Cricket Hunters by Jeremy Hepler

Celia (Garcia) Lundy was fifteen in the fall of 1998 when Abby Powell, one of her five friends who called themselves the Cricket Hunters, disappeared without a trace. Cops scoured the central Texas town of Oak Mott searching for Abby. Interviewed everyone. Brought in the Texas Rangers to assist. Three key suspects emerged and were focused on, but no evidence was found. Eventually, the case went cold, and the passage of time buried the truth of Abby Powell’s fate.

Fifteen years later, as the anniversary of Abby’s disappearance approaches, Cel’s life is upended when her husband Parker, also once a Cricket Hunter, goes missing. When bizarre clues surface that point to a link between Parker’s and Abby’s disappearances, Cel is forced to delve back into the past in order to navigate the present. With the help of her abuela, a self-proclaimed bruja, she embarks on a tumultuous journey fraught with confrontation and trickery, spells and spirits, theft and murder, in order to find out what happened to her husband, and why. 


Cricket Hunters takes place on two time lines. It is both a coming of age tale in the late 1990s and a supernatural mystery taking place today.  Back then Cel and Parker were teenaged sweethearts, and part of a close knit group of friends. In the present day the bloom is off the rose and their marriage is quite rocky. After a heated argument with Cel, Parker disappears. Cel doesn't know if it's because of his philandering ways or if it is something to do with an unresolved incident in their past. The interpersonal relationships between the characters in the past and the way it shaped their adult selves is quite realistic and believable. In my opinion this is the author's best work to date and that is saying something considering his previous work is quite good. The ending left me awe struck.
5 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy for review.
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About the author

Jeremy Hepler is the Bram Stoker-nominated author of CRICKET HUNTERS, THE BOULEVARD MONSTER, and numerous short stories and nonfiction articles. He received the Texas Panhandle Professional Writer’s Short Story Award in 2014, and his debut novel was a Bram Stoker Award finalist in the Superior Achievement in a First Novel category in 2017. He lives in central Texas with his wife and son and is currently working on his next novel. For more information, you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and Amazon.

The Other Side of the Mirror by Lex Jones

Carl Duggan has worked as a Detective in the city for a long time. The kind of long where you’ve seen everything, and seen it twice. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise to him when a pregnant nineteen-year-old girl washes up on the banks of the Styx.
But something about this one is different, and before Carl gets any answers, two more bodies join the pile - a corrupt Judge and a big-shot lawyer.
Carl’s gut tells him there’s a connection. There are the little things, the tiny details that others would ignore.
The bodies keep on coming, then a second case rears its head: three young men with nothing in common except their sexuality, each murdered in their own home.
Gaining little assistance from his fellow officers, Carl goes it alone into the darker regions of the City. Along the way, he makes acquaintances and enemies of the City’s more colorful residents, including the beautiful sister of the first dead girl, a Catholic hit-man dubbed ‘His Holiness’, and a shady casino owner named Dice.
The closer he gets to the truth, the more Carl’s life is put in danger, forcing him to move further and further away from the rule of law. Never once does he suspect that the two cases are so intimately linked, or that the truth could be so close to home.


A stew of seamy characters come to a boil and overflow the pages in this dark and gritty crime thriller.
This is a mesmerizing story in which a hard boiled cop and a religious hit man hold an uneasy alliance.  Carl Duggan is a tough as nails detective who won't think twice about shooting someone if he feels they deserve it but his sharp edges and brutish nature can't always hide the fact that he does have a heart. Greed and poverty can both be motivators for grisly crimes sometimes with more gruesome consequences than intended. Crooked cops, prostitutes and gangs litter the town. I loved these larger than life characters and the action barely left me time to catch my breath.
5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Lex Jones was born and raised in Sheffield, north England, in 1985. A keen writer from a young age, he was always fascinated with the supernatural and is obsessed with stories. He loves films, books, theatre, videogames, graphic novels, anything with a good story that captures the imagination. His books tend to have a supernatural (or at least 'unusual') undercurrent, as this moves them away from the more boring aspects of real life.

