Keep This for Me by Jennifer Fawcett

 One hot August night in 1993, a young couple go to a party. When their car breaks down, they are picked up by a truck driver who attacks the man and abducts the woman. She is never seen again.

That woman was Fiona Green’s mother.

When the trucker, Eddie Ward, is caught, a mass grave of bodies is discovered in his backyard but Fiona’s mother isn’t there. Thirty years later, on his prison deathbed, Ward insists that he didn’t kill her, so Fiona finds herself back in the small town where her mother disappeared. Fighting demons of her own, she’s shocked when history repeats another woman, another roadside breakdown, and another disappearance. Only this time the primary suspect is Jason Ward, Eddie’s son. Desperate, Fiona hunts down answers, unaware that she is being drawn into a dangerous trap.

With Jennifer Fawcett’s signature “suspenseful and immersive” (Library Journal) prose, Keep This for Me is a fresh, spellbinding exploration of what we unwillingly inherit from our parents and how one random act can send ripples years into the future.

30 years ago, when Fiona Green was a baby, her father was left for dead and her mother was abducted by a serial killer. Her body was never found. It was only due to her father's survival that the killer was brought to justice. After decades in prison for the multiple murder victims found buried in his yard, he continues to insist that he didn't kill Fiona's mother. Now that he is sickly and dying, Fiona travels to see him in prison, in hopes that he will finally tell the truth about what he did to her mother. 

Instead, she gets pulled deeper into a dangerous mystery with more questions than answers. Another young woman has gone missing, and the serial killer has a son. Is it starting again? Is the son copying his father's monstrous activities?

This was a suspenseful mystery/thriller with themes of abuse, grief, and mental health. The pacing was perfect and the climax was exciting, even if a bit predictable too early on. Still, I loved how all the pieces finally fit together, although I solved the puzzle before the main character did. The dual timelines were well done and added to the suspense as we gradually get the details of the night of the abduction and of what it was like to grow up as the son of a murderer.

"Keep this for me." Chilling words when you learn their context in this exhilarating read.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Atria Books for the paperback ARC

Get a copy

About the author

Food to Die For (Scareville #8) by John Ward

Never trust a smiling clown…

Traverse City, Michigan, seems like the perfect small town—until a cheerful jingle and a pudgy clown mascot turn everything upside down. When the new burger joint, Chunko Town, opens its doors, the town can’t wait to meet Chunko the Clown. But the friendly facade hides a sinister secret.

Middle graders Kira and her friends quickly learn the hard whatever you do—don’t anger the clown! With each daring misstep, Chunko’s cheerful grin twists into something far more terrifying, and the kids find themselves trapped in a nightmarish game of wits and courage.

Food to Die For delivers a thrilling, spine-tingling adventure for middle grade readers who love scary stories, creepy clowns, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. Perfect for fans of horror that’s spooky but age-appropriate, this book will keep you turning pages as Kira and her friends discover that sometimes the scariest monsters come with a painted smile.

A new burger joint in town sounds like a great idea, except for the creepy clown they use as a mascot.
Best friends Lindsey, Maya, and Kira take part in a prank at the opening of Chunko Town, and learn the hard way that you should never make a clown angry.

The burgers may be delicious, but did those painted eyes on the clown just move? Did the head turn and the goofy expression change to something evil? Could this chubby painted mascot come to life?

 Nobody believes Kira until it's too late in this fun and freaky tale that is full of chills and thrills (but not too scary for kids). The pacing moves along at a good speed to keep kids engaged in reading, and the plot shows that there can be dire consequences for making poor choices.

This middle-grade story is perfect for fans of Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing for the e-ARC

Get a copy

More books by John Ward

Unseen Gods by Justin Holley

 

Careful what you search for, you may just find it. With grotesque glimpses of the disappeared, the past is alive and well.

After winning an old case file at auction outlining the disappearance of a hunting party back in the nineties, Kory and his pregnant wife invite their friend and mentor, Professor Frank Colista, and others, for a casual long weekend of exploring the mystery onsite with very little hope of finding anyone or anything. When one of their factions disappears without a trace, Kory and Colista fear the past may repeat itself. Then the deaths start. As a savage, unexpected snowstorm sets in, the disappearances and ungodly sightings of the deceased ramp up, and an old woman rambles about end-of-days and sacrifice.

A quirky cast of characters heads to an isolated hunting cabin, where people had vanished decades before. This unsolved disappearance leads to what is meant to be a casual weekend among this group, unraveling the mystery. 

  Instead, what these friends and local police get is a snowstorm that traps them in a nightmare of gore, body parts, and demonic activity with a possessed woman.

Luckily, Professor Colista and his protege have extensive experience in supernatural dealings, but will this be beyond the scope of what they can handle?
 Who will survive?

I loved the creepy atmosphere. The mix of folklore and legend pulled me in and kept me racing through the pages. The juxtaposition of a couple on the edge of breakup and a couple who will stand by each other as long as they live added tension and complexity to the story and provided a break from the more gruesome and disturbing scenes.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for the advance paperback.

Available for preorder

About the author

The Withering Hours: Dark Folk Horror by Morgan Sylvia

In The Withering Hours, Morgan Sylvia takes readers through the depths of ancient woods, troubled minds, and gruesome retreats. Folklore and myth breathe life into these tales of a haunted world and its imperfect inhabitants. Sylvia’s work is rich with atmosphere and each story is imbued with a sense of magic and dread.

In these pages you will find restless spirits, creatures who defy death, and twisted sadists. You will meet witches with deep connections to the land and innocents with a taste for blood. The minds of the mad will be yours to explore, just like the dark forests of New England.

This brilliant collection is a perfect read for fans of cosmic and folk horror, but it is also steeped in rich elements of gothic horror and psychological dread.

Sylvia invokes the aura of bygone ages, while writing in a fluid, modern style, seamlessly merging past and present. With this volume, Sylvia continues to prove herself to be an important voice in horror and weird fiction. 

I had read one of these stories previously in an anthology from the New England Horror Writers, but most of them were new to me. As a New Englander myself, I do get a kick out of stories that take place in my little corner of the world.

I love folk horror, so some of my favorite stories featured hikes to cursed ground, restless spirits, supernatural beings in the woods, and witches, both modern-day and those from centuries past.

The author is adept at creating suspense and spine-tingling chills with clever endings that sometimes tricked me into mislaying my sympathies on the wrong character. 

The Withering Hours overflows with dark tales wrapped in legends and cloaked in fear. Superstitions come to life deep in the woods, and in what we believe is the safety of our own brightly lit neighborhoods. I would recommend it for all fans of dark fiction and folk horror.

My thanks to Weird House Press for the eBook.

About the author

Get a copy