Dark Celebrations by Calvin Demmer

Each year, people all over the world celebrate special festivals and days, shining light on what they wish to remember and revere. But sometimes, inhabitants of the dark arrive with the desire to disturb proceedings. Dark Celebrations is a collection of twelve short stories... and the holidays will never be the same.

I'm fast becoming a Calvin Demmer fan and if you love short horror stories as much as I do you will want to check out his latest collection Dark Celebrations. As we travel through the calendar not only of holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving but also through special occasions like prom we are treated to a supernatural smorgasbord featuring ghosts, zombies, witches, and more.  From pranks gone wrong, to the poor soul who just wanted to take a hot girl to prom after being dumped by his girlfriend, what seems to start as just an ordinary event leads to dire consequences and unforeseen horrors. 

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author

Calvin Demmer is the author of The Sea Was a Fair Master and Dark Celebrations. When not writing, he is intrigued by that which goes bump in the night and the sciences of our universe. 

Website

http://www.calvindemmer.com

Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling

GIVE US THAT OLD-TIME RELIGION

About fifteen miles west of Stauford, Kentucky lies Devil’s Creek. According to local legend, there used to be a church out there, home to the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices—a death cult where Jacob Masters preached the gospel of a nameless god.

And like most legends, there’s truth buried among the roots and bones.

In 1983, the church burned to the ground following a mass suicide. Among the survivors were Jacob’s six children and their grandparents, who banded together to defy their former minister. Dubbed the “Stauford Six,” these children grew up amid scrutiny and ridicule, but their infamy has faded over the last thirty years.

Now their ordeal is all but forgotten, and Jacob Masters is nothing more than a scary story told around campfires.

For Jack Tremly, one of the Six, memories of that fateful night have fueled a successful art career—and a lifetime of nightmares. When his grandmother Imogene dies, Jack returns to Stauford to settle her estate. What he finds waiting for him are secrets Imogene kept in his youth, secrets about his father and the church. Secrets that can no longer stay buried.
The roots of Jacob’s buried god run deep, and within the heart of Devil’s Creek, something is beginning to stir…



Jacob Masters was a child molesting cult leader who demanded human sacrifice in worship of his nameless god. Fire may be cleansing, but when the Church Of Holy Voices burned after the dramatic rescue of 6 children, the evil did not die. The 6 children grew up, and as children do, some flourished and some flailed. These days, some people think the old stories of Jacob Masters and his church are just  empty tales of the boogie man to scare each other with over s'mores around the campfire. Now that Jack Tremly has come home the town is about to find out there's more truth than legend to the old stories. I love small town horror, and Devil's Creek delivers it's share of villains among the few brave heroes. It's graphic and gory with huge helpings of anxiety inducing suspense, and supernatural terror. I would recommend it to all horror fans.

I received an advance copy for review


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About the author
TODD KEISLING is the author of Devil’s Creek, The Final Reconciliation, and Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors, among other shorter works. He lives somewhere in the wilds of Pennsylvania with his family where he is at work on his next novel.




 

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