Never Out of Sight by Louise Stone

Description

A daughter’s secret. A mother’s betrayal.

Every mother knows never to let their child out of their sight. But Freya has been distracted recently, and now her teenage daughter, Zoe, is missing.
Freya knows that the only way to bring Zoe back is to tell the truth, but when your whole life is built on secrets and lies, the truth could destroy everything.
Surely there’s no harm in telling just one more little white lie?

Freya and her husband Stephen have drifted apart. He has never understood or forgiven her for suffering with post natal depression 16 years ago when their daughter Zoe was born and has held a grudge against her ever since. When Zoe goes missing, both parents are so wrapped up in themselves that neither of them even notice she is gone until the next day.
This book started off with a bang but as it progressed the arguments and excuses between Stephen and Freya became rather repetitive, as did the conversations between Freya and her student Robert. The more Freya uncovered about her missing daughter the less I liked any of the characters. I felt that it pushed too hard towards casting suspicion in a certain direction, which made it too easy for me to ascertain where the suspicion should lie.

I received an advance copy for review.

War on Christmas by Edward Lorn

a holiday-themed horror freebie



When Santa arrives at a hastily decorated house he gets a naughty surprise in this holiday themed short horror story that has him teaming up with Krampus
I am a big fan of Christmas themed horror and was really excited to pick up this book that Edward Lorn has so kindly gifted us with this season. I rarely bother with downloading free kindle books anymore since I have such a huge backlog of freebies that I never got around to but this is not one to download and forget. Do yourself a favor and snatch it up while it's free at Amazon
5 out of 5 stars from me

Forgotten Boxes by Becki Willis

WINNER of 2016 Best Suspense Fiction by the Association of Texas Authors.
Named sole heir to her aunt's estate, Charity Gannon arrives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, hoping to find a link to her past. She's not looking for lost treasures; she is searching for a connection to the aunt she barely knew.
What she finds is a thirty-something-year-old mystery and questions with no answers. A sad, secluded cottage, all but hidden amid the vines. A man's suit of clothes, tainted with dried blood and a bullet hole. Four forgotten boxes, stuffed into a large bag and buried in the far corners of the shed.
These are not just any boxes. These are unopened, undelivered boxes, left behind by the now-defunct Kingdom Parcel. All four boxes are marked March 14, 1984... the very day her uncle, president and driver for the delivery service, was said to have committed suicide. Four forgotten boxes, whose owners might still be out there, waiting for a delivery that never arrived.
The undelivered boxes haunt Charity, tugging at her conscience. Hadn’t someone noticed them missing? Hadn’t anyone wondered about the failed delivery? Thinking it might be fun to surprise the recipients after all these years, Charity sets out to deliver the packages to their rightful owners.
Along the way, one of the love stories she discovers is her own. Fate throws her into the sturdy arms of Tarn Danbury, a burly sugarmaker with eyes as beautiful as the mountain pond from which he was named, and a voice as smooth and rich as the dark syrup he produces.
The story behind one box is delightful. Another is heartbreaking.
And one might very well be the death of her.

Charity Gannon is not exactly an unhappy woman, though she feels her life is in a rut. When she arrives at her Aunt Nell's cottage to clear it out after her death she intends to get it over with and head back home. She thinks maybe she will use it as a rental property but finds it too unsettling to consider staying there herself. After finding a man's suit with bullet holes hanging in the closet and an intriguing talk with her aunt's neighbor Charity finds herself in the middle of a mystery that began before she was even born. Filled with suspense and a bit of romance this fast paced story kept me glued to the pages. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

The Nightly Disease by Max Booth III

Description

Sleep is just a myth created by mattress salesmen.

Isaac, a night auditor of a hotel somewhere in the surreal void of Texas, is sick and tired of his guests. When he clocks in at night, he’s hoping for a nice, quiet eight hours of Netflix-bingeing and occasional masturbation. What he doesn’t want to do is fetch anybody extra towels or dive face-first into somebody’s clogged toilet. And he sure as hell doesn’t want to get involved in some trippy owl conspiracy or dispose of any dead bodies. But hey…that’s life in the hotel business.

Welcome to The Nightly Disease. Please enjoy your stay.  

I don't know where to start. Part of me says what the hell did I just read? Yet I have to admit I flew through this book (like an owl?) and couldn't put it down.
Isaac is a young man who has led a very strange life. We are given a small glimpse into his past when as a young teen he was uprooted from his home.. though we are not given the why of it all. Do we need to know? I can't say the not knowing took away from my enjoyment of this humorous and horrifying story but I am certainly curious. Currently sleeping days and  working nights at the "Goddamn Hotel" Isaac is subjected to a strange cast of inhabitants on a nightly basis, including a homeless bulimic girl that he thinks he's in love with and whom he tries to win over with waffles, and a criminal element selling knock offs of name brand shoes. Then there are the owls, do not pet the owls! If you like dark twisted humor with your horror this is most definitely for you. 5 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review