Deceptions By Dana Mansfield

Description
Jack Petrov, lead singer of a successful rock band, is spending the Thanksgiving weekend with his wife and children in the Poconos. He has been out of the limelight for two years after a terrible car accident that resulted in the deaths of two of his children. Traveling with the family is the children’s nanny, Penny Shepherd. Penny and Jack have been best friends since their days at Princeton. After a verbal fight with his wife, Jack orders Penny to drive him after he gets buzzed in the lodge’s bar. Before they can return, they are abducted by kidnappers hired by someone called the Employer. Although treated okay at the beginning, their treatment worsens as the Employer demands information from Penny. After the truth is revealed, the Employer leaves after a final goodbye and Penny and Jack are left to try and survive, still as captives.

 

I have to start by saying I did not realize when I picked up this book that it was part of a Trilogy, so I was a bit surprised to be left hanging. If you are searching for this title on amazon this particular version is now listed as unavailable, but it can now be found under the title Deceptions (Deceptions Trilogy Book 1) with a less appealing cover.

There is definitely a lot going on in this story. Sometimes too much. Maybe that is why it is being continued as a trilogy. Jack and Penny met years ago at university. Penny was instantly charmed by the way Jack was caring for his little sister. They became the best of friends and apparently that friendship continued as Jack became a rock star and  fathered several children with his wife Crystal, none of whom Crystal seemed to particularly want to mother. Jack was not the typical rock and roll type, he loves his children above all else and is a good and decent family man. His wife is the partier in the family and she often takes off for long stretches of time leaving her children in the care of their father and Penny who has become their nanny. Penny has come from a dysfunctional family and having nothing to do with her own relatives she comes to love Jack's children as her own. Penny suffers depression and bouts of anorexia which she tries to hide from Jack along with another darker secret. While spending the Thanksgiving holiday together, Crystal and Jack have a fight and he demands Penny drive him home during a snow storm. On their way they are kidnapped by a strange group who claim that although Jack is the real target they are taking Penny along as well. Someone they call "The Employer" wants information from her.
They soon learn no ransom will be asked for them, and they are to be held prisoner for however long it pleases the employer. Because of the brutal was  Penny was treated by the kidnappers considering she was supposedly not even meant to be kidnapped I thought it was a bit too easy to figure out who this mysterious employer was. Still it did hold my interest even if it did seem to be trying too hard to incorporate too many dramas at once into one plot line.

 

3 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.

The Bayou Strangler by Fred Rosen

Description

The terrifying true story of Louisiana serial killer Ronald Dominique’s ten-year killing spree that left more than twenty men dead, and the two dedicated detectives who hunted him down. 

In 1997, the bodies of young African American men began turning up in the cane fields of the quiet suburbs of New Orleans. The victims—many of them transient street hustlers—had been brutally raped and strangled, but police had no leads on the killer’s identity. The murders continued, leaving southeast Louisiana’s gay community rattled and the police desperate for a break in the case. Detectives Dennis Thornton and Dawn Bergeron came together as task force partners, and they were indefatigable in their decade-long effort to track down the killer.

In 2006, DNA evidence finally linked the murders to a suspect: the unassuming Ronald Joseph Dominique, who had lived under the radar for years, working as a pizza deliveryman and meter reader. But who was Ronald Dominique and what led him to commit such heinous crimes? With direct access to the investigation, Dominique’s confession, and all of the killer’s body dump sites in Houma, author Fred Rosen enters the warped mind of a murderer and captures a troubled, disturbing, and broken life. As with the many other serial killers he has covered, including Jeffrey Dahmer (the Milwaukee Cannibal) and Dennis Rader (the BTK killer), Rosen provides a horrifying and fascinating account of the lengths to which a bloodthirsty monster will go to lure and brutalize his victims.

