The Horror at Pleasant Brook by Kevin Lucia

 

This Halloween, a malevolent, creeping horror invades a small, isolated town nestled deep in the Adirondacks. It cares nothing for this town’s secrets, prejudices, or flaws. Its only desires are to consume everything in its path and spread, until nothing else remains.

It is ancient, pitiless, and unstoppable. It is the horror at Pleasant Brook.

Then:

Lisa Owen just wanted the pain to go away. The loneliness. The ache for children that she will never have. The loss of love, trust, and intimacy that turned her marriage into a shell of what it used to be. What she sets in motion is horrific.

Now:

Squatters living in the old Owen house awaken an evil that had been dormant until Bobby Lee Haskel put on a mask that wouldn't come off. A mask that changed him into something else. Suddenly there are residents of Pleasant Brook going missing, and people are seeing menacing figures skulking around in the most repulsive looking masks.

One young horror movie obsessed teen, and the town's constable have discovered the truth, but they may be too late to save Pleasant Brook and themselves from a fate worse than death.

The Horror at Pleasant Brook is a gory, blood splattery, good time, with a diverse cast of characters, bucket loads of entrails, and suspenseful writing that will have you jumping at shadows and cringing at every unexpected noise. This is a book that I would love to see made into a movie, even though I might have to cover my eyes during the more grisly parts.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Kevin Lucia

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Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

 When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.

She couldn't be more wrong.

Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing...only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport...and they're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb.

Christa is expecting a getaway with her boyfriend in a secluded mountain lodge. What she gets is a vacation from hell, stranded with strangers in bitter cold howling winds after their bus gets stuck. The snow is drifting ever higher, there's very little food, no cell phone service, and a psycho killer is on the loose. 

Taking refuge in a small hunting cabin, these strangers must band together if they hope to outlast the storm and the killer.

Dead of Winter is a survival horror that overlaps with the slasher genre. Personalities clash in the claustrophobic little cabin. As the tourists get picked off one by one tempers flare and trust flies out the window when they suspect the killer must be one of their little group. I had my own suspicions before the halfway mark that turned out to be correct. Towards the halfway point, I began to wish they would just get on with it when it began to feel too long and drawn out to get to the reveal. So while I loved the premise and the set up I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was a crisp and clean 300 pages instead of dragged out to 384.

3 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press

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About the author

The Reaping by Bernard Taylor

When Tom Rigby is commissioned to paint a young woman’s portrait at Woolvercombe House, the offer is too lucrative to refuse. But from the moment of his arrival at the secluded country mansion, strange and inexplicable events begin to transpire. Soon he is drawn into an impenetrable maze of horror, and by the time he discovers the role he is intended to play in a diabolical design, it will already be too late. For the seeds of evil have been sown, and the time to reap their wicked harvest is nigh!

The classic third novel by ’70s and ’80s horror master Bernard Taylor, The Reaping (1980) returns to print at last in this edition featuring a new introduction by Will Errickson and the original cover painting by Oliver Frey.

Tom Rigby, widowed father, and struggling artist, dreams of selling his work and settling down with his mostly missing girlfriend, who is always galivanting off to exotic locals for her work. 

When he is offered a large sum of money to stay at a mansion and paint a portrait it seems that his talent is finally getting the recognition he has hoped for. The people at the mansion are strange and so is the group of nuns who are staying at the property.

I loved Sweetheart, Sweetheart by Bernard Taylor and after giving it 5 stars I rushed to buy several more of his books including The Reaping. I've been wanting to read it for years but am always behind in ARCs. So it was with great anticipation that I finally sat down to read this over Mother's Day weekend when I felt that my time belonged to me, to do as I please. If I were to describe it in one word it would be boring. It is 220 pages and gets interesting around page 200 in time for the ending, which was not all that original. I'm disappointed and wish I had my weekend back. This book has loads of good reviews, so you may enjoy it more than I did, but personally, it is not a book I would recommend. Someday I will read his other books since I have already purchased them and I will hope that this is the only clunker in the bunch.