Date Night by Samantha Hayes

Returning early from a disastrous date night with my husband, I know something is wrong the moment the wheels crunch the gravel drive of our home. Inside, the TV is on and a half-eaten meal waits on the table. My heart stops when I find our little girl is alone in the house and our babysitter, Sasha, is missing…

Days later, when I’m arrested for Sasha’s murder and torn away from my perfect little family, I’ll wish I had told someone about the threatening note I received that morning.

I’ll hate myself for not finding out who the gift hidden inside my husband’s wardrobe was for.

I’ll scream from the rooftops that I’m innocent – but no one will listen.

I will realise I was completely wrong about everything that happened that night…

But will you believe me?


One morning, out of the blue, Libby finds a note on her car that says her husband is having an affair. She debates with herself and a friend over whether or not to confront him. Eventually she decides to ask him about it. His answers or should I say non-answers certainly did not satisfy me or seem to placate Libby. For some reason this leads to their "date night" which oddly for this couple is not a usual occurrence, and is somehow meant to patch things up between them. During their evening out someone is blowing up his phone with texts and calls that he never accepts. Now for me, this is odd behavior and although there should be trust in a marriage there is also such a thing as not burying your head in the sand. Libby does ask who keeps calling but he doesn't tell her and she never actually looks at the phone until after he heads off to the men's room to delete the call history. It's hard for me to imagine any wife letting that happen.
I hate to be the only one who didn't fall madly in love with this book but for me it seemed to be a long and winding road that dragged on a bit longer than necessary. You may enjoy it more than I did if you like lengthy drawn out  reveals.
3 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

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At Daddy's Hands by Jacob Paul Patchen

In public, Jim Handler is a well-respected, small-town hero, and homicide detective who solved the case of the Will’s Creek Massacre. But at home, in the shadows, Jim’s childhood demons come alive to feast upon his family in the form of sexual, physical, and mental abuse.

But his three teenage children have had enough. They have devised a plan for redemption.

Empowered by the legal system’s lack of accountability, a judge who offers a quiet and meager plea deal to save face, Jim feels enabled to do whatever he wants to his family. With no one to keep Jim in check, this cycle of sexual and physical abuse is rampant. It is up to Nikki, Tyler, and Ally to end the evil that is devouring the Handler family.



After years of abuse, and being failed by the system, one family takes matters into their own hands.
I want to say this book was unbelievable, but sadly, living in a time when just a month ago, a judge  admonished lawyers for not telling a rape victim she might ruin her rapists life by pressing charges and suggesting that since the rapist comes from a "good family" he should not have to face consequences makes this story feel all too real. Jim Handler, husband, father, hero, pedophile can do no wrong. The town loves him, his fellow cops love him, even his victims love him and hope that one day he will change.
Although a work of fiction I have no doubt that somewhere this story happens every day.


I received an advance copy for review.

About the author
Jacob Graham, writing as Jacob Paul Patchen, was born and raised outside of Byesville, Ohio where he spent his youth tormenting babysitters and hiding in trees. Jacob earns his inspiration through experience. Using a unique voice of wit, grit, and raw, untamed honesty, he writes about social issues, such as, family, love, humor, learning, and war. Jacob is a 5-star author, award winning poet, inspiring blogger, and combat veteran.

Jacob considers his time as a United States Marine as a major turning point in his life. Deployed to Iraq as a Rifleman in 2005, Jacob learned quickly to appreciate and love the little things that life has to offer. With a deep understanding and admiration for having a purpose in life, Jacob decided to live his life in honor of those that never made it back home by following his dreams, getting the most out of life, and encouraging good intentions.

Patchen took his pen name from his grandfather, who was blessed with four amazing daughters but no son Jacob wanted to carry on the family name and honor his grandparents who were such a prominent pillar of love, support, and knowledge. Readers will see that the importance of this foundation is at the heart of Patchen’s writing. Jacob’s roots are buried is rural poetry, where he started writing, at the age of 12, about nature, love, and his own experiences using a confessional tone.

