Book Spotlight- Writers' Retreat by by J.P. Choquette

 

Coming soon from J.P. Choquette!

Writers' Retreat is available for pre-order

About this book:

You’ve never been to a writing retreat like this.

Flora Rossi is under deadline and her agent has made it clear: meet it or the publishing house will drop her. Still recovering emotionally from a tragic accident and with her creative muse missing, the acceptance letter to Idyll Weiss Writing Retreat comes at a perfect time.

A full week away to write in a rustic home deep in the Vermont woods with a handful of other writers will be just what Flora needs to rekindle her creative spark. The fact that the exclusive writing getaway is led by bestselling-author-turned recluse, Venetia Valentine? It’s the stuff of dreams.

Or nightmares.

Because the retreat isn’t quite what Flora, or the others expected. Secretive staff, no electricity, a missing writer, and unanswered questions about the Retreat Center’s dark past are just the beginning.

As hard as it was to get into the retreat, getting out may be even harder.

Readers of books by Ruth Ware, Jennifer McMahon, and Susan Hill will enjoy this slow-burn suspense. Loaded with twists and turns, Writers’ Retreat is another unputdownable suspense novel by J.P. Choquette.

Movie Review - The Goldsmith

 

Cinephobia Releasing is proud to announce the North American release of THE GOLDSMITH, a captivating home-invasion thriller with a bloody twist that offers plenty of violent fun. The debut feature from director Vincenzo Ricchiuto, and starring veteran Italian actor Giuseppe Pambieri and Stefania Casini (Suspiria), THE GOLDSMITH will arrive on DVD and VOD, digital platforms on October 3, with platforms including AppleTV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu/Fandango, Vimeo, YouTube Movies, and Kino Now.

THE GOLDSMITH held its International Premiere at Grimmfest 2022, where it won Best Screenplay, and went on to have a healthy festival run and winning multiple awards including Screamfest 2022 (Winner: Best Special Effects, Best Make-up), Santiago Horror Film Festival (Winner: Best Sound Design),Terror in the Bay (Winner: Best Original Score),, and HorrorHaus Film Festival.

A trio of lifelong criminals expects to have an easy time robbing an elderly couple. At first glance, these old folks (played by Stefania Casini and Giuseppe Pambieri) look like anybody's favorite grandparents. A cheery retired couple, happily married and enjoying their quiet life, until a home invasion interrupts their peaceful evening.

Unfortunately for this trio, instead of treasures, they find themselves trapped and there is no escape from The Goldsmith.

I generally like to see the bad guys get what's coming to them but I almost felt some sympathy for the would-be robbers as I began to question whether anyone was really innocent here.

I would have liked more backstory on The Goldsmith and his wife and what exactly they were hoping to accomplish. The movie begins with a scene of the three criminals as children when they were already well into their violent crime spree. Later when several of their secrets are revealed it gives the viewer a pretty good grasp of their background, but very little was told of what the elderly couple had been up to.

There was just enough gore to satisfy this horror fan without being enough to make me cringe. Stefania Casini was equal parts terrifying and hilarious in her performance as The Goldsmith's wife and was my favorite part of the movie.

If you enjoyed Don't Breathe, or other home invasion movies that don't go as planned for the invaders, I think you'll like The Goldsmith.

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Fiends by Richard Laymon

 This book was first published in the 90s but I missed out on it at the time.

I have read a lot of Richard Laymon. I actually thought I had read all of his books, but that is because I never knew he wrote short stories and this novella.

Of these thirteen tales, the title story is the longest and also my least favorite in the bunch. It's mainly about a rapist who is back for revenge against those who sent him to prison, but he is not the only "fiend" in the story. Some of the actions of his main victim were just too ridiculous. I suppose her unbelievable choices were needed in order to make this novella length since she had ample opportunity early on to make sure this man never bothered her again. 

The rest of this collection was thoroughly witty, clever, creepy, disturbing, and hilariously disgusting.

From bratty kids who face gruesome consequences to vampires, serial killers and freeze-dried corpses, this book is a must for all Laymon fans.

4 out of 5 stars

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Joey Leonard's Last Horror Movie Marathon by Kevin Lucia

 

In Clifton Heights NY, Showbiz Video, the last video rental store in the Adirondacks, is finally closing its doors for good. Though cinephile and store manager Joey Leonard has anticipated this moment for years, he's still crippled by the loss. The store's now-deceased owner has willed him the entirety of the store's horror movies, and all Joey wants to do is drown his sorrows in booze and escape into a familiar, comforting ritual: a weekend horror movie marathon.

However, among the tapes willed to him, he finds a strange home-recording which he initially passes off as a low-budget "found footage" movie. As he repeatedly watches it, however, it works an insidious change over him, fracturing his perception of reality and revealing to him a blasted and terrifying version of the world he knows.

So, get comfy on the couch, pour yourself a drink, and pour another one for Joey, too.

It's very likely this will be his last horror movie marathon.

I think I enjoyed the nostalgia as much as I enjoyed the plot. This is a book that brought back a lot of great memories of Saturday mornings spent in the horror section of the video store picking out movies.

But alas the store managed by Joey Leonard is going the way of all the others, closing its doors forever. Joey has been given the store's entire horror collection and intends to settle in for a marathon and some heavy drinking. He finds something strange in his tote full of movies. A store bought blank tape on which someone has recorded something unexpected.  Once Joey starts watching it he can't stop, and it brings on terrifying consequences.

This was a fast paced cosmic horror with an ending I never saw coming. At the start of the book it had me wishing I still had my old VCR but now I feel safer that we have parted ways.

Be careful what you watch, and always be kind, rewind!

My thanks to Kevin Lucia for the review copy.

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