Kevin J. Kennedy Presents The Horror Collection: Jewel Edition

 In The Jewel Edition, the 32nd book in The Horror Collection series from Kevin J. Kennedy, terror takes on many forms: cosmic, grotesque, psychological, and deeply human. Across a haunting array of stories, ordinary people are pushed beyond their limits, confronting ancient evils, unraveling realities, and the consequences of their own darkest desires.

From cursed transformations and body horror that strips away identity to isolated landscapes where survival breeds monstrosity, each tale explores the fragile line between humanity and something far more disturbing. Gods that devour, parasites that mimic, and objects that think and control all serve as reminders that horror is not just something we face; it’s something we can become.

Blending folklore, cosmic dread, and visceral terror, this collection delivers relentless nightmares where redemption is uncertain, reality is unstable, and even love and memory may not be enough to save us.

If you're in the mood for something grim and ghastly, this horror anthology is bursting with 19 stories of madness and the macabre, sure to horrify and entertain. I have several favorites to tell you about.

The first story sets the bar high with I'm Not Bad by Elizabeth Massie, in which a terminally ill woman who is worried about who will care for her disabled sister once she's gone agrees to take part in an experiment on death.

Just A Fly by Mark Towse is a weird and wacky, gross-out, love triangle. She loves him, but he loves a fly. Does the fly have feelings too?

Another favorite was Used Dentures for a Steal by Viggy Par Hampton, in which a Grandma decides to buy dentures online rather than waste money on a dentist. So what if they're used? They seem to be in pretty good shape. What could go wrong?

Eternal Ever Since Wednesday by Brian Hodge brought back some fond memories of childhood snow days, and at first, it seems the kids in this story will be enjoying their days off too. Except the snow doesn't end, supplies are running out, and people who used to be neighborly are turning against each other.

Beholder by Graham Masterton is about a disfigured child who has been sheltered from the cruelty of the world by her mother. She is led to believe that she is so beautiful that anyone who sees her may try to hurt her out of a jealous rage. This may have seemed to her mom like a good way to protect her, but the consequences are deadly.

Osteodentia by Ryan Colley gave me the heebie jeebies. I hate dentists and anything teeth related, but I felt terrible for this man who underwent an experimental procedure because he was ashamed of his smile.

Blood Drive by Harrison Phillips is a cautionary tale that may have come too late. Self-driving smart cars are already here. What if they are smarter than their owners?

Sigils by Mark Morris is another story that takes place in the midst of a blizzard. I do love a good storm story. A snowbound family is trapped by the weather, and with a sickly grandma upstairs in bed. Dad has gone to try to get help but hasn't returned. Now there is a strange figure outside in the garden who doesn't seem bothered by the knee-high snow, and little sister is getting creepier by the day.

All the stories were great, but those were my favorites. There is something for everyone here, whether you like body horror, ghostly entities, or a touch of sci-fi and humor.

My thanks to KJK Publishing for the e-ARC.

Get a copy 

Table of Contents

I’m Not Bad By Elizabeth Massie

Just a Fly By Mark Towse

The Temple of Ugghiutu By Jeffrey Thomas

Parody By Jeff Strand

Beyond Hell’s Patch By Brian Moreland

Used Dentures for a Steal By Viggy Parr Hampton

Truth Decay By William Meikle

Eternal, Ever Since Wednesday By Brian Hodge

Beholder By Graham Masterton

Every Magician Has To Start Somewhere By Gord Rollo

The Shadow Over Posillipo By Francesco Spada

Memories In The Skin By S.E. Howard

Black Secrets By M.P. Norman

Osteodentia By Ryan Colley

Blood Drive By Harrison Phillips

The Exterminator By Nenad Mitrović

Snakehandler By Ronald Kelly

Sigils By Mark Morris

Where Demons Roost By Richard Clive

422 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2026

The Siren of Groves Peak by Glenn Rolfe

Groves Peak, Maine, is home to a dark secret. The successful lobstering community is ready for summer, but a murder at sea changes everything. People are dying in the small coastal town, and the lobstermen are on edge.

Only one man knows the truth. His closet of skeletons is about to open, and no one is safe. Not even his daughter or her best friend. As a supernatural fury, homegrown dangers, and buried secrets coalesce into a series of real-life nightmares, friendships are tested, and heroes will fall. The Siren of Groves Peak reveals the true monsters in us all.

 

The residents of Groves Peak Maine, have kept a secret for generations. They know why their small coastal town flourishes and why their lobstermen always have the most bountiful catch, even when others catch next to nothing. For some, it's just the way of life. For others, the secret is more than they can bear. One man has taken it upon himself to betray The Siren of Groves Peak, and now her rage knows no bounds. 

