The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

Brimming with dark humor, violence, and mystery, The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre is a blood-soaked slasher sure to keep readers cringing, laughing, and guessing until the very last page.

Rose DuBois is not your average final girl.

Rose is in her late 70s, living out her golden years at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home. When one of her friends dies alone in her apartment, Rose isn’t too concerned. Accidents happen, especially at this age!

Then another resident drops dead. And another. With bodies stacking up, Rose can’t help but wonder: are these accidents? Old age? Or something far more sinister?

Together with her best friend Miller, Rose begins to investigate. The further she digs, the more convinced she becomes: there’s a killer on the loose at Autumn Springs, and if she isn’t careful, Rose may be their next victim.

 

The Autumn Springs Retirement Home has been a safe and welcoming place for seniors who are still spry enough to take care of themselves, while knowing that medical help is available when needed. It is here that we meet a quirky cast of characters, including three witches and a retired school teacher, Rose Dubois. Rose may be nearly 80 years old, but her mind is sharp as a tack, and as a true crime buff with a penchant for mysteries, she is the first to notice that something is off about an alleged fatal accident in the retirement home. As the body count racks up can Rose catch the killer before she becomes the next victim?

In the author's notes at the end of this book, he says he hopes he made readers gasp or possibly chuckle. Well, congratulations on getting that and more, at least from me. It also made me shed a few tears when elderly characters reached out for help from their families and found that nobody cared. 

It was so refreshing to read a slasher novel that wasn't a cautionary tale to warn high school and college students that sex can lead to decapitation or streaming entrails. The murders are clever and gory, with loads of dark humor and suspense.  The plot moves full steam ahead with likable, realistic characters in impossible situations.

This is a novel that succeeds in creating a fresh original take on the slasher subgenre.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tor Nightfire for the paperback.

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An Echo of Children by Ramsey Campbell

A slow burn, chilling horror in a gorgeous edition. Ramsey Campbell always delivers...

Coral and Allan Clarendon have just moved to the seaside town of Barnwall with their young son Dean. If an uncommon number of children have died unnaturally in Barnwall throughout history, surely Dean must be safe with his parents. Could their house be a source of peril? Allan and Coral seem to think so, since they call for an exorcism. Allan’s father Thom believes his wife is wrong to think the ceremony has left Dean in worse danger. But if she’s alone in seeing the terrors that are gathering around him, how desperate will her solution have to be?

Two sets of parents are visiting their children and 6 year old grandchild in their new home. Things seem a bit off right away. Jude is the first to notice that her grandson, Dean, is excessively polite and that her son and daughter-in-law constantly correct everything he does. He is not allowed to play with his toys, and his only friend is invisible. Could it be just a lonely child's way of coping, or is this imaginary friend something more? The other grandparents and even her husband are dismissive of her concerns at first.

This is a slow-burning horror told with Ramsey Campbell's usual flair for the subtle and insidious. Things escalate gradually as Jude begins to research the dark history of the home and the town. I could feel her fear and frustration at being the only one willing to acknowledge that something dangerous was happening, and it was about to get worse. I was so angry at the way she was treated when her son and in-laws tried to gaslight her into believing that everything she noticed was just a product of her own mind. So many times, I wanted to scream at her husband to stand up for her. I believed you, Jude!

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Flame Tree Press

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What Remains by Corey Niles

 The White, mysterious, undulating clouds from which no one and nothing return, is overtaking the northern United States. Food and supplies are scarce, extremist religious groups are taking hold, and anarchy is rampant.

Ex-boyfriends Alexander and Sebastian are fleeing south. Their only hope of escaping its grasp is reaching the equator, where the destructive path of the White is believed to end.

As the feuding pair come face to face with an even deadlier threat and the White draws near, they must contend with their broken relationship, their future, and what it really means to survive.

Alex and Sebastian were best friends, turned lovers, who hit a rocky patch in their relationship just before a mysterious, moving cloud of unknown substance began to consume everything in its path. They are broken up but stuck with each other as they try to escape this weird happening known only as "The White."

Word is, that if people can make it to the equator, they will be safe.

Alex and Sebastian will have to help each other to survive. They have very different personalities. Alex cares only for Sebastian and their survival. Sebastian wants to help people along the way, even if it means he might lose his own chance to live. Their broken relationship and its cause create a lot of tension and bickering along the way.

Food is scarce. Some roads are blocked by abandoned cars. Others by a cult like group of people who are kidnapping survivors in the belief that The White will cleanse them of their sins.

