I Believe in Mister Bones by Max Booth III

The email’s subject line reads DO YOU BELIEVE IN MISTER BONES?
 

The recipient: Daniel Addams, one half of the Texas small press known as Fiendish Books, co-run with his wife Eileen.

Despite being closed for submissions, curiosity gets the best of him and he takes a look at the anonymous author’s bizarre manuscript—only to find himself obsessed with the titular Mister Bones, a mysterious entity rumored to steal your bones as you sleep, one by one, until he's replaced your entire skeleton with an unknown substance.

But is Mister Bones real, and has Daniel unintentionally summoned him?

Or, as Eileen suspects, has he finally cracked from stress and lost his mind?

From the writer of WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING and ABNORMAL STATISTICS comes Max Booth III’s I BELIEVE IN MISTER BONES, a harrowing exploration of indie horror publishing, internet curses, and the universal terror of the human skeleton.

Daniel and his wife Eileen are small press publishers preparing to host a book festival when a weird email pops up in Daniel's inbox with the subject I Believe In Mister Bones. Since they are closed to submissions, he ignores it. Unfortunately, he is unable to stop thinking about it. He retrieves the email from his trash and soon becomes obsessed with it. Before long, he starts to believe in Mister Bones, a supernatural being that steals the bones of its victims and replaces them with an unknown substance.

This was such a fun read because it alternated between hilarious and creepy scenes. I loved the back-and-forth banter between Daniel and Eileen. I personally have anxiety over all things medical and I can relate to not having health insurance so one of my favorite parts of the book was their visit to the only doctor they could afford.

I would recommend this to any reader who enjoys a touch of satire with a splash of comedy mixed into horror.

My thanks to Book Sirens.

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No Road Home by John Fram

 

For years, single father Toby Tucker has done his best to keep his sensitive young son, Luca, safe from the bigotry of the world. But when Toby marries Alyssa Wright—the granddaughter of a famed televangelist known for his grandiose, Old Testament preaching—he can’t imagine the world of religion, wealth, and hate that he and Luca are about to enter.

A trip to the Wright family’s compound in sun-scorched Texas soon turns hellish when Toby realizes that Alyssa and the rest of her brood might have some very strange plans for Toby and his son. The situation only grows worse when a freak storm cuts off the roads and the family patriarch is found murdered, stabbed through the heart on the roof of the family’s mansion.

Suspicion immediately turns to Toby, but when his son starts describing a spectral figure in a black suit lurking around the house with unfinished business in mind, Toby realizes this family has more than murder to be afraid of. And as the Wrights close in on Luca, no one is prepared for the lengths Toby will go in the fight to clear his name and protect his son.

After a whirlwind romance, single dad Toby marries wealthy Alyssa Wright, the granddaughter of a famous televangelist. The newlyweds along with Toby's young son Luca are headed to the Wright family compound, for what Toby thinks is Alyssa's birthday celebration. 

Before long, bigotry, cryptic messages, and a murder mystery occur and Toby realizes he needs to take Luca and escape this family's evil plan for his son, but a sudden storm and washed-out roads make leaving impossible and lack of phone or internet prevent calling for help.

The first thing I have to do is disagree with the blurb that claims Toby must "protect his queer son" Luca is a very sweet and sensitive child who has not labeled himself queer so let's not do it for him. There is a line in the book that strongly suggests he may be transgender, which does not equal queer. Not everyone who is transgender is gay.

Anyway back to the story, the Wrights are not the only ones with secrets. There are mysteries and traumas in Toby's past. Toby has unbearable memories that he tries to lock away in his mind. To repress the pain of his sister's death, the loss of his parents, his troubled childhood and the truth about Luca 's mom.

I can't say much else about the plot without spoiling it, so I will just say it is intricate and twisty and I never saw that ending coming. The author has managed to weave together a story of corruption, revenge redemption and the supernatural and kept all these plates spinning at once while never dropping one.

My thanks to Atria Books.

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Dastardly Damsels Edited by Suzie Lockhart

 

A transcendental anthology of women in horror, altering all you know by revamping traditional lore while exploring the unfathomable and the obscure.

Prepare yourself for a harrowing journey through Dastardly Damsels, an anthology that redefines horror with a powerful lineup of female authors. This collection dares to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche and the supernatural, presenting a diverse range of chilling narratives that will captivate and unsettle you.

This was an awesome anthology of short stories and poems by a talented group of women who know what horror is all about.

A drug addict gets clean but with horrifying results, an Indian goddess of misfortune teaches a racist jerk the error of his ways, a young girl meets her secret crush in the woods but danger lurks, a babysitter has ulterior motives, an artist puts herself into her work...

There are just so many great stories in here.

Tales of werewolves, witches, unearthly beings, and a version of Snow White that the Brothers Grimm would never have dared to tell were among my many favorites.

I loved the suspense and psychological twists. There is even a sentient elevator that is displeased when the elderly elevator operator is fired. 

I laughed, I cheered, and I sometimes cringed. These ladies are not afraid to spill their guts or yours to have a good time.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing.

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The Nightmarchers by J. Lincoln Fenn

 

In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunges off a waterfall to her death, convinced the spirits of her dead husband and daughter had joined the nightmarchers—ghosts of ancient warriors that rise from their burial sites on moonless nights. But was it suicide, or did a strange young missionary girl, Agnes, play a role in Irene's deteriorating state of mind?

It all seems like ancient family history to Julia Greer, who has enough problems of her own. A struggling journalist, she’s recovering from a divorce and is barely able to make rent, let alone appeal the court’s decision to give sole custody of their daughter to her ex-husband. When her elderly great-aunt offers her an outrageously large sum to travel to this remote island and collect samples of a very special flower, as well as find out what really happened to her sister Irene all those years ago, Julia thinks her life might finally be on an upward swing. She’s also tasked to connect with the island’s Church of Eternal Light, which her great-aunt suspects knows more about Irene’s tragic death than they’ve said.

But Julia finds this place isn’t so quick to give up its secrets. The Church is tight-lipped about the deaths that have contributed to its oddly large cemetery, as well as Irene’s final fate. The only person who seems to know more is a fellow traveler, Noah Cooper, who thinks that Julia's not the only one on a mission to find the rare flower...which, if the rumors are true, could have world-changing properties.

What Julia does know is that the longer she stays on the island, the more the thin line begins to blur between truth and lies, reality and the fantastical...until she finds herself face to face with the real reason why the island is taboo....

This was a slow burn, twisty mystery. It took some time to get to the horror. I was intrigued by the opening which starts off with journal entries from the now deceased Irene Greer. Her writings are increasingly more alarming as we are not sure if she has spiraled into madness or been besieged by something supernatural.

In the present day, we meet her descendant Julia, who is struggling with finances and depression because her ex-husband has left her with nothing after their divorce. With no way to pay her bills and no way to scrape up funds to visit her daughter, she accepts a strange offer from her great aunt, the sister of Irene, to travel to the island where Irene died to find out what really led to her demise all those years ago.

I liked the atmosphere of this mysterious island. What was once a religious group in Irene's day has turned into a cult in the present day. I liked Julia but I didn't care for the way every negative or intrusive thought she had was attributed to her ex-husband.

 I enjoyed the parts about the past and the secrets that were revealed in Julia's family. The scientific parts didn't always work for me. There is a lot going on here. Science, horror, the mysterious properties of the island, family secrets, dark history... It was a lot to take in. Knowledge is power but some things are best left undisturbed!

My thanks to Gallery Books

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