Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

A girl would be such a blessing...

The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything—and everyone—at a safe distance.

When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had. Soon she’s spending more time at Andrea’s remote Catskills estate than in her own cramped apartment. Maeve doesn’t even mind that her cousin’s wealthy work friends clearly disapprove of her single lifestyle. After all, Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry—baby fever comes with the territory.

The more Maeve immerses herself in Andrea’s world, the more disconnected she feels from her life back in the city; and the cousins’ increasing attachment triggers memories Maeve has fought hard to bury. But confronting the terrors of her childhood may be the only way for Maeve to transcend the nightmare still to come…
 

When Mae was a child, she escaped from the only life she had ever known, having been born into a cult referred to as the Mother Collective. She was quickly adopted by parents who loved her but were not prepared to deal with the level of emotional trauma she had suffered. Mae did receive some counseling but was taught that it was best to just let the past go rather than actually process her feelings. Throughout the years she never gave up searching for her cousin Andrea who was raised in the cult with her, and who she had not seen since the day of her escape. When she finally reconnects with Andrea, her wealth and success are intimidating and she refuses to let Mae speak of their past. Despite this, she is excited to have found her family, but the closer she gets to Andrea, the more isolated she becomes from her own life. Is it a series of terrible coincidences that leave Mae with no choice but to turn to Andrea? Or has Andrea orchestrated these events for her own nefarious agenda?

I loved Mae from the start. She seemed to look down on herself but I was proud of her accomplishments. She is stronger than she knows, even if I did want to scream at her to run away! Some of the occurrences were predictable, but knowing that they were going to happen did not detract from my enjoyment of the story and maybe even increased the dread I felt since I saw what was coming but I couldn't warn Mae. The way that Andrea and her friends interacted with their husbands fairly screamed that they had been drinking the Kool-Aid. yet somehow the ending managed to take me by surprise. This is a must-read for any fan of psychological thrillers.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tor Nightfire for the review copy

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Tales to Keep You Up at Night by Dan Poblocki

 From the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Magic Misfits comes a spectacularly spooky novel that will keep you up way past bedtime.

Perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark!

Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother's attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she's told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tales of strange incidents in nearby towns, of journal entries chronicling endless, twisting pumpkin vines, birthday parties gone awry, and cursed tarot decks. And at the center of the stories lies a family of witches. And witches, she's told, can look like anyone...

As elements from the stories begin to come to life around her, and their eerie connections become clear, Amelia begins to realize that she may be in a spooky story of her own...
With hair-raising, spine-chilling prose, Dan Poblocki delivers a collection of interconnected stories that, if you're anything like Amelia, is sure to keep you up late in the night.

Tales To Keep You Up At Night is a spooky collection of short stories for middle grades, ages 10 and up. I enjoyed them myself and I am long past middle grades and deep into middle age.

Amelia and her little brother, along with their two moms have gone to grandma's house to pack things up because grandma has been missing for quite some time. Amelia happens to find an old library book that she decides to return, but once she gets there she is told by the librarian that the book did not belong to that library. As Amelia settles in to read the creepy tales she finds they are all connected, not just to each other but to her family and to the disappearance of her grandma.

There are stories of revenge, including revenge gone wrong when a bullied child tries to get even with his tormentor, a Halloween tale about the dangers of accepting free pumpkins that aren't cut for jack-o-lanterns, a creepy-crawly tragedy that befalls a girl who steals from her mother's purse, and many more.

I loved the way the stories are all connected. I think the fast pace and multiple chills should keep young readers interested.

Only one of the stories was not a big hit with me and that is mainly because it was written in the second person. I am not a fan of that format and it just doesn't work for me. That is the only thing that prevents this from being a 5-star read.

This title will be released on August 16 which is perfect timing if you are looking to keep your child reading over the summer break, or even if you enjoy a good spooky story yourself. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy this book.

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy.

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Sunray Alice by Jeremy Hepler

 

Approaching the end of her life, Alice Mayes, notorious caretaker of the anomaly known as The Garden of Sunray, is eager to tie up one last loose end before moving on. "The" last loose end. For decades she’s been dreaming of finding someone to share her secret with, someone worthy of her truth, and in twenty-year-old Emily Newell, she thinks she finally has.