About the author
 

The Trick by Douglas Ford

 

In his follow-up to Little Lugosi (A Love Story), Douglas Ford reveals a new trick up his sleeve: an occult odyssey of weird magic, dark fate, and macabre use of human skin. When Adam attends a magic show, he has no idea that he will leave with something inked into his hand, a tattoo with origins that extend back thousands of years, as well as a destiny in a swamp on the borderland of Vissaria County. Behold the chains of the ink!

Adam is an unhappily married man who along with his wife attends what is supposed to be a comedy show. Instead what they see is a mediocre magician. Suddenly Adam finds himself coerced onto the stage for one hell of a grand finale trick and his life will never be the same.

This was my second trip to Vissaria County and I must say it is still not a nice place to visit nor would I want to live there. Reading about it is a different matter entirely and is quite entertaining as long as it can be done from the safety of my cozy recliner, where the weird goings on and supernatural horror can't hurt me. Unfortunately for Adam and those who wish to help him, no such safety is guaranteed. The Trick is a fast-paced journey into the occult.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Douglas Ford.

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About the author

Cold, Black, & Infinite by Todd Keisling

 

Down here in the dark lies a vast and twisted landscape where the wicked, wistful, and profane coalesce. This is where the lonely and lost face their demons, where anxious paranoias are made manifest, and where mundane evil wears a human face. For readers, the sixteen stories found within Cold, Black, & Infinite serve as a harrowing glimpse into the nightmarish imagination of
Todd Keisling, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Devil’s Creek and Scanlines.

Visit a town where the residents are slowly being replaced by mannequins in “We’ve All Gone to the Magic Show.” Go for a drive and discover your favorite radio host is still transmitting from beyond the grave in “Midnight in the Southland.” Laugh at Karen’s misfortune when she learns necromancy isn’t the best way to raise a child in “Afterbirth.” And uncover the true motivation behind one man’s historical betrayal in “Gethsemane.”

Featuring three previously unpublished stories and an introduction by Bram Stoker Award-winner John Langan, Cold, Black, & Infinite establishes Keisling as a leading voice in contemporary indie horror.

Cast your doubts aside and take the plunge. Touch the abyss. It’s waiting.

I loved Devil's Creek by this author so I was super excited to see this collection.

These short stories are not all that diminutive in size. They are long enough to pack sufficient meat on their bones to make a filling and gory meal.

There were a couple of holiday horrors that I especially enjoyed. If you ever watch those Hallmark Christmas romance movies and think how much better they would be if only everyone would get their brains bashed in or that holiday shopping would be less boring if zombies came to the mall, these may be your favorites too.

Some of these stories may be too disturbing for some readers but if you like your fiction very dark this is for you.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance

4 out of 5 stars

About the author

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The New Mother by Nora Murphy

 

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It's hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it's murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

 

Natalie Fanning has just been released with baby Oliver. Maternity leave is not going as well as she hoped. Her husband is about to return to work, She's ok with that because she feels he is no help anyway. Baby Oliver only wants her. It's pretty clear early on that Natalie is suffering from postpartum depression. She doesn't realize it, and worse, nobody who could be of any help to her notices it. 

Unfortunately for Natalie, there is a neighbor who sees the signs. He knows she is vulnerable and he plans to use her for his own nefarious plot. He's no stranger to using women, whether it's to support his lifestyle or to meet his other needs, but his plan for Natalie is much worse than he's done to others.

This is a book that every mom can relate to. Those first few days home from the hospital, the pain, the exhaustion, the fear of making a mistake, the weight of knowing you are entirely responsible for another life, the unsolicited advice. The author paints a realistic picture that brought those memories to life for me. I had a lot of sympathy for Natalie, but not so much for her husband who was too wrapped up in his hurt feelings to notice that his wife needed help until it was almost too late. I think this is a book that will appeal more to those with children than without. It definitely has me nodding and agreeing and feeling seen. Loads of suspense made this a fun read.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Minotaur Books

Available for pre-order

About the author