Jack-In-The-Box by William W. Johnstone

Description

Angelic Child
She was a beautiful child, a perfect child. With her blonde hair and baby doll prettiness, she was the picture of angelic innocence. Phillip Baxter pushed aside his uneasiness about his strangely self-possessed daughter. She was just an ordinary kid. And, to his relief, she did act like an ordinary kid when he brought home a special present just for her . . .

Devil's Toy
Alone in her room, Nora couldn't wait to open the antique jack-in-the-box. She couldn't wait to watch the hand-carved clown's head bob back and forth, its glass eyes staring at her, its lips drawn back into an insane grin. Any other little girl might have cringed in horror. But as Nora's wide eyes mirrored the grotesque wooden face, her pink lips were curving into the same malicious smile .

 

 

Nora Baxter is not your typical little girl. It's because of Nora that the Baxter family can't hold on to housekeepers or babysitters. Other children don't like her much either. She has no friends, not that she wants any. Things get broken around Nora, accidents happen, property gets damaged and things (and people) tend to die around her too.

Nora's father sees through her lies and manipulative behavior but her mother prefers to bury her head in the sand. Throw in some Nazis, satanic worship, an evil Jack in the box and a priest, and you've got the perfect storm.

 

This is classic 80s horror that is being re-released and I am thrilled to see it find a new home on kindle for a new generation of horror lovers. William W. Johnstone was a force to be reckoned with when it came to horror in the 80s. I do remember reading this book in paperback decades ago and it after re-reading on kindle I can say it stands the test of time.  5 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review

A Time of Torment (A Charlie Parker Thriller) by John Connolly

Description

Dangerous and driven private investigator Charlie Parker returns in the latest gripping thriller of internationally bestselling author John Connolly’s series, in which ungodly fears haunt a strange and isolated community.

Jerome Burnel was once a hero. He intervened to prevent multiple killings, and in doing so destroyed himself. His life was torn apart. He was imprisoned, brutalized.

But in his final days, with the hunters circling, he tells his story to private detective Charlie Parker. He speaks of the girl who was marked for death, but was saved; of the ones who tormented him, and an entity that hides in a ruined stockade.

Parker is not like other men. He died, and was reborn. He is ready to wage war.

Now he will descend upon a strange, isolated community called the Cut, and face down a force of men who rule by terror, intimidation, and murder.

All in the name of the being they serve. All in the name of the Dead King.

 

 

I came into this series totally blind. I received an invitation from the publisher to read it, and the description sounded the type of book I enjoy. I am not sure my review can do it justice considering it is book # 14 in a series and I have not read the first 13. In a way the story stands on it's own. In book 14 Charlie Parker tracks down those who tormented Jerome Burnel, who has just been released from prison. This leads him to a group of seriously creepy people known as the Cut.

John Connelly is an incredible story teller. I loved the suspense and the supernatural aspects. I can just tell there are key points I may be missing out on that must have been addressed earlier in the series.

 I am sure fans of the series will enjoy it, and I plan to look into the earlier books 5 stars from me.

 

I received an advance copy for review

Mirror Image by Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose

Description

"A mirror that feeds on human souls wreaks destruction on those around it in Mirror Image, the new novel from internationally bestselling author Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose.
In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. For centuries, the mirror has fed off of the lives of humans, giving them agonizing deaths and sucking their souls into its hellish world.
When Jonathan Frazer, the wealthy owner of a furniture and antiques shop in Los Angeles, buys the mirror at an auction, he believes he is getting the bargain of a lifetime. With its age and size, it is easily worth eight times what he paid for it. At this point, the mirror has sat dormant for years. But within days of Jonathan's purchase, the deaths begin again. One employee is crushed when the mirror falls on top of him. A few days later, the corpse of another is found in front of the mirror, brutally stabbed. A third is burned beyond all recognition. All the while, an enormous man with a scarred face is following Jonathan, demanding that he give him the mirror and killing any police officer that gets in his way.
The police are becoming desperate. As the death toll rises, Jonathan himself becomes a suspect. He knows there is something wrong with the mirror. He knows it's dangerous. But he cannot bring himself to get rid of it. Everyday he becomes more captivated by the mirror.
For the mirror is awakening, and its powers are resurfacing."

