Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

Description

The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told... until now.

There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.

At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. From a bit farther away comes the chink of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball as the Senior League kids practice for the Labor Day charity game.

One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."

On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat...

Journey back to Castle Rock again in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December. This book will be a Cemetery Dance Publications exclusive with no other editions currently planned anywhere in the world!

First I have to say I looked forward to the release of this book for what felt like forever. I preordered in advance the minute I knew of it's future existence. I couldn't wait to read it and yet when it finally arrived I had too much else going on to start it right away. I did take notice of reviews piling up, most of them positive.. Sometimes when books are hyped to high heaven the reality ends up being a let down because after building it up in your mind so much it can rarely measure up to the expectation. That is NOT the case here.
Gwendy Peterson is a likable 12 year old girl who one day encounters the man in black as she is doing her damnedest to lose some weight as well as rid herself of a nasty nickname before the start of the new school year. She is naturally wary of the stranger, and equally wary of accepting his offering of the mysterious button box, and the secrets and power it holds....
This was such a fun read!  If I have any complaints, they would be only some minor historical inaccuracies, and that I wish it had been longer. It spans an entire decade in Gwendy's life and could have been a full novel instead of novella length.

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back...

One night five years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn't add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister's return might just be the beginning of the crime.  



Emma and Cass never knew from one day to the next whether their mother would be in one of her phony affectionate moods or in a rage at some imagined injustice. She always ran hot and cold depending on who her audience was, who was watching, and the purpose for which she wanted to manipulate them.. When the sisters suddenly go missing one night their mother plays the part of devastated parent but as the years go by the investigation grows cold. Few people know the truth of what happened the night Cass and Emma disappeared but when Cass returns years later without her sister, and with a strange story to tell, investigators will have to take a fresh look. I was deeply engaged in most of the story as told by Cass though I found it to drag a bit during the parts told from the psychiatrist Abby's point of view.
This was a suspenseful, twisty, dramatic look into the lives of a dysfunctional family.

I received an advance copy for review

Cruelty by Edward Lorn

Description
On a lonely stretch of deserted Texas highway, Will Longmire breaks down. But he's not alone.

In the dead of night, Innis Blake hits someone - or something - with her car. The figure should not be getting up. But it is.

An unstoppable force is after Will and Innis. And before the night is over, both strangers will know the face of Cruelty.

Forgiveness is only a few miles down the road, but safety is nowhere in sight.

Every monster has its origins.  

I have made a promise to myself that I will find the time to read some of my book purchases. So in addition to reviewing books that are soon to be published I am finally getting down to those that have waited unread on my kindle.
I have wanted to read this for quite some time, and before starting it I did not even know from the description or other reviews that it had anything at all to do with the "Dastardly Bastard" (another of my favorite Edward Lorn books) so that was a most welcome surprise.
It begins with a meth head hooker and a blind man which the author points out sounds a bit like a dirty joke, and then all hell breaks loose.
 Cruelty, Regret, Forgiveness, Penance, none were what I expected, and I can't begin to describe them to you. There weren't many characters I could sympathize with but Merlo the dog stole my heart.

Two Shades of Vice by Dewey B. Reynolds

Description

The action is hot in Kansas City during the 1960s. Gordon Reynolds happens to be a vicious criminal who has served prison time in five different states over a period of twenty-five years. Gordon is determined to muscle his way into major rackets such as prostitution, bootlegging whiskey, robbery, hijacking and contraband cigarettes. He eventually meets up with Alla Mae Briggs. She knows the prostitution racket very well, since she worked the Kansas City streets for several years. She too has a lengthy rap sheet of twenty-five criminal convictions for the solicitation of prostitution. Gordon needs someone to help him operate his main bawdy house.

Alla Mae is the perfect recruit to help him forge stronger relations between his hookers and their customers. The collaboration of their experiences on the streets proves highly profitable. But unforeseen danger causes things to come crashing down all around them. Racist cops, ruthless gangsters, a white supremacist group, jealous pimps and rival hookers are the opposing forces that this interracial couple are destined to face. Crossing the racial line puts them at incredible odds with the law and fellow criminals alike.  Based on the true story of how a white man and a black woman fell in love and broke all the rules in order to make their living together illegally.

This book is not exactly what I was expecting when I picked it up in the "true crime" section. I should have paid more attention to the smaller print "Based on the true story" which is not at all the same as a factual account.
Personally I like my facts separate from my fiction. Are these names real? Did all of these people even exist? I don't know. I do know that this reads like a novel, not a true crime, and any facts seem to be heavily embellished.
As far as the story itself, the 60s were already a tumultuous time to be a part of an interracial couple. Even more so when you are a mom and want to muscle in on other criminals territory. It was fast paced, with lots of sex and violence. The ending was strangely abrupt. which left me wondering if there will be more to follow, and what the future held for Alla Mae's children.

I received a complimentary copy for review.