Little Killers A to Z by Howard Odentz

Description

Bad things come in small packages . . .
EPIC Award finalist Howard Odentz has penned twenty-six disturbingly fascinating horror stories about the youngest predators among us.
From Andy and Boris to Yuri and Zena, this eclectic anthology is filled, A to Z, with psychopaths, monsters, and murderers!
So turn on the lights and huddle under your blankets because murder isn't just for grown-ups anymore. Come meet our gallery of little killers.
After all, they're dying to meet you!
Author and playwright Howard Odentz is a lifelong resident of the gray area between Western Massachusetts and North Central Connecticut. His love of the region is evident in his writing as he often incorporates the foothills of the Berkshires and the small towns of the Bay and Nutmeg states into his work.
5 Stars "a relentless, thrilling ride" - Court Street Literary, on Bloody Bloody Apple.
"Howard Odentz takes this mis-mosh of dysfunctional characters and puts together a wonderful story that is equal parts horror and love." - Scared Stiff Reviews, on Bloody Bloody Apple

These 26 bite sized tales of wonderfully wicked children kept me glued to the pages. From A is for Andy to Z is for Zina who is starving to death in a post apocalyptic world I couldn't put it down. These are not all stories of children who just enjoy killing though some of them do! Some were made that way through circumstance, others learned it from daddy. Each tale is unique.
Some of my favorites were A is for Andy, in which an abused child finds a way to improve his living situation. C is for Cassie in which a girl who needs structure and consistency has her routine disturbed by grandma. F is for Fern, about a girl who loves to kill but also loves her baby sister. K is for Kiernan, in which a boy must fight for his life. M is for Maura about a girl who just wanted some privacy, N is for Nancy which addressed bigotry. I also Loved the story of poor OZ who was shuffled from one specialist to the next to address his real and imagined medical problems. Truly there was not a bad story in the bunch, but those were my absolute favorites. 5 stars from me.

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Apartment by S.L. Grey

Expected publication October 4
Available for preorder at amazon

Description
"Mark and Steph have a relatively happy family with their young daughter in sunny Cape Town until one day when armed men in balaclavas break in to their home. Left traumatized but physically unharmed, Mark and Steph are unable to return to normal and live in constant fear. When a friend suggests a restorative vacation abroad via a popular house swapping website, it sounds like the perfect plan. They find a genial, artistic couple with a charming apartment in Paris who would love to come to Cape Town. Mark and Steph can’t resist the idyllic, light-strewn pictures, and the promise of a romantic getaway. But once they arrive in Paris, they quickly realize that nothing is as advertised. When their perfect holiday takes a violent turn, the cracks in their marriage grow ever wider and dark secrets from Mark's past begin to emerge.

Deftly weaving together two complex and compelling narrators, S. L. Grey builds an intimate and chilling novel of a disintegrating marriage in the wake of a very real trauma. The Apartment is a terrifying and tour-de-force of horror, of psychological thrills, and of haunting suspense."

This story was a little slow to get going, and at first I thought I was going to be disappointed in it. I don't know when I've been so wrong.
When the book begins. the home invasion has already occurred and Mark and Steph are living in the aftermath. They have somewhat grown apart in the marriage, partially due to the break in, and partially because Mark had already faced some traumatic events before the break in ever occurred. The story is told in alternating points of view, switching back and forth between Mark and Steph. They no longer feel comfortable in their own home and do not seem all that comfortable with each other, at least not enough to confide in.
A friend suggests a getaway, but money is tight since Mark is the sole provider and Steph is a stay at home mom to their small daughter.
When an opportunity presents itself to stay in Paris free via a house swap website it sounds like a dream come true. They head off with high hopes that this will be just what they need to reconnect with each other and to put the trauma of the past behind them.
Those hopes are short lived. At this point the story picks up speed from a slow build to an avalanche of terror and suspense. From the minute they arrive there is a feeling that something is just plain wrong. The apartment is not at all what they expected and the building itself appears abandoned, except for a strange woman upstairs who has never heard of the people who supposedly live there, and who tells them this building is "not for living."
Circumstances go from bad to worse and the creepiness factor rises exponentially.
I have been reading adult horror since I was 11 years old and it takes a lot to scare me. S.L. Grey has succeeded in doing just that with The Apartment.
5 out of 5 stars from me
I received an advance copy for review

A Frayed Web by Jon Ripslinger

Description

Walter Bohannon fears love has blinded his mom. After his dad’s death, she reconnected with an old sweetheart, but Adam Kingsley may not be the same person she dated in high school. Even his teenage daughter doesn’t seem to know him very well.
Probing into Kingsley’s background, Walter discovers some disturbing things about his soon-to-be stepdad. Kingsley has secrets, and he might be willing to kill to protect them.

Can Walter convince his mother of the danger before it’s too late?

 

 

 

Walter has been man of the house ever since his dad passed away. Now suddenly out of the blue his mother is getting remarried to a man she hasn't seen in years, after reconnecting with him over the internet. Adam and his daughter move in as they prepare to become one big happy family, but Walter finds the whole thing suspicious and begins digging into Adam's past, at least when he is not busy lusting after his soon to be step-sister. This was a quick read at under 300 pages.

It caught my eye since I am a fan of movies like The Stepfather where clueless mom hooks up with Mr. not so nice guy. I am a bit confused as to who the target audience would be, it is less intense than what you may expect for adults but not quite as clean as books that are geared towards teens.

 

I received a complimentary copy for review

in twenty years by Allison Winn Scotch

Description

Twenty years ago, six Penn students shared a house, naively certain that their friendships would endure—until the death of their ringleader and dear friend Bea splintered the group for good. Now, mostly estranged from one another, the remaining five reluctantly gather at that same house on the eve of what would have been Bea’s fortieth birthday.

But along with the return of the friends come old grudges, unrequited feelings, and buried secrets. Catherine, the CEO of a domestic empire, and Owen, a stay-at-home dad, were picture-perfect college sweethearts—but now teeter on the brink of disaster. Lindy, a well-known musician, is pushing middle age in an industry that’s all about youth and slowly self-destructing as she grapples with her own identity. Behind his smile, handsome plastic surgeon Colin harbors the heartbreaking truth about his own history with Bea. And Annie carefully curates her life on Instagram and Facebook, keeping up appearances so she doesn’t have to face the truth about her own empty reality.

Reunited in the place where so many dreams began, and bolstered by the hope of healing, each of them is forced to confront the past.

20 years ago they were the 6 pointed star, 6 best friends sharing a house, and their hopes and dreams for the future. When Bea passed away, the remaining 5 drifted apart. Now reunited for the first time in more than a decade they must come to grips with the fact that life is what you make it and perhaps come to grips with the fact that if you get the things you think you wanted in your 20s it may not the perfect reality you envisioned.
4 out of 5 stars from me for this engaging summer read.
I received a complimentary copy for review.