 

Ronald Dominique  was a Patti LaBelle impersonator, meter reader, pizza delivery guy, rapist, and serial killer. This is a look at his crimes, his confession and his sentencing.
When I read true crime I prefer a more matter of fact and less sensationalized approach. I would have liked to know more about his family and what drove him to these crimes and less about his "pulsating" slang for male sex organ. Not much of his family life was disclosed other than he may have been molested by a priest or he may have lied about it, and that his relatives made fun of him for being gay. Out of respect for the dead I would have liked to know more about his victims, other than some of them were gay and some of them were straight, and that most of them were seedy characters. I never felt fully engaged in the story due to the strange writing style. It seemed a bit awkward and clumsy.
3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Dark Screams: Volume Nine

Description

Kelley Armstrong, Stewart O’Nan, Taylor Grant, Jonathan Moore, Peter Straub, and Lee Thomas weave six hair-raising yarns proving that appearances can be deceiving—and deadly—in this horror anthology assembled by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar.

INVITATION TO THE GAME by Kelley Armstrong
Vivienne dreams of moving up in the company, and now she’s got her chance. All the company asks in return is that she prove her absolute devotion by playing a simple, silly little game.

SUMMER OF ’77 by Stewart O’Nan
Suntanned and bleached blond, the boys and girls of summer never expect anything to interrupt their carefree days. They never see me coming until it’s too late.

THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant
Emma was the great love of his life, even after she vanished. So when she reappears at a cocktail party fifteen years later, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her from slipping away again.

THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore
When a body goes missing from the morgue, Detective Nakahara is called in to investigate. Despite the storm, it should be a simple case. After all, a dead body can’t just walk out on its own . . . right?

VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD by Peter Straub
At six years old, Clyde noticed that his reflection decided not to show up in the mirror. Whenever it happens, he just needs to go through the mirror and fetch him. The trick is making it back.

TORN by Lee Thomas
Luther’s Bend is the kind of place where bad things just aren’t supposed to happen, but even the sleepiest towns have secrets . . . and the full moon can bring retribution for all manners of sins.

 

Another great collection of short stories that will be published shortly after the new year. For me the shining stars of this anthology are Kelly Armstrong and Lee Thomas. In "Invitation To the Game" Vivienne is up for a promotion at work. Normally that would be a good thing, but this company is anything but normal.

In "Torn" Eleven year old Maggie didn't come home when she was meant to and the sheriff finds more than he is looking for when he sets out into the woods to find her. Luther's Bend is full of secrets. The sheriff may have a few of his own. This was the longest and creepiest of all the stories.

 

I received an advance copy for review.

 

Human Waste by C.M. Saunders

Description

A Short Splatterpunk Story.

Dan Pallister is a survivalist and prepper. Much to the annoyance of the people around him, he has been surviving and prepping since childhood. He just didn’t know what for. When he wakes up one morning to find the world overrun with bloodthirsty zombies it all becomes clear, and despite the fall of civilisation, he can’t wait to get started. He just needs to stock up on supplies from the local supermarket first.

But is everything what it seems?

Bonus Content:

Til death do us Part (short story)
No Man’s Land: Horror in the Trenches (exclusive extract)

WARNING: This book contains descriptions of graphic violence and/or sex, and is not suitable for children.

 

Dan Pallister woke up one morning to find the world had gone to hell over night. The zombie apocalypse has arrived without warning. He doesn't know what caused it, whether it's something in the air, something in the water, or even whether or not he is already infected. Dan knows one thing, survival. He's been preparing all his life for just such an occasion. Forgoing sports, friendships, childhood fun. He's always been preparing and he's ready for whatever happens. If only it hadn't happened right before his regular shopping day. Luckily there's a supermarket near by so Dan makes his move to stock up on supplies while he plots his next course of action. But wait.. there is something odd about these zombies. Why do some of them seem to be going about their usual human habits? Oh well, Dan doesn't have time to ponder all the gruesome details!
This was a quick and creepy read.

 

Freakier still was the bonus story Til Death Do Us Part
"He was going to have to eat Margaret soon. That much was obvious."

Ronald and Margaret have had 40 years of wedded bliss, but it's no longer safe to go outside and the cupboards are bare. What's a starving man to do?

I would recommend it to all fans of horror and dark fiction.

 

4 out of 5 freaky stars from me.

 

I received a complimentary copy for review