Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy) by Stephen King

 

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Five "Mercedes Manic" Stars

This was a great crime thriller!

A small taste of what lies within:

A crazy nut named Brady kills and maims a bunch of people at a job fair when he runs over them with a Mercedes dubbing him the "Mercedes Killer" and he ends up not getting caught for his crime. A year later, the detective that was on the case is now retired (Bill Hodges) and he receives a suspicious letter in the mail from none other than the Mercedes Killer himself letting it be known to Bill that he was the one that committed the crime and that he will never be caught. He also lets Bill know that he has plans for another killing but is planning on wiping out more people. Bill ends up teaming up with some friends to track the Mercedes Killer down. 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

There are no creepy spooks within this book but there is quite a bit of mystery and suspense throughout the book as the Master of Horror branched out into the crime thriller genre, but you still have the King writing style that flows along and as always with King you will find plenty of detail of everything wrapped around the characters. 

The first half of the book was kind of a slow burn as there was plenty of world building with story background and character creation, but the last half of the book took off into a thriller status as more things started happening within the story. Another great book by King and since this is the first book in a trilogy I will be continuing on at some point with reading the next book. 

For my full review of the book, Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy), by author, Stephen King, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2885230818

Attached is the author, Stephen King, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3389.Stephen_King

Attached is the author, Stephen King, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-King/e/B000AQ0842

Phineas Troutt Series (Three Thriller Novels) by J.A. Konrath

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Five "Thriller Killers" Stars

Cool and Collected Crime Thrillers!

Three thrillers in one volume made this collection a very fun read!

A small taste of what lies within for all three books:

Dead On My Feet (1st book in the trilogy):

Phineas Troutt is hired by a doctor that runs an abortion clinic as she is afraid for her life when she starts having troubles with someone threatening her and wanting to destroy her clinic. Phineas just stepped into all sorts of trouble when he decides to help her out, but he has friends in high places that will help him out when he needs it. 

Dying Breath (2nd book in the trilogy):

Phineas Troutt is back and this time he is on the hunt for a missing girl. Little does he know that the "missing girl" is also tied into two cases by his PI friend, Harry McGlade and friend, Homicide Lt. Jack Daniels. When the three friends eventually realize that they are all looking for the same girl they end up working together to get the job done right. 

Everybody Dies (3rd book in the trilogy):

In the last installment of the trilogy, Phineas has more problems a little closer to home as his brother, Hugo is out of prison and ends up kidnapping Phineas' girlfriend as Hugo is on the hunt for Phineas as he wants to kill him to elevate his status in a gang. What Hugo doesn't realize is that Phineas will do whatever it takes to protect the ones he loves. 

Thoughts for all three books:

There was quite a bit of suspense, tension, mystery, and some humor throughout all three books. 

The first book was kind of loaded with humorous quips from the character, Harry McGlade who makes an appearance along with character Jaqueline Daniels from the Jack Daniels series as the author tied in those characters into this trilogy of Phineas Troutt. 

The second book had quite a bit of humor as well, but the book brought all three characters (Phineas, Harry, and Jack) to life within the story as each character had their own chapters and it continued on throughout the book from character to character which was really cool as I was able to read what was going on with each character. Though the second book was longer and took up most of the trilogy as there was so much happening with the story. 

The third book dealt mainly with just Phineas himself and his girlfriend, plus the story gave the brother, Hugo more focus as well. The characters, Harry and Jack made an appearance in the last half of the book - they showed up but the focal point of the story was wrapped around Phineas, the girlfriend and the brother Hugo. There was not as much humor in this one as it dealt with mainly suspense and mystery of what was going to happen next with the brother, Hugo. 

I really did enjoy all three books and I am happy that I branched out into the world of Phineas Troutt. 

For my full review of the book, Phineas Troutt Series (Three Thriller Novels), by author, J.A. Konrath, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2859025650

Attached is the author, J.A. Konrath, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/137270.J_A_Konrath

Attached is the author, J.A. Konrath, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/J.-A.-Konrath/e/B000BCH4EM

The Horror at Criven Farm by Amy Cross

 

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Four "Sinister Spooky" Stars

This was a crazy and wild horror romp!

A small taste of what lies within:

Phil and Grace are looking for a new place to call home, but when they come upon a house in the woods that is abandoned with electricity and water still turned on they decide to just make themselves at home and settle in. What they don't know is someone is keeping an eye on them and the house is not abandoned like they think. When the crap hits the fan they are going to know it, but will they be able to survive it? 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

I am always curious what this author has in store for me next when I read her books as sometimes I am plopped right down into the middle of a sticky situation and sometimes I have to crawl through mud to get to the point of the story. 

This was one of those "mud-crawlers" as this book started off as a slow burn which took me to about the halfway point. Normally I would throw in the towel by the 35 to 45% mark, but I was just drawn to where this story was going and I had questions of why things were happening within the story, so I just decided to stick it out. I am happy that I stuck with the story as past the halfway point of the book it literally took off into an action packed zone of craziness that kept me flipping through my kindle at the speed of light! Another great book by author, Amy Cross! 

