The Changeling by Victor LaValle

 

When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappeared, all he left his son were strange recurring dreams and a box of books stamped with the word IMPROBABILIA. Now Apollo is a father himself–and as he and his wife, Emma, are settling into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. Apollo’s old dreams return and Emma begins acting odd. Irritable and disconnected from their new baby boy, at first Emma seems to be exhibiting signs of postpartum depression, but it quickly becomes clear that her troubles go even deeper. Before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act–beyond any parent’s comprehension–and vanishes, seemingly into thin air.

Thus begins Apollo’s odyssey through a world he only thought he understood, to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His quest, which begins when he meets a mysterious stranger who claims to have information about Emma’s whereabouts, takes him to a forgotten island, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever.

This captivating retelling of a classic fairy tale imaginatively explores parental obsession, spousal love, and the secrets that make strangers out of the people we love the most. It’s a thrilling and emotionally devastating journey through the gruesome legacies that threaten to devour us and the homely, messy magic that saves us, if we’re lucky.

I've been wanting to read more by Victor Lavalle ever since reading Lone Women. In fact, as soon as I finished that I bought several more of his books. However, this one did not quite meet my expectations.

I didn't mind that it started off as a love story that turned into a mystery. I didn't mind that it took a long time for the child produced by the first love story to grow up and begin his own love story, although quite frankly I am not into love stories. 

What I did mind was how long it took for anything remotely spooky to happen, and that once it did, it just turned into a mystery again. I was expecting something scarier from the way I have heard others talk about this book. I was not prepared for a long drawn out fairy tale/fantasy type read, which is just not my thing. Also, the constant referring to their new baby as "the kid" grated on my nerves after a while.

By the middle of the book I was skimming the pages hoping for something exciting to happen. I was mostly bored with this story and glad when it was over. You may enjoy it more than I did, others certainly have. It's even been made into a TV show so there must be something to love about it. Some books are just too crazy even for me.

2.25 out of 5 stars

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The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden

 

Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild—selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years. It’s a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely, and Becchina is the home of Tommy’s grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize. But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy’s grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they’ve bought. There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn’t know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they’re certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbor refers to as The House of Last Resort. Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years…and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina…something stirs.

This is in part, a love story between Tommy and Kate, a mystery of what caused the rift between Tommy's father and grandfather, and the unraveling of dark family secrets.

Tommy and Kate seize an opportunity to own a beautiful house in Italy for practically no money. All they have to do is fix it up. It's a huge change for them from living in the United States, but Tommy has family there and they hope with a little time and effort they can convince some of their friends to follow in their footsteps to revive the economy in the half empty town.

When Tommy's grandmother sees which home they've chosen she is angry and fearful but won't say why.

Bumps in the night and slamming doors lead the couple to entertain the idea that their house may be haunted, but it took longer than I would have liked for the reveal of why their home is known as the House of Last Resort.

The pace was slow for the first part of the book. There were some odd occurrences but nothing really scary happened until close to the halfway mark when a shocking event led to the exposure of family secrets, Something happened at this point that just plain scared the bejeezers out of me.

The final third of the book is terrifying and the conclusion is a knock out.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press.

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Dead Cats of Civilization by Douglas Ford

 

From the author of The Beasts of Vissaria County and The Infection Party comes a novelette about natural disasters and the unspeakable things they awaken from the ocean’s depths. When a hurricane strikes his hometown, a young man rushes away from his new life so he can help with the recovery effort. He finds his old neighborhood dealing with the storm’s aftermath in some macabre ways, including the construction of a strange totem. Even worse, nothing can prepare him for the twisted horror that awaits him inside the walls of what he once called home.

This was a wild and weird short story about the aftermath of a hurricane. 

A young man drives for hours to get to his parents' home after a storm ravages their neighborhood.

The damage is still being assessed when he arrives so he is happy to see that his parents are among the living. However, they are not as happy to see him as he expected and they don't seem to want his help with repairs. In fact, they are reluctant to even let him in the house at all. I wondered what they were hiding in there but even my wildest guess could not have come close to what's been going on in there. 

This is not my usual type of read. I go for the scary over the stomach-churning, but it's a well written story if you can handle it. Be warned, it's pretty gross in their bathroom and it's not just from the flood waters or the stench of fish.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Douglas Ford for the Kindle copy.

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Bruises on a Butterfly by Chad Lutzke

 

A young boy runs away from his abusive home to live in the fort he'd built with friends, smack dab in the middle of a Michigan cornfield. But when a cosmic discovery one night warps reality into a mutating nightmare, it's up to loyal friends to fix what they can, and bury what they can't.

A dark coming-of-age tale that fuses COLOR OUT OF SPACE with STAND BY ME.

Expected publication January 1, 2024

From the opening lines of the prologue, it's clear that someone will not survive this story. Two young boys stand at a grave they have visited often, but we don't know which two are above ground and which friend is buried. It's just enough to provide a taste of things to come. To cast a shadow of foreboding over this heart-stopping coming-of-age tale.

Three best friends, 12 year old Taylor, Jackie, and Kevin do everything together. Their friendship and loyalty to one another is fierce. But one in this trio is not like the others. Jackie and Kevin have normal happy homes. Taylor lives with constant abuse and neglect. His home life is a never ending torment. His friends know that his father hits him but they have no idea the depths of suffering he endures. Taylor doesn't speak about it, and out of respect for his privacy, they never ask.

When Taylor has taken more than he can stand, he leaves a note that guarantees he can never return home and goes off to spend the night with his friends in a fort they have built. He has no plans for what he'll do when the night is over, he only knows he never wants to see his father again. 

Secrets will come out, and a twist of fate will change everything this night.

I finished this book in one sitting. I almost never do that, but once I started there was no way I could stop. It put me through a gamut of emotions from rage, to hope, to sorrow. Chad Lutzke is an expert at testing your empathy by writing characters that are impossible not to connect with.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications.

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