More Tales to Keep You Up at Night by Dan Poblocki

 

From the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Magic Misfits comes a spectacularly creepy follow-up to Tales to Keep You Up at Night that will keep you up way past bedtime.

Perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark !

Gilbert is visiting his injured brother, Ant, in the hospital, when he sees a shadowed figure leave behind a satchel filled with old cassette tapes. Despite a strange, garbled voicemail telling him "Don't listen to the tapes," Gilbert can't resist playing them and listening to the chilling stories they tales of cursed seashells, of doors torn through the fabric of the universe, of cemeteries that won't let you leave, of a classroom skeleton that hungers for new skin. And wandering through all the stories, a strange man named November, who might not be a man at all...

As Gilbert keeps listening to the tapes, he slowly realizes that the stories may hold the key to helping Ant. But in order to save his brother, he may be opening a door to something much, much worse...

With hair-raising, spine-chilling prose, Dan Poblocki delivers a collection of interconnected stories that are sure to keep you up late in the night.

I read and enjoyed the first Tales To Keep You Up, so I was more than happy to see Dan Poblocki continue the fun with More Tales.

Like the first book, these are interconnected spooky stories aimed at a middle grade audience.

In the main story, Gilbert has been warned not to listen to the tapes. He has no idea what this means until he rushes to the hospital to see his seriously injured brother, and catches a fleeting glimpse of a strange figure, leaving behind a set of audio tapes.

Ignoring the warning, and determined to find out what happened to his brother, Gilbert begins to listen and discovers that they are full of creepy stories. Not only are the stories connected to each other, but it seems they are also connected to Gilbert's family. Once he starts it seems too late to stop. Will he find a way to help his brother or end up just like him?

The fast pace should keep young readers engaged, and the relatable characters will make kids see themselves in these stories and question what they would do in such circumstances. I think that would add to the spooky fun. 

My thanks to Penguin Workshop 

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Little Black Crimes: Stories by Nathaniel Blackhelm

 For the sinners and antiheroes in LITTLE BLACK CRIMES, the road to deliverance is paved with brutality, and chock-full of deadly twists and turns.

Heavy are the crosses and crowns of these wayward souls, who wrestle with the pain of loss, the torment of lust, the burning need for retribution, redemption, power.

Sparks and bullets fly in these tales of noir and terror that ignite the page, blazing their way into the pantheon of modern pulp.

Little Black Crimes is a collection of well-crafted, brutal, and malignant stories concerning humanity's vile and seedy side. Loaded with repugnant characters beyond redemption, it is not a book for the faint of heart. It is unnerving, unsettling, deeply disturbing and more than once made me question whether I was "mature" enough for this content. You will want to read this book, yet you will not want to get caught reading it. I mean seriously hide this book if you have guests over, it's not something you would want your grandma to ask you about if she saw it on your coffee table.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Nathaniel Blackhelm 

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The Horror at Pleasant Brook by Kevin Lucia

 

This Halloween, a malevolent, creeping horror invades a small, isolated town nestled deep in the Adirondacks. It cares nothing for this town’s secrets, prejudices, or flaws. Its only desires are to consume everything in its path and spread, until nothing else remains.

It is ancient, pitiless, and unstoppable. It is the horror at Pleasant Brook.

Then:

Lisa Owen just wanted the pain to go away. The loneliness. The ache for children that she will never have. The loss of love, trust, and intimacy that turned her marriage into a shell of what it used to be. What she sets in motion is horrific.

Now:

Squatters living in the old Owen house awaken an evil that had been dormant until Bobby Lee Haskel put on a mask that wouldn't come off. A mask that changed him into something else. Suddenly there are residents of Pleasant Brook going missing, and people are seeing menacing figures skulking around in the most repulsive looking masks.

One young horror movie obsessed teen, and the town's constable have discovered the truth, but they may be too late to save Pleasant Brook and themselves from a fate worse than death.

The Horror at Pleasant Brook is a gory, blood splattery, good time, with a diverse cast of characters, bucket loads of entrails, and suspenseful writing that will have you jumping at shadows and cringing at every unexpected noise. This is a book that I would love to see made into a movie, even though I might have to cover my eyes during the more grisly parts.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Kevin Lucia

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Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

 When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.

She couldn't be more wrong.

Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing...only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport...and they're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb.

Christa is expecting a getaway with her boyfriend in a secluded mountain lodge. What she gets is a vacation from hell, stranded with strangers in bitter cold howling winds after their bus gets stuck. The snow is drifting ever higher, there's very little food, no cell phone service, and a psycho killer is on the loose. 

Taking refuge in a small hunting cabin, these strangers must band together if they hope to outlast the storm and the killer.

Dead of Winter is a survival horror that overlaps with the slasher genre. Personalities clash in the claustrophobic little cabin. As the tourists get picked off one by one tempers flare and trust flies out the window when they suspect the killer must be one of their little group. I had my own suspicions before the halfway mark that turned out to be correct. Towards the halfway point, I began to wish they would just get on with it when it began to feel too long and drawn out to get to the reveal. So while I loved the premise and the set up I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was a crisp and clean 300 pages instead of dragged out to 384.

3 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press

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