Perfect Prophet by Diane M. Johnson

When atheistic death-metal guitarist Alec is shot on stage by a Satanic fan, his miraculous recovery inspires a change in his beliefs about God. But when he returns to his hometown to make amends with his family, he discovers that his strictly religious and abusive father has dark secrets that involve Alec and his role in a local Satanic cult.

Perfect Prophet is a dark, supernatural thriller where normal people who question the existence of God must choose what roles they will play in a battle over an unlikely savior's soul.



It's been a long time since I've come across a really satisfying Satanists versus the good guys story and that is just what Perfect Prophet delivers. I'm not going to get into the plot too much except to say I wasn't convinced this death metal band was going to interest me much. I was wrong.
 Race With The Devil is mentioned in the book but I was already reminded of it before then. It also has shades of Salem's Lot and Let's Scare Jessica To Death. No there are no vampires but you just never know who you can trust and who is in league with the devil.
5 out of 5 stars

I received an complimentary copy for review.

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A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl by Jean Thompson

From National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of The Year We Left Home comes a moving family saga about three generations of women who struggle to find freedom and happiness in their small Midwestern college town.

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is a poignant novel about three generations of the Wise family—Evelyn, Laura, and Grace—as they hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making.

Evelyn set aside her career to marry, late, and motherhood never became her. Her daughter Laura felt this acutely and wants desperately to marry, but she soon discovers her husband Gabe to be a man who expects too much of everyone in his life, especially his musician son. Grace has moved out from Laura and Gabe’s house, but can’t seem to live up to her potential—whatever that might be.

In A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl we see these women and their trials, small and large: social slights and heartbreaks; marital disappointments and infidelities; familial dysfunction; mortality. Spanning from World War II to the present, Thompson reveals a matrilineal love story that is so perfectly grounded in our time—a story of three women regressing, stalling, and yes, evolving, over decades. One of the burning questions she asks is: by serving her family, is a woman destined to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, or can she transcend the expectations of a place, and a time? Can she truly be free?

Evelyn, Laura, and Grace are the glue that binds their family together. Tethered to their small Midwestern town—by choice or chance—Jean Thompson seamlessly weaves together the stories of the Wise women with humanity and elegance, through their heartbreaks, setbacks, triumphs, and tragedies.

I suppose anyone who is a daughter, or a  mother, or has lost a mother, will be able to find something to relate to in this book. I know I did. It is true that women have always been the glue that holds a family together, sometimes joyfully, other times not so much. This is the story of 3 generations of unhappy, dissatisfied, women who did the best they could with the hand they were dealt, and lived as best they could with the choices they made. It was not exactly a tear jerker although it was depressing at times. I wanted to remind each of these women that life is what you make of it. I wish someone had done that for them.

I received an advance copy for review.

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Let There Be Dark by Tim McWhorter

From an oddities shop looking to expand their macabre collection, to a back roads bridge with a horrifying past, Let There Be Dark is a collection of eight, sinister short stories full of ghostly phantoms, savage beasts, and the most frightening creature of all: humans. This first horror collection from the author of the best-selling novel, Bone White, thrusts you beyond the fringe and reminds us why we should all fear the dark.


As I finish up this collection of 8 short stories I am asking myself how I have never heard of Tim McWhorter. Do I live under a rock? This is not his first book but it is my first time reading this author. How am I the first one to review this? Where are all the horror lovers who should be enjoying the hell out of this and singing it's praises. Tim McWhorter said Let There Be Dark... and there was!