I loved the small coastal town setting. Was I meant to feel more sympathy for the Siren than those who faced her wrath? I don't know, but I did. She may have gone overboard seeking her revenge against some who never wronged her, but she was just a poor, lonely creature who couldn't help what she was. The bargain she struck with the lobstermen was a deal they made willingly, and she kept her promises. There were only a very few of her victims that I felt anything for. Some of the humans were more monstrous than the siren.

This was a fast-paced story with themes of drug addiction, alcoholism, and murder in addition to the mythical folklore aspects. Flawed characters with intriguing backstories made the multiple points of view work well. If you're in the mood for a seafaring horror, this one comes ashore just in time for your summer beach read. The body count and blood flow will rise as high as the tide if the siren has her way.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for the paperback.

Get a copy

About the author

Movie Review Hacked: A Double Entendre Of Rage Fueled Karma

Hacked premiered at the Gasparilla International Film Festival, where it took home the Award for Best Focus on Florida Feature Film, and went on to screen at Popcorn Frights Film Festival, FilmQuest, the Chattanooga Film Festival, Celluloid Screams, and the Soho Horror Film Festival.

Available on DVD and VOD June 2 from S&R Films

The Rumble family's dream of buying their first home turns into a nightmare when Florida's most elusive hacker, "The Chameleon", steals their life savings. But this hacker messed with the wrong family. The bank fails them. The police can't help. Furious and desperate, they plot a revenge-fueled take down of the hacker, determined to make him pay for every life he's destroyed. What started as a financial tragedy soon spirals into a fast-paced, darkly comedic adventure to reclaim their money-and their dignity. Revenge has never been this much fun! 
 

I was invited to watch an early screener of the comedy/horror Hacked: A Double Entendre Of Rage Fueled Karma

In watching it, I was more repulsed than amused, but I know some people are into that.

Mark and Amy Rumble are in the process of buying their very first home when they accidentally wire their entire life savings to a hacker while mistakenly thinking they are making a deposit on a house.

Together, they and their sons set out to get revenge in this far-fetched, over the top comedy where even Santa Claus gets in on the action. When they manage to catch up to the hacker that law enforcement has failed to capture for years, the torture begins.

If you enjoy gross-out comedy and are amused by bodily functions and outlandish situations, this might be for you. Should you decide to watch it, I would love it if you come back here and let me know what, if any double entendre you discovered, because I just don't see it or know why they added it to the title.

Watch the trailer here

The film stars The Walking Dead alum Chandler Riggs, Owen Atlas (Little Evil), Collin Thompson, Richard Riehle (Office Space), Katelyn Nacon (The Walking Dead), Shane Brady (Breathing Happy), and NHL Hall of Famer and Founder of the Tampa Bay Lightning Phil Esposito. Based on true events that happened to Director Shane Brady and Producer Emily Zercher.

The Girl in Green by Staci Layne Wilson

 She is ten years old. She loves storybooks, puppies, and murder.

Her mother knows. She has always known. And still she runs with her, steals for her, looks the other way—because she is her little girl. Because somewhere beneath those flat, patient eyes is the child she once rocked to sleep.

Isn’t she?

In the gritty, pre-everything America of the early 1980s, a mother and daughter are leaving a quiet trail of bodies across state lines. When a dangerous man steps into their orbit and the police close in from behind, the mother faces the question she has spent a decade outrunning.

What is she raising? What has she always been raising? And what happens when her daughter decides she’s better off alone?

The Girl in Green is a razor-edged psychological thriller that lives in the space between devotion and horror. Because the most terrifying thing about a monster isn’t what it does. It’s how much you love it.

 Set in the 1980s, Beth and Amy are a mother-daughter duo on the run from police. The headlines are filled with the violent crimes of what the media has dubbed Kid Vicious and Bonnie Rotten. Not since the Bad Seed has a little girl been so cold and manipulative. Amy seems to have no human emotion whatsoever, but she has learned how to mimic them to get what she wants. Victims never see her switchblade coming until it's too late.

Beth knows there's something wrong with Amy, but instead of trying to seek help for her, she becomes an accomplice. Constantly on the move from one seedy hovel to the next, this is the only life they have known since Amy was born.

The backstory of Beth's childhood and the events leading up to her becoming a pregnant runaway were just as disturbing as her present situation of being the mother of a 10-year-old serial killer. Amy seems completely devoid of humanity and filled with pure evil.

I do need to warn you that there is animal cruelty in this book. I am unable to tell you how graphic it is because when I reached that part, I skipped ahead several pages. I can't handle reading about any kind of animal cruelty or torture, and if it had happened earlier in the book, it would have landed in my DNF pile, but I was several chapters in, so proceed with caution. This book is dark, gritty, and in your face harsh.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing/Sinister Smile Press for the e-ARC

Get a copy

About the author