The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Description
 A breakout suspense novel from the award-winning author of The Haunting of Maddy Clare.
Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced..

"Mary Hand Mary Hand, dead and buried under land. She'll say she wants to be your friend. Do not let her in again!"
Then : The Idlewild girls, out of sight, out of mind, unwanted. Shut away in a boarding school
 where their families rarely if ever visited. Katie, Roberta. CeCe and Sophia, four girls with not much in common other than being forced to share a room,  become the best of friends. They live in fear, not only of what the future holds, but of the legend of Mary Hand, a story passed down from generations of school residents before them, scribbled about in the margins of text books that have never been replaced. They say Mary is buried on school property, that she haunts the grounds and shows you things, horrible awful things.

Now:
Fiona has never gotten over the loss of her sister. Her murdered body found dumped in the field at the long closed Idlewild Hall. When restorations begin on the property by someone who claims to want to reopen the school, Fiona can't keep away. She is present when a body is unearthed on school property, and her investigative mind leads her to uncover long buried secrets. Not only will she uncover the truth about Mary Hand, but of what truly happened to her sister and the newly unearthed body.

Part murder mystery, part ghost story, this was a suspenseful and intriguing tale, told on 2 time lines which added a wondrous mix of historical fiction into this thrilling read.

5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

Becoming by Glenn Rolfe

Description
Something ancient has wormed its way up from the earth....
A change has come today.

After Michele Cote's best friend disappears, no one believes her story about the thing responsible for his abduction. Forced to figure out the mystery for herself, Michele encounters terror she has never known, and witnesses the impossible.

When other members of the community begin to change or vanish, Sheriff Shane Davis must look beyond reason in order to stop the evil seeping into this small town. With help from an unlikely source, Sheriff Davis will come face-to-face with the truth.
You can't destroy what you don't understand. For the town of Avalon, Maine, the future is about change...for better or worse.

Becoming is the next horrifying novel from author, Glenn Rolfe. Includes the bonus novella, Boom Town



There's something fishy going on in Jade Lake, and it's not the trout casting that strange light.
Clint Truman, caring for his cancer riddled father Jack, is the first to notice a strange glow just below the surface.
 "It was then he noticed, even though he wasn't breathing, that he was still alive."

Soon it will make it's presence known to the rest of the town.
"One by one, we'll all become."
An ancient evil makes it's return in the small town of Avalon. This was an action packed tale full of good old fashioned creature feature type fun. I would recommend it to all horror fans but especially those who love the old horror comics like I do.
4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Cry Your Way Home by Damien Angelica Walters

Description
“Once upon a time there was a monster. This is how they tell you the story starts. This is a lie.”

Sometimes things are not what they appear to be. DNA doesn’t define us, gravity doesn’t hold us, a home doesn’t mean we belong. From circus tents to space stations, Damien Angelica Walters creates stories that are both achingly familiar and chillingly surreal. Within her second short story collection, she questions who the real monsters are, rips families apart and stiches them back together, and turns a cell phone into the sharpest of weapons.

Cry Your Way Home brings together seventeen stories that delve deep into human sorrow and loss, weaving pain, fear, and ultimately resilience into beautiful tales that are sure to haunt you long after you finish the collection.


Cry Your Way Home is a fitting title for a tome so heavily steeped in grief and despair. It touches on loss of a child in more than one way and in more than one story. Loss of a spouse, the pain of watching your husband forget you because of Alzheimer's, bullying, and more. Endless suffering can be found here.
Luckily for me I picked this up at a time when I have had enough sappy happy holiday cheer. There is some general dark fiction, and stories that straddled the line between fantasy and horror, occasionally dipping a toe in each. I hate to use the word "Enjoyed" in this case so I will just say there is mighty fine writing here.
4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

What Remains True by Janis Thomas

Description
In this mesmerizing drama, one life-altering event catapults a family into turmoil, revealing secrets that may leave them fractured forever . . . or bind them together tighter than ever before.
From the outside, the Davenports look like any other family living a completely ordinary life—until that devastating day when five-year-old Jonah is killed, and the family is torn apart. As the fury of guilt engulfs them, the Davenports slowly start to unravel, one by one.
Losing her son forces Rachel to withdraw into a frayed, fuzzy reality. Her husband, Sam, tries to remain stoic, but he’s consumed by regret with the choices he’s made. Eden mourns her brother, while desperately fighting to regain a sense of normalcy. And Aunt Ruth, Rachel’s sister, works too hard to care for the family, even as her own personal issues haunt her.
Told from multiple points of view—including Jonah’s—the family struggles to cope with unthinkable loss. But as they face their own dark secrets about that terrible day, they have a choice: to be swallowed up in sadness forever, or begin the raw, arduous ascent back to living.

What Remains True is a novel that drops you into the middle of a family in crisis. It is told from multiple points of view, even including the family dog, and the poor little boy who lost his life far too soon. Normally I would say too many cooks spoil the pot but in this case I think it was a brilliant way to express what every family member went through after Jonah's death. The only thing I really didn't care for was the therapist's point of view. It felt like a break in the real story, which I didn't want to be distracted from. It was hard to care about her personal life since I was so wrapped up in what was happening with the grieving family that I didn't want to be interrupted.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.