Ink And Bone by Lisa Unger

Description

In this explosive psychological thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, a young woman’s mysterious gift forces her into the middle of a dangerous investigation of a little girl’s disappearance.

For as long as she can remember, twenty-year-old Finley Montgomery has been able to see into the future. She dreams about events before they occur and sees beyond the physical world, unconsciously using her power to make supernatural things happen.

But Finley can’t control these powers—and there’s only one person who can help. So Finley moves to The Hollows, a small town in upstate New York where her grandmother lives, a renowned seer who can finally teach Finley how to use her gift.

A gift that is proving to be both a blessing and a curse, as Finley lands in the middle of a dangerous investigation involving a young girl who has been missing for ten months and the police have all but given up hope.

With time running out there’s only so much Finley can do as The Hollows begins to reveal its true colors. As she digs deeper into the town and its endless layers, nothing is what it seems. But one thing is clear: The Hollows gets what it wants, no matter what.

 

 

Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I loved the beginning, and was sure this was going to be a real page turner, but the pace was too slow for my taste. Finley was the only character that I really liked, probably due to her "gifts." I enjoyed the supernatural/paranormal elements of the story but there weren't enough thrills for me to consider this a thriller.

I received a complimentary copy for review

View all my reviews

Dead Ends: The Pursuit, Conviction, and Execution of Serial Killer Aileen Wuornos by Joseph Michael Reynolds

Description

The chilling true story of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, whose violent crimes shocked the nation—and inspired the Academy Award–winning film Monster.

When police in Florida’s Volusia County were called to investigate the murder of Richard Mallory, whose gunshot-ridden body had been found in the woods just north of Daytona Beach in December 1989, their search led them to a string of dead ends before the trail went cold six months later. During the spring and summer of 1990, the bodies of six more middle-aged white men were discovered—all in secluded areas near their abandoned vehicles, all but one shot dead with a .22 caliber pistol—and all without any suspects, motives, or leads.

The police speculated that the murders were connected, but they never anticipated what they’d soon discover: The killings were the work of a single culprit, Aileen Wuornos, one of the first women to ever fit the profile of a serial killer. With the cooperation of her former lover and accomplice, Tyria Moore, the police were able to solicit a confession from Wuornos about her months-long killing spree along Florida’s interstate highways. The nation was quickly swept up in the drama of her trial and the media dubbed her the “Damsel of Death” as horrifying details of her past as a prostitute and drifter emerged.

Written by the Reuters reporter who initially broke the story, Dead Ends is a thrilling firsthand account of Wuornos’s capture, trial, and ultimate sentencing to death by lethal injection, that goes beyond the media frenzy to reveal the even more disturbing truth.

I was not very familiar with this case before reading Dead Ends. Sure I have heard the name Aileen Wuornos and knew she was a convicted and executed serial killer, but that's really all I knew. I never knew she was pregnant at such a young age,  or tossed out on her own so young.
This was a highly detailed and informative account of how Aileen Wournos was caught, and her subsequent trial and sentencing.. There is no doubt she was guilty but after reading about people who planned to use her story as their own personal jack pot, or ending up with an attorney who called himself Dr. Legal I can't help but almost feel a speck of sympathy, not so much for her but for the childhood she had, and the child she was. I can't help but wonder if her son ever found out who his mother was and for his sake I hope he didn't know. Some questions are better left unanswered.  4 out of 5 stars from me.

 

I received an advance copy for review.

The Night Parade by Ronald Malfi

Description
First the birds disappeared.
Then the insects took over.
Then the madness began . . .

They call it Wanderer's Folly--a disease of delusions, of daydreams and nightmares. A plague threatening to wipe out the human race.

After two years of creeping decay, David Arlen woke up one morning thinking that the worst was over. By midnight, he's bleeding and terrified, his wife is dead, and he's on the run in a stolen car with his eight-year-old daughter, who may be the key to a cure.

Ellie is a special girl. Deep. Insightful. And she knows David is lying to her. Lying about her mother. Lying about what they're running from. And lying about what he sees when he takes his eyes off the road.




The next time I hear an ice cream truck any running I do may be away from it and not towards it..
This was my first time reading anything by Ronald Malfi. I wasn't quite sure from the description whether The Night Parade would be a thriller, or a horror novel. It was both, and it was more. When the story begins, something horrible has already happened. We don't know the details yet, we know only that David is on the run, and trying to keep his daughter safe. Slowly, as they continue their journey to where David hopes to find a safe place to hide, we are told through flashbacks of the terrifying events that left him a widower. Grief stricken but with no time to mourn his loss David sets out to protect his daughter at all costs. Ronald Malfi's writing is crisp and clean, and crackles off the page and into your brain. 5 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review.

Flu by Wayne Simmons/ Michael Kramer (Narrator)

Description
There's a nasty flu going round. An epidemic, they call it. The posters say to cover your mouth when you sneeze, and throw away the tissue. But such simple measures won't stop this flu. Because when you catch the flu, armed police come and lock you in your house to die alone. When you catch this flu, it kills you in days. And when you catch this flu, two hours after it's killed you, your eyelids snap open again . . . Flu is a pacey, terrifying, frighteningly real zombie horror story.

I'm a huge fan of all things zombie related so I was quite excited to get a copy of Flu.
I did like the premise of this deadly virus that zombifies you shortly after death. I listened to the audio version and while it was convenient to be able to listen to the story while I puttered around the house I think I may have enjoyed it better without the narration.

I received a complimentary audio file for review