Beneath the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Forbidden passions have shaped and haunted the Dollanganger family since their first novel—Flowers in the Attic—debuted forty years ago. Now discover how twisted the family roots truly are, and witness the clan’s origins as a result of one wild and complicated relationship. In this evocative and thrilling tale from New York Times bestselling author V.C. Andrews, see Corrine Dixon as a young girl and discover the fascinating family history of the Dollanganger clan.

Two generations before Corinne Foxworth locked her children in an attic, her grandmother, a gorgeous young girl named Corrine Dixon, is swept away by the charms of rich, sophisticated, and handsome Garland Foxworth. After discovering that she’s pregnant, Garland does what appears to be the honorable thing and marries her in a huge ceremony on the luxurious Foxworth Hall grounds. Both families fervently overlook the pregnancy, happy for a suitable resolution.

Now the mistress of a labyrinthine estate, Corrine discovers that nothing is what is seems. Garland is not the man once captivated by her charms, and she’s increasingly troubled by his infatuation with memories of his departed mother.

Can Corrine survive this strange new life? Or is her fate already sealed?

Explore the origins of the legendary Dollanganger family in this page-turning, gripping gothic thriller.  

Corrine was a narcissistic, materialistic girl who fancied herself a woman of the world and learned the hard way that she was a gullible fool.  "It was simply my destiny to draw the admiration and desire, most assuredly the lust of every man who stepped within the radius of my beauty. I had the power, the glow. To pretend I could stop it or even moderate it was as silly as pretending I could prevent the sun from rising"
A bit over the top with her delusions of grandeur? Yes. Do I think this is the Corrine the real V.C. Andrews would have written about? most likely not. Quite honestly I was in the mood for something mindless and trashy that wouldn't take long to read and that I didn't have to give a whole lot of thought to and this fit the bill.

I received a complimentary copy for review.
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Books since her death are ghost written by Andrew Neiderman, but still attributed to the V.C. Andrews name.

Lesath by A.M. Kherbash

Locked in his dark cell, Greg lay awake in bed, fidgeting with the small cassette recorder, pressing the rewind and stop buttons to listen to the heavy click and spring-loaded clank that initiated and punctuated the faint whirring mechanics. He knew well enough no one was going to come looking for him―not while he was in between jobs, living in a four-door pickup truck, and had traveled to an undisclosed location without telling anyone.

What brought him here were rumors of an abandoned building that was said to be part of a black site―rumors that were circulated amongst truckers and drifters: some exaggerated the sinister aspect of the place, detailing with morbid relish the methods of enhanced interrogation that were being developed or deployed there, while others assumed the contrarian position and downplayed the horrors, if not downright dismissed the whole story as hyperbole.
Questionable as the lead was, the story seemed too good for an amateur journalist like Greg to pass up. All the same, he did not expect there would be some truth to those rumors, that the building is not quite derelict as he had imagined. And that, thanks to a case of mistaken identity, he was now incarcerated there as an inmate.

Greg stopped the rewinding mechanism when he detected rustling and soft thumps coming through the ceiling vent―or thought he did, since the quirky nature of unidentified noise is that it usually ceases whenever one stops to listen. Like a living body, no running building is without its small, unaccountable bumps and muffled clanks; yet even if they’re mostly benign noise, at night, they’re magnified by the ever-present hush, and their unfamiliarity never fails to inflame the imagination of the sleepless newcomer.

LESATH is a psychological horror that pays tribute to gothic fiction.

This was a convoluted story that was not really what I was expecting or hoping for from the description. It felt like less of a horror and more of a sci-fi thriller which is really not my thing. It started out well enough and there is lots of action but the longer it went on the less I enjoyed it. The ending left me with more questions than answers. As a horror lover I certainly don't need every little detail to make sense but I do at least need to know what is going on and why. It also helps if I care what is going on or why.

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Third Corona Book of Horror Stories edited by Lewis Williams

In response to our worldwide call, we received a total of 824 horror short story submissions for this book – adding up to a staggering total of over three million words. But we read them all, selecting only the best of the best stories to include in this book. That is why when we say this book is something special, we mean it – and that when we say it contains the best in new horror short stories, that is no hyperbole.

