The Devil's Mistress by David Barclay

 

Virginia 1705
Isabella Ashford is young, wealthy, and engaged to Thomas Huxley, who owns the most profitable sawmill in the American colonies. She appears to have the perfect life. Unfortunately for her, Thomas is a sadistic tyrant, and she has unwittingly fallen in love with Jacob, her father’s handsome young carriage driver.

The local apothecary, the Lady of the Hill, offers an elixir to make Thomas fall out of love with her. Isabella is skeptical at first, but to her surprise, is soon free of her engagement.

Then her father turns up dead. A watchman discovers Isabella's potion and accuses her of witchcraft. She’s dragged to the town gaol, where Thomas and his family delight in her torture. Isabella soon meets the Lady again. This time, the crone offers a new choice: continue to suffer at the hands of her tormentors, or become the very thing they fear.

As a horror lover and frequent reader of historical fiction nothing could pique my interest quicker than a story of witchcraft in the 1700s. It brought to mind the Witch movie by Robert Eggers in that Isabella was not a witch when she was accused and tortured. What she was, was desperate. What wouldn't we do to keep a loved one healthy for a little bit longer? Isabella was desperate to keep her father among the living. She was desperate to be free of an unwanted marriage to a vile and foul excuse for a man. It seems the good and godly people of Blackfriar see nothing wrong in bearing false witness against her, as long as it serves their purpose. When her friends and neighbors turned their backs on her, she found acceptance elsewhere. Together with the Lady of the Hill she will seek her revenge on those who have tormented her, and I can still hear their screams!

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
David Barclay is the author of The Devil's Mistress and the forthcoming novella, The Maker's Box.
After growing up in Maryland and attending Washington College, David believed he was going to use his English degree for good and become a teacher. Instead, he used it for evil and became a game developer. He's worked as a designer and writer in the industry for over fifteen years, providing blood sports for the masses and corrupting today's youth. When he's not busy in games, he's writing novels, and is already hard at work on his next project. He enjoys expensive wine, cheap paperbacks, Dark Souls, and all manner of combat sports.
He currently lives in Napa with his two black cats and his wife, novelist Merry Ravenell.

All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis

 

Set in the late 1950s through 1960s in a small town in Massachusetts, All the Children Are Home follows the Moscatelli family—Dahlia and Louie, foster parents, and their long-term foster children Jimmy, Zaidie, and Jon—and the irrevocable changes in their lives when a six-year-old indigenous girl, Agnes, is comes to live with them..

When Dahlia decided to become a foster mother, she had a few caveats: no howling newborns, no delinquents, and above all, no girls. A harrowing incident years before left her a virtual prisoner in her own home, forever wary of the heartbreak and limitation of a girl’s life.

Eleven years after they began fostering, the Moscatellis are raising three children as their own and Dahlia and Louie consider their family complete, but when the social worker begs them to take a young girl who has been horrifically abused and neglected, they can’t say no.

Six-year-old Agnes Juniper arrives with no knowledge of her Native American heritage or herself beyond a box of trinkets given to her by her mother and dreamlike memories of her sister. Before long, this stranger in their midst has strengthened the bond in this unusual family, showing them how to contend with outside forces that want to tear them apart. Heartfelt and enthralling, All the Children Are Home is a moving testament to how love can survive in the face of devastating losses.

 I was enchanted by Agnes, the abused child who is placed with the family, but most intrigued with Dahlia, the home bound foster mom who has suffered agoraphobia for years. From the beginning you can tell something horrible happened to her in the past. Most women will guess the gist of it but when she finally reveals the details it is both heartbreaking and enraging. Dahlia and her husband Louie have taken in many foster children over the years. Dahlia has tried not to let herself get too attached to them so as not to have a broken heart when it's time for them to leave. She and her husband sometimes appear cold even towards each other but their love for each other and the children is fierce. 

This was an intense story of neglect and abuse, love and loss and proof that families don't have to share DNA to be real., Though set in the 1950s it somehow felt timeless, in that the foster care system of those days is as broken today. There were a couple of little things that bothered me about what seemed like inaccuracies for the time period for example I am pretty sure the term Bipolar was never used before the 80s, back in the 60s it would have been called manic depression, but the depth of the characters and the way they engaged with each other felt genuine to me.

4 out of 5 stars 

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
Patry Francis is the author of The Liar's Diary and the blog 100 Days of Discipline for Writers. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in the Tampa Review, Antioch Review, Colorado Review, Ontario Review, and American Poetry Review, among other publications. She is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and has twice been the recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant. She lives in Massachusetts.

Always Beside You by Damir Salkovic

 

First, the dream. Now this message from the mouth of a stranger. It was too much of a coincidence for Nate Carver, and has him dropping everything to help a woman he hasn't even thought about in eight years, not since the overdose that almost took Cathy Deveraux's life.

The prison escape of Thomas Elbert stirs up memories for Detective Alec Palmer, and the man's death raises questions. Why would a catatonic convicted killer suddenly wake up and escape, only to commit suicide days later? Or was it murder? And what connection did he have to Nate Carver, a man on the run with a daughter he never knew he had?

All roads lead to Boston, where, in their search for answers, they will be drawn into the dark world of the occult and mysticism. Of parallel worlds and alternate realities. Of doors that open onto other times and other worlds. Of dreams that won’t be denied.

By the time they realize they are merely pawns in a much bigger game, a game where the fate of the world is at stake, will it be too late?

There is a lot going on in this book and parts of it reminded me a bit of Firestarter, but with more supernatural meat on it's bones and less sci fi. The characters are complex and Nate especially has been through the wringer of changes from a drug addicted past to unlikely hero. Lifting the veil between worlds may sound like the quickest path to wealth, power, and all that your heart desires but there is a heavy price to pay and the debt is past due. Some doors are locked for a reason. Don't open them if you don't know what's on the other side!

4 out of 5 stars

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Near the Bone by Christina Henry

 

Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they're not alone after all.

There's something in the woods that wasn't there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.

When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

This was a heart pounding horror, set in a desolate cabin on a snow covered mountain where one woman tries to survive more than one kind of monster.

Mattie knows no other kind of life than being beaten and abused while spending her days working on her never ending chores in an attempt to avoid the brutal punishments her "husband" will mete out if everything is not done to his satisfaction. Mattie has not seen or spoken to another living soul but William for what she estimates to be about 12 years. She's not even sure how old she is anymore. She has vague memories of another life, with a mother and sister who loved her, but William tells her none of this is real, that it was just a dream, she has never been anything but his wife, and his property. Just when it seems she has given up on ever having a life worth living, a strange and deadly creature in the woods attracts the attention of amateur hikers and cryptid hunters who stumble upon William's cabin in the woods. This could be Mattie's one chance at escape or it could mean the death of all of them at the jaws of a vicious creature that can kill with one swipe of it's claws before you even know it's upon you. 

As a huge fan of creature feature type horror and anything to do with being trapped in a winter storm this was a big hit with me, but when combined with the evil that mere mortals do the author created a perfect duet of terror with William and the creature being equally dangerous to Mattie's chances of survival.

5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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