The Crooked Boy by Moses Barraza

Description
A group of apparently close-knit friends venture to an abandoned hospital for a scare, but when things go wrong - terribly wrong - as soon as the night begins, the kids receive more than what they asked for, and when one of the teenagers is murdered, they put into motion a domino effect of supernatural horror, led by an evil older than humankind itself...a sleeping evil that was put to sleep for a reason. Its name: the Lord of the Flies.




A group of teens are heading to an abandoned institution ready to film any strange happenings. On the way they are in a car accident which they don't want to report, accosted by police, and attacked by birds, all before they get to their destination. Inside  they discover a room where someone has left a dire message scrawled across the walls in blood "He is coming he is here we can't escape even death can not free us God is dead"

I have some mixed feelings on this one. It has a fast pace and large volume of downright scary scenes. It's a good story that could have been great if it didn't some times take a stumble through a strange turn of phrase or odd choice of word which made it somewhat difficult to follow. There were parts that evoked chills, for example "Crows and crows and crows. Thousands of them swarmed her like flies. She swatted at the group of winged beasts, to no avail. She felt razors cut through her, sheering her skin like rice paper. She couldn't escape. There was no left or right in the tornado of demon birds. There was only black and red. Feathers and blood, feathers and blood."
Yet there were also parts that left me scratching my head. "She laughed a smile" for example.
 
Worth a read but I think it could benefit from a little cleaning up
3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Come As You Are A Short Novel and Nine Stories by Steven Ramirez

Description

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER AT Amazon
Some things are better left alone.

Ivan Stein isn’t sure he can survive seventh grade, let alone middle school. Living in a town known for its poverty and violence, he is regularly bullied along with his best friend, Ollie. But fortunes can change. One day, Ivan finds an old notebook in an abandoned locker at school. Despite a stark warning, he takes the book and unleashes powerful magic he can use to punish his enemies. But demonic forces control the book’s pages—a terrifying evil that will inflict suffering on the good as well as the bad and take his soul as payment.

Come As You Are is supernatural horror reimagined as Young Adult fiction. But don’t be fooled. Its violence will disturb you and its depiction of people living in a gloomy, desolate town without hope will make you cry. Pray that Ivan and his family can survive this dark, perilous journey.

It's times like this that I wish I was a writer myself, so that I could more adequately describe how much I enjoyed this book and why any horror lover should be dropping everything to read this as soon as it becomes available. I mean seriously do yourself a favor and clean up your "to be read list"
The title story "Come As You Are" really grabbed me. Who doesn't hate a bully? Ivan is having a rough time at school, and when he finds a notebook belonging to a former student who was also bullied before he disappeared.. who can blame him for taking a peek? Revenge is not always sweet as Ivan finds out the hard way. This was an excellent story. It may say "young adult fiction" but to me it was just plain classic horror. It would have made for a great episode of Tales From The Crypt. Well... if Tales hadn't had so many clunkers and so few good episodes. If it is "young adult" it is only because it is horror without sex scenes and when you are being this entertained you don't need them. When it ended I thought to myself sure, here comes the bland filler stories to make this novel length. I will now admit that thought was WRONG. Nothing here is empty filler. Every single story is a creepy little gem.  There's a man who has a new lease on life after recovering from oral cancer, in fact he's so happy he's singing, but heaven help you if you hear him. You may want to put your ear plugs in. Don't even get me started on what can happen if you wake a sleep walker. Everyone knows not to do that right? Unfortunately some don't believe until it's too late.
Do you have a fear of spiders? Not necessarily the big giant invaders of arachnophobia, but what about the little spider you can't see? The one that's hiding in your home right now, maybe plotting against you. I don't want to go on and on, giving away too much. I will just say if you have read my reviews you know I don't rate 5 stars often or lightly. Come As You Are gets a big fat freaky and frightening 5 out of 5 stars from me.

Also in this collection:
“Nailed It”
“Brown the Recluse”
“I’ve Been Better”
“A Bone in the Throat”
“Regino Sings”
“A Proper Revenge Takes Time”
“Something to Hold”
“The Widow and Her Magician”
“Walker”

I received an advance copy for review.

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