Jacob believes that his writing career began on the day that he decided to quit an oil and gas job in order to finish his first book, Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop. Jacob has worked in several job fields, including: excavating for his father’s company, evening manager at a bowling alley, bartender, youth case manager at a behavioral health facility, marketing, and has even started his own handyman business. But none has given him purpose and satisfaction quite like writing has.

He has been published in several literary journals, including New Millennium Writings, Into the Void Magazine, The Deadly Writers Patrol, and Lost Lake Folk Opera Magazine. He has also been selected as a finalist in many poetry competitions.

Books by Jacob Paul Patchen:

Poetry
Of Love and War (Adelaide Books, 2018)

Fiction
At Daddy’s Hands (YA Thriller/Suspense – Black Rose Writing, September 2019)
Sheltered: When a Boy Becomes a Legend (Middle Grade Action/Adventure, 2020)

Children’s
Words That Matter (10 book series, TouchPoint Press, 2019)

Creative Nonfiction
Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop (CreateSpace, 2015)
Talking S. H. I. T. (Social, Humorous and Inspirational Thoughts) (CreateSpace, 2017)

He also writes a social and humor blog at Jacobpaulpatchen.com, and is active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Corporate Wolf by Stuart R. West

If you can't run with the big dogs…rip 'em to shreds.

It was supposed to be a corporate retreat and a series of morale-boosting exercises. It was a weekend Shawn Biltmore nearly didn't survive.
There was something else playing in the woods that night, something other than a bunch of corporate drones with paintball guns.

And it had chosen Shawn as its new chew toy.

The local authorities chalked it up to a bear attack.
So did the doctors.

Shawn knew the truth, however, as much as he wanted to deny it.
But when one of his coworkers is viciously killed, Shawn must face the truth…
He's a killer who needs to be put down.

Or is he?  

 Shawn Biltmore, junior executive at the Lerner Corporation spends his days working his boring job and most nights getting drunk at the bar with his only friend Redmond, a rather repulsive character who is also a junior executive at the same company. It is in this usual state of drunkenness that Shawn becomes separated from Redmond on a team building exercise in the woods. The next thing he knows, he is waking up in a hospital, being told that he has been in a coma after a bear attack. Shawn knows it was nothing so ordinary that attacked him in those woods and not long after he begins to feel the changes in himself one of his annoying coworkers is found dead.
I didn't really feel connected to or invested in any of these characters. I'm not sure if Shawn's clumsy attempts to date his nurse and a coworker were meant to be endearing or humorous. The only enjoyment I got from this story came from the werewolf attacks which were suspenseful, vivid, and frightening. Also, it taught me that goat yoga is an actual thing.

I received a complimentary copy for review.



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About the author
Stuart R. West is a lifelong resident of Kansas, which he considers both a curse and a blessing. It's a curse because...well, it's Kansas. But it's great because…well, it’s Kansas. Lots of cool, strange and creepy things happen in the Midwest, and Stuart takes advantage of them in his books. Call it “Kansas Noir.” Stuart writes thrillers, horror and mysteries usually tinged with humor, both for adult and young adult audiences.

Stuart spent 25 years in the corporate sector and now writes full time. He’s married to a professor of pharmacy (who greatly appreciates the fact he cooks dinner for her every night) and has a 25 year old daughter who’s dabbling in the nefarious world of banking.

To be one of the cool kids on the block, subscribe to the Stuart R. West-Worlds newsletter for upcoming book info, free stuff, and absolutely no recipes: http://eepurl.com/c34zpv.

If you're still reading this, you may as well head on over to Stuart's blog at: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.com/  

Silence in the Woods by J P Choquette

What Castle Rock does for Maine, Monsters in the Green Mountains does for Vermont.In 1917, four friends and photojournalists set out in the woods looking for answers. Why have so many hikers and hunters gone missing in the area of Shiny Creek Trail?

The two couples anticipate a great adventure, one they'll tell their kids about someday. No one imagines the evil lurking in a remote cave. A horrifying discovery leaves one person dead and two others missing.

Two months later, Paul, one of the four, returns to the forest to find his wife. But will he find her before someone-or something-finds him?

