In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

 

An audacious novel of feminine rage about one of the most prolific female serial killers in American history--and the men who drove her to it.

They whisper about her in Chicago. Men come to her with their hopes, their dreams--their fortunes. But no one sees them leave. No one sees them at all after they come to call on the Widow of La Porte. The good people of Indiana may have their suspicions, but if those fools knew what she'd given up, what was taken from her, how she'd suffered, surely they'd understand. Belle Gunness learned a long time ago that a woman has to make her own way in this world. That's all it is. A bloody means to an end. A glorious enterprise meant to raise her from the bleak, colorless drudgery of her childhood to the life she deserves. After all, vermin always survive.

I'm not sure what to call this book so I will settle on fact based historical fiction with a heavy leaning towards true crime. Although events have been changed and some characters invented it is based on the life of a Norwegian-American serial killer who was active in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. 

Belle Gunness is thought to have killed at least 14 people and possibly many more. Most of them were men she conned into marriage or the promise of marriage, and others who just got in her way. As the story opens. Belle (who is known as Brynhilde at that time) is an unhappy girl from a poor family who is abused at home and working as a maid. She is in love with a farmer's son and too naïve to understand that his family is considered above her station in life and that he will never marry her. I felt a lot of sympathy for her at first as she is left pregnant and in fear of the shame that will bring if the father of her child refuses to stand by her. When she threatens him it leads to horrific violence and it at this time she changes from naïve child to broken and vengeful woman. I think I still felt for her at this time even while she plotted and manipulated her way to America. Upon her arrival, her true nature starts to take over and it becomes clear that she has very little emotion other than rage. Belle views people only as something to be used to get what she wants. The author creates a very detailed, gripping and chilling account of the inner workings of a murderers mind. 

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review

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About the author
Camilla Bruce was born in central Norway and grew up in an old forest, next to an Iron Age burial mound. She has a master's degree in comparative literature, and has co-run a small press that published dark fairy tales. Camilla currently lives in Trondheim with her son and cat.

The Christmas Bell: A Horror Novel by L.A. Detwiler

 

When Candace Mills, 26, heads home for the holidays to visit her mother and ailing grandmother, she's expecting a peaceful, dull Christmas. She has no idea, though, that a single Christmas ornament is about to send her into a whirling chasm of evil.

It starts with the Christmas bell, scratched and worn in one of Grandma Anne's boxes in the attic. Once they put it on the tree, Grandma Anne starts to say terrifying things and act strangely. Candace and her mother assume it's her dementia talking—until they start to have dangerous encounters with a fiendish being.

As the secrets of Anne's past involving her twin sister rise to the surface, the women face sinister horrors from a dark force looking for revenge.

This was a quick read, more novella length than novel.

Candace has not been home to see her mother in quite some time, and will come to regret this visit. All seems well at first, what could be nicer than catching up with old friends and seeing Grandma Anne for the holidays? Grandma has recently had to move in with her daughter (Candace's mom Marian) since she can no longer care for herself and keep up with her own home. Many of her belongings are banished to Marian's attic since there just isn't room. When Candace discovers the strange looking Christmas bell in one of her boxes she thinks it would be a nice thing to do for Grandma to put it on the tree. Turns out it wasn't nice, for anyone! Grandma has some very disturbing secrets and the bell is the catalyst that uncovers them, putting the whole family and Candace's friends in danger. I found the mother /daughter dynamic to be fascinating. Generations of women, going all the way back to Anne's mother did some pretty disturbing things that they convinced themselves was for the good of the family.

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About the author
L.A. Detwiler is a USA TODAY bestselling author and high school English teacher from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. During her final year at Mount Aloysius College, she started writing her first fiction novel, which was published in 2015. She has also written articles that have appeared in several women’s publications and websites. L.A. Detwiler lives in her hometown with her husband, Chad. They have five cats and a mastiff named Henry.

Her debut thriller with Avon Books/HarperCollins, The Widow Next Door, was a USA TODAY Bestseller. The One Who Got Away releases February 19th with One More Chapter/HarperCollins, and The Diary of a Serial Killer's Daughter releases March 12, 2020

The Sign of the Beast by Joyce Carol Oates

 

The National Book Award–winning and New York Times bestselling master of psychological suspense returns with the story of a young boy’s sexual awareness disturbed by cruelty, obsession, and rage.

Eleven-year-old Howard was born with a birthmark on his cheek. His Sunday school teacher mockingly calls it the “sign of the beast.” Too hateful to be named, for Howard she is only Mrs. S——. And she’s as careless in causing him misery as she is willful in arousing his shame. All Howard can do is look away—until he realizes he can turn the aggression on its head. When the hunted becomes the hunter, what will happen next? 

This is a short story that popped up last Halloween (or the Halloween before?) on Amazon's home page as one of several offerings to prime members and kindle owners. It sounded good so I downloaded it and then promptly forgot all about it until I went to borrow a book from what used to be the lending library and was told I had to return this book first to "prime reading" before I can download another. It's short enough to read in one sitting, 40 pages or so.

I settled in to read it today, and was not particularly impressed. It's not especially scary or thought provoking and I could not relate to any of the characters. I'm not sure where one would find a church that allows Sunday school teachers to dress in low cut and too tight garb more suited to trawling for men before last call than teaching bible lessons other than this story. Surely the church ladies would have objected to her attire even without knowing she had a thing for young boys. The birthmark on Howard's face seemed unnecessary since without it Mrs. S would have found another reason to fixate on him or other boys but then I suppose it was required for the title of the story. I can't say I cared much what happened to Mrs. S or Howard for that matter.

2 out of 5 stars

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Joyce Carol Oates is a recipient of the National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. She is also the recipient of the 2005 Prix Femina for The Falls. She is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and she has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978. Pseudonyms ... Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly

Best Horror Novels of 2020

It was a tough choice but these are my picks for the best horror novels of 2020. If you have not read them yet, you are missing out. The title links will take you to the book synopsis, review, author info and Amazon page.

Snowball          Curse of the Pigman      Devil's Creek

Wormwood           Bad Parts                 Misfits

The Other People             In The Scrape          Until Summer Comes Around

Come Join The Murder          Dark Choir          Prepare To Meet Thy God