The Beasts of Vissaria County by Douglas Ford

 

For Maggie McKenzie, repairing a shattered life becomes more complicated when a stranger takes up residence in the ruins of an old Florida estate with a macabre history. This stranger brings with him a sinister magic and an obsession with the disturbed grave of a witch. Maggie’s troubled past becomes part of a larger, darker legacy of curses and bloody rituals, as well as a variety of beasts, both human and supernatural, that will prey upon her and those she loves. The Beasts of Vissaria County is a mix-tape of gothic horror, a love letter to weird fiction and dubbed late-night horror films.

Maggie has taken her young son and fled an abusive marriage. Moving in with her father is a less than ideal situation, especially considering she doesn't trust him not to tell her husband that she's there. Keeping her husband at bay will become only one of the perils she must face when she meets the stranger who has moved in to what her father calls the Sabbath house.

Is he only a man or something more? And what's up with the giant footprints Maggie's father sees around their home?

The Beasts of Vissaria County is a slow burn horror steeped in folklore and legend. If you enjoy dark and atmospheric tales that pull the old days into modern times this is for you.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy from the author under no obligation to write a review.

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About the author

Douglas Ford lives and works on the west coast of Florida, just off an exit made famous by a Jack Ketchum short story. He is the author of a recent collection of weird fiction, Ape in the Ring and Other Tales of the Macabre and Uncanny, as well as the novel, The Beasts of Vissaria County. His short stories have appeared in such venues as Dark Moon Digest, Tales to Terrify, Weird City, along with The Best Hardcore Horror, Volumes Three and Four. His novella, The Reattachment, appeared in 2019 courtesy of Madness Heart Press.

Dead Inside by Chandler Morrison

 

In this bleak and disturbingly erotic debut novel, iconoclast Chandler Morrison provides readers with a dark exploration of the nature of death, individuality, and generational identity. Along the way, lines will be crossed, taboos will be violated, and common decency will take an extended leave of absence. This is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Or anyone who enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey.

A young hospital security guard with a disturbingly unique taste in women. A maternity doctor with a horrifically unusual appetite. When the two of them meet, they embark on a journey of self-discovery as they shatter societal norms while engaging in destructive and abhorrent behavior. As they unwittingly help each other understand a world in which neither of them seems to belong, they begin to realize what it truly means to be alive...and that it might not always be a good thing.

So a necrophiliac and a cannibal walk into a bar...well actually it was a restaurant but whatever.

I bought this book because just about everyone was talking about it last year. Now that I've read it I'm not sure what to do with it. It's not a book that I will display proudly on my shelves. It's not a book I would feel comfortable donating, it's not even a book that I would want anyone to find in my belongings after I'm gone. I'm barely willing to admit that I've read it. The writing is mediocre and the plot if you could call it that is gross just for the sake of shock value. I like my horror to be scary, and this is not it. I guess I would recommend it to readers who like gross out horror. I would not recommend it for anyone who expects it to be as claimed in the synopsis "disturbingly erotic" or a "dark exploration of the nature of death"

I figured I could handle it since I've read a lot of Edward Lee, the author who holds the distinction of writing the only book that ever literally made me gag,  I was right, I made it to the end without throwing up, but I prefer to get more out of a book than just not vomiting.

2 out of 5 stars

The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman

 

Ella Louise has lived in the woods surrounding Pilot’s Creek, Virginia, for nearly a decade. Publicly, she and her daughter Jessica are shunned by their upper-crust family and the Pilot’s Creek residents. Privately, desperate townspeople visit her apothecary for a cure to what ails them—until Ella Louise is blamed for the death of a prominent customer. Accused of witchcraft, both mother and daughter are burned at the stake in the middle of the night. Ella Louise’s burial site is never found, but the little girl has the most famous grave in the South: a steel-reinforced coffin surrounded by a fence of interconnected white crosses.

Their story will take the shape of an urban legend as it’s told around a campfire by a man forever marked by his boyhood encounters with Jessica. Decades later, a boy at that campfire will cast Amber Pendleton as Jessica in a ’70s horror movie inspired by the Witch Girl of Pilot’s Creek. Amber’s experiences on that set and its meta-remake in the ’90s will ripple through pop culture, ruining her life and career after she becomes the target of a witch hunt. Amber’s best chance to break the cycle of horror comes when a true-crime investigator tracks her down to interview her for his popular podcast. But will this final act of storytelling redeem her—or will it bring the story full circle, ready to be told once again? And again. And again…

Well this is awkward. Whisper Down The Lane by this author is going on my best horror of the year list. I thought I would love this book too but I didn't care for it much.

Ella Louise has been ostracized from her family and from the town. She keeps to herself and is rarely seen by anyone. On one of her rare trips for supplies when it is noticed that she is pregnant, the gossip mongers chitter away that it must be the devils child. As her daughter grows they are both shunned, except when people visit for potions and tinctures to cure their ails or get even with those who've offended them. When one such tincture leads to a death the mother and child are burned as witches.

Years later terrifying things happen to a child playing the part of the daughter in a movie filming in the graveyard...

I was all set to love this book. It's got the makings of absolutely everything I could want. However it was really difficult for me to connect with the writing style, which is all over the place, and unbearably repetitive. Words. so many of the same words. Words being typed on my keyboard. Words showing up on the page, on the review, in my head, words combining to create this review, the review that I will post here on the page, the page of the internet, the page you are reading...

Are you ready to tell me to shut up yet? Because for me this is what it was like reading this book.

2 out of 5 stars.

The Hidden by Melanie Golding

 

One dark December night, in a small seaside town, a little girl is found abandoned. When her mother finally arrives, authorities release the pair, believing it to be an innocent case of a toddler running off.

Gregor, a seemingly single man, is found bludgeoned and left for dead in his apartment, but the discovery of children’s toys raises more questions than answers.

Every night, Ruby gazes into Gregor’s apartment, leading to the discovery of his secret family: his unusually silent daughter and his mentally unstable wife, Constance, who insists that she is descended from the mythological Selkies. She begs Ruby to aid in finding the sealskin that Gregor has hidden from her, making it impossible to return to her people.

DS Joanna Harper’s investigation into Gregor’s assault leads her to CCTV footage of the mother-daughter pair from town. Harper realizes she knows the woman almost as well as she knows herself: it’s her estranged daughter, Ruby. No matter the depth of Ruby’s involvement, she knows she will choose her daughter over her career.

Ruby is a single woman, lonely, estranged from her family, living her solitary existence, when she notices the man in the apartment across from her. Gregor is young, handsome, seemingly shy, and when Ruby orchestrates a meeting with him she has no idea the perils that await her.

When she enters Gregor's apartment she meets Constance, the woman who lives with him. Gregor says they are together but not "in that way." They share a daughter, who is the product of a one night stand. Constance is mentally ill says Gregor, he allows her to live there because he is helping her. It sounds plausible except for the chilling words Constance speaks to Ruby when they are alone. "What has he told you?" and "Do you believe him?"

This was a captivating mystery with touches of folklore and mythology and loaded with suspense. It also has all the feels that go along with dysfunctional family drama and larger than life characters.

There were times that for me, the police scenes went on a bit long. Even though one of the officers is an indispensable part of the story I just wanted to get back to what was going on with Constance and Ruby. You may feel differently, I just tend to get bored with police investigations.

4 out of 5 stars

I read a digital copy through Netgalley  under no obligation to write a review.

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