Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it until graduation. She might not make it to morning.

Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now. 



17 year old Quinn and her dad have packed up what's left of their lives and moved to the small town of Kettle Springs after the devastating loss of her mom. Almost immediately, Quinn notices some animosity from the adults in town, mainly directed at herself, but also overflowing onto her dad. Not much later she notices that most of the adults are a bit hostile towards all younger people, especially her new friends who are known to be a bit on the wild side.
I don't normally read YA horror but this one looked like fun and it doesn't hurt to check in on occasion and see what's available for younger horror fans while still being able to point out to others that just because there are no graphic sex scenes does not mean a story can't be downright scary. You don't need to be afraid of clowns to get some thrills and chills from Clown In A Cornfield, especially considering that nobody is safe in this book whether they venture into said cornfield or not! This was a fun slasher type horror with enough murder and mayhem to satisfy horror fans young and old alike.
4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

Get a copy

About the author
Adam Cesare is a New Yorker who lives in Philadelphia. His books include Clown in a Cornfield, Video Night, The Summer Job, and Zero Lives Remaining. He’s an avid fan of horror cinema and runs Project: Black T-Shirt, a YouTube review show where he takes horror films and pairs them with reading suggestions.

Curse of the Pigman by Asher Ellis

Failed baseball player Jason Dillon has just moved to the quiet, Vermont town of East Valley, but unfortunately, his timing couldn't have been worse. Though the entire 20th century only brought eight notable storms to the Green Mountain state, Hurricane Ivana has just arrived with a special delivery—a tree through Jason's roof. On his desperate trek to find help, Jason comes upon Sophia, a little girl who has been tied up and left in the woods. Despite his best intentions, Jason's attempt to help the child has interrupted the ritual of a neighborhood cult—a ritual that protects the town from an ancient demonic swine. With all the roads leading out of town impassable, Jason and his few allies must not only escape the pursuing cultists, but somehow survive a curse that has left the majority of East Valley's population with an insatiable hunger. Cultists, cannibals, and the demon itself must all be defeated if Jason and his friends are going to survive... The Curse of the Pigman



Storms, cannibals, and demonic swine OH MY! How could I not love this book, it had everything I could hope for in a fast paced home town horror, complete with cannibals, a curse, and a group of unlikely heroes who band together to defeat the ancient evil that had been unleashed by greedy and gluttonous men. Who could ask for anything more? Not this happy horror fan. When the hurricane passes, Jason is injured and his roof is demolished. With no supplies on hand he sets out on foot to seek shelter at a neighbor's but instead finds himself interrupting a cult's human sacrifice.

"Ten years, a meal. That's the deal"

With the ritual broken, the curse of the Pigman takes effect and few will survive.

I was hooked like a side of pork in the butcher's window from page one.

5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

Get a copy

About the author
Asher Ellis currently lives in his home state of Vermont, where there are far fewer cannibals than his novel may suggest. A graduate of the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Southern Maine, he has written award winning short stories, plays, and films. When Asher isn’t killing college students on the pages of his fiction, he teaches them as a creative writing and English professor at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH.

The Bank by Bentley Little

"We know who you are! Can your current bank say that? We pride ourselves on providing unparalleled service to all of our customers. We're looking forward to banking with YOU!"

In the small town of Montgomery, Arizona, Kyle Decker's book shop is barely breaking even. When a bank opens in the empty storefront next door, he hopes the new establishment will bring in more foot traffic. Trouble is, nobody has ever heard of The First People's Bank, and the local branch has appeared mysteriously overnight. Their incentives for new customers seem reasonable... at first. But is it a coincidence when Kyle's wife has her identity stolen, and his son receives emails that seem to know his private thoughts? Or when the manager of a competing financial institution dies a gruesome death?

Soon, if people in Montgomery, Arizona, want to buy a new car or home, or if they need a small business loan, they have no choice but to work with The First People's Bank. As The Bank makes increasingly bizarre demands on its customers, it becomes clear the town may be in too deep... and the penalty for an early withdrawal is too terrifying to imagine.

With his latest original novel, Bentley Little's dark, razor-sharp satire takes on the worst practices of our banking industry, and you'll never look at your loan officer the same way again.

