Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn

Description
By the New York Times bestselling author of Manson, the comprehensive, authoritative, and tragic story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre—the largest murder-suicide in American history.

In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially integrated, and he was a much-lauded leader in the contemporary civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California. He became involved in electoral politics, and soon was a prominent Bay Area leader.

In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing to the fraught decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.

Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestown is the definitive book about Jim Jones and the events that led to the tragedy at Jonestown.


You probably know the expression... "don't drink the Kool-Aid." You may not know it was actually a cheap knock off  called "flavor-aid" laced with cyanide that hundreds of people were forced to drink under threat of armed guards that fateful day in a South American jungle.  Years ago I saw a short documentary on Jim Jones, but until reading this book I never knew the road to Jonestown was paved with good intentions. The Peoples Temple began with like minded people who wanted only to help the downtrodden, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Elderly people were housed in nursing homes by followers of Jim Jones where even if they could not afford to pay, were given care that met or exceeded state standards. Young people were given college educations that they never could have paid for on their own. They were made to feel that Jim Jones truly cared about them, and at first maybe he did. Then it all began to go horribly wrong.  This detailed and factual account  begins before Jim Jones was even born to a negligent mother who wouldn't allow him to be in the house when she wasn't home, and a sickly father who was too weak to stand up to her. It ends with the aftermath of murder and suicide that took 918 lives. If you ever wondered why or how so many people could allow themselves to be led astray this is the book for you. 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

And Then There Was Me by Sadeqa Johnson

Description

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Something (Wisteria, Book 1) by Shelby Lamb

Description
“I will find true love and everything will be okay. I will find true love and everything will be okay…” she chanted.

They say be careful what you read. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. It can happen to anyone. This is just four teenagers’ story. Aubrey Golding hates her face, her body, and is devastated after Nathan Silva leaves her. Alone, suicidal, and desperate for love, she discovers a book called Something and unknowingly links others to a dark and terrifying curse that is beginning to consume her. Nathan is glad to be moving on with someone new and can hardly believe what is happening now. Wild child and amateur porn star, Bella Broadhurst, loves bullying that “emo whore” Aubrey with the other girls, but mostly she loves partying, hookups, and plain ol’ drama when terror arises. And Kendra Coke is just a new teen mother working on a delicate relationship when things start becoming utterly bizarre. Chilling sleep disturbances and figures hiding in the corners of their rooms are just warnings of what is to come. Be careful what you read, they say. Tread carefully.



I don't know what I just read. Is it porn? Is it horror? Is it horror porn? Part of me wants to say this book is for younger readers as the main characters are in their late teens, though it would not be appropriate for anyone under 18, with it's vast amounts of sex and partying.
Aubrey is suicidal over her break up with Nathan, who unbeknownst to her has hooked up with her best friend. At one of many parties (all these kids do is drink get high and switch sex partners) someone tells a creepy story of sleep paralysis and a stick woman who moves things around and leaves twigs behind. After this, everyone starts seeing strange visions, and shadowy demonic figures, and waking up with weird marks or pustules on their bodies. It's a complicated and convoluted tale.

I received an advance copy for review.



Thursday, February 16, 2017

Death & Pestilence A Horror Anthology by Sands Press (Editor)

Twenty authors from Canada, USA, England, South Africa, Australia and Brazil take you on a journey of terror and fright that will leave you looking over your shoulder, wondering what lies beyond the next turn and asking yourself what is hidden in the shadows.
Sands Press collected the top twenty submissions from a short story horror contest and showcased them in "Death & Pestilence." These stories will have you sitting on the edge of your seat questioning your better judgment as to why you decided to read this book when you were alone.
Stories by B.G. Strong, E. J. Walker, Guy Cheston, Caito Caol, Dennis Stein, Flynn Gray, Rob Powell, Steve Kreidman, Micky Neilson, Victoria Griffen, Chevoque, Andrea Merchak, Michaela Turcotte, Nathan S. M. Knapp, Rod Martinez, J. P. Frost, Rick Weiss, Jasmine Love, Paul Pickett, Jay Michael Wright II


I love short horror stories, and more than that I love discovering new (to me) authors, So I got a lot of enjoyment out of these creepy little gems. Some of my favorites were "Plague II" by B.G. Strong in which the world has become a place where you can smell your own eyes rotting in your head. Too gross for you? Don't worry there are some less graphic stories, though others that are even more so.
"The Curse of Greenwater Falls" by Flynn Gray is a good old fashioned spooky tale, and for anyone like me who lives in a small town we all know there are certain roads best not traveled if you can avoid it. "Trail's End" by E.J. Walker Is a not so cheery story even though the birds are chirping in the awakening forest as Thomas and his wife share what will be their last camping trip together. "Blood of a Sinner" by Guy Cheston tells the story of an abusive foster mother and the boy she will not be abusing any longer. "My Friend Bruce" by Caito Caol was probably one of the most brutal but also most impressive stories as we are told by Robert how he came to meet Bruce and what happened to that friendship. "Vodka Memories" by Victoria Griffin was both chilling and heartbreaking as we learn how Melanie lost the love of her life. "The Monsters Outside the Well" by Nathan S.M. Knapp was probably my absolute favorite of the bunch. 5 boys uncover an old well and after they do, there are only 4 boys left to fill it in. "The Lantern" by Dennis Stein is the story of a woman who is drawn to a lamp in a curio shop who learns that some things are best not illuminated. "Captive" by Kristine Barker is the story of a woman who finally finds the strength to get out of an abusive relationship, but at what cost..

I would highly recommend this anthology to any horror fan.
5 stars from me

I received an advance copy for review.