The House at Phantom Park by Graham Masterton

 

Those who walk their dogs along the Sussex coastline in the morning might wander past St Rosalia's Hospital, and wonder what happens inside the large, mysterious Victorian building that overlooks the sea.

Until recently, the hospital was run by one doctor with a total of 15 patients, all of whom were terminally ill. The epidemiologist Dr. Vincent Grayling was a pioneering practitioner for his radical belief that old medicinal practices should not be so readily dismissed. But the doctor recently passed away, and so the building was sold to John and Petulia Pearson, hoteliers from Dorset.

At first, the couple are brimming with excitement for their seaside hotel. But before long, they start to hear coughs and groans in the middle of the night. And when they discover Grayling's medical notes, it becomes clear that the noises are not in their head...

The House At Phantom Park was an interesting twist on the haunted house trope. Renovating an old hospital into a luxurious building may sound familiar and ghosts that wander the forgotten rooms are not unheard of. However, there is something quite unusual going on when people working in the building are taken over by excruciating pain along with vivid memories of catastrophic injuries they are positive they suffered even though it would have been impossible.

I can't say there were many scares involved since it seemed like more of a mystery than a horror, as people attempted to figure out the hows and whys of this bizarre situation.

The pacing could have been a bit faster for my taste. After a spectacular start things slowed way down or maybe it's just me not having a lot of interest in police work in horror novels. I almost always tend to skim once detectives appear in a plot. 

Overall a very creative story that was definitely worth a read.

My thanks to Aria and Aries /Head of Zeus

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It Calls From the Veil- An Eerie River Publishing Anthology

 

Delve into the darkness and discover the world of your nightmares.

Eighteen terrifying tales of what lurks behind the veil.
A make-believe monster becomes all too real, a mother's hate doesn't stop at death, a late-night work call becomes a fight between life and death, and an urban legend becomes all too real.

Filled with supernatural and paranormal thrills and chills. These are not your mother's bedtime stories.
You have been warned.

First off this book is gorgeous. From the creepy cover to the gravestones stamped across the bottom of the pages, to the white text with black background on the first page of each story that makes the titles pop, kudos to whoever designed it.

As for the stories, the quick synopsis does not do justice to the terrifying tales and talented writers who created them.

As I settled in to read this anthology, I noticed that although the authors' names are new to me, they write like seasoned pros so I am surprised that I am not familiar with their previous works. By the time I was several stories deep, I had already steeled myself for the clunkers that I was sure must be coming up. I read, and I read, expecting that there would have to be a swing and a miss eventually, but it never arrived. Whether you are looking for a book to get you in the mood for spooky season, or whether you are like me, enjoying scary stories all year round, this is the anthology for you. Full of suspense and ever-increasing dread each story was a gleefully gruesome experience.

Some of my favorites were Little Feet by RB Kelly in which a cozy family Christmas vacation is interrupted by a creepy doll.

Done Deal by Colin Leonard may make you think twice about bargain hunting for top of the line furniture as one dad comes to regret his purchase.

Hide and Seek by Nu Yang is a creepy story about a scarecrow and the boy who doesn't want him to be replaced.

A girl tells her brother about a monster from a nursery rhyme in Mr. Chew by Angela Sylvane I enjoyed not only the creepy story but the rhyme itself was great too.

A divorced dad spends some quality time with his daughter at Playland by C.M. Forest

A plumber in need of extra cash takes a night job in Midnight Visit by Constantine E. Kiousis

Young lovers hope that the ghost of Shrieking Willow by Amanda Cecelia Lang will bless their union. 

There is something for every horror lover in this book whether you are looking for stories of strange creatures, the undead, or angry spirits. 

5 out of 5 stars

My Thanks to Eerie River Publishing for the invitation to read this book.

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The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman

 

From Lynda Cohen Loigman, the bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters, comes a heartwarming story of two extraordinary women from two different eras who defy expectations to utilize their unique gift of seeing soulmates in the most unexpected places in The Matchmaker's Gift.

Is finding true love a calling or a curse?

Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves.

Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight?

Sometimes I take a break from reading my usual genres and enjoy a good historical fiction. Having fallen in love with two previous novels by Lynda Cohen Loigman I assumed The Matchmaker's Gift was a sure bet and I was right.

Told on two timelines, 1910 when a young Sara Gilkman discovers her gift, and the 1990s after her death when we meet her granddaughter Abby who is mourning her loss.

Abby has become a divorce lawyer after having watched her mother go through a messy divorce in which her father basically dumped the entire family, leaving them to struggle to meet basic needs while he flourished in his new footloose and fancy-free life.

Sara never backed down and grew into a strong woman who "sees what she sees and knows what she knows" and never let anyone change that.

After Sara's passing, Abby inherits her journals and seemingly her gift of seeing which couples will make a perfect love match. Will she ever find her own soul mate?

I feel like I learned quite a bit about Jewish tradition from this novel. It was such a heartwarming story that this surely must be what is meant when someone says to expect the feel-good hit of the year. Loigman creates the kind of characters that make me wish I was part of their family. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction/women's fiction and anyone who just wants something lighthearted, high-spirited, and fun to read.

My thanks to St. Martins Press for the invitation to read a review copy.

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Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story by M. Rickert

 

Ro, a struggling writer, knows all too well the pain and solitude that holiday festivities can awaken. When she meets four people at the local diner—all of them strangers and as lonely as Ro is—she invites them to an impromptu Christmas dinner. And when that party seems in danger of an early end, she suggests they each tell a ghost story. One that’s seasonally appropriate.

But Ro will come to learn that the horrors hidden in a Christmas tale—or one’s past—can never be tamed once unleashed.

Ro has had a difficult life and faced more tragedy than most people at a young age.

She meets a group of strangers at a diner and they form a bond over their shared loneliness that spans several Christmases. 

As the years pass the bond never deepens enough to reveal dangerous secrets until it's too late.

This is a tough one to review, I feel like Ro is the only character I really got to know but I suppose there are reasons for that since we can't be let in on the secrets before she is. The pace was a little slow for such a short book but the payoff at the end was worth it. I would recommend it to readers who like holiday horror but Krampus doesn't make much of an appearance here.

3 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tor for the invitation to read an advance copy.

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