Dig by J.H. Markert

 

Eight years ago, a boy took up an axe and slaughtered a dozen people. That odd, troubled boy, Jericho Dodd, has been dead and buried in his father’s yard for years, but ever since that massacre, Crow Island has been a dark and unsettling place.

When Jericho’s father begins digging up the past he buried, a compulsion to dig sweeps over the island and soon everyone else is obsessively churning up dirt, desperate to uncover buried secrets. The compulsion leads to violence and as neighbors turn against each other, the island’s famous tupelo honey, harvested from trees deep in a swamp, changes too.

As dread and paranoia seep up from the ground, it becomes clear that the island itself needs something from its residents–before it digs itself apart for good.

Be careful what you unearth from the dirt before this surreal horror novel can worm its way into you, too.

Dig is small town horror, but on an isolated island with only one helicopter and a ferry as a means to escape should the need arise, and of course it does. The island is abundant with wildlife, fish and produce that grows bigger and better than anywhere else, and most of all the sweetest, purest tupelo honey.

Crow Island has had more than its share of tragedy. Eight years ago a young boy took an axe and murdered a dozen people. This was not the first massacre on the island and will not be the last.

This is a story full of larger-than-life characters and an otherworldly mystery that pulled me in from the start. The island is ripe with past trauma and folklore. Specifically, the Gullah-Geechee folklore of the Boo Hags, ominous creatures much like vampires that drain you not of blood but of your very life essence through stealing your breath while you sleep. Supernatural beings like this are why I never trust movies where someone says they will stay until you fall asleep. What good are they then? Sleep is when you are vulnerable!
You will want to set aside enough time to read this one because once you "dig" in, you won't want to stop until the end.

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the e-ARC

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Alphabet of Oddities: A Gothic Bestiary by Ronald Porcelli

Jump down the rabbit hole into the world of artist Ronald Porcelli—terribly twisted, delightfully dark, and frightsomely filled with an alphabet of oddities, creepy creatures, and macabre folklore.

A is for Adzooks that walk with no head.

B is for Boo-zoins that feed on the dead.

C is for Crackings—sweet, they just look gruff.

In Ronald Porcelli’s Alphabet of Oddities, haunting rhymes and frightsome black-and-white illustrations reveal a ghastly world of legendary creatures. With F for Fxchopxtinks, L for Loomis, and X for XyLongs, this ABC book brings macabre folklore and fantasy art together in a collectible package.

Wrapped in ornate foiled patterns with black page edges, this gothic bestiary is a luxurious gift that will send chills down your spine, perfect for Halloween, fans of creepy creatures, collectors of unusual curiosities, and anyone who loves delightfully dark fantasy.

But beware! You might find that some of these monsters are best left in the shadows.

This is a gorgeous illustrated poem. Think Dr. Suess on the more macabre side. The rhymes are fun for all ages, and the black and white illustrations bring them to life. I read an e-ARC but I imagine the foiled patterns and black-edged pages would make it beautiful to display on a shelf or coffee table. Each imaginative and creepy creature has its own illustration and rhyme.

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Palmetto Boy by D.A. Jobe

She thought she’d escaped the monster that tormented her family decades ago…

Alane is determined to give her 12-year-old son, Ray the stable childhood she didn’t have. After moving into a new apartment, Alane works two jobs to make ends meet, leaving Ray alone in the evenings. Ray loves his new independence, but soon that love turns to fear as he begins to hear strange sounds from the attic crawl space. Doors slam where there aren’t any. Something is chewing a hole in his bedroom ceiling.

Long-buried memories of an old family tale surface, a monster Alane and her little brother called Palmetto Boy. Alane must confront the creature that has haunted her for years and destroy it for good—before it rips away her son and the future she’s fighting to build.

Palmetto Boy is a novel about the inescapable legacy of family folklore and the risks we take to keep those we love safe.

 

Alane has separated from her husband and moved with her 12-year-old son, Ray, into a small but cozy apartment owned by the parents of a friend. Alane doesn't take much with her, but she does bring the burden of childhood trauma. It is part of the reason for her separation, and the entirety of the reason that she takes the doors off the hinges in her new home. 

She works days as a substitute teacher and some nights serving food for a caterer, which leaves Ray alone more often than she would like and still leaves her struggling to make ends meet. Ray doesn't mind being alone at first, until the scratching noises start and something chews a hole in his bedroom ceiling.

I'm sure you've heard the proverb that time heals all wounds. You probably know that's a useless and dismissive expression. Sometimes things happen that we can never get over. Alane's unresolved trauma contributed to the breakdown of her marriage, and now it is coming for her son. Time has not healed Alane; it has allowed her trauma to fester and grow into something monstrous.

I loved this book! I cared about these characters, and as the creepy happenings escalate, and a storm begins to brew, I never knew which danger had me more worried. The eerie atmosphere and the mystery of what really happened in Alane's childhood home had me barreling through the pages at all hours of the night to get to the end.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Timber Ghost Press for the e-ARC

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Crossroads, Inc by Andrew Adams

 When Crossroads, Inc—a life insurance company offering cash advances on policies—arrives in town, it brings something Glanton hasn’t seen in hope.

Young Hannah Cassady and her seven siblings visit Crossroads to collect on their life insurance advancements for the family’s mounting bills, discovering the company intends to collect big returns on its investments—with severed body parts for the money.

How much is too much for free money? What’s the true cost of a better quality of life?

Thirteen-year-old Hannah Cassady has known poverty all of her short life. Living with her seven older siblings and her mother, their squalid little home in the town of Glanton is crowded even without the father, who left one day and never came home. When she begins seeing commercials on TV for Crossroads Inc, a company that purports to give cash advances to make life easier, her siblings think it's worth checking out. 

Hannah and her mother both know it's too good to be true. When her brother decides to check it out for himself, Hannah follows to make sure he is safe. What she witnesses at Crossroads confirms her suspicions, and it's worse than she thought. When kids start showing up to school with missing fingers, Hannah knows true evil has come to her town.

Crossroads, Inc is a dystopian novel about desperation, addiction, poverty, and how the rich get richer off the backs of the poor. Only the gore separates it from much of what is happening in the world today. The people of Glanton are much like the people in any poverty-stricken town. They live in run-down homes, subsist on hand-me-downs and meager meals, lack access to clean water, breathe polluted air, and want better for their children. To me, that is the scariest part of this book, characters that feel so genuine make the plot seem that much less far-fetched.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications.

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