Silence in the Woods is the long-awaited prequel to Shadow in the Woods, and delves into the frightening territory of the supernatural and the human mind.

Readers of books by authors like H.P. Lovecraft and John Saul will enjoy this twisty-turning, supernatural survival story set in the remote wilderness. Occult horror fans looking for an edge-of-your-seat suspense minus most of the gore will find a perfect fit with the first book in the "Monsters in the Green Mountains," series.

What is real and what is folklore? Are monsters like Bigfoot still alive in the deepest areas of Vermont's Green Mountains, or just characters in stories told around the campfire? Folk legends come to life in this heart rate-accelerating suspense mystery novel by J.P. Choquette.  


Two married couples who are also best friends venture deep into the woods in hopes of discovering why so many hikers have gone missing in this area. Not all of them will live to share the answer. There is a deliciously creepy atmosphere that hangs over this quartet almost immediately. Although they are all the best of friends Paul's wife Jane sometimes feels that she is an outsider since the trio of pals share a profession and were already friends before she and Paul became a couple. What none of them know is that there is more to fear than just the possibility of running into a legendary beast in the wilderness. There is something evil that whispers in the caves. Something that can infect the mind and twist petty resentments into madness. This was an eerie and suspenseful read.

5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.

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The Shapes Of Midnight by Joseph Payne Brennan

Description

"Joseph Payne Brennan is one of the most effective writers in the horror genre, and he is certainly one of the writers I have patterned my own career upon," declared Stephen King. "In fact," he added, "The Shapes of Midnight could serve as an exercise-book for the young writer who aspires to pen and publish his or her own weird tales."
A poet as well as a writer of horror fiction, Brennan worked at Yale's Sterling Memorial Library as an acquisitions assistant for over 40 years. He wrote hundreds of stories for Weird Tales and other pulp magazines. This new edition of his increasingly rare compilation, The Shapes of Midnight, presents 10 of his best stories.
Selections include "Diary of a Werewolf," a first-person account of bloody sprees; "The Corpse of Charlie Rull," recounting the rampage of a radioactive zombie; "The Pavilion," which unfolds at an abandoned seaside haunt with something ghastly beneath its pilings; "House of Memory," a wistful look at the past's imaginative grip; "The Willow Platform," featuring the machinations of a self-styled warlock; and other chillingly memorable tales.

This was a short but fun anthology featuring stories of madness, sorrowful memories, and murder.
My favorites were Diary of a Werewolf in which a recovering drug addict begins to feel a strong compulsion to run wild in the woods, and Pavilion in which a murderer returns to the scene of his crime. The rest were just ok reads for me, though others may enjoy them more than I did. If you are into short horror stories give this one a read.

I received a complimentary copy for review.



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About the author
Joseph Payne Brennan was an American writer of fantasy and horror fiction, and also a poet. Brennan's first professional sale came in December 1940 with the publication of the poem, "When Snow Is Hung", which appeared in the Christian Science Monitor Home Forum, and he continued writing poetry up until the time of his death.

He is the father of Noel-Anne Brennan who has published several fantasy novels.

Pieces by Rebecca Rowland and Michael Aloisi

 Thirty boxes. Thirty body parts. Eighteen turned in to authorities.A forensic technician from a quiet Massachusetts suburb does the unthinkable: stalks a local woman, abducts her, divides her body into thirty pieces, and mails the sections to random Americans across the country. Each white postal box that Dennis Sweeney prepares contains an ambiguous note and a piece of Julie Piedmont. Most of Sweeney’s intended recipients contact the authorities about their gruesome packages, but twelve of the parcels go unreported. Pieces, the genre-bending hybrid of crime thriller infused with a short-story vibe, takes a closer look at the body parts that were never recovered and the possible reasons why their recipients never told anyone about their grotesque discoveries. Weaving the accounts together is Dennis’ story as well as Jackson Matthews’, the reporter to whom Dennis chooses to document his sick game.

 

I just finished this book and I am not even sure how to adequately review it. I am imagining someone else describing it to me and had they told me that there were so many characters my first thought would be this may not work for me. Just as too many cooks spoil the soup, too many characters can make a plot hard to follow. Yet that is not at all the case with Pieces, even though there are so many characters with their own story lines they are all brilliant offshoots of the main plot.

