The Shadow Within by Eric Butler

 

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Four "Stalker Slasher" Stars

Stalking Evil!

A small taste of what lies within:

Jack and his girlfriend Jill along with his two teenagers, Allen and Kim decide to take a vacation out to the country - a place that Jack has been to before with his kids but Jack wants to spend time with Jill and show her a fun time. 

Though there will be anything but fun as one of the town citizens is gruesomely murdered and the Sheriff is having a hard time solving the case - it is possible that the Shaw family  who is considered to be cursed could be behind the killings. 

There will be hell to pay though when Jack's family crosses paths with the Shaw family as no one is safe from the evil that has possessed one of the family members and Jack and his family will have to do everything they can to survive!

That is about all I can give on a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know what happens then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my second time reading this story and I wanted to see if my first impression still rang true the second time around which it did. So this blog review will not be changing much at all as my feelings for it the first time are still there the second time.

The world building with this book was a little slow and really didn't kick in with lots of action till after the 50% mark of the book then it went into some crazy twists and turns which kept me glued to my kindle.  I would consider this to be a twisted slasher/possession story that goes into gory graphic details with the murders that happen within this book and the pace of the story becomes faster after the half way point. 

The only reason this book is not getting five stars is because there seemed to be too much romance/sex between the characters Jack and Jill and couple of other characters in the story - there was quite a bit of it throughout the book which to me it is okay to have some but not to have the first half of the book to be mostly sex with a trickle of slasher action.  The last half of the book was more slasher action which was what I waiting for to kick in. All in all though the writing is smooth and as always I really do love the writing style of this author. 

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Eric Butler

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Eric Butler

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Jack Rose (Jack Daniels #21) by J.A. Konrath

 

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Five "Killer Thriller" Stars

Suspense Mixed with Mystery!

A small taste of what lies within:

Jack is back in this installment as Harry McGlade is the guest of honor at a serial killer convention where fans dress up as their favorite killers. Jack is with Harry at the convention but things go wonky when a storm blows through and everyone has no place to go or escape. 

When murders starts happening is when things go south and it will be up to Jack and Harry to get down to the bottom of things! 

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book! 

Thoughts:

Once again as I stepped into this Konrath book I knew that I was going to be wrapped within this author's mind once again and thrown back into the heat of things with Jack.  The main characters return in this next installment along with jokes from character Harry McGlade which keeps me chuckling quite a bit. 

There is quite a bit of tension, suspense, and mystery with this story which kept me staying up late a few nights as I had a hard time putting this book down. Once I got started down the path of Jack and Harry there is no turning back! Another great book in this series of Jack Daniels and looking forward to reading more in the future. 

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J A Konrath

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J A Konrath

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Hemlock by David Kempf

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Four "Haunted Hemlock" Stars

Spooky! 

A very small taste of what lies within:

Gordon Donovan decides to stay at the Hemlock Hotel in Pennsylvania as he has a show that is considered to be skeptics to hauntings and paranormal happenings, but what lesson does Gordon learn from staying at the hotel? 

No spoilers here as you will need to step into this short story if you want to know more as that is about all I can hand out with a small taste!

Thoughts:

I never get tired of reading this author's short stories as he is able to whip up some cool stories that takes you deep into his haunted mind! Once again I found myself barreling along within this story and I was finished with it before I realized it. Another great story by this author!

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David Kempf

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David Kempf

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The Lodge by Jeremy Eads

 

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Five "Dangerous Demon" Stars

Bloodcurdling B&B

A small taste of what lies within:

The Maple Lodge, a bed and breakfast, that sets in Southwest Virginia is home to Solomon Drury VI, a demon who runs the Lodge and anyone that passes on their way through the area is welcome to stay there. 

Shirley McGreggor is on the run from the law and needs a place to stay for the night - when she comes across the Maple Lodge she finds Solomon to be accommodating and helpful to her, but what she doesn't realize is that something is not quite right about Solomon and the Lodge and before she realizes it Shirley becomes entangled in a web of terror! 