Mirrors have played a predominant role in horror movies, books, and nightmares. For as long as mirrors have existed, so have superstitions about them. From 7 years bad luck for breaking a mirror, to stealing your soul. From not reflecting vampires because they have no soul, to being a portal to otherworldly dimensions. I have always been fascinated by such stories and so I jumped at the chance to read Mirror Image. This is the story of an antique mirror and the ancient evil secrets it holds.
Johnathan Frazer, a family man, unhappy in his marriage, just knew he had to have this mirror as soon as he saw it. Perhaps the mirror also knew that it just had to have Johnathan! Oddly, he happens to be the only bidder on this mirror at auction and thinks he is getting a fantastic deal. He no sooner has it delivered when the gruesome and grisly deaths begin. Johnathan knows there is something evil about this mirror but as it begins to exert it's power over him his will to get rid of it grows ever weaker, and the danger to Johnathan and his family heightens as the mirror grows stronger. 5 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review

The Many by Nathan Field

Description

"Karl notices something odd about his sister the morning after a blind date. A coldness in her manner; nothing anyone else would notice. Suspicious, he confronts her about the date but she turns nasty, accusing him of taking a perverse interest in her sex life.

When he next sees her, months later, she seems back to normal, until a harmless comment provokes a sudden, violent response. As her mental state fluctuates, Karl seeks out the man she dated just before her personality began to change, convinced she is suppressing a painful memory from that night. But what he discovers is something far more sinister, and pervasive, than he'd ever imagined."

 

 

 

This was a fast paced, suspenseful story that straddled the line between psychological thriller, and horror. Fans of either genre should enjoy this book.

Karl is having difficulty finding work, and so is staying for the time being with his older sister Stacey. All is well between the siblings until Stacey goes out on a blind date with a man she met on the internet. At first the changes in her are just a bit odd, but that quickly escalates to outright inappropriate and then violent behavior.  Desperate to help his sister, Karl does everything in his power to find out what occurred on this date, and discovers that his sister is not the only one this has happened to. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

 

I received a complimentary copy for review

 

 

The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea

Description

“Old school horror.” —Jonathan Maberry

THE LEGEND LIVES
Everyone knows the legend of the Jersey Devil. Some believe it is an abomination of nature, a hybrid winged beast from hell that stalks the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey searching for prey. Others believe it is a hoax, a campfire story designed to scare children. But one man knows the truth . . .

THE DEVIL AWAKES
Sixty years ago, Boompa Willet came face to face with the Devil—and lived to tell the tale. Now, the creature's stomping grounds are alive once again with strange sightings, disappearances, and worse. After all these years, Boompa must return to the Barrens, not to prove the legend is real but to wipe it off the face of the earth . . .

THE BEAST MUST DIE
It'll take more than just courage to defeat the Devil. It will take four generations of the Willet clan, a lifetime of survivalist training, and all the firepower they can carry. But timing is critical. A summer music festival has attracted crowds of teenagers. The woods are filled with tender young prey. But this time, the Devil is not alone. The evil has grown into an unholy horde of mutant monstrosities. And hell has come home to New Jersey . . .

Raves for The Montauk Monster

“A lot of splattery fun.”—Publishers Weekly

“Frightening, gripping.”—Night Owl Reviews

 

This was a great read that reminded me so much of the classic 80s horror I grew up with. There's toxic sludge, a cursed family, creepy woods, and of course blood and gore,  The action starts right away and almost never lets up. There is so much going on besides the  "unholy horde of mutant monstrosities." There's a multitude of complex characters with their own back stories going on.

4 out of 5 stars from me.

 

I received an advance copy for review.

The Sugar Men by Ray Kingfisher

Description
Susannah Morgan has been settled in sleepy North Carolina for almost sixty-five years, but is still haunted by memories of her escape from the holocaust as a child.

For most of her life the flashbacks have been a lonely obsession - one she has managed to hide from her children.

But as her life draws to a close her memories start asking questions, and the only way she can find answers is to return to the scene of the unspeakable crime.

Against the wishes of her children she flies back to Germany to find her truth. What she discovers there explains so much about who she is, who her children are, and how the wretched legacy of the holocaust is wide and deep and persistent.

The Sugar Men is the novel based on the short story: The Lucky One.

Near the end of her days, a terminally ill holocaust survivor travels back to Germany to lay to rest the memories that have haunted her life. Susannah was a teenager when the war ended and the British soldiers shut down the prison camp. Although she was free those memories and nightmares have tortured her for 65 years. They have become part of her very being and she can not let go of a past that is embedded in her soul and effected every aspect of her life from her shopping habits to her marriage, to the way she has raised her children. This was a heart wrenching read. Have tissues near by. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review

Breaking and Holding by Judy Fogarty

Description
For Patricia Curren, the summer of 1978 begins with a devastating discovery: an unfamiliar black pearl button in the bed she shares with her controlling husband, Jack. Seeking the courage to end her desolate marriage, Patricia spends a quiet summer alone on beautiful Kiawah Island. But when she meets Terry Sloan, a collegiate tennis player trying to go pro, their physical attraction sparks a slow burn toward obsession.

