Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Description

From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human--a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of.

 

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable--something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

 

Dark Matter is a fast paced, edge of your seat, SciFi/thriller. "All your life you're told you're unique. An individual. That no one on the planet is just like you."
What if this was not the only plane of existence? What if there were not just a universe but a multiverse where other bizarro versions of ourselves were at this very minute going on with their bizarro versions of our lives..  Sounds a bit crazy and yet somehow Blake Crouch has made it seem quite plausible, and terrifying.

 

I received an advance copy for review

Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

Description

Held captive for eight years, Lily has grown from a teenager to an adult in a small basement prison. Her daughter Sky has been a captive her whole life. But one day their captor leaves the deadbolt unlocked.

This is what happens next...

... to Lily, to her twin sister, to her mother, to her daughter...and to her captor.

Lily knows that she must bring the man who nearly ruined her life to justice. But she never imagined that reconnecting with her family would be just as difficult. Reclaiming her relationship with her twin sister, her mother, and her high school sweetheart, who is in love with her sister, may be Lily's greatest challenge. After all they've been through, can Lily and her family find their way back after this life-altering trauma?

Baby Doll is a taut psychological thriller that focuses on family entanglements and the evil that can hide behind a benign façade

 

8 years ago Lily got up, went to school and never came home. Her twin sister never gave up hope that she would see her again, but most everyone else presumed she was dead. The police gave up on even finding her body.

 

This is the story of what happened when Lily's kidnapper finally got sloppy and forgot to bolt the door when he went back to his "other" life.

 

I actually planned to just take a quick glance at this book and set it aside for later, but once I started it I finished in a day. From the minute Lily dared to open that unlocked door and run like hell I was hooked. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

 

I received an advance copy for review

 

 

 

 

 

Secret Faces by Kealan Patrick Burke

“If you are hiding from yourself, don’t expect anyone else to see you.”

Everyone has a secret. Everyone is someone else when the world isn't looking. Sometimes that person is good, sometimes that person is not. In Bram Stoker Award-winning author Kealan Patrick Burke's latest terrifying collection of short stories, you'll meet thirteen people who discover the horror of what happens when those secret faces are removed and the true darkness that dwells within us all is unleashed.


It is no secret than Kealan Patrick Burke is on my very short list of "must read" authors. In fact that list gets shorter all the time. I literally purchase every book I see his name on, often before even reading the description. The reason for that is simple. I have enjoyed everything he has ever written. Secret faces included.

All 13 stories were good, some were exceptionally good. The ones that had the most impact for me were the following.
The first story "Home" about a man who rushes home during a storm for his daughter's 16th birthday only to find something obviously amiss with the celebration, had me almost scared to turn the page.
In "Stalled" a man's urgent need to find a bathroom has dire consequences.
"The Red Light Is Blinking" is the story of revenge against internet trolls. For best enjoyment crack open a bag of Doritos while you read.
In the story "I'm Not There" a man loses his reflection...and discovers how to get it back.
In "Memory Lane" a quick trip to the store for milk goes sour.
"Terminal" is every nightmare you've ever had about an airport.
A father regrets not listening when he had the chance, in "Quiet"
"The One Night Of The Year" is of course a tale of Halloween, and "Hoarder" is an excellent story of a salesman who attempts to sell cleaning products to a hoarder.
I would highly recommend this anthology for anyone who enjoys short horror stories.

Baby Talk Book 1 by Mike Wells

Description
"In this creepy horror novel, Neal Becker is convinced that his 5 month old baby daughter can talk. But that's impossible...isn't it? Except that Neal didn't really want to get married in the first place and pushed his wife for an abortion. And now, Baby Natasha knows it. She's out to get Neal, or so he believes. Join the two in a terrifying battle for survival that will make your blood run cold!"


Well...I liked it and I did not like it.
First off at a mere 90ish pages I would not call it a novel.
It also ends very abruptly with a link to purchase book 2 which seems more likely that it is the second half of what should have been the rest of this book.

Annie and Neal "had to" get married. Actually when Annie got pregnant Neal would have rather she had an abortion. He never wanted "Baby Natasha" and is not all that fond of being a husband either at only 21 years old.

Neal works a minimum wage job and resents that he had to leave school to support a baby he never wanted.
I read a lot of horror and I never really expect it to make sense so I have no problem at all with this story line of a 5 month old baby being out to kill. What did bother me was a couple of things that the author seemed to presume, such as one character mentioning that a 5 month old baby can't even sit up yet. Sure they may topple over but babies can indeed sit up usually any time between 4-7 months.  While it may be unusual for a 5 month old to want to kill anyone I don't see why the author would find it unusual for a 5 month old to sit up. He also seems to presume that breast size has anything to do with milk production. Hence Annie's thoughts that she needed to supplement with formula because of not having large breasts. Most of all what really grated on my nerves was that a character (Annie) who is so paranoid of crib death and who is always reading books on baby care would ever in a million years leave her baby in a car alone in a parking lot. No I take that back, what bothered me the most was Annie's baby talk. It made me want to throat punch her.

Other than that, it was not a bad story. I mean who doesn't love a good evil baby story? But somehow even though this is currently free at amazon I feel cheated, because I thought this was a complete "novel" and not just half.