25 Days by Per Jacobsen

 25 days, 25 chapters. This December, the countdown to Christmas will chill you to the bone.

Hoping to bring his family closer together, Adam Gray arranges a vacation in a remote cabin on a snowy mountain. Things take a dark turn, however, when someone starts leaving gifts in the Christmas stocking mounted on the barn door.

Each morning brings something new, and with every passing day, the contents become more terrifying. Soon, the family makes a spine-chilling discovery that they’ve been dragged into a deranged game of Secret Santa, and if they want to survive, they will have to fight.

A peaceful family vacation in an isolated country cabin turns into a harrowing fight for survival in this holiday horror.

The scenic location and lack of internet or cell service seems like the ideal way to bring this family of four closer together. At first, it does just that, until the Christmas stocking appears on the barn with a new threatening gift each day. 

I love Christmas horror so this seemed like it would be right up my alley! I also love when stories take place in snowy, isolated conditions with no way to call for help.

What I do not love is never being told who the perpetrator is or even the why of it all. So I find myself torn. 

I was all in for the first half of this book. The claustrophobic feeling of being trapped with an unknown threat was so creepy! At some point in the second half is when I began to get annoyed. I wanted to know the who and the why of this threat. 
Just when I thought the answers were finally coming it was a letdown when they never materialized. I think the author may also have lost track of some of the injuries that occurred.
In the author's notes at the end of the book is his explanation for this choice to leave us hanging. I was less than satisfied with the reason.

My thanks to HumbleBooks for the gifted e-copy.

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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

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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

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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.

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