Jax is reporter who is unhappy in his job and dreams of giving it up to pursue his art full time. Just as this dream comes closer to fruition he receives a body part of a murder victim from someone claiming to be his number one fan. Included is a demand that he write the story of a lifetime to propel himself back to award winning journalism. Dennis Sweeny is a twisted individual. I don't think there has been a boy with such an odd relationship with his mom since Psycho. Though he gives a reason for sending a body part to his favorite journalist, his reasons for choosing the other recipients of human remains are less clear. Most people report their deliveries to the authorities, but my favorite parts of the book revolve around the remarkable characters who don't report their packages. I would recommend this book for any fan of horror or psychological thrillers.

5 out of 5 stars

 

I received a complimentary copy for review.

 

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About the authors

Rebecca Rowland grew up in Western Massachusetts but spent much of her early adult life in the Boston area. She has taught high school English, worked as a librarian, and freelanced as a copy-editor for graduate students, publishing houses, a celebrity's blog, and a large city union. Her first published work of length was a ghostwritten memoir of a former victims' rights advocate.

She is a proud member of both the American Library Association and the Horror Writers Association, sincerely appreciates sharp satire, quick wit, and well-written psychological horror, and lists her literary influences as Flannery O'Connor, A.M. Homes, and Chuck Palahniuk. Despite her infatuation with the ocean and unwavering distaste for icy weather, she has made a home with her family in a land-locked city of New England.
Visit RowlandBooks.com for more information.

 

Michael Aloisi, known to his fans as AuthorMike, is the author of seven books, including a number one bestseller. He has done book tours in over five countries and twenty states, sold movie/television rights, starred in his own web series, been featured in documentaries and had his books featured in over one hundred media outlets around the world. Mike has an MFA in Writing and currently he lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

Visit: AuthorMike.com to learn more about his books and other projects 

Violet by Scott Thomas

In the lineage of Peter Straub's Julia, Scott Thomas’ Violet is the disturbing tale of a woman haunted by her long-abandoned imaginary friend.

For many children, the summer of 1988 was filled with sunshine and laughter. But for ten-year-old Kris Barlow, it was her chance to say goodbye to her dying mother.

Three decades later, loss returns—her husband killed in a car accident. And so, Kris goes home to the place where she first knew pain—to that summer house overlooking the crystal waters of Lost Lake. It’s there that Kris and her eight-year-old daughter will make a stand against grief.

But a shadow has fallen over the quiet lake town of Pacington, Kansas. Beneath its surface, an evil has grown—and inside that home where Kris Barlow last saw her mother, an old friend awaits her return.


Many years ago Kris lost her mother to cancer while at their family lake house. Yet she remembers the lake house as a place of comfort. It is for that reason that she packs up her daughter Sadie and heads out to this long abandoned home in hopes of helping Sadie recover from the recent loss of her father. Time may have colored Kris's memories because they are far more cloudy than the waters of the crystal clear lake.
I picked up this book not only because of the description but because I loved the author's previous work "Kill Creek." After reading Violet I can now say that Scott Thomas is on my list of must read authors. Violet took me to a place of great emotional turmoil. It is a story of love and loss, and much of the first half focuses on the way our own minds try to deal with traumatic events. Gradually this story moves from unnerving to frightening as Kris Barlow remembers her past through her daughter's eyes. There is something at the lake house that Kris has forgotten, but it remembers her, and has been waiting for her return.
5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.
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About the author
Scott Thomas is the Stoker-nominated author of Kill Creek, which was selected by the American Library Association's reader committee as the top horror book of 2017. Originally from Coffeyville, Kansas, Scott attended the University of Kansas where he earned degrees in English and Film. He has written TV movies and teleplays for various networks including Netflix, Syfy, MTV, VH1, the CW, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and ABC family. Scott was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his work on R.L. Stein's The Haunting Hour. He lives in Sherman Oaks, California with his wife and two daughters.