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was quickly drawn into the story fast as I didn't have time to catch my breath as things happen right away in the story. The story just grabbed me from the first page and it sent me on a spooky trip into a mystery and cold terror zone! 

I would find myself staying up late at night to read the book and I just could not lay the book down! There are a few story lines with different characters that come into play as they all come in contact with the main character Solomon but the author kept everything flowing smoothly and I found myself just drawn into the world of the Maple Lodge. 

Another author added to my list of ever growing indie authors and looking forward to reading more by this author in the future. 

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Jeremy Eads

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Jeremy Eads

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The Exorcist's House: Genesis by Nick Roberts

 

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Five "Spooky Scared" Stars

Night Terrors!

A small taste of what lies within:

Timelines 1967 and 1997:

1967

Merle Blatty who was just starting out to be an exorcist goes through scary situations as he tries to investigate a murder that happened in West Virginia but in the meantime paranormal things start happening to him at his home as the forces of evil invade his life.

1997:

Daniel and Nora Hill are finally getting their lives back together after having to endure what they experienced on the farm and house that belonged to Merle Blatty, but when Daniel's brother Adam gets a wild idea to buy the house on a whim to get rich is when things go south as the demons and the occult come rising back into all their lives sending them all into the terror zone! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was a great sequel to the first book and the creepiness and terror of the story just seeped back under my skin. The story moves at a fast pace and has lots of atmospheric dread that soaks into the story. I had a feeling that this book was going to be creepier than the first book and I was right. 

Another great book by this author and I see there is a third book that is tied into this story so will be reading it soon. 

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Nick Roberts

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Nick Roberts

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The Candy Witch: Sweet Dreams by Ronald McGillvray

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Five "Sweet Treat Spookiness" Stars

Wicked Witch Chiller!

A small taste of what lies within:

Detective Craig Allen takes on cases that are strange and spooky so when a husband and wife come to him wanting him to find their missing child he wants to help them especially when he finds out that the town where the child went missing has lost a few more children. 

Craig decides to team up with his friend Martha to help him find the children and when they find out that there is a local legend of a witch that lives in the woods is when Craig's spook meter goes into the red as he wonders if the stories of the legendary witch has come to life! 

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste so if this book sounds intriguing then go read it!

Thoughts:

This book was a grabber right from the beginning and it is more like a twisted Hansel and Gretel tale but it has more blood and gore wrapped within its pages. It is really in one way connected to the author's book, Cutter's Deep as there are characters from that book in this book. 

The pacing of the story was great as it moved along and the story was super creepy at times where I had to stay up late reading the story as I wasn't sure what twisted path the author was going to take me on next! 

Another great book by this author and looking forward to whatever else he has coming out in the future! 

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Ronald McGillvray

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Ronald McGillvray

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The Suffering by M.J. Mars

 

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Five "Ouija Board Woes" Stars

Spine Shivers!

A small taste of what lies within:

Kyle Birbeck along with a few of his college friends decide that they want to reach out to the other side through a Ouija board to contact ghosts that were supposedly laid to rest inside Brackney House, a house that is connected to his ancestors. 

Kyle learns that there are five ghosts and all of them were evil to the core, but what Kyle doesn't realize is that once contact is made the ghosts come alive in a sense and end up binding themselves to each of the friends! 

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you are intrigued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was impressed with how creepy this book started out and kept me glued to the pages of my kindle.  The story was just seeped with dread and fear as the characters in the story had to endure different situations with some evil ghosts. 

The ghost concept was cool and different with how the author wrote the story which grabbed me right away and took me down the spooky shivers road with lots of insomnia fueled nights. The pace was a little slow in the beginning with backstory world building but all of it was saturated in an atmospheric haunting world. 

It seems the author has some stories in anthologies and a couple more books that I need to check out in the future. 

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M. J. Mars

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M. J. Mars

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