The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick R. Delaney

When twenty-nine-year-old Scarlett Vantassel comes to the conclusion that her life doesn’t resemble any of the things she actually wanted for herself, she drops out of school and moves back home, attempting to reconnect with the people she left behind. But a shadow falls over her return one early October morning when a sinister house miraculously appears in the center of the city, sparking a media frenzy that attracts attention nationwide.



Soon after the newspapers label it, "The House that Fell from the Sky," Scarlett’s childhood friend Hannah becomes obsessed with the idea that the house holds the key to discovering whether there really is life after death. Undeterred by her friends' numerous warnings, Hannah becomes increasingly consumed with the desire to enter the house, convinced it would allow her to reconnect with her recently deceased mother.



Despite a series of escalating events suggesting that the house may be more dangerous than anyone ever thought possible, a privately owned company seizes control of the property and hosts a lottery to lure the city’s residents, promising the winners a large cash reward if they dare to enter the house.



To Scarlett’s horror, Hannah uses her vast wealth to secure a spot among the winners to gain access to the house. Now, it’s up to Scarlett, her older brother Tommy, and her friend Jackson to face their fears and journey into a place where nothing is ever quite as it seems, and decide if they can help a friend in need, or if Hannah truly is lost.

What a gorgeous cover.  A total work of art. Kudos to whoever designed it.  The House That Fell From The Sky was a  bizarre and imaginative story that weaves a bit of horror and fantasy together, but it is not the haunted house story I had hoped for. There are lots of flashbacks that for me, did not always work in the book's favor. While sometimes a flashback can fill in details or provide character insights in a faster paced tale it felt to me that this story should have been told in a more direct way since there was plenty of time.
A bit long for my taste, it was a slow start before our main characters actually got into the house.  The book was about half over before our 4 friends got inside the house even though it "fell" almost right away. This immediately set up a great spooky atmosphere since even people who got too near the house were affected by it but at over 500 pages It felt to me that the 4 main characters could have gotten in sooner. For me this was just an OK read but I am sure others may enjoy it more than I did.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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Dark Choir by Paul Melhuish

Six victims.
Six perpetrators.

A means for the scarred, abused, and powerless to take their revenge upon those who have wronged them. To make them pay the ultimate price for their crimes.

Dan Hepworth is forced to return to his home town of Scarsdale after his mother’s death where memories of fear and abuse still haunt him. His disabled sister, Lindsey, and her live-in nurse, Alison, still reside in his mother’s isolated rural house where Dan is to spend the next few days for his mother’s funeral. However, all is not right in Scarsdale. A ghostly robed man walks the hills around the town at night and unearthly singing had been heard coming from the derelict asylum across the valley.

Worse still, retired nurses and ex-patients from the asylum are being targeted at night by unknown assailants, enduring psychological and physical attacks on their person and property with the word CHOIR scrawled across the walls of their homes after each attack. When Dan’s sister, Lindsey, is visited by the robed apparition and those around her are stalked by the violent assailants, Dan begins to uncover uncomfortable truths and dark secrets about the asylum and its former patients.

Dan starts a perilous journey into the past as he gets close to finding out the identity of the nocturnal attackers, the abuse carried out on those too weak to defend themselves, and the reason why the ghostly singing can be heard from the asylum at night. Alone and isolated in the run-down former hospital, Dan will need to accept the mind-bending truth as he comes face to face with the Dark Choir.


Once upon a time, one woman stood up for those who could not defend themselves. One nurse dared to speak out against the horrific abuse at the asylum, but she was shot down, shut up  and driven out.
Dan Hepworth knows what it is to be abused. He grew up under the thumb of an abusive religious fanatic, but he has moved on from his traumatic childhood, escaped his mother's clutches and built a life for himself, never to see or speak to her again. Now she is dead and Dan is forced to return to his hometown to tie up loose ends and arrange for the care of his older sister Lindsey who is disabled. He plans to stay only a few days but soon becomes entangled in the mystery of the choir.
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and The Dark Choir certainly provides generous and heaping portions. Perfectly chilled and aged to perfection. Just when those most deserving least expect it, the singing starts and vengeance is served. I am not a vindictive person but as it pulled me toward a most satisfying conclusion I almost sang along.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Paul’s publishing history includes a short story in Dark Horizons, (The British Fantasy Society’s fiction magazine) about a farm that bred humans for meat. More recently a story of his was featured in issue 13 of Murky Depths magazine. This joyful piece was a satire on euthanasia entitled Do Not Resuscitate. In October 2010 one of his stories was included in the anthology Shoes, Ships and Cadavers: Tales from Northlondonshire. Edited by Ian Whates and Ian Watson with an introduction by Alan Moore (a Kindle version of this anthology is being considered by NewCon Press for release during 2011).

Toys in the Attic by Tim Turner

"Sometimes it is not a house that is haunted, or a person, but a combination of the two"

This collection of 8 short stories introduce an interesting cast of characters dealing with everything from zombies and robots to dog faced people with tails.

These stories range from Sci-fi to dark fiction/horror.

As a horror lover, my favorites were the title story Toys In The Attic, about a haunting that occurs when just the right family moves into a new home,  Echo Lake about a camp ground with a dark past, and Off Season, about the goings on in a tourist town when the summer people go home.

There were a few rough spots that could have used a bit of polish or benefited from some minor edits, but over all it was a decent assortment of creepy fiction.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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Bad Parts by Brandon McNulty

When rock guitarist Ash Hudson suffers a career-ending hand injury, she seeks out the only thing that can heal it--her hometown's darkest secret.

For decades the residents of Hollow Hills, Pennsylvania, have offered their diseased and injured body parts to a creek demon named Snare. In return, Snare rewards its Traders with healthy replacement parts. There's only one catch: if Traders leave town, their new parts vanish forever.

Ash wants a new hand, but living in Hollow Hills isn't an option. Not when her band is one gig away from hitting the big time. Desperate, she bargains with Snare, promising to help the demon complete its organ collection in exchange for both a new hand and the freedom for everyone to leave town.

As her band's show rapidly approaches, Ash teams up with her estranged father in a last-ditch effort to recruit new Traders. But not everyone trusts Snare's offer, and Ash soon learns how far her neighbors will go to protect their precious parts.

With her family in danger and her band waiting, Ash must find a way to help Snare. But even if she succeeds, there's no telling what Snare plans to do with everyone's bad parts.

I love a good home town horror story. You know the kind, small towns with dark secrets that are only as as safe as the weakest link. Outsiders are not welcome and are steered away or killed. What differs here from that usual formula, is that an insider becomes an outsider, and her return is the threat. Ash knows what goes on at the creek in Hollow Hills, or at least some of it. She doesn't know the full scope of the creek demon's hold over the town.  She cut ties with her father years ago and never looked back. Nothing could make her return to her childhood home, until a savage attack leaves her hand injured beyond repair. I was fascinated with the whole family dynamic. The love and resentment felt very realistic, as we learn what had transpired between Ash and her brother Trent, which is mirrored in the strained relationship between Trent and his son. While at it's heart this is a horror story of a demonic spirit seeking revenge, it is the selfishness of some characters juxtaposed with the selfless acts of others that most impressed me, along with enough gruesome acts and blood curdling scenes to keep this horror fan turning the pages.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Brandon McNulty grew up loving monsters, demons, and the thrill of a great scare. Now he writes supernatural thrillers, horror, and other dark fiction. He is a graduate of Taos Toolbox Writers Workshop and a winner of both Pitch Wars and RevPit. He writes from Pennsylvania.

Website

https://www.brandonmcnulty.com/