ghost town with nothing left in the encroaching forest but cellar holes. Legend has it that the Dudleys were descended from a family in England that came to a bad end and that a curse followed them to America, a curse that drove residents of the settlement to murder and suicide.

In 1989, Sandy Lawrence, fleeing her abusive boyfriend, is given the use of her friend’s house in Dark Entry, one of the few homes in the isolated forest. She is unaware of the legends about Dark Entry but soon discovers the horrifying truth—something evil is alive and well in the deep woods, something intent upon murder. What began as a peaceful retreat from her domestic troubles now becomes a terrifying fight for her life.

 

 

This was a quick read, that begins with a horrifying act in the 18th century before our unsuspecting main character heads to a house in these cursed woods to clear her head after an upsetting break up. Sandy doesn't know the stories of the spirit eater that haunts these grounds, an evil ghost that preys on souls. Not long after her arrival, she learns of the local ghost stories but it takes more than folk tales to make her a believer. I love ghost stories set in New England, as a life long resident I have always been interested in the spooky tales that abound in our small towns. Looking at this cover is like looking through my own childhood window at night, so of course I was instantly drawn to this book.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Lies by T.M. Logan

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS BASED ON LIES?
When Joe Lynch stumbles across his wife driving into a hotel car park while she's supposed to be at work, he's intrigued enough to follow her in.

And when he witnesses her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he knows he ought to intervene.

But just as the confrontation between the two men turns violent, and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe's young son has an asthma attack - and Joe must flee in order to help him.

When he returns, desperate to make sure Ben is OK, Joe is horrified to find that Ben has disappeared.

And that's when Joe receives the first message .



Joe and Mel Lynch appear to be a happily married couple, raising their young son in their modest but comfortable home. Mel is the main breadwinner in a modern twist, and Joe works part time and is the main care giver of their young child. One ordinary day when Joe is driving his son William home, William just by chance spots Mel's car on the road and wants to surprise his mommy. Joe follows in his car, but it is he who ends up being surprised by what he sees.
This was an intriguing and twisty family drama/thriller about a man who slowly unravels the lies he's been believing about his happy marriage. There were a few points in the story that I could not help but think he was a bit more gullible than the average man would probably be, but his trusting nature was pertinent to the story line. I enjoyed it.
4 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy for review.

Behind the Door by Mary SanGiovanni

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

Occult specialist Kathy Ryan returns in this thrilling novel of paranormal horror from Mary SanGiovanni, the author of Chills . . .

Some doors should never be opened . . .

In the rural town of Zarepath, deep in the woods on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, stands the Door. No one knows where it came from, and no one knows where it leads. For generations, folks have come to the Door seeking solace or forgiveness. They deliver a handwritten letter asking for some emotional burden to be lifted, sealed with a mixture of wax and their own blood, and slide it beneath the Door. Three days later, their wish is answered—for better or worse.

Kari is a single mother, grieving over the suicide of her teenage daughter. She made a terrible mistake, asking the powers beyond the Door to erase the memories of her lost child. And when she opened the Door to retrieve her letter, she unleashed every sin, secret, and spirit ever trapped on the other side.

Now, it falls to occultist Kathy Ryan to seal the door before Zarepath becomes hell on earth . . .

Available for Pre-order. This item will be released on August 28, 2018.


This is a series I will most definitely want to stick with. I had previously read "Chills" by the same author which is where I first met the character Kathy Ryan. I loved her then and I love her now. In fact I think she was my favorite part of Chills.
The people in the small town of Zarepath have more than their share of secrets. The deepest and darkest secret of them all is one they have shared amongst the townspeople for generations. Hidden in the woods is a door that can rid you of your misery or it can rain misery upon you if you don't follow the rules. Your request must be in writing and you are in for a world of suffering if it isn't worded exactly the way you intend.
The characters are perfectly imperfect and managed to evoke my sympathy for them even as I raged against the pain that some of them had caused and things they had done. The fright factor is deliciously high and the writing style is imaginative and flows beautifully.
5 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy for review

Vox by Christina Dalcher

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial--this can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.

In the same vein as A handmaid's Tale, Vox is the story of a dystopian America where the female population is oppressed after a newly elected president and his cronies take steps to bring back the old days when women had no rights. Women are no longer allowed to work outside the home. They can still drive, and go to the grocery store, they can still care for their children, but they are allotted only 100 words per day and there is severe punishment should they speak more than that. They can not read, even instructions from their own doctors will be sealed in an envelope addressed to their husbands. Mail is also only for husbands. Children still attend school but with drastic differences for boys and girls.  There is punishment for sex before marriage, and outside of marriage, and for being homosexual. As Jean tries to do what she can to raise her children under such circumstances, she becomes aware that there is an even more sinister plan in the works. With the current divisiveness in the states this was certainly a timely read.

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

The House of Nodens by Sam Gafford

In 1975, young Bill Simmons is the new kid in New Milford. Bullied and struggling for acceptance, he meets four other boys who form the ‘the Cemetery League’, a group devoted to the weird, exotic and bizarre in movies, comics and television. Each boy carries their own secrets which combine to come to a violent and fiery conclusion in a lonely Connecticut forest. Now, nearly forty years later, the events of that night come back to haunt Bill Simmons as, one by one, the members of the Cemetery League are targeted by an unknown force that may have unnatural links to their past. Has something, or someone, come to exact a bloody vengeance? And how is it linked to a serial killer’s twenty year spree throughout the Nutmeg State? To answer these questions, Bill Simmons will have to face his greatest fears and the failure that destroyed his life and left him a hopeless alcoholic. But will it be enough?



There's a reason why Bill spends his days alone and lonely in an alcoholic haze. It's his way of coping with a traumatic past. There was a time, when as a child, Bill thought he had made some genuine friends. Boys of a like mind who loved horror movies and super hero comics. Boys who would stick by each other no matter what. Friends that would help each other through any situation, be it bullies or abusive families or just plain loneliness. Slowly at first, that friendship began to change, as something dark and evil was awakened in the woods where the boys would meet. Bill was able to escape it's clutches once, but now it wants him back.
4 out of 5 stars.

This was my first time reading anything by Sam Gafford. I will be on the look out for more. It was this gorgeous and creepy cover that first caught my eye along with a chance to win a free copy. Imagine my shock when I, who never wins anything was randomly selected as one of the lucky winners. Thank you Dark Regions Press!