Once Patricia and Terry share closely guarded secrets from their pasts, they want more than a summer together. But their love soon fractures, as a potential sponsor takes an unusually keen interest in Terry—both on court and off. And when single, career-driven Lynn Hewitt arrives, other secrets must surface, including the one Patricia has kept from Terry all summer.

An intimate portrait of the folly of the human heart, Breaking and Holding explores buried truths that are startlingly unveiled. What’s left in their wake has the power not only to shatter lives…but to redeem them.

Tricia is a young woman with a tragic past, married to a much older man. She may have loved him in the beginning, but with a child like innocence of one who has never really experienced friendships or relationships. Her husband Jack is a manipulative control freak who takes advantage of her pliable nature to keep her under his thumb. After discovering proof of Jack's infidelity Tricia finds the courage to spend a summer away from him at their beach house where she finds romance and her true self.This is a story of dysfunctional marriage, friendship and betrayal.
I enjoyed the setting, in the 70s with references to popular music and fashion of the day. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review

Dark Quarry: A Mike Angel Mystery by David H. Fears

Description
Lust stalks Mike Angel as he stalks his father’s killers. The first of the Mike Angel Mysteries of historical, erotic novels. Set in the New York/New Jersey and Chicago areas in 1960. Plenty of action and seduction in this case connected to the infamous Purple Gang of the 1930s.

Burdened by the unsolved murder of his father, a career NYPD lieutenant whose “voice” warns whenever danger is near, 30-year-old Mike Angel is a Korean vet and bored private investigator of insurance fraud. When a wealthy ex-college buddy hires him to tail Joe Ambler, a petty blackmailer, Mike fixates on Kimbra, a stunning beauty who kills the blackmailer with a “lucky shot” from a peewee .22. Mike impulsively helps her dispose of the body and finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

Mike discovers the dead man was the grandson of a feared and legendary mob leader, founder of Detroit’s Purple Gang of the 1920s and 30s. When a well-dressed thug comes looking for Ambler, and the wealthy buddy who hired Mike runs off with Kimbra and is murdered in the Bahamas, Mike is turned around on the case. While searching for Kimbra, Mike stumbles across connections to the Russian-Cuban branch of the ring responsible for a string of unsolved murders in three states. The discovery leads to a chain of events and a frame up. Mike is convicted of murder, and is sent to the federal prison at Trenton. A lustful but single-minded newspaper woman, Heddy McBright, visits him in jail right before a break is planned.

Warning! This is a Noir Novel complete with sarcastic humor back when PC wasn't eroding logic. If you find yourself laughing occasionally, that's okay. It's not a comedy.

A fast paced detective story as told to us through the eyes of hard boiled PI Mike Angel, a likeable character in spite of himself. Not my usual genre but I enjoyed this well written tale, and particularly the main character's sense of humor and his way with words. Lots of action. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries, detective stories, and historical fiction.

Perfect Little Town by Blake Crouch

Description
Ron and Jessica Stahl are a power couple from Southern California, on a Christmas driving holiday in the Colorado mountains.

When they stop for the afternoon in sleepy Lone Cone (Pop. 317), they’re charmed by the quaint tourist town which is filled with B&Bs, candy stores, and gift shops.

But the folksy hospitality will vanish as the sun drops behind the mountains. A winter storm is approaching, and the Stahls couldn’t have picked a worse night of the year to get snowed into this perfect little town with a dark, dark secret.

From the author of DESERT PLACES, ABANDON, and SERIAL UNCUT comes this 12,000-word horror novella, which also contains an interview with Blake, excerpts from all four of his novels, and a bonus excerpt of SERIAL UNCUT.

Perfect on the outside....
But evil at the core. Perfect Little Town is a short story that reminded me somewhat of The Lottery and The Wicker Man. If you aren't familiar with those I suggest you google them or look them up on Amazon as they are both worth your time. This was a quick read, and downright scary. I loved it. 5 out of 5 stars

Love Prevails by Dane Hatchell

Description
Two couples escape their small town during the onslaught of the dead returning to life. Keith and Kara Sims, Steve and Jill Mitchell, seek to find refuge deep in a national forest. Along the way, a clan of survivalists offers them sanctuary in their small village. The group is well armed and has no problem defending themselves against the occasional zombie menace. The couples must make a decision to stay and subject themselves to the laws of the village or continue their trek northward. Which will prove to be the greatest threat to their survival, the living or the undead?
Love Prevails is a novelette inspired by the post-apocalypse of hurricane Katrina

