Petrified Women by Jeremy Ray

 

Some pranks go too far. This one could be deadly.

Harley has the perfect boyfriend. Why can’t her best friend see that? He’s nothing like the others, especially the one who still haunts her memories. She’s finally picked a “keeper” with Aiden.
Sure, he’s a bit eccentric. His wood carving hobby is a little odd. His need for isolation while he carves his life-size female figurines is strange. And maybe his obsession with pranks, or "scares" on Harley goes a little too far. But what do you expect? Aiden’s an artist.

Harley has finally picked the perfect boyfriend. That’s why this year, Harley ignores all her best friend’s warnings. She has the ultimate surprise planned for Aiden’s birthday, one that’s going to help her get even in their battle to out-prank each other.
She hides in his apartment, excitedly waiting to pull off the scare of a lifetime…
But then he comes home, and Harley witnesses a different side of her boyfriend. The side that exists behind closed doors when he doesn’t know anyone’s watching.
Is this just one of his scares? Or is there something more sinister lurking behind his playful nature? Harley’s about to find out.

CONTENT WARNING:
Sexual Assault
Violence
Body Horror
Strong Language
Reader discretion advised

Poor Harley! I loved her but I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and give her a good shake. Sure we've all had a bad relationship or two but Harley takes the cake (literally!) when it comes to choosing the wrong guy. Her too trusting and generous nature has led her down the wrong path before, and sadly she has not learned from her past. This time the lesson may finally sink in, but is it already too late?

When Harley decides to surprise her boyfriend for his birthday she is the one who is in for a shock.

I felt almost like I was in the room yet powerless to help as I bore witness to this date from hell. I may have even yelled out loud once or twice but Harley paid me no mind. The content warning doesn't mention claustrophobia because Harley doesn't suffer it, though it may it raise your anxiety level in a particular cramped space scene in the book. There's more to this clever story than just a creep of a boyfriend but far be it from me to spoil it for you. Read it for yourself to find out.

This was a short but shocking read with an original and creative plot. You'll never guess where it's going until you get there.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review

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About the author

Jeremy Ray graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a MFA in Dramatic Writing. He is the recipient of the Max K. Lerner Playwriting Fellowship for his play Boiling Point and the Shubert Playwriting Fellowship for his play Sisters of Transformation. His work has been performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and his screenplays have placed in the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Competition, The Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and the ScreenCraft Drama Contest.

However, he is most fond of prose. He spends his free time devouring books like the bookworm he is.
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Dread Softly by Caryn Larrinaga

 A woman struggles to outsmart the demon who bargained for her father’s soul. An elderly shut-in with a monstrous secret is tormented by a door-to-door salesman. Six-eyed creatures congregate on the ceiling of a remote bungalow, puzzling a newly rescued tabby cat. An imp’s loyalties are torn between a vulnerable child and the god of dreams.

In her debut horror collection, award-winning author Caryn Larrinaga spreads her nightmares under your feet. Fed by the dread her anxiety brings her, each of these eleven tales is a journey into an unsettling universe just parallel to our own—one populated by haunted objects, unwanted urges, and creatures from beyond human understanding. Dread softly.

Previously, the only work I had read by Caryn Larrinaga was a short story titled For Scrying Out Loud that was included in the Wasatch Witches anthology. It was one of my favorites in that book and after reading a whole story collection by this author I feel safe in saying she is now on my must read list. There is a content warning at the beginning of this book and I am just going to mention that one story contains mental illness. The rest I'm going to condense to say this is for horror fans and all lovers of dark fiction. It is not hard core gut ripping gore, and doesn't need or aim to be. There is no over the top "extreme" horror.

These 11 tales are delightfully dark and full of unnerving surprises. I love that each one is accompanied by an illustration. 

I enjoyed every minute of reading every single story and was amazed that even the shortest among them had room for the unexpected. In Dread Softly you will find stories to chill and thrill, and break your heart. There are stories of desperation, hunger, and a nightmare creature that wreaks havoc in a single parent household when a small child is threatened in his sleep. There is also a bit of humor in a tale told from the cat's point of view which now has me walking room to room holding mine up towards the ceiling to see if she can tell me where the "watchers" are. You don't have to love cats to love this story but I think it will be one of your favorites if you do. 

Every story is expertly crafted and my only complaint is that I never wanted it to end. More please!! 

5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author

Caryn Larrinaga is an award-winning mystery, horror, and urban fantasy writer. Her debut novel, DONN'S HILL, was awarded the League of Utah Writers 2017 Silver Quill in the adult novel category and was a 2017 Dragon Award finalist. 

Watching scary movies through split fingers terrified Caryn as a child, and those nightmares inspire her to write now. Her 90-year-old house has a colorful history, and the creaking walls and narrow hallways send her running (never walking) up the stairs. Exploring her fears through writing makes Caryn feel a little less foolish for wanting a buddy to accompany her into the tool shed.