It takes a LOT to scare me. At least when it comes to books. Some of these stories had my heart pounding because they played off my real life fears. Especially "The Dark Side"
With the coming Halloween season my husband and I are preparing (as always) to visit multiple haunted house attractions, but we have never been to one of those black out houses. You know the kind where you walk through in absolute darkness? That is the premise of "The Dark Side" as a young couple prepare to make their way through, even though one of them really doesn't want to participate. Personally my real fear is that I would trip and break a hip in the dark or just plain get lost and never find my way out. I have absolutely no sense of direction. This is also the reason that the story "Growing Cold Together" had me nearly quaking with fear, before the scary parts even started. 2 sisters and a boyfriend are on a road trip on a bitter cold snowy Colorado road. They pull over for a bathroom break, the sister wanders into the woods and doesn't come back. I can easily see myself as the one lost in the woods.. and as the one left behind having no clue which way to go or how to find her. I am the kind of person who can come out of the grocery store and not know where the car is so picturing myself in their shoes gave me that dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach before the real horror even started... and it does get started. Believe me. I'm warning you. "The Bridge" is a chilling ghost story based on urban legend which just about every small town has a version of, though not nearly as compelling as this one. These stories were 5 star reads for me.
I also enjoyed "Rope Burns" about a trip to Salem for research on writing a thesis on how the witch trials influenced the legal system. Historical landmarks may not have been preserved but restless spirits can not be so easily washed away. "Pigs" finds a hapless photographer in need of cheap lodgings getting involved in some disturbing goings on at a pig farm.
In "No Saints Here" a would be lothario has his plans interrupted when he tries to force himself on the wrong woman. "Skull Session" concerns a young man attempting to sell a strange curio he bought online but unfortunately for him the buyer requires something else from him. These were 4 star reads for me. I hate to have to say that I have left out one story.. "The Company You Keep" that just simply was not for me. Others may enjoy it. I only skimmed it. I just can not muster up interest in anything to do with mafia, mobsters or whatever. It's not you, it's just me and I choose not to base my rating on that one story.
4.5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.
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 About the author
Tim McWhorter was born under a waning crescent moon, and while he has no idea what the significance is, he thinks it sounds really cool to say. A graduate of Otterbein College with a BA in Creative Writing, he is the author of the novella SHADOWS REMAIN, the suspense-thrillers, BONE WHITE, and its sequel, BLACKENED, and a collection of short stories titled SWALLOWING THE WORM. Described as "an intelligent thrill ride that presents itself as a love letter to slasher stories," BONE WHITE came in at #11 on HorrorUnderground's Top Books of 2015.

He lives the suburban life just outside of Columbus, OH, with his wife, a handful of children and a few obligatory 'family' pets that have somehow become solely his responsibility. He is currently hard at work on another thriller with just enough horror to keep you up at night. He is available for conversation through Twitter (@Tim_McWhorter), Facebook 
or his website

The Toy Thief by D.W. Gillespie

Description

Jack didn’t know what to call the nameless, skeletal creature that slunk into her house in the dead of night, stealing the very things she loved the most. So she named him The Toy Thief… There’s something in Jack’s past that she doesn’t want to face, an evil presence that forever changed the trajectory of her family. It all began when The Toy Thief appeared, a being drawn by goodness and innocence, eager to feed on everything Jack holds dear. What began as a mystery spirals out of control when her brother, Andy, is taken away in the night, and Jack must venture into the dark place where the toys go to get him back. But even if she finds him, will he ever be the same?

I started this book before I even meant to. I merely opened it to see how long it was and then couldn't put it down. The story is told through Jack's point of view. Now a grown woman, she recounts a horrific summer from her youth, and the way it shaped her life and the life of her older brother.
Jack and Andy hated and loved each other with the intensity that only siblings can share. Their father, loving them fiercely, but just not up to the task of being a single parent after the tragic loss of his wife, often leaves them without guidance. Into this working class family dynamic creeps "The Toy Thief" as Jack dubs the menacing entity that invades their home. If only toys were all that it wanted to steal! This was my first time reading anything by D.W. Gillespie. It won't be my last. This is my favorite type of horror. The kind that serves up characters I can actually care about, and fills me with an ever increasing sense of dread as I worry over what may happen to them next.
5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
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