This is a dystopian, end of the world as we know it, survival horror.  Will they reach their destination?

I would recommend it if you are looking for a quick read in a suspenseful horror thriller.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing

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Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

 From the author of the “exciting, suspenseful, horrifying” (Stephen King) Fever House, a Vietnam veteran and his adopted niece hunt—and are hunted by—the vampire that slaughtered their family.

It’s the winter of 1975, and Portland, Oregon, is all sleet and neon. Duane Minor is back home after a tour in Vietnam, a bartender just trying to stay sober; save his marriage with his wife, Heidi; and connect with his thirteen-year-old niece, Julia, now that he’s responsible for raising her. Things aren’t easy, but Minor is scraping by.

Then a vampire walks into his bar and ruins his life.

When Minor crosses John Varley, a killer who sleeps during the day beneath loose drifts of earth and grows teeth in the light of the moon, Varley brutally retaliates by murdering Heidi, leaving Minor broken with guilt and Julia filled with rage. What’s left of their splintered family is united by only one desire: vengeance.

So begins a furious, frenzied pursuit across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. From grimy alleyways to desolate highways to snow-lashed plains, Minor and Julia are cast into the dark orbit of undead children, silver bullet casters, and the bevy of broken men transfixed by Varley’s ferocity. Everyone’s out for blood.

Gritty, unforgettable, and emotionally devastating, Coffin Moon asks what will be left of our humanity when grief transmutes into violence, when monsters wear human faces, and when our thirst for revenge eclipses everything else.

Duane Minor is home at last after the Vietnam War. The things he did and saw haunt his nightmares and his marriage. But all the trauma he has been through is nothing compared to what he soon has to face at home. He and his wife have taken in her sister's child Julia, after a tragedy left her homeless. Julia knows trauma too, and Duane will do anything to protect her.

Working for his in-laws at the bar below his apartment should be an easy job. Even for someone who has given up drinking. It shouldn't be dangerous. It shouldn't be deadly. But one fateful night changes everything, and Duane and Julia become the hunted and the hunters when a vampire destroys everything they have except for each other.

It's been a long time since I read a vampire novel this good. There is plenty of blood and gore, but it's also a tale of how far someone would go to protect their family. It's the choices we make and the choices that have been stolen from us along with the consequences. There is vengeance and redemption, grief and loss, with unforgettable characters both living and undead. 

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Random House Publishing.

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Saving Thornwood by David Surface and Julia Rust

In the cemetery at Thornwood Asylum, two girls meet when a door between the 19th and 21st centuries miraculously opens.

In 2022, Annie Blake's world is shattered when her father suffers a psychotic break and ends up in Thornwood Hospital. Annie's father, an architect and activist, is trying to save Thornwood from developers who want to bulldoze the historic site and deprive the community of a vital mental health resource. Desperate to help her father, Annie struggles to find proof that a famous reformer was once incarcerated there.

In 1856, Mary Donovan and her younger brother were separated when they were committed to Thornwood Lunatic Asylum. Mary fights to find her brother and escape but is caught and suffers abusive treatment from staff, until the director of the asylum takes her under his wing. Dr. Jonathan Blackwell plans to groom Mary as his "success story" to help build his reputation in exchange for allowing Mary to see her brother.

When both girls are driven to their breaking points, they flee to Thornwood cemetery, where the border between their worlds opens, and they encounter each other face to face. Can they find a way to trust and help each other before time runs out?

In the 1800s, Thornwood Asylum was a living hell for those who were sent there. More a dumping ground than a hospital, not just for the unwell but the unwanted, unloved, and even the misunderstood. This is where Mary and her little brother are sent by their cruel aunt, who wants to be rid of them.

In the present day, it offers real treatment, and for some in the community, it is their only lifeline to get the help they need. This is where Annie is visiting her father after he suffers a psychotic break while working on a way to save Thornwood from the greedy developers who want to tear it down.

These two girls, in their most desperate moments, in the same place, but centuries apart, somehow meet through a rift in time.

The timeline with Mary and her little brother broke my heart. They never would have ended up in such an awful place if their aunt had one shred of kindness. Treatments for mental health issues in those days consisted mostly of torture, punishments and starvation. Those who sought to work in such places seemed sadistic types who enjoyed tormenting the patients. It made me wish I could go back in time and take them in. 

At least in the present day, Annie had her mother for support while her father was on the psych ward, where he received proper care and medication. The moments when Annie and Mary were able to be together were my favorite parts of the book. The authors successfully blend fantasy with deeply relatable, poignant emotion while showing how far we have come and how far we have left to go in addressing mental health. 

