Whistle by Linwood Barclay

 

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Four "Creepy & Cursed" Stars

What Would You Do With a Cursed Train Set?

A small taste of what lies within:

Annie Blunt along with her son, Charlie move out of the city to a small town in upstate New York as they are trying to start over after Annie lost her husband in a car accident. 

Annie and Charlie want to move on in a new life but when Charlie finds an old train set in the shed behind their house is when things go from serene and peaceful to a nightmare hell for both Annie and her son! 

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 my first time reading this author and this horror story about a cursed train set piqued my interest. I love anything with creepy curses that are weaved into horror stories and this was a great story that just slowly built up with spooky terror the more I read the story. 

Having said that though I felt the story dragged a little bit along the way and also the author did some time jumps within the story as well which normally I am not crazy about time-jumping especially when the characters are completely different than what the story starts out with in the beginning. 

The time jumps are related to how many paths the cursed train set ended up being in children's hands during the course of its existence which was interesting but I felt that I wanted the story to return to the original characters that started out in the story and it seemed to take a long time to get there which drops this book down to 4 stars.  Other than that small quibble the rest of the book was mysteriously spooky and kept my attention span through some insomnia nights. 

Attached is the author, Linwood Barclay, profile page from Amazon:

Linwood Barclay

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Eternity (Old Wives' Tales Book 1) by Tamara Thorne

 

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Five "Killer Chiller" Stars

Would You Want to Live in Eternity?

A small taste of what lies within:

Sheriff Zach Tully has left the big city of Los Angeles homicide unit and has arrived in the small town of Eternity hoping to help the town out with what they need but Tully soon learns that Eternity is not what he thought it would be with small town problems. 

Tully soon realizes that he is going to be just as busy in Eternity then he was in L.A. as there is some kind of serial killer on the loose and bodies are starting to pile up. The mayor along with some of the townspeople Tully feels is hiding something but he will do whatever he can to catch the killer and put everyone's fears to rest.....hopefully! 

(Zach Tully overlooking Eternity)

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 story slowly took off as I came to know Sheriff Tully - he is the small town sheriff that everyone might want in their town to help when help is needed.  

The story moves at a great pace and the deeper I became involved in the story the faster I was turning the pages of my kindle! There are quite a few characters in the story that makes up the town which I loved them all as they all have their own personality and I found myself wondering what was going to be happening next! There are some twists and turns throughout the story with tons of suspense, intrigue and mystery! 

The author, Tamara Thorne kept me wrapped in a web of mystery as I tried to figure out who the killer could be and to me I felt that nearly everyone was a suspect! Truly enjoyed this first book that kicks off the Old Wives' Tales series and looking forward to reading book two here soon! 

Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

The World's Most Haunted Hospitals: True Life Paranormal Encounters in Asylums, Hospitals, and Institutions by Richard Estep

 

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Four "Spooky Suspense" Stars

Thoughts:

Just going to give out thoughts on the book as there are quite a few chapters to explore with different haunted hospitals and asylums from around the world. 

This book was very interesting as the author goes into quite a bit of detail on all the hospitals and the history of them before they became haunted. I was fascinated by the history of each hospital and what had taken place there. Quite a few of the hospitals were built in the 1800's so many things had taken place within the walls. 

Quite a few of the hospitals have quite a bit of ghosts and other spooky things that are found within these haunted buildings.  The author has interviews too with other investigators throughout the book and what they had endured with their investigations. 

All in all I really enjoyed this true ghost book with all the hospital locations and I loved to read about all the history of the hospitals as well.  The author went into quite a bit of research within this book and it shows when reading each story.  I am looking forward to reading more true ghost stories by this author in the future. 

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Richard Estep

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My Review

I Hate It When They Don't Stay Dead (A Short Story) by Andrew S. French

 

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Four "Dangerous Dolls" Stars

What is Wrong With the Dolls?

A small taste of what lies within:

Vincent inherits his dad's doll store after his dad passes away but Vincent is not prepared for what lies within the store as the dolls seem to have a mind of their own and when Vincent has problems with a loan shark and his crew of bad men Vincent sees first hand what happens when you mess with the dolls! 

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

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was intrigued by the book cover of creepy dolls so I decided to read this short story of horror. 

I was glad that I did as I really enjoyed the story even though there wasn't much background on the doll store or the character Vincent but this story kind of packs a small punch too with some doll activity. I will be checking out more of this author's works in the future as I want to see what else he has out there. 

