When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy

 One night, Jess, a struggling actress, finds a five-year-old runaway hiding in the bushes outside her apartment. After a violent, bloody encounter with the boy's father, she and the boy find themselves running for their lives.

As they attempt to evade the boy's increasingly desperate father, horrifying incidents of butchery follow them. At first, Jess thinks she understands what they're up against, but she's about to learn there's more to these surreal and grisly events than she could've ever imagined.

And that when the wolf finally comes home, none will be spared.

Jess is a struggling actress working a thankless graveyard shift job while hoping her next audition pays off. I liked her a lot. She has been through some emotional family turmoil, but hasn't let it change her goals. She doesn't have much in the way of friend or family support, but she just keeps on keeping on. 

Her plans are interrupted when she hears a whimpering in the bushes outside of her apartment complex. What follows is a night of murderous mayhem that has her and a strange little boy embarking on a road trip that leaves a slew of mutilated bodies in their wake.

If the title or cover has you expecting just another werewolf story, you are in for a shock.

At some time or other, you will have heard or read the positive affirmation that if you can dream it you can be it.

Well, what if what you dream or see is terrifying? What if you don't want to be it, or be part of it, or bring it into reality? Not so positive now is it? What if everything you fear becomes reality?

That's all I will say about the plot so as not to spoil anything for you. I went into this blind, and for maximum enjoyment so should you.

Part survival horror, part secret government agency, a bit of humor and loads of gore made this a fun, even if over the top crazy read.

My thanks to Tor Nightfire for the e-ARC

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Monsters Monsters Monsters Monsters Edited by Xtina Marie

 

HellBound Books pays loving homage to the spine-tingling 70’s kids’ anthology Monsters, Monsters, Monsters, without which they would not be around today to delight horror fans with these 17 deliciously gruesome tales.

Dig into this slew of unique, terrifying monsters—each one hand-picked for your deplorably horrific delight.

Vampires, genetically engineered animal-people, giant spiders, ghouls—and more than a handful of the absolutely worst monsters of them all: the human variety—are brought to you by some of the biggest and best horror names in the indie world today!

Featuring monstrous stories by Jeff Strand, P. Mattern, Gerri R. Gray, Ksenia Murray, Cayce Osborne, Mark Wheaton, Richard Clive, Tom Vandermolen, Chris Preston, Jeff Oliver, Scotty Milder, Carson Demmans, Jane Nightshade, Douglas Ford, Alexander C. Bailey, Ricki Whatley, and Krissy Eliot, this is a collection not to be passed by!

This monster-sized anthology holds a mix of the creepy, humorous, and satirical. 

In a few of my favorites...

A bride learns her husband's secret on their wedding day and it's not just about the women in his past.

A boy develops a long-lasting relationship with a spider.

A Halloween party in a hospital with deadly costumes.

A boy loses his mask after trick or treating at the attractive new neighbor's house.

A runaway hitches a ride with unusual circus performers.

While I can not say I loved every story, I can say that whether you are looking for a scare or a giggle there is something here for you.

3 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Hellbound Books Publishing.

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Scurry by Seann Barbour

Catty Hammond isn't like other girls; she can talk to roaches.

It's not a gift she ever wanted or asked for, but ever since she was a child, it's marked her as different. And in the suburb of Hilly Green, different is just about the worst thing a person can be. After a lifetime as a social pariah—culminating a bloody and terrifying encounter with a deranged murderer—Catty left suburbia and never looked back.

A decade has passed since then, but now a call from her sick mother brings Catty home. Not much has changed in Hilly the houses are still beautiful, the lawns are still immaculate, the people still smile and gossip and quietly judge their neighbors...

...and the serial killer Catty narrowly escaped from all those years ago is still there, watching her.

He has his own gifts. He has his own pride.

And he has no intention of letting the Roach Girl slip through his fingers once more.

 

Catty Hammond grew up as an outcast in her perfect little neighborhood. Bullied in school and belittled by her mother. Her only companions were the roaches she felt an affinity with. It wasn't until high school that she finally found a small group of human friends who didn't look down on her, as they too were considered the freaks and unwelcome weirdos. 

As the prospect of college approaches, the friends plan one last childish adventure before they go their separate ways into adulthood. It will be the last thing they ever do together, not because of their educational goals, but because Catty is the only survivor that night from an attack by a serial killer.

Years later, when Catty returns to her childhood home at the demand of her ailing mother, who needs someone to take care of her, the killer has still never been caught. 

I was already captivated by this book long before the college years approached. I love a good coming of age tale and I was rooting for Catty to find her way in a world that is not kind to people who don't fit the mold. Adding a serial killer, and seeing how life turned out for Catty and one of her bullies as adults, was the icing on the cake of this well-written plot.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Seann Barbour

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Nerve Endings by Kealan Patrick Burke

 

From the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TURTLE BOY, KIN, and SOUR CANDY, comes a collection of eleven stories designed to shred your nerves.

You can tell yourself that sound you heard outside the house on Halloween night was nothing. You can pretend you didn’t see that awful thing in the middle of the road while you were jogging. You can even ignore the old man sitting in the yard who claims he must keep watch on a door that nobody else can see. And you can act like you don’t know what lurks in that long-forgotten pool hidden away behind your neighborhood.

But true horror cannot be ignored.

From the nightmare of addiction and the throes of grief-induced insanity, to an app designed to cure your phobias, and a musician who can cast you into hell by simply playing a song, herein you’ll find a menagerie of malevolent tales to chill the blood and expose the kind of terrors that will strip away your comfort and drag their splintered nails along your NERVE ENDINGS.

Featuring an introduction and story notes by the author.

This is a creepy collection, and aptly titled since these dark and distressing stories fried my nerves. In the best ways of course. Some of my favorites were :

Distinguishing Features- After a breakup, a man suffers a series of bizarre experiences that he hopes are merely an elaborate hoax. This was a tense and chilling tale.

The Second Hand- A man recounts the summer of 1989 when his childhood friend disappeared. What feels almost like a charming coming of age tale set in my favorite decade, turns terrifying.

Attaboy- This story is heavy with grief, regret, loss and loneliness. Maybe a touch of the Tell-Tale Heart too.

Reclamation- The day in the life of a hard working housekeeper takes a deadly turn.

I used to live here- On a cold winter day in 1981 an act of kindness proves the old saying that no good deed goes unpunished.

The App- in which a woman tries to cure herself of anxiety and crippling fears by way of a helpful app on her phone. We've all seen them. Free or low cost apps that promise weight loss, relaxation, or a better night's sleep. Maybe you've wondered what there is to lose by giving it a try. Here's the answer.

Let The Dark Do The Rest-It's an hour before midnight on Halloween and a man spends a terrifying evening alone while waiting for his wife to come home. What's really out there waiting for us all in the dark?

All the stories were excellent! These are just the ones that stick in my mind the most.

 There is nothing I enjoy more than a well-crafted horror story, except for an entire collection full of them, and that is what I found here in Nerve Endings.

5 out of 5 stars

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