For my full review of the book, The Horror at Criven Farm, by author, Amy Cross, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3589748815

Attached is the author, Amy Cross, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5344482.Amy_Cross

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

https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Cross/e/B006DE8I6U

Followed by Mark Lukens

 

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Four "Terror Tension" Stars

Suspense and Psychological Horror!

A small taste of what lies within:

Phil Stanton and his wife Cathy are driving home when they end up being followed by someone that just will not let them out get out of sight. When the stalker follows them all the way to their home is when things become serious for the Stantons as the stalker keeps tormenting them by showing up outside their home. 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

This story was a nail biter right from the beginning as the Stantons and the stalker end up in a high speed chase that kept me glued to my kindle. The tension and suspense escalates in the beginning then kind of becomes slow in the middle of the book to pick up again near the last half of the book with terror. 

The author threw in a major twist though near the end of the book that kept me glued to my comfy chair and I practically barreled through the last 40% in just a matter of couple of hours or so as the tension was so thick I could have cut it with a knife! 

I was flipping through the pages wanting to see what was going to happen next! Another great book by this author and this is my second book I have read by him. Looking forward to reading more of his work. 

For my full review of the book, Followed, by author, Mark Lukens, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2433719798

Attached is the author, Mark Lukens, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7309096.Mark_Lukens

Attached is the author, Mark Lukens, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Lukens/e/B00G8GYUUG

The Witch Collector (The Hexecutioner #9) by William Massa

 

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Four "Wicked Witchy" Stars

This was an interesting "witchy" story.

A small taste of what lies within:

Women are being murdered "witch style" by a psycho killer dubbed the witch hunter that thinks the women are real witches and they need to burn for their crimes against humanity. Jaxon Weylock has to show the psycho baddie that making those kind of mistakes will put him on the Weylock radar of bad karma. 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

I would consider this book a little on the mild side compared to what I have been reading in the previous books as the baddie in this book does not have supernatural powers like all the other previous baddies. The only supernatural powers that appear are what Jaxon shows he can do with his demonic powers. 

All in all though the story was still very good and I kind of barreled my way through it thinking there was going to be more of power play ground between Weylock and the Witch Hunter, but though it was a little disappointing that the Witch Hunter wasn't what I thought he was, Weylock ends up doing something totally unexpected in this book which gave the story a little more of an emotional status. 

For my full review of the book, The Witch Collector (The Hexecutioner #9), by author, William Massa, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3707720897

Attached is the author, William Massa, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7351982.William_Massa

Attached is the author, William Massa, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/William-Massa/e/B00G5D8ITQ

Castaways by Brian Keene

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Four "Bloody" Stars

Blood Soaker to the Core!

A small taste of what lies within:

A group of contestants have the chance of winning major money if they can survive on a deserted island, but what they don't know is that the island is not as deserted as everyone seems to think as "something" roams the jungles of the island and it is waiting for them!

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

This was a great book by author, Brian Keene as he pulled me right into the storyline with some action basically right away. The more I moved into the story the faster the pace became as there is a lot of creature action which sends this book into a gory mess zone! 

I was rooting for the contestants as they tried to fight off the creatures and was hoping that they were able to escape with their lives. The writing style of the author just flows along and kept me glued to my kindle to the point that I didn't not want to put the book down! 

For my full review of the book, Castaways, by author, Brian Keene, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2166425198

Attached is the author, Brian Keene, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52050.Brian_Keene

Attached is the author, Brian Keene, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Brian-Keene/e/B001IQW9KY

The Devil's Serenade by Catherine Cavendish

 

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Five "Demon Dark Arts" Stars

Wow! Dark and Spooky Story!

A small taste of what is inside:

A woman, Maddie inherits an old gothic mansion from her Aunt who she hasn't seen in a very long time, but when Maddie decides to move in she wonders if maybe she could be losing her mind as the house comes alive with haunting activity that almost sends Maddie running in terror! 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads. 

Thoughts:

Anytime I sit down to read a book by author, Catherine Cavendish I know that I will be in for a treat as the gothic horror stories she writes always seem to stick with me long after I put the book down. This was another one of those kind of books as the spookiness of the story just crept under my skin and kept me reading late into the night a couple or so nights. I would literally stay up past the "witching hour" to read this book as I just could not lay it down! 

It didn't help either that the book is also steeped in demonic activity as well which really kept me glued to my kindle as I kept wanting to see what was going to happen next as when things started escalating in the direction of the dark arts and devil rituals is when my spook radar went into the red zone! Another great story by this author! 

For my full review of the book, The Devil's Serenade, by author, Catherine Cavendish, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4233642363

Attached is the author, Catherine Cavendish, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4961171.Catherine_Cavendish

Attached is the author, Catherine Cavendish, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Cavendish/e/B0059GDROQ

Woom by Duncan Ralston

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Four "Motel Madness" Stars

Twisted and Crazy!