On a momentous stroll through her massive garden with her young friend, Alice delves back into the past, back to those five horrific, mind-bending days in the summer of 1944 when she was sixteen, and for the first time in over seventy-five years, gives voice to her role in the Nazi prisoner internment camp tragedy that befell the small town of Sunray, Texas. In revealing all she witnessed, confessing all she did, she hopes to pass on a wondrous legacy as well as validate and honor the mysterious man she knew as Karl Wagner.

Alice, an elderly woman, nearing the end of her days shares a miraculous story with Emily, a young friend who helps her care for her famous garden. This is a poignant tale of Alice's youth, growing up in a small town near a Nazi prison camp after her father was killed in the war.

It put me in mind of "The Green Mile" in the way that someone thought to be evil was actually a gift from God.

It's a beautifully written coming of age tale set in one of my favorite time periods, World War II

when Alice and her mother had to find a way to get on with life while grieving their loss.

I can't say much about the plot without spoiling it for you so I'm just going to say if you enjoy historical fiction or coming of age novels you get both here and it's glorious. I loved it.

5 out of 5 stars

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Attack From the '80s Edited by Eugene Johnson

 

Modern technology has brought some new twists and turns to horror. Found footage, cell phone-based viruses, literal ghosts in the machines but maybe it's time for a throwback. It's time for some new tales of slumber party horrors, VCR monsters, and problems that can't be solved with a smart phone. We want tales of unstoppable monsters, sewer-dwelling creatures, looming threats of cold-war chaos. Give us fear under the neon lights of an arcade, people fighting for their lives against the backdrop of a hot city night and a cheesy sax solo. Take us back to a time when latchkey kids had to fend for themselves and the only thing left to stop an unspeakable horror was a plucky band of high school kids. Make it bloody. Make it gnarly. Make it 80s!

Featuring over 20 Bram Stoker Award-winning and best selling authors such as Joe R. Lansdale, Kasey Lansdale, Weston Ochse, Lisa Morton, Grady Hendrix, Tim Waggoner, Christina Sng, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Jess Landry, Vince Liaguno, F. Paul Wilson, John Skipp, Linda D. Addison, and many more.

In the 80s, horror reigned supreme, and this anthology takes us back to those glorious days of spiral perms, leg warmers, and needing to stop at a pay phone if you had to call for help because who ever heard of a phone that fits in your pocket? Some of these stories have tickled my funny bone, others made me squirm with repulsion while others did a great job of raising some goosebumps.

This book recreates the fear of razor blades in your Halloween goodies, curses, Satanists and all the other spooktacular fun from back in the day. Whether you long to return to the 80s or whether you were too young and missed out on that decade there is lots of creepy fun to be had.

Some of my many favorites were Snapshot in which a couple of burglars try to do the right thing for a change but no good deed goes unpunished. Your Picture Here, about an unusual date night at the movies. Permanent Damage about friends (or frenemies) preparing for a wedding. Slashbacks about a very unique video store. and Ghetto Blaster, about a cursed boom box and Stranger Danger, which concerns the aforementioned razor blades on Halloween.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the review copy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Mick Garris.
Top Guns of the Frontier by Weston Ochse.
Snapshot by Joe R. Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale.
The Devil in the Details by Ben Monroe.
Return of the Reanimated Nightmare by Linda Addison.
Taking the Night Train by Thomas F. Monteleone.
Catastrophe Queens by Jess Landry.
Your Picture Here by John Skipp.
Permanent Damage by Lee Murray.
Slashbacks by Tim Waggoner.
Munchies by Lucy A. Snyder.
Ten Miles of Bad Road by Stephen Graham Jones.
Epoch, Rewound by Vince A. Liaguno.
Demonic Denizens by Cullen Bunn.
The White Room by Rena Mason.
Ghetto Blaster by Jeff Strand.
Haddonfield, New Jersey 1980 by Cindy O'Quinn.
When He Was Fab by F. Paul Wilson.
Welcome to Hell by Christina Sng.
Perspective: Journal of a 1980s Mad Man by Mort Castle.
Mother Knows Best by Stephanie M. Wytovich.
Stranger Danger by Grady Hendrix.
The Garden of Dr. Moreau by Lisa Morton.