The Scavenger by Aidan Lucid

       

Three Separate Wishes. One Twisted Nightmare

Just like Hopps Town, their humble home, Jessica Barlow, Jared Duval, and Adrian Cole are fostering dark secrets. Plagued by loss, cruelty and physical abuse, these friends are kindred spirits, bound by anguish and elusive dreams. They’re soon to find the key to change, but any happy future will demand they face a haunting past and brave a lethal present.

Deep in the forest on the outskirts of town, aging and nearly forgotten, there stands a well from another time. Happening upon this relic, Adrian goads his companions to join him in making a wish. Soon, difficult though it is to admit, their luckless lives do seem to shift. The only problem is, the changes aren’t at all as they’d imagined. Seemingly, they’ve only left the pan to face the fire.

Should they hope to both survive and thrive, they’ll need to pool their wits and draw on mystic inner-power. Solving Hopps Town’s greatest mystery now means life or death.

  

 Three high school friends, Jared, Adrian, and Jessica, stumble upon an old well out in the woods and decide to make a wish. None of them actually take it seriously but that doesn't seem to matter as strange happenings seem to indicate their wishes have been answered by someone or something in that well. Jared has been bullied but suddenly has a popular boy coming to his defense. Adrian has a new girlfriend but also a secret admirer stalking him and poor Jessica who has been tormented by her abusive alcoholic mother suddenly finds she has turned into a June Cleaver type, a mom who cooks meals and hands out lunch money instead of insults and slaps seems too good to be true. I was both happy for them yet worried over what consequences these granted wishes would bring. Like the old saying goes be careful what you wish for, but in this case you need to be careful who it is doing the wish granting. This was a fun YA horror with a fast pace and not too much gore, just a lot of spooky fun, and a mystery to uncover.

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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The Mind's Plague and Other Bites of Brutality by Morgan K. Tanner

Three friends search for an infamous internet video of an urban legend with devastating consequences; a passionate drummer joins the band of his dreams, or perhaps his nightmares; a man tries to find fame in a world where the mundane call the shots; and a grieving father loses his grip on reality.

These ten stories delve into a world of darkness and suffering, where the terrors are more vivid than they may appear. Blood is spilt, minds are destroyed, as madness ultimately reigns victorious. 

For a good time, read Morgan K Tanner. I spent the day taking a break from the world and enjoying these 10 short stories. Horror is my escape. It's how I relax and recharge and today my battery is full for having read The Mind's Plague and Other Bites of Brutality.

My favorites in this collection were the title story The Mind's Plague in which bored teenage friends enjoying an unexpected day off from school choose not to spend their time wisely. Even though it is set in the present digital age it was reminiscent of the 80s supernatural horror that I love so much. 
For David seems to be about a former actor with a superfan stalker and I could have been satisfied with that but a freaky twist spiced it up and gave it even more pizzazz.

Conflagration Desecration is the name of a metal band in search of a drummer. Steve is a drummer who is desperate to join the band. I have a soft spot for rock and roll horror stories and this one did not disappoint. You don't get to rock and roll heaven by dancing with the devil but it's still a hell of a band.

The Price of Fame really impressed me even if I can't relate to wanting the adoration. A man who wants to be famous in his own right also seems to piggy back off someone else's internet followers. Torture ensues.
A few years ago I actually had to look up the meaning YouTube stars and Instagram models. I wondered who are these people and why does anyone care? It did make me glad that I am not competitive. Read my reviews, don't read my reviews, follow me or don't follow me I have no need to be a star, and I feel safer than ever after reading this story to remain a relative nobody!

Reluctant Bloodlust was a satirical look at the zombie genre, it was both gory and amusing.

Thieves are what Ronnie and Carl are aiming to be, but they will come to regret breaking in to an elderly man's home.

Grieving is about a father mourning the loss of his daughter in a most unusual and gruesome way.

Room 405 is the hotel room in which Phillip awakens from one nightmare to find himself in another. Strange chanting in the hall has his wife off to complain to the management but as Phillip dutifully follows along he learns he was better off dreaming.

