The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

It’s Livia’s fortieth birthday and tonight she’s having a party, a party she’s been planning for a long time. The only person missing will be her daughter, Marnie.

But Livia has a secret, a secret she’s been keeping from Adam, her husband, until the party is over. Because how can she tell him that although she loves Marnie, she’s glad their daughter won’t be there to celebrate with her?

Adam is determined everything will be just right for Livia and the party is going to be perfect… until he learns something that will leave him facing an unbearable decision.


Well...this is not my usual type of read, but on other occasions when I have strayed from horror I have been able to count on a good twisty family drama from B. A. Paris. I have enjoyed her previous 3 novels more than this one. The story takes place over preparations for a 40th birthday party, the party itself, and it's aftermath. It seemed maddeningly slow paced, and although I did enjoy probably the first third of the book I begin to wish they would just get on with it. It seemed to drag on for too long. A slow drawn out reveal can sometimes increase the suspense but when drawn out too long can just lead to boredom. It seemed to drag even after the climax instead of just coming to an end.

I received an advance copy for review.

About the author
B A Paris grew up in England but has spent most of her adult life in France. She has worked both in finance and as a teacher and has five daughters. 

Come Join The Murder By Holly Rae Garcia

 

Rebecca Crow’s four-year-old son is dead and her husband is missing.
Divers find her husband’s car at the bottom of a canal with their son’s small, lifeless body, inside. The police have no suspects and nothing to go on but a passing mention of a man driving a van. Guilt and grief cloud Rebecca’s thoughts as she stumbles toward her only mission: Revenge.

James Porter knows exactly what happened to them, but he’ll do anything to keep it a secret.

James didn’t plan to kill Rebecca’s son, but he’s not too broken up about it, either. There are more important things for him to worry about. He needs money, and his increasing appetite for murder is catching the attention of a nosy detective.



Loss and depression can bring on it's own form of horror, and this is what is visited upon Rebecca Crow on what should have been just another ordinary day. Her husband Jon and 4 year old son Oliver are off for a day at the beach. Rebecca is looking forward to a few hours of alone time and getting some work done, having no idea she would never see her family again. The fear was palpable as she waited and waited for them to show up at their designated meeting spot. My own anxiety grew along with hers as she made her way home, thinking they would be there when she arrived. But they didn't come, and they didn't come, and I knew they wouldn't. and I almost could not bear to witness the moment when her hope was crushed. Rebecca goes through the motions, the funeral, the well wishers, but as is said in the book there is no word for a mother without a child. Rebecca is... something else now, she wants revenge and we are along for the ride, to join the murder, as she imagines one brutal scenario after another of how her family died and who took them from her, until at last the truth comes barreling in like a gut punch.
5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.


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About the author
I love the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Daniel Keyes, Richard Matheson, and Stephen King. Dark stories with sad endings are my jam. In my own writing, I lean toward the thriller, horror, sci-fi, and dystopian genres.

My debut novel, Come Join the Murder, released in March 2020 right alongside Covid-19.

I live on the Texas Coast with my family and four dogs.

More information can be found on my website: www.HollyRaeGarcia.com 

The Roots Have Dug Into My Heart by Peter Fugazzotto

A missing child returns home. But now the horror begins.

Recovering addict and single mom Jessie Milano wakes from a hangover to find her daughter missing from their Northern Californian family farm. After her daughter is found, Jessie senses something different with her daughter and reluctantly begins believing the insane idea that an ancient terror lurks in the marshes, a nightmare that threatens to destroy everything she loves.

The Roots Have Dug into My Heart by Peter Fugazzotto is a horror novella exploring how far a mother will journey to save her daughter.

This was a short supernatural thriller steeped in folklore.

Jessie is a party girl whose good times have run out, along with the father of her child. Vowing to lay off the booze and drugs is easier said than done but that is the promise she makes in order to get her mother to take them in. Jessie tries, or thinks she does, to be a decent mother, but she just can't give up her nights in the bars drinking and drugging the pain away. It is after one such night, when the hangover is at it's peak and the burden of motherhood is more than she's willing to bear, that she wakes to find her daughter gone, wandered (or lured?) into the marsh. When she is found, she no longer seems to be the child she once was. Have the drugs finally addled Jessie's mind or is there some truth to the old folklore? The marsh does not give up it's secrets easily and Jessie may not be strong enough to find the truth.
I would recommend it to all horror fans.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Peter Fugazzotto is a writer of fantasy and science fiction. His short stories have been published in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly and Grimdark Magazine. His series The Hounds of North was launched with The Witch of the Sands in 2014. He is a lifelong martial artist and a World Champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

More information about Peter and his writing, including free stories, can be found at www.peterfugazzotto.com

Until Summer Comes Around by Glenn Rolfe

When fifteen year old Rocky Zukas meets a mysterious dark-haired girl named November, his world is forever changed. The young couple falls under the spell of summer love, but not everyone approves. November’s brother, Gabriel, is the keeper of the family’s secret, and big brother is always watching, growing more sinister as his bloodlust gets the best of him. Directing his attention to Rocky’s family, Gabriel aims to make sure little sister knows who is in charge. 



This will be a summer that Rocky never forgets. He is about to turn 16, get his driver's license, fall in love for the very first time, and find out that monsters are real.
This coming of age Vampire horror is set in the 80s in a touristy beach town in coastal Maine. Rocky is expecting a long boring summer since his cousin/best pal is going away, but meeting November changes everything. At first Rocky is so enamored of her that he barely notices that her arrival coincides with all the missing person posters going up. First love and raging hormones have a way of making a teen turn a blind eye to all else, and the only thing more dangerous than being unaware  of evil, is when evil becomes aware of you.
This is the author's best work so far and if you are looking for a summer read with a lot of bite I highly recommend this.
5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.


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About the author
Glenn Rolfe is an author from the haunted woods of New England. He has studied Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University and continues his education in the world of horror by devouring the novels of Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, and many others. He and his wife, Meghan, have three children, Ruby, Ramona, and Axl. He is grateful to be loved despite his weirdness.

He is a Splatterpunk Award nominee and the author of The Window, Becoming, Blood and Rain, The Haunted Halls, Chasing Ghosts, Abram's Bridge, Things We Fear, Boom Town, and the collections, Slush and Land of Bones.
Twitter: @grolfehorror
www.Patreon/GetRolfed