This is a short story of 2 couples trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, who discover that the living can be just as dangerous as the undead. I don't want to give away too much, but I particularly liked the psychological twist of mob mentality. It made me question what it would take to break me, and to make me follow along with the herd. 4 out of 5 stars from me

Little Killers A to Z by Howard Odentz

Description

Bad things come in small packages . . .
EPIC Award finalist Howard Odentz has penned twenty-six disturbingly fascinating horror stories about the youngest predators among us.
From Andy and Boris to Yuri and Zena, this eclectic anthology is filled, A to Z, with psychopaths, monsters, and murderers!
So turn on the lights and huddle under your blankets because murder isn't just for grown-ups anymore. Come meet our gallery of little killers.
After all, they're dying to meet you!
Author and playwright Howard Odentz is a lifelong resident of the gray area between Western Massachusetts and North Central Connecticut. His love of the region is evident in his writing as he often incorporates the foothills of the Berkshires and the small towns of the Bay and Nutmeg states into his work.
5 Stars "a relentless, thrilling ride" - Court Street Literary, on Bloody Bloody Apple.
"Howard Odentz takes this mis-mosh of dysfunctional characters and puts together a wonderful story that is equal parts horror and love." - Scared Stiff Reviews, on Bloody Bloody Apple

These 26 bite sized tales of wonderfully wicked children kept me glued to the pages. From A is for Andy to Z is for Zina who is starving to death in a post apocalyptic world I couldn't put it down. These are not all stories of children who just enjoy killing though some of them do! Some were made that way through circumstance, others learned it from daddy. Each tale is unique.
Some of my favorites were A is for Andy, in which an abused child finds a way to improve his living situation. C is for Cassie in which a girl who needs structure and consistency has her routine disturbed by grandma. F is for Fern, about a girl who loves to kill but also loves her baby sister. K is for Kiernan, in which a boy must fight for his life. M is for Maura about a girl who just wanted some privacy, N is for Nancy which addressed bigotry. I also Loved the story of poor OZ who was shuffled from one specialist to the next to address his real and imagined medical problems. Truly there was not a bad story in the bunch, but those were my absolute favorites. 5 stars from me.

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Apartment by S.L. Grey

Expected publication October 4
Available for preorder at amazon

Description
"Mark and Steph have a relatively happy family with their young daughter in sunny Cape Town until one day when armed men in balaclavas break in to their home. Left traumatized but physically unharmed, Mark and Steph are unable to return to normal and live in constant fear. When a friend suggests a restorative vacation abroad via a popular house swapping website, it sounds like the perfect plan. They find a genial, artistic couple with a charming apartment in Paris who would love to come to Cape Town. Mark and Steph can’t resist the idyllic, light-strewn pictures, and the promise of a romantic getaway. But once they arrive in Paris, they quickly realize that nothing is as advertised. When their perfect holiday takes a violent turn, the cracks in their marriage grow ever wider and dark secrets from Mark's past begin to emerge.

Deftly weaving together two complex and compelling narrators, S. L. Grey builds an intimate and chilling novel of a disintegrating marriage in the wake of a very real trauma. The Apartment is a terrifying and tour-de-force of horror, of psychological thrills, and of haunting suspense."

This story was a little slow to get going, and at first I thought I was going to be disappointed in it. I don't know when I've been so wrong.
When the book begins. the home invasion has already occurred and Mark and Steph are living in the aftermath. They have somewhat grown apart in the marriage, partially due to the break in, and partially because Mark had already faced some traumatic events before the break in ever occurred. The story is told in alternating points of view, switching back and forth between Mark and Steph. They no longer feel comfortable in their own home and do not seem all that comfortable with each other, at least not enough to confide in.
A friend suggests a getaway, but money is tight since Mark is the sole provider and Steph is a stay at home mom to their small daughter.
When an opportunity presents itself to stay in Paris free via a house swap website it sounds like a dream come true. They head off with high hopes that this will be just what they need to reconnect with each other and to put the trauma of the past behind them.
Those hopes are short lived. At this point the story picks up speed from a slow build to an avalanche of terror and suspense. From the minute they arrive there is a feeling that something is just plain wrong. The apartment is not at all what they expected and the building itself appears abandoned, except for a strange woman upstairs who has never heard of the people who supposedly live there, and who tells them this building is "not for living."
Circumstances go from bad to worse and the creepiness factor rises exponentially.
I have been reading adult horror since I was 11 years old and it takes a lot to scare me. S.L. Grey has succeeded in doing just that with The Apartment.
5 out of 5 stars from me
I received an advance copy for review