Later by Stephen King

 

The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

Later is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King's classic novel IT, Later is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.

Later is a coming of age tale, but in Stephen King fashion our young hero Jaimie can see dead people. He sees them whether he wants to or not, and the first sighting when he is just a small tot is truly horrific.

Set in New York beginning just before the recession, we get to grow up with Jaimie, and his mom Tia certainly does some growing up too. Jamie never knew his dad, it's been him and his mom against the world for all of his young life until a romantic interest begins cutting in to their time together. Tia does not believe Jaimie right away when he first tells her what he has seen. Later she makes him promise never to tell anyone, but when it suits her she is the one to let the cat out of the bag, bringing some consequences neither of them bargained for.

The pace moves along at a pretty fast clip, and though it straddles the line between horror and crime, dipping a toe in each, it is most definitely Jamie's narrative that is the star of this book. Stephen King books have been hit or miss with me for the past several years, but I'm counting this among the hits. Watch out for those deadlights.

4 out of 5 stars

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Fleeting Chills by Joseph C. Gioconda

 

FLEETING CHILLS is a series of thirty-three weird, creepy, short and scary horror stories by authors Joseph C. Gioconda, Grace Elizabeth, Amy Yun Yu, Isabel Rincón, Petar Vrbich and others.

A jealous teenager lures his rival into a tomb.
A five-year old child speaks in a voice beyond his years.
A therapist tells his patient to jump at every opportunity.
Trapped in an isolated funeral home, a man must get through the long night.
A spirit desperately wants to wed a living woman and refuses to take no for an answer.
Three boys on a road trip get lost...forever.
Some musicians really put their heart and soul into their work.
Amanda introduces her boyfriend to the person living inside her.
Selling a human skull shouldn't be difficult. Until a psychic gets involved.
Two sons see an apparition of their father...from thirty years in the future.
Near death experiences aren't all beautiful...
An eccentric inventor seeks patents on some novel and disturbing devices.
Christmas should be a time of joy, but when a man goes missing, his family tries to celebrate without him.
Buying a mysterious box on the DarkWeb leads a man down a rabbit hole of murder.
Confessing his sins to a priest, a man describes having a dark power.
A woman plans elaborate revenge on her cheating lover, only to find the tables turned.

I can't really say that many of these stories were scary, but the book did hold my interest. Several are written anecdotally as if the author is recounting an event that they personally experienced, and some, according to the editor's notes are admittedly "bite sized or ultra short." These are likely the stories I got the least enjoyment from. I don't like ambiguous tales with abrupt endings that seem to be over as quick as they start. That's just me. Other readers may feel differently.

The stories I most enjoyed were Convertible in which a traffic accident has an unexpected outcome.

Santa in which a jolly St Nick may not make it to the family gathering this year,  

Mausoleum, about some young graveyard workers, and Gaslighting about a woman scorned, seeking revenge.  All of these were by Joseph C. Gioconda.

The only story that I found scary was Lured by Amy Yun Yu. It is one of the more well rounded and fleshed out stories. A family living in a cramped trailer wherever they are able to park it have stopped at a book store on their way to the middle of nowhere and as the dutiful big brother begins to read the story his sister has chosen, sinister things are afoot.

So all in all it was worth the read and you may find some favorites too.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a mobi file through Book Sirens with no obligation to write a review.

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Jedi Summer by John Boden

 

A boy and his little brother wander through the loosely stitched summer of 1983. It was a magical one. Full of sun and surrealism, of lessons and loss, and of growing up and figuring it out.

Nestled in the mountains of Pennsylvania is a small town unlike any other. Things are strange here, always have been. People die but hang around, pets too. Everyone knows your name, and sometimes, a thing as simple as a movie coming to the local theatre is all it takes to keep you going.

This book has been kicking around for a while, in one incarnation or another, and I've glanced at it here and there from more than one publisher. It never seemed to be the right time to read it but it has been on my radar. To be honest the first time I glanced at it the title put me off. What is this? I thought, something about boys and their Star Wars obsession? (Fear not, it isn't!)

Sometimes I take a break from reading horror. Sometimes I end up disappointed and other times, I come away from my break remarkably satisfied. This is one of the latter.

Jedi Summer is a coming of age tale set in a small town in 1983. It is part fiction, part recollection of the author's childhood and entirely spellbinding. It is a memorable summer in the lives of Johnny and Roscoe, two brothers growing up in a poor town, where their mom works 3 jobs just to keep them fed. It's a summer of good times, growing up, and the bittersweet knowledge that nothing can last forever, whether it is the good or the bad times they all must eventually end. This book spoke to me on so many levels. Much like childhood, it passed by quickly and now I don't want it to be over.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher with no obligation to write a review.

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About the author

John Boden lives a stones throw from Three Mile Island with his wonderful wife and sons.

A baker by day, he spends his off time writing, working on Shock Totem or watching M*A*S*H re-runs.

He likes Diet Pepsi, cheeseburgers, heavy metal and sports ferocious sideburns.

While his output as a writer is fairly sporadic, it has a bit of a reputation for being unique.

The Restoration by J.H. Moncrieff

 

Inspired by the author’s overnight stay in a historical haunted house, The Restoration is a thrilling tale of intrigue, murder, and family secrets that refuse to stay buried.

It was the perfect opportunity…or so she thought. When Terri Foxworth is hired to spend a year restoring a crumbling manor house, she believes she’s hit the jackpot. She moves in with her young daughter and high hopes for the project’s success. As the restoration begins to go terribly wrong, she realizes dark forces won’t let her leave the house until its horrible secrets are revealed.

This job could very well be the death of her.

Terri and her 10 year old daughter Dallas move into a dilapidated old manor house. This is summer vacation for Dallas and meant to be "their summer" since she does not live with her mother full time. It's a working summer for Terri who is there to restore the house. Immediately upon moving in she finds out not only that she wasn't the owner's first choice for the job, but that there have been many others before her that either quit or were fired due to their "imaginations" and that there is one former employee in particular she is to watch out for, Gertrude, who is obsessed with the house.

Cue the strange noises and the daughter who knows more than is possible to know about the house's long dead former occupants and you have the set up for a typical haunted house story that also is a bit of a whodunit. 

I found the murder mystery aspect a bit too easy to solve, and the relationship between Terri and her daughter seemed odd. Dallas seemed to go back and forth between being too mature for her age and then too immature for her age. Terri made some weird choices that you would not expect a normal mother to make. That and the fact that I could not really connect with any of the characters made this just an ok read for me.

3 out of 5 stars

I received an e-copy from Netgalley with no obligation to write a review.

Expected publication: October 19th 2021

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