It looks like 8 out of 10 stories were a big hit with me, and considering how persnickety I can be about my horror that's an impressive number.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author

Morgan K Tanner is a writer, drummer, and golfist currently residing in the English countryside. The idyllic surroundings make it an ideal place to write, drum, and hide the bodies. The busy sound of the typewriter is perfect to drown out the hum of the antiquated torture equipment.
When not writing or inflicting pain and suffering on his numerous victims, he indulges himself in all things horror and metal.
He is the author of An Army of Skin, The Mind's Plague and Other Bites of Brutality, and The Unbeliever & The Intruder; a Short Sharp Shocks! Book.
You can praise or indeed abuse him by visiting www.morganktanner.com or find him on Twitter @morgantanner666 and Instagram @morganktanner.
You can also join the mailing list to receive a free story (for starters) http://eepurl.com/dgTmgX

Dead Daughters by Tim Meyer

 

Drew Lowery is living the American Dream. He has the perfect family, a stable job, and a beautiful home in the suburbs of central New Jersey. Things can't get much better. But what seems like the ideal life is suddenly upended when he receives a blank envelope in the mail.

Inside lies a picture of his daughter, a photograph of her violent murder. Only it can't be her. He just tucked her in and kissed her goodnight ten minutes ago. But the mysterious Polaroid is only the beginning.

There's the van following his daughter to school. The man she sees outside her window late at night. The fact someone entered her room while the Lowerys slept peacefully.

Local authorities are clueless. No leads, no clues, and ultimately--no answers. Drew launches his own investigation, falling into a hole of lies and deceit, a truth he never saw coming. Dead Daughters is the new twisted thriller from Tim Meyer, author of The Switch House and Kill Hill Carnage.

This is only my second venture into the creative mind of Tim Meyer but he is now officially on my very short list of must read authors. This book came to me on a day when I was in the middle of reading something else. I meant only to take a quick peek at it out of curiosity but was drawn like a high powered magnet into the depth of character building and the blood chilling plot. The author conjures such a sense of dread and anxiety in the reader over what may happen to Drew Lowrey's daughter that I actually had to ask him if he had children because I felt so strongly that only a parent could know this fear. (I was right by the way, he is a dad.)

I am not going to get into the story line too much but I have to tell you that no author in the history of.....ever has been talented enough to give me goose bumps from something as simple as a to do list until now. 

This is my first 5 star read of the year.
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I received a complimentary copy for review.

About the author
Tim Meyer dwells in a dark cave near the Jersey Shore. He's an author, husband, father, podcast host, blogger, coffee connoisseur, beer enthusiast, and explorer of worlds. He writes horror, mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers, although he prefers to blur genres and let the story fall where it may.

You can follow Tim at https://timmeyerwrites.com

OR like his Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/authortimmeyer

If She Dies by Erik Therme

 

Nine months ago, Tess’s five-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident. The driver, Brady Becker, was sentenced to two years in prison. It didn't make Tess’s pain go away.

Brady also has a daughter: A twelve-year-old named Eve who walks to Chandler Middle School every day. Tess knows this because she's been watching Eve for the last three weeks. It isn’t fair that Brady’s daughter gets to live, while Tess’s daughter does not.

When Eve goes missing, all eyes turn to Tess, who doesn’t have an alibi. But Tess isn’t guilty.

Or so she believes.

 

As the story opens, Tess has already lost her daughter to a car accident and is on the brink of losing her marriage as well. The grief is all consuming and she can barely function. Her husband has insisted on moving them out of town to a house she can't stand and he believes the change of scenery and a little therapy is going to set her on the path to becoming "old Tess" again.

What he doesn't know is that she stalks and spies on the wife and child of her daughter's killer nearly every day. While she is watching them, someone is watching her! Ominous messages in festive red envelopes have been showing up addressed to Tess that taunt her over her daughter's death. Who would want to torment a grieving mother? On top of all this is some domestic drama with her brother, and the secrets her husband seems to be keeping. This harrowing psychological thriller is loaded with suspense and a roller coaster of emotions. I grieved with Tess for her loss, and all the twists made it impossible for me to know who to trust.

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author

Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature. Join Erik’s mailing list to be notified of new releases and author giveaways: http://eepurl.com/cD1F8L