Weaving The Web: A Cold Hollow Mystery (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 2) by Emilie J. Howard

Description
“The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and people are dying.”

Life is not always perfect in the town of Cold Hollow, but with Mayor Myrna Bradbury at the helm, it might be someday. When a batch of newly paroled convicts arrives to take up residence in the town, disappearances of longtime townsfolk begin, gruesome human remains are found, and a government inspection is looming on the horizon. Time is of the essence as Myrna and the new chief of police are thrust into an investigation the likes of which they had never imagined.

Welcome to Cold Hollow, the place where the fun never ends.


In this creepy sequel to Cold Hollow, much has changed since last we visited these odd and quirky residents, though much has gone on just as usual.  Weaving The Web picks up nearly where Cold Hollow left off. The bakery is still in full swing, Myrna is now the mayor, and an odd assortment of new residents are on their way to being rehabilitated. Well, except for that murderer who is on the loose.
Weaving The Web is a captivating read that further exposes the shocking secrets of Cold Hollow. If you enjoyed the first book you will love this one, and if you have not read the first you really should.

I received a complimentary copy for review

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

Description

"A beautiful and provocative love story between two unlikely people and the hard-won relationship that elevates them above the Midwestern meth lab backdrop of their lives.
As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.
By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. When tragedy rips Wavy's family apart, a well-meaning aunt steps in, and what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world. A powerful novel you won’t soon forget, Bryn Greenwood's All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love."

This book was simply brilliant, and no, it is not about a pedophile. It begins when Wavy is just 5 years old and ends when she is 21.What can I say about Wavy. She was a beautiful, broken, fragile yet incredibly strong child. Born into neglect and abuse in the back seat of a strangers car. Her mother, a mentally unstable junkie, was in and out of her life. Her on again off again father operates a meth lab. It was their parenting skills that taught Wavy it was best to never speak, and made her unable to tolerate being touched. People tend to think something is wrong with her, that she is mentally challenged, but there is a mind as sharp as a tack behind that wall of silence. There is also a fierce love for her baby brother who she does her best to protect and take care of.
She is still only a child when she meets Kellen after witnessing his motorcycle accident. Kellen is a young man with a hot temper, a criminal history, and a heart of gold. When he sees the conditions Wavy is living in, he makes it his mission to help her as best he can. As others begin to view their relationship as unnatural, they are beginning to fall in love.
The story is told through the point of view of multiple characters, which helps to see that what is ugly is in the eye of the beholder, and one person's ugly is another person's wonderful.
 5 out of 5 stars from me.
I received a complimentary copy for review

Chills by Mary SanGiovanni

Description
“True Detective meets H.P. Lovecraft in this chilling novel of murder, mystery, and
slow-mounting dread from acclaimed author Mary SanGiovanni . . .

It begins with a freak snowstorm in May. Hit hardest is the rural town of Colby, Connecticut. Schools and businesses are closed, powerlines are down, and police detective Jack Glazier has found a body in the snow. It appears to be the victim of a bizarre ritual murder. It won't be the last. As the snow piles up, so do the sacrifices. Cut off from the rest of the world, Glazier teams up with an occult crime specialist to uncover a secret society hiding in their midst.

The gods they worship are unthinkable. The powers they summon are unstoppable. And the things they will do to the good people of Colby are utterly, horribly unspeakable…"


A storm is coming, and there is an unimaginable evil in it. This is no ordinary storm, and starting with the discovery of a ritualistic murder victim we are given just a taste of what's ahead. Jack Glazier had worked homicide for 9 years, but he had never seen anything like this. Kathy Ryan is brought in on the investigation, Kathy is an expert on ritual and occult type murders and bears the scar of her first brush with the Hand of the Black Stars cult.....and then the snow starts.. and people are unprepared for what it brings.
This book started off so strong, and I loved Kathy Ryan and her back story. Other than Kathy I just didn't have a lot of interest in the other main characters, though I did like quite a few of the expendable characters brought in for the sake of doing away with them in truly chilling ways. After a very strong start it seemed to just lag a bit in the middle, though the action did pick up again towards the end. All in all well worth a read.
I received an advance copy for review

Comorbid by Lorelei Logsdon

Description
"The debut psychological thriller that challenges your assumptions. James Davis is born into a life of strife and discord. His father is violent, his mother helpless—until a man calling himself Alistair breaks into his home and kills his abusive father in front of his eyes, protecting him from a final, deadly beating. As soon as the man appears, he vanishes mysteriously into the night, passing from sight and down into the murky depths of memory. Sixteen years later, James is still trying to cope with the events of that night. He has a normal life, a normal job, and normal friends—but he fears his childhood has left him a broken man from a broken home.

And then, just as suddenly as he had all those years ago, Alistair reappears and throws James' life into paranoia and chaos. Does Alistair's reappearance promise deliverance from evil once again…or this time has he come for James himself?"


This was a fascinating psychological thriller told partly from the point of view of James in the present day, and partly in flashbacks from the point of view of his mother Brenda.
Brenda had unfortunately fallen in love with an abusive man whom she married against her parents wishes. She tried to make the best of things with husband Frank, but he had more interest in drinking and gambling than being the family man Brenda had hoped for. When James is born into this unhappy home he becomes the newest target of Frank's rage, until one fateful night Frank is murdered in front of James by a stranger who threatens to do the same to him if he ever tells.
Now a grown man, dealing with PTSD James manages to hold a full time job though he prefers to keep to himself and avoid people as much as possible. Suddenly after all these years the murderer reappears in James's life, stalking him, advising him, and wanting something from him...
The ending was shocking! 4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received a complimentary copy for review