The Bloody Bucket by Douglas Ford

 Nat’s dream job comes calling when a college needs someone to take charge of an annual haunt. One year before, Nat’s predecessor went inside the haunt—but he never came out. Soon, Nat finds herself confronting the ghosts of her own past as well as curses bubbling forth from the land itself.

This is such a sneaky little synopsis. It doesn't even hint at the depth and breadth of this novel.

Nat is a complicated character, supporting her equally complicated brother. She is hired as an adjunct professor to teach her favorite subject, horror literature. She will also be advisor to the students as they plan their annual haunted house. Her predecessor has disappeared, supposedly going into last year's haunt, never to be seen again.

What follows is an intricate plot involving ghosts, cursed land, childhood trauma, and so much more, woven together in a spellbinding tale of epic proportions that the author somehow makes seem effortless. 

There is so much going on here that I am amazed at the author's skill to keep so many plates spinning in the air while never dropping one. The group of students is small enough that I did not feel overwhelmed by too many characters, especially considering one in particular plays a bigger role. This was a surprisingly dark tale and is my first 5 star read of the year. 

My thanks to Douglas Ford for the paperback ARC.

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Nightmare on Nightmare Street by R. L. Stine

Twelve-year-old Joe Ferber, his sister Sadie, and their parents have just moved into a house that has all the hallmarks of a horror movie—tombstones in the basement, a creepy doll lying around, strange noises in the wall, and so on. As Joe tries to fall asleep on the first night, his nightlight begins to flash and change colors, and the creepy doll appears in his bed … and then twelve-year-old Shawn Hannigan wakes up from a dream.

Shawn and his little sister, Addie, are seemingly living in the same house with their mother. But when they arrive at their new school for the first day, the teachers are all wearing animal masks, and the principal’s office is pitch black and full of noises. At the end of the day, a stranger claiming to be Shawn’s mom picks him up and tells him he doesn’t have a sister …

As more and more strange things happen to each of them, Shawn and Joe have to figure out what is real, and what is a nightmare.

What could be scarier (and more frustrating!) than being a kid who is the only one who notices there is something wrong with the house your parents call a fixer upper when you know it's just evil!  That is where the story begins, with one boy who is powerless to get his family to see sense.

This was such a fun story. It is an amusing and spooky tale, whether you grab it for your middle-grade readers or for yourself if you are still a kid at heart. 

The author states he got the idea to write a novel that included everyone's favorite fears while eating an everything bagel. He succeeded! There's nothing missing here. Nightmares, a basement graveyard, living dolls, weird teachers, and more, all wrapped up and waiting for anyone who dares to venture onto Nightmare Street, a place you won't find on a map but is all too real for the kids who call it home. 

There are multiple tidbits sprinkled through for adults that may go undetected by kids (I'm still laughing at the Real Housewives of Antarctica). Adults who read Goosebumps when they were kids will notice the nods to that book series. 

If you're looking for a book that's fun for all ages, this is it.

My thanks to Blackstone Publishing for the e-ARC

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Bloodfire, Baby: A Novel by Eirinie Carson

 A maternal gothic tale of new motherhood and the torment of a centuries-old haunting.

Before the shadow appeared, Sofia thought mothering would be all sun-drenched light and white linen sheets, as seen advertised by the momfluencers of Instagram. In her gorgeous home anchored in a posh suburb, far removed from her origins, Sofia revels in her success.

Motherhood seems like the natural next step, but when her husband travels for a work trip, leaving Sofia all alone with their unnamed three-week-old baby, she can’t quite square how mothering falls solely in her lap. Nobody seems able or willing to help her: not her husband, not her best friend, and certainly not the zealot mother she cut off long ago.

Her postpartum reality is overtaken by an ominous figure. Sleep-deprivation collides with a darkness that creeps in and begins to spread, threatening to consume her entirely. As her grip on reality slips away, Sofia learns of an insidious haunting that has plagued the eldest daughters in her family for generations. With her baby’s safety on the line, Sofia realizes she must confront her murky history or risk losing more than just the veneer of perfection.

Sofia has just given birth and is struggling with emotions and exhaustion when her husband leaves her on her own for a three week work trip. He is not entirely unsupportive but the important thing is that he is not supportive in the way that she needs.

As the days tick by and the lack of sleep takes its toll, so do the constant calls from her estranged mother. Gradually, Sofia's postpartum depression spirals into something worse. 

I think all mothers will be able to relate to Sofia up to a point, even those of us who didn't have cleaners show up to make our homes sparkle every day. Where Sofia and I go our separate ways is her refusal of any help with the baby. I know I would have given anything for a little help in those early weeks, even if it was just someone willing to sit with the baby for 15 minutes so I could take a shower. This is not her first bout with depression, and as we learn what it was like for her to be raised by a religious zealot who often seemed emotionally disturbed, it becomes apparent that this will not likely end well.

 I understand the desire to portray Sofia's increasingly fragile state and slow decline in a gradual manner, but certain parts of the book felt repetitive and dragged on for me. I would recommend this more for readers looking for stories that revolve around generational trauma and depression than horror fans.

I read an uncorrected proof through Netgalley, so there might be adjustments to the final finished copy. 

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The Bone Queen by Will Shindler

 A chilling horror-thriller debut where a mother's search for her missing daughter battles against the shadows of a historic, dangerous legend.

Single mother Jenna arrives on the tranquil shores of Athelsea fueled by the desperate hope to find Chloe, her teenage daughter who’s disappeared from their London home. She has no idea why–all she knows is that Chloe had changed in the previous two weeks, haunted by something, or someone, and the ferry ticket here is the only clue she has.

As she explores the village and interacts with the locals, Jenna soon realizes a macabre secret is being hidden in plain sight. A dark legend of a vengeful woman called the Bone Queen is spoken of in hushed tones amongst the villagers, some of whom are frantically trying to suppress the tale that has long terrorized their lives.

As Jenna starts to learn more about the Bone Queen and her previous victims, the village’s grip on reality begins to loosen and no one can say for sure who, or what, is responsible for the deaths and disappearances on Athelsea. Suffering from what she can no longer distinguish between paranoid hallucinations or real manifestations, Jenna must act quickly before Chloe is next…

The Bone Queen has left her mark, and one day she’ll collect.

Is The Bone Queen an urban legend or a reality? The people of  Athelsea know the answer. A brutal murder in the 1700s and the deaths and disappearances that have occurred on the island ever since might just be a story people pass around to scare each other. But if it isn't real, what is the explanation?

Jenna and her daughter Chloe have had a rocky relationship. Jenna is a recovering alcoholic holding on to past guilt. Chloe has become withdrawn and is now suffering strange maladies, which lead her to believe she has been marked by The Bone Queen. Unable to share what is happening to her she runs away from home to deal with it herself. Jenna and her sister go searching for Chloe and uncover a horrific truth and a weird plot twist from Jenna's past.

The story is told on multiple timelines that bounce from the present day, to the recent past, and to a secret held among a group of friends that stem from a happening in 2003. I don't usually mind flashbacks, but there are spots in this book that just dragged for me and made the story seem much longer than its 272 pages. I do enjoy a build-up of suspense, but there comes a time to just get on with it, or else it becomes a frustrating wait.That being said, there was a decent plot with several spooky scenes and gruesome deaths. I do think it could have benefited from being tightened up a bit. 

3.5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Minotaur Books for the e-ARC

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