Attached is the author, Andrew S. French, profile page from Amazon:

Andrew S. French

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My Review

Spiteful Creatures (The Spite House Chronicles Book 3) by Tamara Thorne & Alistair Cross

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Five "Spooky Specters" Stars

Would You Step Foot on Spite Island?

A small taste of what lies within:

The Manchester home is not to be trifled with which the authors that are staying there learn more about the mansion along with the ghosts that inhabit the place and what they learn is not a good thing as the ghosts start invading their spaces.  The ghosts have completely woken to alert status and they are not happy that their home has been invaded by authors snooping around. The ghosts and the house are going to do their best to toss the authors out the door any way they can! 

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

Thoughts:

The third and final book in this series was loaded with ghosts and how they do not put up with any snooping from authors trying to get a story about the house. There are many characters in this book with their own stories of why they are there and what they expect to learn from the house. A handful of characters I could have slapped - lol - but all in all the characters were lovable to an extent and the ghosts turn out to be beyond mischievous and some will go to extreme lengths to preserve their space and home.  

This book had more activity from not only the ghosts but the character authors as well as some of them do things they shouldn't be doing either which riled up the ghosts even more. There are more blood and gore scenes in this book then the previous two books but it was to be expected with how the story turns out. Quite a few twists and turns in this final book too which the last two or three days is the only book I decided to read as I wanted to stay on this final book to see what happens to everyone and the ghosts as well. A great and final end to this series as I was happy with the way things turned out in the end! 

Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the author, Alistair Cross, profile page from Amazon:

Alistair Cross

Attached is the website of author, Alistair Cross:

Alistair Cross

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Final Note:

Just want to say that all three books must be read in order - none of them are stand alone so in order to understand what is going on it is best to read the books in order as each book follows the previous one. 

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

 

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Five "Spooky Scares" Stars

What Kind of Entity Lives in the House on Edgewood Drive?

A small taste of what lies within:

Clio Barnes along with her two sisters (Daphne and Leda) have inherited their childhood home from their mother who has just passed away.  Clio's sisters, Daphne and Leda want no part of the home as all they can remember when they lived there were bad times and their mother acting crazy.  

Clio on the other hand wants to fix up the house to maybe sell it however her memories about the house do not coincide with her sisters and their memories. The house is also considered to be haunted and the only sister brave enough to enter the house seems to be Clio. What Clio finds there though is more than she bargained for as when she starts to fix up the house there is a presence that tries to make itself known which sends Clio down a rabbit hole of curiosity and spooky speculation! 

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 my first time reading this author and I wasn't sure how spooky or scary this book was going to be until I read a couple or so reviews which I usually do not do as normally I go into a book blind by just reading the synopsis of what the book is about. But a couple of reviews that I read said the book was scary so I love scary books and being spooked out of my skin which is what this book does eventually. 

The story has a slow build up of suspense and mystery - there is also quite a bit of family drama that is throughout the whole book with the sisters bickering about the house but once I delved deep into the story of the house then the creepy factor of the story slowly started to simmer bringing it to a full blown haunting by the time I finished the book! I can actually say that I was spooked out of my skin after I passed the 60% mark of the book as the haunting becomes more focused on what happens in the house and how the characters have to deal with it. 

Looking forward to reading more by this author at some point as I see that she has quite a few books out there to read. 

Attached is the author, Rachel Harrison, profile page from Amazon:

Rachel Harrison

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review

Spite Island (The Spite House Chronicles Book Two) by Tamara Thorne and Alistair Cross

 

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Five "Shivering Suspense" Stars

Would You Stay on Spite Island Knowing It Is Haunted?

A small taste of what lies within:

Grandson, Cody Manchester comes home to Spite Island as he has not been there since he was a boy as he was frightened by something that happened there when he was young.  As Cody tries to learn what scared him as a boy - the authors that are staying on the island are having more encounters with the ghosts that inhabit the island and as they try to write about the house/island the ghosts and the hauntings escalate! 

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

Thoughts:

The second book moves along a great pace which kept me in a state of suspense. This sequel covers more information about the house and the island itself with why it is haunted. I am still loving the author characters as they wander around the mansion and island trying to figure out why the place is haunted. 

The authors, Thorne and Cross bring the magic of the storytelling alive on the pages of this book with drawing me into the world of the Manchester's and their haunted island.  

Once again I found myself staying up late into the night reading as the mystery and suspense of the hauntings kept me intrigued with the flipping of my kindle pages as I made my way through the story. Looking forward to reading book 3 and the final book of this trilogy shortly. 

Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the author, Alistair Cross, profile page from Amazon:

Alistair Cross

Attached is the website of author, Alistair Cross:

Alistair Cross

My Goodreads Review:

My Review