Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it until graduation. She might not make it to morning.

Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now. 



17 year old Quinn and her dad have packed up what's left of their lives and moved to the small town of Kettle Springs after the devastating loss of her mom. Almost immediately, Quinn notices some animosity from the adults in town, mainly directed at herself, but also overflowing onto her dad. Not much later she notices that most of the adults are a bit hostile towards all younger people, especially her new friends who are known to be a bit on the wild side.
I don't normally read YA horror but this one looked like fun and it doesn't hurt to check in on occasion and see what's available for younger horror fans while still being able to point out to others that just because there are no graphic sex scenes does not mean a story can't be downright scary. You don't need to be afraid of clowns to get some thrills and chills from Clown In A Cornfield, especially considering that nobody is safe in this book whether they venture into said cornfield or not! This was a fun slasher type horror with enough murder and mayhem to satisfy horror fans young and old alike.
4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
Adam Cesare is a New Yorker who lives in Philadelphia. His books include Clown in a Cornfield, Video Night, The Summer Job, and Zero Lives Remaining. He’s an avid fan of horror cinema and runs Project: Black T-Shirt, a YouTube review show where he takes horror films and pairs them with reading suggestions.

Curse of the Pigman by Asher Ellis

Failed baseball player Jason Dillon has just moved to the quiet, Vermont town of East Valley, but unfortunately, his timing couldn't have been worse. Though the entire 20th century only brought eight notable storms to the Green Mountain state, Hurricane Ivana has just arrived with a special delivery—a tree through Jason's roof. On his desperate trek to find help, Jason comes upon Sophia, a little girl who has been tied up and left in the woods. Despite his best intentions, Jason's attempt to help the child has interrupted the ritual of a neighborhood cult—a ritual that protects the town from an ancient demonic swine. With all the roads leading out of town impassable, Jason and his few allies must not only escape the pursuing cultists, but somehow survive a curse that has left the majority of East Valley's population with an insatiable hunger. Cultists, cannibals, and the demon itself must all be defeated if Jason and his friends are going to survive... The Curse of the Pigman



Storms, cannibals, and demonic swine OH MY! How could I not love this book, it had everything I could hope for in a fast paced home town horror, complete with cannibals, a curse, and a group of unlikely heroes who band together to defeat the ancient evil that had been unleashed by greedy and gluttonous men. Who could ask for anything more? Not this happy horror fan. When the hurricane passes, Jason is injured and his roof is demolished. With no supplies on hand he sets out on foot to seek shelter at a neighbor's but instead finds himself interrupting a cult's human sacrifice.

"Ten years, a meal. That's the deal"

With the ritual broken, the curse of the Pigman takes effect and few will survive.

I was hooked like a side of pork in the butcher's window from page one.

5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
Asher Ellis currently lives in his home state of Vermont, where there are far fewer cannibals than his novel may suggest. A graduate of the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Southern Maine, he has written award winning short stories, plays, and films. When Asher isn’t killing college students on the pages of his fiction, he teaches them as a creative writing and English professor at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH.

The Bank by Bentley Little

"We know who you are! Can your current bank say that? We pride ourselves on providing unparalleled service to all of our customers. We're looking forward to banking with YOU!"

In the small town of Montgomery, Arizona, Kyle Decker's book shop is barely breaking even. When a bank opens in the empty storefront next door, he hopes the new establishment will bring in more foot traffic. Trouble is, nobody has ever heard of The First People's Bank, and the local branch has appeared mysteriously overnight. Their incentives for new customers seem reasonable... at first. But is it a coincidence when Kyle's wife has her identity stolen, and his son receives emails that seem to know his private thoughts? Or when the manager of a competing financial institution dies a gruesome death?

Soon, if people in Montgomery, Arizona, want to buy a new car or home, or if they need a small business loan, they have no choice but to work with The First People's Bank. As The Bank makes increasingly bizarre demands on its customers, it becomes clear the town may be in too deep... and the penalty for an early withdrawal is too terrifying to imagine.

With his latest original novel, Bentley Little's dark, razor-sharp satire takes on the worst practices of our banking industry, and you'll never look at your loan officer the same way again.

In the same vein as his previous novels The Store, The Policy, The Resort The Consultant etc Bentley Little's newest twist on ordinary mundane events that turn into supernatural disasters is The Bank.

 How many banks does one little town need? Especially a town that already has 2 banks and a credit union as does the small town of Montgomery. Still, they are about to get a new one, whether they like it or not. The First People's Bank is opening, and they are here to help whether you need help or not. In fact if you don't need help you're in trouble because they will make you need help. and once you need help they will provide it with a smile until it is time to collect. As the Bank begins to take hold of the town, knowing all their secrets and habits more and more "customers" fall prey. I enjoyed this one more than The Consultant but probably not quite as much as the Handyman.

The Midnight Lullaby by Cheryl Low

For years, Benedict Lyon has been living a lie. Not even his family knows the truth he's been keeping from the world. Only Emmeline knows his secret—and she's dead.

…some are darker than others…
When the matriarch of the Lyon family passes away, Benedict is summoned home for the funeral. Emmeline urges Benedict not to go, certain that if he returns to that house, neither one of them will escape.

…but are they worth dying for?

Their presence in the family home causes the spirit of Gloria Lyon to become restless, and as the remaining members of the Lyon family attempt to put their mother to rest, long buried secrets, some deadlier than others, are unearthed. Who will survive…

The Midnight Lullaby.

They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky.....
Oh wait, wrong family, but the Lyons are most definitely a scream. Poor Benedict has never quite fit in with the rest of his spiritualist family. They see dead people, and he sees just one. A single spirit who has been sharing his home for some time now. Emmeline is somehow cloaked from everyone's view but Benedict's. Since she is a spirit she can see what Benedict can not, thus relaying this information to him much like the fake psychics who have a microphone in one ear, being told all the little details about the people they are trying to con. When Benedict is forced to return home for his mother's funeral he fears his family may discover that he is a fraud, but it is Benedict who will uncover far darker secrets than his own.

This was a fast paced, blood splattering, bone cracking tale.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Cheryl Low might be a primeval entity, born from the darkness of the universe and vacationing on a forgotten island where she eats coconuts and the souls of stranded sailors.
…Or she might be a mundane human with a deep love of all things sugary, soap opera slaps, and horror flicks.
Find out by following her on social media @cherylwlow or check her webpage, cheryllow.com. The answer might surprise you! But it probably won’t.