Caryn lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and their clowder of cats. Visit www.carynlarrinaga.com for free short fiction and true tales of haunted places.

August's Eyes by Glenn Rolfe

 

When dreams start bleeding into reality, a social worker is forced to face the mistakes of his past.

A serial killer has found a way to make his land of graveyards a sinister playground to be bent at his sadistic will.

The secrets behind August's eyes will bring two worlds together, and end in a cataclysm of pain and ruin.

When John was a child, he witnessed something so traumatic that his mind has blocked it out. Now years later he is suffering from strange nightmares in which he is still a kid. John may have forgotten what he saw all those years ago, but it has not forgotten him! As his dreams begin to interfere with his real life they also threaten people around him, putting himself and his wife at risk. Do they still count as dreams if other people can see them too?

This was a very dark tale that takes place in a town with an evil history.  I'm not usually one to bother with trigger warnings because I assume horror readers are expecting and prepared for some horrifying events. In this case, since the synopsis I was given does not really give much detail I feel that I should mention that this book contains child molestation and child murders. Not in an overly graphic way, but it is a big part of the story. It's a supernatural horror but a very emotional read. Some readers may recognize some of the names used, others may not, and I thought it was kind of cool to see the author has enjoyed some of the same works as I have. If you don't recognize them that's ok too, it doesn't detract from the story either way.

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author

Glenn Rolfe is an author, singer, songwriter from the haunted woods of New England. He studied Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University, and continues his education in the world of horror by devouring the novels of Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, and many others. He and his wife, Meghan, have three children, Ruby, Ramona, and Axl. He is grateful to be loved despite his weirdness.

He is the author of Until Summer Comes Around, The Window, Becoming, Blood and Rain, The Haunted Halls, Chasing Ghosts, Boom Town, Abram's Bridge, Things We Fear, Land of Bones, and Slush.

He is hard at work on many more. Stay tuned!

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

 

A haunting novel about a black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind.

More than a decade ago, Mira fled her small, segregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveled, she distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celine, mocked by their town as the only white girl with black friends; from her old neighborhood; from the eerie Woodsman plantation rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves; from the terrifying memory of a ghost she saw that terrible day when a dare-gone-wrong almost got Jesse—the boy she secretly loved—arrested for murder.

But now Mira is back in Kipsen to attend Celine’s wedding at the plantation, which has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, and especially, Jesse, to finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day.

But for all its fancy renovations, the Woodsman remains a monument to its oppressive racist history. The bar serves antebellum drinks, entertainments include horrifying reenactments, and the service staff is nearly all black. Yet the darkest elements of the plantation’s past have been carefully erased—rumors that slaves were tortured mercilessly and that ghosts roam the lands, seeking vengeance on the descendants of those who tormented them, which includes most of the wedding guests. 

As the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse, and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together, and to save themselves from what is to come.

Mira grew up in a small town where small minds allowed racism to flourish. She hasn't been back in years, and who could blame her. But she still thinks of Jesse, her school girl crush, and what might have been had things turned out differently. Out of the blue she gets a phone call from her childhood friend Celine, practically begging her to attend her wedding. When they were children, Celine often said they could be sisters, it didn't seem to matter to her that she was white and Mira was not, or maybe it was that the white kids didn't really accept her because she was poor. Maybe she was just using Mira all along. When Mira learns that Jesse will be attending the wedding, she reluctantly agrees to make the drive, even though Celine is getting married on the old plantation where countless slaves were tortured and killed. When they were kids they heard the rumors and ghost stories about the plantation, and may have even witnessed something otherworldly themselves. Now it's all been renovated and turned into a vacation resort where the wealthy and privileged can watch slave reenactments while they pretend there was nothing wrong with owning people. But fresh paint and new construction can't hide what lurks beneath.

This was a more subtle kind of horror, very atmospheric and dark. The pace was a little slow although there is a pervasive sense of "wrongness" before Mira even reaches her destination. More than just a ghost story it shines a light on the stark contrast in the way the haves and have nots perceive the world.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author

LaTanya McQueen is the author of When the Reckoning Comes, a novel with Harper Perennial, and And It Begins Like This, an essay collection with Black Lawrence Press. Her work has been published in TriQuarterly, New Ohio Review, West Branch, Florida Review, Bennington Review, New Orleans Review, Fourteen Hills, The North American Review, Indiana Review, Passages North, Ninth Letter, Black Warrior Review, and several other journals. She received her MFA from Emerson College, her PhD from the University of Missouri, was the Robert P. Dana Emerging Writer Fellow at Cornell College, and is now an Assistant Professor at Coe College where she teaches English and Creative Writing.
She edits creative nonfiction for the literary journal Gigantic Sequins. Her website is www.latanyamcqueen.com.