My thanks to the authors for the paperback copy.

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Tainted Towns by Victoria Williamson

Three unnerving tales of the weird and uncanny from award-winning author Victoria Williamson.

Forced to leave her cosy suburban home for the desolate city outskirts, Helen is chased each night through a dark underpass by a malevolent force.

What does it want?

Terry and Janet take matters into their own hands to tame their neighbour’s overgrown garden when it threatens the order of their perfect suburban life.

But the garden fights back…

And can Tom keep the secrets of the past buried when his crew is assigned to repair the very road he knows he must avoid at all costs?

Dare you visit these Tainted Towns to discover their dark secrets?

This is the second story collection I have read by Victoria Williamson and I loved this one even more than the first! 

In the first story, Tunnel Vision, Helen has given up her old life to start fresh after a breakup. Her new life is lonely and isolated, but she could handle that if only she didn't need to walk through the tunnel to get home from work. I was so sad for her entire situation but most of all, I shared the creeping dread of what may be lurking in that tunnel.

Next up, The Garden Of Friedan finds Terry and Janet Dixon bemoaning the state of their neighbor's garden. Of course, whining about it to Mr. Friedan will be of no use; he stopped doing any yard work once he passed away. Now, the beautiful cherry tree and flowers that were all he had left in memory of his wife, that he so lovingly tended, are overgrown and withered. Terry may be willing to overlook it but Janet finds it unbearable as the plants begin to encroach on her property. To her, it is an unforgivable offense, and Terry will not hear the end of it. Unfortunately for the Dixon's there will be severe consequences for their interference. I hated Janet, but loved the story. I'm glad she's not my neighbor!

Last but not least was The Red, Red Road. Tom is a happily married family man with a dark past and a terrible secret that he has managed to hide for all these years. He has gone out of his way to avoid the Red Road ever since that long-ago night, but there is no way out of it this time. His crew will be working there and he can't escape it any longer. What will happen when the truth comes out?

This novella-length tale was more gruesome than the previous two, and it was my favorite part of the book. 

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Silver Thistle Press for the gifted paperback.

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Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell

Years after her best friend mysteriously disappeared from a remote New England island, a young woman returns in search of answers.

Orla O’Connor hasn’t been to the isolated New England enclave of Hadley Island since she graduated from high school a decade ago. As a teenager, her best friend Alice disappeared from its shores without a trace—but with plenty of rumors. Now Orla returns to her family’s beachfront home to clean it out before her parents sell it. The island and her best friend’s empty house next door are stirring up memories she would like to avoid.

Then there are the locals, always gossiping and watching Orla’s every move. Worst of all, David, Orla’s childhood crush and son of a wealthy Manhattan family, is back for the summer with his new, impossibly pretty girlfriend, Faith.

Meanwhile, local Henry hasn’t left his house since Alice disappeared, in an attempt to let the accusations against him die down—except they never have. Orla’s return has shaken him, and lately he’s been seeing strange things through his telescope: shadowy figures walking on the beach in the middle of the night and a light on in an upstairs window of Alice's long-abandoned childhood home.

When another person on the island disappears, Orla, David, and Henry find themselves pulled into an eerie mystery that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

 Then:  

Alice and Orla are neighbors and best friends, growing up together and dreaming of how they will someday attend college and share an apartment in New York. A rift forms between them when Orla develops a possessive crush on David, the boy from a wealthy family, and Alice becomes more secretive. On the night of a huge party, Alice disappears. Some assume she drowned, others think she was murdered. Her body was never recovered, but gossip and rumors are all aimed at Henry, a local man who everyone thinks is odd.

Now: 

Henry has become a recluse, locked away with his wife in a home they have never left since the accusations first started. Orla has returned to her childhood home to prepare it for sale. David is back to take over his father's business with his new girlfriend Faith in tow. At first, Faith is thrilled at the invitation to spend the summer with David. But his strange behavior and obnoxious father, combined with the mystery of a missing girl, have her questioning everything.

Told from multiple points of view, it seems that every character is spinning their own web of lies, deceit and secrets. The plot moves slowly at first but it gradually pulled me all the way in to this twisty mystery. I was most engaged with Faith's point of view as she was the only one who was an outsider to the island and so brought a fresh perspective.  Dead of Summer is a perfect beach read. 

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Atria Books for the invitation to read an e-Arc

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