Charnel House by Graham Masterton

 

Description

Winner of the Edgar Award: A demon is intent on devouring the world—and it’s up to a small group of believers in San Francisco to stop it.

A desperate and terrified old man appears at the office of John Hyatt at the San Francisco Department of Sanitation with a chilling complaint. His house, Seymour Willis insists, is breathing. Hyatt suspects a rat infestation but the truth is worse. Much worse. An ancient demon out of darkest Native American folklore lives within the walls and floorboards of Willis’s home—an all-powerful malevolent being determined to break free and wreak havoc on the City by the Bay.

Soon a tiny cadre of believers in the impossible—including Hyatt, Willis, and a Native American shaman—hold the fate of all humanity in their hands. The monster’s hunger for blood and flesh is insatiable and it is determined to escape its prison and become whole. And once it does, the entire world will be its feeding ground.

A haunted house story like no other—a gory and terrifying tale of demonic possession—this award-winning supernatural thriller by the acclaimed author of The Manitou provides substantial chills on every page. A tale of unrelenting terror reminiscent of the works of H. P. Lovecraft, Graham Masterton’s Charnel House will haunt your dreams long after you’ve turned the final page.

 

This is classic 1978 horror that is being re-released in June and I do remember reading it decades ago. In fact it was one of the first horror novels I ever snuck off my mother's book case when she thought I was too young to read them.

 

When an elderly gentleman complains that his house is breathing, John doesn't really know what to make of it. The gentleman does not seem like a crack pot and yet who ever heard of a breathing house? John reluctantly agrees to stop by and have a listen to this breathing, if he has the time later on that evening. He and a friend do indeed hear something that sounds like breathing, and against the owner's wishes try to communicate with it. This proves to be a fatal error, because when they leave the house a part if this evil goes with them.

This was a classic good against evil story.  4 out of 5 stars from me.

 

I received an advance copy for review

The Story's Writer by Wayne Lemmons

Description
"Amy, a single mother of one, has been alone for too long. One-night stands and unsatisfying relationships are dragging the joy out of her life. One Sunday morning she wakes in a strange bed, one of many just lately, and meets the man of her dreams.
Grant is handsome, charismatic, and charming. He’s also a horror novelist who’s had moderate success in his craft. The only thing more attractive than the man is the fact that he actually wants to meet Amy’s son, Bailey.
Bailey is independent for his age, as competent at caring for his own daily needs as most children twice his age, but overweight and ailed by a lack of personal confidence. His reservations about meeting a new man are evident in his resistance of his mother’s demands, but soon he warms to the charming writer. Bailey sees an opportunity to gain not only a father, but a friend.
Months later, after Amy and Bailey have taken up residence with this new man, odd behaviors begin to emerge as Grant researches the basis for his new novel. It’s a nonfiction manuscript, based on ghost stories originating at a local bar with a reputation for appearances from the other side. It’s a good book with a good story behind it, but it’s taking Grant down a path of hatred, violence, and ultimate destruction.
When Amy begins helping Grant with his editing, she too falls victim to the effects of prose, Bailey begins to receive a more brutal version of parenting. Now he’s hungry, in pain, and afraid with little or no help in sight as the story being written in his home stops mirroring the events at a remote bar, and becomes the new terrorizing story of his life."

The Story's Writer: From the author of The Dark Roads by Wayne Lemmons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

8 year old Bailey is a lonely child, often left home alone for long stretches of time while his mother is out. He is a bit overweight due to his favorite pastime of watching movies, playing video games and comforting himself with food. He is a bright boy, wise beyond his years and loves his mother Amy fiercely, and she returns that love even though it seems she could benefit from a few parenting classes.

Suddenly, Amy just happens to click with her latest one night stand Grant, and the two become a couple. Not long after that Amy and Bailey move in to his apartment and Grant is thrilled to be part of a family. While working on a book concerning the happenings in a haunted bar, Grant begins to act strangely. He has bursts of rage for no apparent reason and vile thoughts that are no longer under his control. It appears something evil has followed Grant home from the bar and is now taking over his personality. Bailey knows something horrible is happening and that it has to do with the book, but he is powerless to stop it and as it begins to effect his mother's behavior as well there is nobody left to protect him.

This was a quick and creepy read with several heart in your throat moments that made me wish I could get in that apartment and rescue Bailey myself.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Watching Edie by Camilla Way

Description

For fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train: A dazzling work of psychological suspense that weaves together the past and present of two women's twisted friendship.

Beautiful, creative, a little wild… Edie was the kind of girl who immediately caused a stir when she walked into your life. And she had dreams back then—but it didn't take long for her to learn that things don't always turn out the way you want them to.

Now, at thirty-three, Edie is working as a waitress, pregnant and alone. And when she becomes overwhelmed by the needs of her new baby and sinks into a bleak despair, she thinks that there's no one to turn to…

But someone's been watching Edie, waiting for the chance to prove once again what a perfect friend she can be. It's no coincidence that Heather shows up on Edie's doorstep, just when Edie needs her the most. So much has passed between them—so much envy, longing, and betrayal. And Edie's about to learn a new lesson: those who have hurt us deeply—or who we have hurt—never let us go, not entirely…

 

This was a brilliant psychological thriller.  Edie is about to become a single mother. Alone and pretty much friendless in her drab tiny apartment, cut off from her family except for an uncle that she has kept in touch with. Out of the blue after more than a decade, she is shocked to get a visit from her former friend Heather,... She is not at all happy to see her and right away I was struck with such a feeling of dread. The story is told in both the present, from Edie's point of view, and the past in Heather's point of view. Slowly we are let in on the secrets that tore these friends apart. It left me wondering almost until the reveal near the  end whether Edie had done something horrible to Heather or whether Heather had done something horrible to Edie. Was Heather some sort of Psycho who latched on to Edie and wanted her to herself or was it Edie who had done something unforgivable to Heather? You will have to read for yourself and find out. 5 stars from me.

 

I received an advance copy for review

Afterlife: A Shadows Series Novel by Cege Smith

 
 
 

Description
Twenty years have passed since the events that transpired inside the walls of the haunted Bradford mansion. On the eve of its demolition, it calls out to those that escaped it to come home…

It’s Thanksgiving vacation, and Morgan Mitchell returns home from college unexpectedly to find her parents, David and Ellie Mitchell, are mysteriously missing. Thinking they have taken a holiday trip and forgotten to tell her, Morgan settles in for a quiet vacation break alone. When some friends suggest exploring an old abandoned mansion due to be torn down the following week, she doesn’t think there’s any harm in going with them.

But this seemingly random invitation is one that proves not to be so random at all. Shadows from the past are coming for Morgan and her family, and soon she discovers that she is the only one who holds the key to saving them all. 


This was a quick read and my first time reading anything from the Shadows Series. As it is a "companion" to the series there may be pertinent details I am not aware of, but the story seems able to stand on it's own without having read the series.
Morgan, is a college student who suffers with a sleep paralysis night terrors type condition. She thinks she has it under control and is able to keep it a secret from most everyone. However a sleep over leads to a break up, and depressed she returns home for the holidays even though she had told her parents not to expect her.
Oddly enough her parents seem to have gone off somewhere without letting her know. They do not return her texts or calls, and their cars are in the garage but nobody is home. When Morgan accompanies some friends to an abandoned house rumored to be haunted She discovers that she didn't know as much about her parents or herself as she thought.
I received a complimentary copy for review