We love horror, and the stories included in this book prove that it’s a genre where great imagination and great writing are more than possible. From the opening story “Suds and Monsters”, which might put you off washing dishes for good, to the closing story “Scythe”, which brings the proceedings to a short sharp close, each contribution will bring new horrors to unsettle you.

We can guarantee you will find brilliant new horror writing here, but what you won’t find is a collection full of those who have star names (yet). We’re proud to include here both a story from at least one author who has sold books in the millions and a story from at least one author whose work has never been published before. We’ve simply included the very, very best of the stories, without fear or favour, to bring you the very best modern horror anthology possible.

Within these pages, you will find ghostly apparitions, sinister secrets, grisly murders, gruesome hobbies, and debilitating loss. All of the authors are new to me, and although every story may not have been my cup of tea, each brings something unique to the table.
This was an eclectic mix of tales that ranged from dark humor, to the more heart pounding horror and everything in between. My favorites in this anthology were "Suds and Monsters" by Christopher Stanley which is a timeless darkly comedic tale of hapless stepchild and spiteful stepmother. "The Haunting of April Heights" by Tricia Lowther is a more straight forward horror complete with bumps in the night after a young woman moves into a gloomy apartment with a somber past. "Murderabilia" by Adam Meyer is a slow decent into ghoulish obsession as a collector loses control of his hobby. "The First Circle" by Sue Eaton is creepy fun from start to finish and as someone who watches a lot of old TV the first thing I thought of was an episode of the old Dick Van Dyke Show titled It May Look Like A Walnut and I am sure a lot of you young people are scratching your head wondering what I am talking about but seriously look it up, it's free on YouTube. "Luna Too" by Jess Doyle finds a happy family on holiday who discover more than they expected inside their vacation rental.
"A Little Death" by Ryan Harville is both heart breaking and horrifying. I didn't think anything could be worse for a young man than to lose his wife and baby in the same day. I was wrong.
"Lily's Kids" by Florence Ann Marlowe begins innocently enough as young Jimmy Wades and his little sister Katie make the acquaintance of some unusual children... but this is a meeting they will soon regret.
These for me were the 5 star reads in this anthology.
I received an advance copy for review.
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For more info visit http://www.lewiswilliams.com/home/4594649518

Full Throttle by Joe Hill

In this masterful collection of short fiction, Joe Hill dissects timeless human struggles in thirteen relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including "In The Tall Grass," one of two stories co-written with Stephen King, basis for the terrifying feature film from Netflix.

A little door that opens to a world of fairy tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in "Faun." A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in "Late Returns." In "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain," two young friends stumble on the corpse of a plesiosaur at the water's edge, a discovery that forces them to confront the inescapable truth of their own mortality... and other horrors that lurk in the water's shivery depths. And tension shimmers in the sweltering heat of the Nevada desert as a faceless trucker finds himself caught in a sinister dance with a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in "Throttle," co-written with Stephen King.

Featuring two previously unpublished stories, and a bevy of shocking chillers, Full Throttle is a darkly imagined odyssey through the complexities of the human psyche. Hypnotic and disquieting, it mines our tormented secrets, hidden vulnerabilities, and basest fears.

I have been a Joe Hill fan ever since I read Heart Shaped Box though I believe it was The Fireman that earned his place on my must read authors list. I had been meaning to read "In The Tall Grass" for years so I was especially happy to see it included in this collection just in time for me to read it before the made for Netflix movie comes out next month. It was definitely worth the wait and one of my favorites in this collection. It had everything I could want in a horror story, the spine tingling fear of the unknown, coupled with the sheer terror of being suddenly separated from your loved ones. It was a fine example of how no good deed goes unpunished. In fact all of these stories were more than they appeared to be on the surface. They each have a weight and depth that is often lacking in short stories. I can't say that I loved every single one of them, but they all surprised me in their own way. As a horror fan, I most enjoyed the stories that had supernatural elements, including Late Returns, and Dark Carousel. It won't surprise me if someone is smart enough to make movies out of both of them. If thrillers are more your thing Thumbprint, and Throttle are both action packed suspenseful reads. Another of my favorites was Mums, which kind of left me guessing whether delusions or the supernatural were at work after a woman tries to take her child and flee from her survivalist/separatist husband. Those were the 5 star reads for me in this collection.

I received an advance copy for review.
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About the author
Joe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.

He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.

He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.

He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales.