Curiosity Quills Presents: Darkscapes- by multiple authors

Description
Curiosity Quills Press explores yearning, regret, and fear with the Darkscapes Anthology — a spellbinding collection of dark fantasy, sci-fi, cyberpunk, horror, and detective fiction.

Delve into worlds of terrible family secrets, unexpected doppelgängers, a home invasion on an alien planet, androids and assassins, places and people who aren’t as stable as they seem, frustrated musicians going to desperate lengths — and more.

EXLEY AVENUE: In 1920s upstate New York, a tormented girl learns that her family’s new stone castle was built on a former cemetery, and in 2014, a former police detective uncovers horrible secrets.

LENA’S SONG: In the near future, two frustrated musicians and creative partners get in on the ground floor of neural firestreaming — but an old guitar creates an unexpected effect.

SORRY FOR THE MOUSE: A veteran back from Afghanistan develops a strange hobby to stay sane — but it doesn’t work as well as he had hoped.

SKELETON JIM: A skeleton detective who leads a double life as an Internet sensation takes a beautiful woman on as a client — and gets more than he bargained for.

OF LUSHER AND SLEEP: In this modern, alternative imagining of Romeo and Juliet, a veteran from an old-money family returns to London for his mother’s funeral and is confronted with a toxic history of two warring families — and a lost love.

ROOMIES: Housemates experience something deeply unsettling during an earthquake.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SONG: An American’s car is rear-ended by a lost Muslim traveler with diplomatic immunity; the traveler sings in the American’s place at his daughter’s school recital — with surprising results.

THE GIOVANNI EFFECT: A man who lives alone with his family on a terraformed wind turbine farm receives a disturbing visitor.

FOUR HUNDRED EYES, SIXTY-FOUR HUNDRED TEETH: An existentially anxious former star of a London goth rock band, missing fame and creativity, regains something he thought was lost.

CIRCULAR ARGUMENT: A severely dehydrated man is trapped in an endless loop on an external tram-shuttle around his base — and his patience with the on-board AI is fraying.

MOSES AND THE TALKING BUSH THAT WAS INCONVENIENTLY ON FIRE: An exhausted Moses herds sheep for his father-in-law until a burning bush gives him a holy quest he’s rather reluctant to do.

FAIL HOUSE: On the night the Chinese land the first mission to Mars, unemployed roommates in a crumbling American city navigate through riots to their government-subsidized housing — but is it the safe place they thought it would be?

ICU: A workaholic lawyer wakes up in an intensive care unit with painful regrets.

BOOTHEEL: An aged German soldier returns to the Missouri Bootheel where he picked cotton as a POW, digs up an old mirror — and dares to look at his reflection.

SECOND SENTIENCE: In this New Weird goat fantasy, two caprifauns explore a lost city — and their possible past lives.

LANDING A JOB IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR: When an Imperial assassin’s Keeper betrays the Empire, the assassin goes off-planet — to transition out of government work as fast as possible.

TRAPPED: A woman is trapped inside a body with Alzheimer’s disease.

OUT OF SIGHT: Unwanted kids wake up in an escape pod after years in stasis, and an AI bracelet is their only chance to make sense of a wild uncharted planet.  

Darkscapes is an eclectic mix of stories touching on horror, sci-fi, religion, and fantasy. All were enjoyable, some were truly exceptional. My favorites in this collection were "Skeleton Jim" by J.R. Rain in which a skeleton hanging in a classroom has somehow come to life.
"Roomies" by B.C. Johnson was a chilling tale of friends suddenly finding themselves trapped in their apartment. Nobody can get in or out until the blood curdling conclusion.
"In the Shadow of the Song" by Piers Anthony sounds almost like the start of an off color joke to say that a Christian and a Muslim get into a car accident but in light of recent events this story takes on a life of it's own.
"Moses and the Talking Bush That Was Inconveniently On Fire" by Andrew Buckley was the much needed satirical comedy relief in the midst of so many dark stories.
"Trapped" by Ann M. Noser was both frightening and heartbreaking, and if you should read the author's notes at the end you will probably not be surprised to find the reason it was  so well written is because the subject matter is sadly well known to her.