In the same vein as his previous novels The Store, The Policy, The Resort The Consultant etc Bentley Little's newest twist on ordinary mundane events that turn into supernatural disasters is The Bank.

 How many banks does one little town need? Especially a town that already has 2 banks and a credit union as does the small town of Montgomery. Still, they are about to get a new one, whether they like it or not. The First People's Bank is opening, and they are here to help whether you need help or not. In fact if you don't need help you're in trouble because they will make you need help. and once you need help they will provide it with a smile until it is time to collect. As the Bank begins to take hold of the town, knowing all their secrets and habits more and more "customers" fall prey. I enjoyed this one more than The Consultant but probably not quite as much as the Handyman.

The Midnight Lullaby by Cheryl Low

For years, Benedict Lyon has been living a lie. Not even his family knows the truth he's been keeping from the world. Only Emmeline knows his secret—and she's dead.

…some are darker than others…
When the matriarch of the Lyon family passes away, Benedict is summoned home for the funeral. Emmeline urges Benedict not to go, certain that if he returns to that house, neither one of them will escape.

…but are they worth dying for?

Their presence in the family home causes the spirit of Gloria Lyon to become restless, and as the remaining members of the Lyon family attempt to put their mother to rest, long buried secrets, some deadlier than others, are unearthed. Who will survive…

The Midnight Lullaby.

They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky.....
Oh wait, wrong family, but the Lyons are most definitely a scream. Poor Benedict has never quite fit in with the rest of his spiritualist family. They see dead people, and he sees just one. A single spirit who has been sharing his home for some time now. Emmeline is somehow cloaked from everyone's view but Benedict's. Since she is a spirit she can see what Benedict can not, thus relaying this information to him much like the fake psychics who have a microphone in one ear, being told all the little details about the people they are trying to con. When Benedict is forced to return home for his mother's funeral he fears his family may discover that he is a fraud, but it is Benedict who will uncover far darker secrets than his own.

This was a fast paced, blood splattering, bone cracking tale.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Get a copy

About the author
Cheryl Low might be a primeval entity, born from the darkness of the universe and vacationing on a forgotten island where she eats coconuts and the souls of stranded sailors.
…Or she might be a mundane human with a deep love of all things sugary, soap opera slaps, and horror flicks.
Find out by following her on social media @cherylwlow or check her webpage, cheryllow.com. The answer might surprise you! But it probably won’t.

Lee Murray's Grotesque: Monster Stories

11 short stories from the imagination of New Zealand's multiple award-winning author and editor Lee Murray! Contains 4 original stories including a new adventure in the much-lauded and awarded Taine McKenna series!

Contents:
Foreword by USA Today bestselling author David Wood
Grotesque
Hawaiki
Selfie
The New Breed
Cave Fever
Dead End Town
Edward’s Journal
Maui’s Hook
Heart Music
Lifeblood
Into the Clouded Sky - A Taine McKenna Adventure
Also includes a glossary of Maori terms, as well as an afterword by the author.



Aptly titled, these stories are full of monsters. Be they zombie, or humans who commit monstrous deeds. My favorite had people that became fused together. (Selfie) Don't expect much in the way of happy endings. These stories are quite dark and even an innocent boat ride can lead you to slaughter. Surprisingly, the stories that make it immediately apparent who the monster is, such as the child molester in "Dead End Town" can still lead you into a shocking direction and down a far darker path. The author has a talent for making the reader feel uneasy and uncomfortable, and isn't that what good horror is all about?
4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Pre order a copy

The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick R. Delaney

When twenty-nine-year-old Scarlett Vantassel comes to the conclusion that her life doesn’t resemble any of the things she actually wanted for herself, she drops out of school and moves back home, attempting to reconnect with the people she left behind. But a shadow falls over her return one early October morning when a sinister house miraculously appears in the center of the city, sparking a media frenzy that attracts attention nationwide.



Soon after the newspapers label it, "The House that Fell from the Sky," Scarlett’s childhood friend Hannah becomes obsessed with the idea that the house holds the key to discovering whether there really is life after death. Undeterred by her friends' numerous warnings, Hannah becomes increasingly consumed with the desire to enter the house, convinced it would allow her to reconnect with her recently deceased mother.



Despite a series of escalating events suggesting that the house may be more dangerous than anyone ever thought possible, a privately owned company seizes control of the property and hosts a lottery to lure the city’s residents, promising the winners a large cash reward if they dare to enter the house.



To Scarlett’s horror, Hannah uses her vast wealth to secure a spot among the winners to gain access to the house. Now, it’s up to Scarlett, her older brother Tommy, and her friend Jackson to face their fears and journey into a place where nothing is ever quite as it seems, and decide if they can help a friend in need, or if Hannah truly is lost.

What a gorgeous cover.  A total work of art. Kudos to whoever designed it.  The House That Fell From The Sky was a  bizarre and imaginative story that weaves a bit of horror and fantasy together, but it is not the haunted house story I had hoped for. There are lots of flashbacks that for me, did not always work in the book's favor. While sometimes a flashback can fill in details or provide character insights in a faster paced tale it felt to me that this story should have been told in a more direct way since there was plenty of time.
A bit long for my taste, it was a slow start before our main characters actually got into the house.  The book was about half over before our 4 friends got inside the house even though it "fell" almost right away. This immediately set up a great spooky atmosphere since even people who got too near the house were affected by it but at over 500 pages It felt to me that the 4 main characters could have gotten in sooner. For me this was just an OK read but I am sure others may enjoy it more than I did.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Get a copy

Dark Choir by Paul Melhuish

Six victims.
Six perpetrators.

A means for the scarred, abused, and powerless to take their revenge upon those who have wronged them. To make them pay the ultimate price for their crimes.

Dan Hepworth is forced to return to his home town of Scarsdale after his mother’s death where memories of fear and abuse still haunt him. His disabled sister, Lindsey, and her live-in nurse, Alison, still reside in his mother’s isolated rural house where Dan is to spend the next few days for his mother’s funeral. However, all is not right in Scarsdale. A ghostly robed man walks the hills around the town at night and unearthly singing had been heard coming from the derelict asylum across the valley.

Worse still, retired nurses and ex-patients from the asylum are being targeted at night by unknown assailants, enduring psychological and physical attacks on their person and property with the word CHOIR scrawled across the walls of their homes after each attack. When Dan’s sister, Lindsey, is visited by the robed apparition and those around her are stalked by the violent assailants, Dan begins to uncover uncomfortable truths and dark secrets about the asylum and its former patients.

Dan starts a perilous journey into the past as he gets close to finding out the identity of the nocturnal attackers, the abuse carried out on those too weak to defend themselves, and the reason why the ghostly singing can be heard from the asylum at night. Alone and isolated in the run-down former hospital, Dan will need to accept the mind-bending truth as he comes face to face with the Dark Choir.


Once upon a time, one woman stood up for those who could not defend themselves. One nurse dared to speak out against the horrific abuse at the asylum, but she was shot down, shut up  and driven out.
Dan Hepworth knows what it is to be abused. He grew up under the thumb of an abusive religious fanatic, but he has moved on from his traumatic childhood, escaped his mother's clutches and built a life for himself, never to see or speak to her again. Now she is dead and Dan is forced to return to his hometown to tie up loose ends and arrange for the care of his older sister Lindsey who is disabled. He plans to stay only a few days but soon becomes entangled in the mystery of the choir.
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and The Dark Choir certainly provides generous and heaping portions. Perfectly chilled and aged to perfection. Just when those most deserving least expect it, the singing starts and vengeance is served. I am not a vindictive person but as it pulled me toward a most satisfying conclusion I almost sang along.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Get a copy

About the author
Paul’s publishing history includes a short story in Dark Horizons, (The British Fantasy Society’s fiction magazine) about a farm that bred humans for meat. More recently a story of his was featured in issue 13 of Murky Depths magazine. This joyful piece was a satire on euthanasia entitled Do Not Resuscitate. In October 2010 one of his stories was included in the anthology Shoes, Ships and Cadavers: Tales from Northlondonshire. Edited by Ian Whates and Ian Watson with an introduction by Alan Moore (a Kindle version of this anthology is being considered by NewCon Press for release during 2011).