Mass Hysteria by Michael Patrick Hicks

Description

It came from space…

Something virulent. Something evil. Something new. And it is infecting the town of Falls Breath.

Carried to Earth in a freak meteor shower, an alien virus has infected the animals. Pets and wildlife have turned rabid, attacking without warning. Dogs and cats terrorize their owners, while deer and wolves from the neighboring woods hunt in packs, stalking and killing their human prey without mercy.

As the town comes under siege, Lauren searches for her boyfriend, while her policeman father fights to restore some semblance of order against a threat unlike anything he has seen before. The Natural Order has been upended completely, and nowhere is safe.

…and it is spreading.

Soon, the city will find itself in the grips of mass hysteria.

To survive, humanity will have to fight tooth and nail.


A fast paced gory tale that is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. It needs a warning for people who like to read during their lunch break. You may want to put the food down before you pick this up.
The meteor shower over the town of Fall's Breath was not just a beautiful light show. It carried with it something deadly. It rapidly turns household pets and wild life alike into ravenous killing machines. The people who manage to survive the attacks will also need to survive each other as this alien virus leaves them forever changed.

I received an advance copy for review.

Wrathbone and other stories by Jason Parent

Terror follows those who let it into their hearts.

Wrathbone
Guests of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, Major Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris attend a showing of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. On that fateful night, a great man falls, but he is not alone. For Henry and Clara, the night is only the beginning of lives wrought with jealousy, madness, and horror.
The Only Good Lawyer
Bradley is a savvy defense attorney with no scruples. Under his representation, many a guilty man has gone free. But when a voodoo priest takes the stand, Bradley soon discovers that he, too, is on trial, and the punishment for guilt may be more than he could bear.
Dorian's Mirror
Dorian loves himself, and why wouldn't he? Every guy wants to be him, and every girl wants to be with him. He would trade all he has to make his looks last forever, but bargaining with the devil may leave him short a soul.
For the Birds
Nev's best friend is his parrot. In fact, it's his only friend… and his only ally when his home is invaded.
Revenge is a Dish
Maurice has landed a dream job, chef for a rich couple on their yacht. The wife has carnal desires for him. Maurice has some carnal desires of his own.


This collection of five tales by Jason Parent were all devilishly good.
Wrathbone was the longest of the stories and started out a bit slower than the others but gradually built to a feverish pitch of horror.

"Wings like those of a bat's reached from his back to the walls, scraping along them, wilting the paint and rotting the wood."

My absolute favorite was "The Only Good Lawyer"
Bradley is a slick and sleazy defense attorney who has made his living representing guilty clients. Justice may finally be served when his latest client murders the daughter of a voodoo priest. It reminded me of a twilight zone episode that I dearly loved when another shyster was cursed to tell the truth. I loved hating Bradley! The ending could not have been more perfect.

Dorian's Mirror was a new twist on the picture of Dorian Gray, this time as a young, full of himself bartender sees his reflection rapidly aging in the mirror.

For the Birds left me so sad for poor Nev who lives all alone with his parrot. A polite parrot with strange tastes that is. He knows there's been so many break ins going on but he is not at all prepared when it happens to him.

Revenge is a Dish was terrifying!
Maurice  the chef is stranded in the ocean with all manner of creepy biting yucky sea life (can you tell I hate biting yucky sea life?) He is plotting revenge on those who left him behind. The end was quite surprising!

A creepy collection that I would highly recommend to all horror lovers.
5 out of 5 frightening stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review.

Deadly Partnership by Richard Gardner

Description
On his retirement, widower Paul Jenkins decides to live with his sister by the sea. But having moved in, the idyllic life that he has been hankering after is thrown into turmoil when he comes face to face with a burglar in the middle of the night.

His impulsive reaction to the intrusion has disturbing consequences when he is confronted with some unsavoury characters. However, it is the dead that he has far more to fear from.



Julie thinks she knows her brother but he has many hidden secrets, in fact one secret is hidden even from Paul himself.

I wonder, does murder get easier over time?

Paul has recently retired and been approached by his son Gary for a loan. He has already given Gary money in the past which he has yet to pay back but decides he will help him out of his current financial troubles by having him work for the money. Paul's  plan is to sell off his home, use some of the money to make improvements to his sister Julie's home and live with her. His son will get paid to work on the house and it's a win win situation for all.

Not long after arriving, a medium has a vision of something horrible that happens on the property and issues a warning to make sure the house is locked up. This warning is not heeded and when a break in goes badly Paul's life will never be the same. As one bad choice leads to another Paul and Gary get themselves deeper and deeper into trouble.

This was a fun read and I particularly enjoyed the paranormal aspect.

4 out of 5 stars from me

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain

From perennial bestseller Diane Chamberlain, a compelling new novel

In 1944, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly ends her engagement to the love of her life when she marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina, a small town struggling with racial tension and the hardships imposed by World War II. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows no interest in making love. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.

The people of Hickory love and respect Henry and see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain, especially after one of the town’s prominent citizens dies in a terrible accident and Tess is blamed. Tess suspects people are talking about her, plotting behind her back, and following her as she walks around town. What does everyone know about Henry that she does not? Feeling alone and adrift, Tess turns to the one person who seems to understand her, a local medium who gives her hope but seems to know more than he’s letting on.

When a sudden polio epidemic strikes the town, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess, who has a nursing degree, bucks Henry’s wishes and begins to work at the hospital, finding meaning in nursing the young victims. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle her husband’s mysterious behavior and save her own life?

I love historical fiction, especially anything to do with the depression or world war II. It was the great equalizer if you think about it. Whether you were wealthy or poor you worried about your loved ones fighting in the war. You mourned and grieved those who didn't make it home. You learned to go without sugar in your coffee when your rations ran out, and all the money in the world couldn't save you from getting polio before the vaccine finally became available. Polio didn't care if you were black or white or rich or impoverished.

 So while there were many things about this book I loved, I have to say I disliked Henry Kraft immensely.  Before I get ahead of myself lets start with Tess, the good girl from Baltimore madly in love with Vince and about to pursue their lifelong dream of getting married and working together in the medical field. He is a doctor and she is about to become an RN.  This dream is ruined by one awful night, and although Henry is portrayed as a kind and caring and decent man.. well to me that awful night was entirely on him.

Tess ends up leaving the only life she has ever known, and moves to North Carolina with Henry, where she is treated as an unwelcome unwanted outsider by his family and the townspeople. When an outbreak of polio strikes and the town comes together to build a hospital, Henry's mother is disgusted by Tess wanting to work there as a nurse. Tess refuses to sit idly by when she has skills that are in such desperate need, especially considering she has been told by the only person who has shown her any kindness, that it's what she is meant to do. I loved Tess, and the remarkable strength she showed especially considering women in those days were expected to do as their husbands told them.

4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review.