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Description
"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.
After her mother's suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother's mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran fast and far away.
Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.
As it weaves between Lane s first Roanoke summer and her return, " The Roanoke Girls" shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart."

Lane never understood her mother's depression, or hatred of her childhood home, until it was too late. She had never met any of her mother's family. They never wrote, or called. She always thought maybe they were dead, until her mother's suicide when she was told her grandparents wanted her to come and live with them. What at first seemed to be the first time Lane would ever have a normal family life turned out to be anything but normal. When Lane ran like hell after that summer in her grandparents home, she never expected to come back.
I liked the way it was told in alternating time periods of "Then" and "Now" as we learn what Lane ran from, and how it came to shape every aspect of her life and relationships.
Although a bit too predictable to hold any truly shocking moments it did hold my interest.
4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review

Sam by Iain Rob Wright

Description
WANT TO HEAR A SECRET?
When washed-up priest, Angela Murs, and skittish ghost hunter, Tim Golding, are summoned to a vast country manor to help a sick little boy, they have no idea what to expect. It’s clear that young Sammie is a very disturbed child, but there’s surely no way he could have been behind the recent spate of accidents, or the death of his father. The child is dirty, malnourished, and perhaps the victim of a negligent mother, but as Angela and Tim’s investigations take them deeper into the mystery, they realise that there is much more going on than they ever could have expected. When the blood begins to flow, there will be no escape, and little Sammie will finally be forced to show his true nature.  

I admit I have a soft spot for creepy little kids. They scare the bejeezers out of me, so I got quite a case of heebie jeebies from Sam.

When Angela and Tim are basically forced into a meeting with Sam's wealthy mother they are expecting it to be some sort of scam or hoax, but it is so much more involved than that. Sam is not just acting strangely and looking seriously ill, he possesses knowledge that no mere child could possibly have. Things quickly escalate from strange to dangerous and not everyone will survive their encounter with Sam.
4 out of 5 stars from me.

Don't Tell a Soul by M. William Phelps

Cherry Walker was a devoted, trusting, uncommonly innocent young woman who loved caring for a neighbor s little boy. But when she was asked to testify in court against his abusive mother, Cherry never got the chance. She couldn't lie if her life depended on it and it did. Cherry s body was found on the side of a Texas road, after being doused with lighter fluid and set aflame.
Attractive, manipulative, and violent, mother of four Kim Cargill had a wealth of dirty secrets she'd do anything to keep hidden. This in-depth account by bestselling investigative journalist M. William Phelps takes you inside Cargill s shocking trial and into the mind of one of the most conniving female psychopaths in recent history and on death row.
Anything by Phelps is an eye-opening experience. "Suspense Magazine"
Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer. "TV Rage"
Phelps is the king of true crime. --Lynda Hirsch, Creators Syndicate columnist
One of our most engaging crime journalists. Dr. Katherine Ramsland INCLUDES 16 PAGES OF DRAMATIC PHOTOS


This is a factual account of the cold blooded murder of Cherry Walker, and the trial and conviction of Kim Cargill for that murder. Cherry was mentally handicapped and although she was in her late 30s, she had only recently begun to live on her own with the help of an aid who would check in on her and help her with her daily living skills. Cherry was so proud of her little apartment, and everyone who knew her loved her, and was proud of her accomplishments. Everyone but Kim Cargill that is, who saw her as an easy target to be used and manipulated. Kim had 4 children by 4 failed relationships, often telling her various men that she could not get pregnant and then "surprising" them with a pregnancy in order to manipulate them further. She did not seem to want any of her children or get any joy from motherhood. Her children were an outlet for her anger, something to bully and beat on and take out her rage. But after already having lost custody of one child she was willing to kill to keep from losing custody of another. Not because she wanted him, or cared about him, or loved the child, but mainly because she did not want to have to pay child support. I am not a violent person but honestly this book made me want to throttle Kim Cargill myself. It was satisfying to learn how her lies caught up with her and ultimately landed her on death row. I would have liked to see pictures of her trial but the version I received did not contain any.

I received an advance copy for review