A small taste of what lies within:

Angel rents a room at a motel that he usually frequents as he always wants some kinky stuff with prostitutes so he calls up an escort service wanting them to send him the heaviest woman they have as he has a preference, so they send him Shyla. Things do not go as planned on Shyla's end as it seems all that Angel wants to do is tell stories of past exploits which eventually leads to some gnarly and twisted tales! 

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

Thoughts:

Wow! This was literally a twisted mess of porn gone wild and off the charts! I would definitely not eat anything while reading this book and actually I would not eat hours before reading this book either as you will definitely be wanting a barf bag close by as there is some nutso sexual porn within the pages of this book! 

You probably are smirking as you read this blog but I can actually say that this was one of the most twisted books I have ever read. The author, Duncan Ralston, normally writes extreme gore and blood splatter stuff that requires my gore suit, but with this book he stepped into a different type of horror realm that will take you deep into the twisted mind of Duncan Ralston! So get your barf bag ready as you are going to need it! 

Attached is the author, Duncan Ralston, profile page from Goodreads:

Duncan Ralston

Attached is the author, Duncan Ralston, profile page from Amazon:

Duncan Ralston

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Note: Updated this blog with some background digital artwork to spruce up the blog and revised the blog just a tiny bit. 

Berserker: Green Hell by Lee Franklin

 

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Five "Splatter Gore Matter" Stars

Wow! This was an extreme romp ride!

A small taste of what lies within:

In the deep jungles of Vietnam, Pinny and his soldier buddies come across a disturbing sight as they go from village to village collecting dog tags. As they make their way through the jungle trying to avoid the enemy they find out that there is "something" else out there far worse and it is not in a good mood! 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

This was an extreme bloody and gory romp ride into terror! I was pulled right into the story from the get-go and the more I became involved in the story the harder it was to put down! 

This was an excellent story by author, Lee Franklin as there were quite a few twists throughout the storyline and there is buckets of blood and gore splashed throughout the book! My gore suit was zipped up from head to toe as there was so much splatter matter that I thought I was swimming in the splatter sea! 😁

For my full review of the book, Berserker: Green Hell, by author, Lee Franklin, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4224572952

Attached is the author, Lee Franklin, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20283097.Lee_Franklin

Attached is the author, Lee Franklin, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Lee-Franklin/e/B07F2SPNBN

August Eyes by Glenn Rolfe

 

Five "Creepy Chills" Stars

Wow! This was a creepy and chilling story!

A small taste of what lies within:

John is having nightmares that shoot him back into a time when he was a kid - the odd thing about the dreams is that he can remember details of who he is with and where he is located in the dream. The nightmares have become so bad that he has to seek out a psychiatrist to put his mind at ease, but what John finds out is anything but pleasant and his dream world and his reality world are beginning to merge. 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads. 

Thoughts:

This story just blew me away with creeping dread feelings as I was reading it. I could literally feel the emotions of the characters throughout this story as author, Glenn Rolfe, brought the story into perfect clarity. I felt that it was like being in a theatre and watching the images play out on the screen. 

Normally I am immune to horror stories as I read horror all the time, but I can actually say this one creeped me out and got under my skin. There were lots of "chills and thrills" within this story as I delved into it during the deep dark night. This book had me jumping at shadows and I can actually say that I think I had some "weird" dreams from it which notched up those spooky feelings!  

I have read quite a few books by this author and they are all creepy to some point but this book I think was the scariest of all. Definitely going to be adding this book to my favorites shelf!

For my full review of the book, August Eyes, by author, Glenn Rolfe, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3771927149

Attached is the author, Glenn Rolfe, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6939496.Glenn_Rolfe

Attached is the author, Glenn Rolfe, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Rolfe/e/B00AXYEBTY

The Key of Ahknaton (The Metaframe War #6) by Graeme Rodaughan

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Five "Raging Ramp" Stars

Wow! This series just rocks! 

A small taste of what lies within:

The war has escalated to the point where everyone is coming toward each other with swords drawn and guns blazing! The Mirovar Force Team is on the move against the vampires and the vampires are making their move as Cornelius Crane (vampire king) is wanting to access the Metaframe which would not be a good thing for anyone! The Mirovar Force Team will do whatever it takes to stop him even if it means accepting some sacrifices along the way. 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review over on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

This series just keeps getting better and better! This book goes into high gear as the author wrapped up some hanging questions from the previous books and there are quite a few things revealed within this book. 

As always I am impressed with the flow of the story as the writing style of the author keeps everything in perspective and the action scenes are top-notch! 

The more I became involved in the story the faster I read as the action is basically non-stop through the last half of the book. If I didn't have to sleep and eat (LOL) I would have probably read the whole book straight through as I had a hard time laying it down!

Another great addition to this action packed intriguing series! Looking forward to the final book in the series to wrap everything up! 

For my full review of the book, The Key of Ahknaton (The Metaframe War #6), by author, Graeme Rodaughan, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4207179481

Attached is the author, Graeme Rodaughan, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15295296.Graeme_Rodaughan

Attached is the author, Graeme Rodaughan, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Graeme-Rodaughan/e/B01FWP4DSC