Sunday, December 25, 2022

The Institute by Stephen King

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Torturous Tension Terror" Stars


Nail-Biting Suspense!

A small taste of what lies within:

The Institute (a facility that houses kids with special abilities) lies hidden far back in the woods of Minnesota out of the way of civilization. Very few people know of its existence as the secrecy of the facility has been around for 60 years. The children inside though are put through all kinds of torture (mental and physical) to find out how far their psychic abilities go and what they can be used for in terms of a government project. All of the children are brought in unwillingly with the promise of going home eventually. 

A few of the children, Luke, Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and Avery have other plans, but putting those plans into motion could cause some upheaval with the staff and could cause some severe repercussions, but are they willing to go through with those plans?  

No spoilers here as to find out more about this story, you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was an exciting story - there was some world building in the beginning of the book with setting up the background of the Institute along with all the staff that is involved and then all the children characters with a small background story of who they were and what type of characters they were going to be within the story. 

I loved all the kids as though they all went through some terrible trials within this story they had some resilience as well where they wanted to fight for their rights and they didn't care what happed to themselves as long as the staff could pay for how they were treating the kids. The children show strength, love, and support for each other then on the flip side they had anger, hate and hurt for the staff with what they were doing to the children. 

All in all I loved how the Master of Horror just brought this world together and showed that even though there is evil in the world there is also a shining light of good that outweighs the bad. King show both sides of the coin in this book with "good" being the children and "bad" being the staff at the Institute. Another great book by the Master of Horror. 


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/stores/Stephen-King/author/B000AQ0842

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2845447779

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Justified (Agent Jade Monroe FBI Thriller #2) by C. M. Sutter

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Criminal Chaser Chiller" Stars

Thrills and Kills

A taste of what lies within:

Jade Monroe along with her partner J.T. Harper are chasing an elusive serial killer that seems to keep slipping out of their reach each time they feel they are closing in. It starts out with what they think are bear attacks out in Arizona with campers, but that is far from what it turns out to be as this killer has an unique tool that makes it seem an animal is attacking and killing people. 

Jade and J.T. end up with lots of pieces for the puzzle and it takes them awhile to fit them all together realizing that they are indeed hunting for a serial killer that seems to stay ten steps ahead of them. 

Who is the killer? What special tool does he use to mask his killings? Does Monroe and Harper collar the killer? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was a really good story as it goes back and forth with what is happening with the killer and what Jade Monroe and her partner are doing to track down the killer. The book literally takes off in the first few chapters as something happens right away and then there it quite bit of mystery with what the killer will do next. 

Though it seemed to drag in spots but picked up in other spots and it picked up more after the 40% mark of the story. Lots of police procedural involved with this story and this is my second or third book by this author. Though I think I read this book out of order but it is stand alone so it doesn't really matter. I was thinking it was part of the Jade Monroe detective series which I read the first book in that series but this one is part of the FBI series where it seems Jade got promoted from detective to FBI agent. Will have to go back and read the first book in this series and then continue on with the detective series to see how Jade ended up getting promoted. 

All in all though I enjoyed the story and it kept me wondering what was going to be around the corner waiting for Jade and J.T. 


Attached is the author, C. M. Sutter, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15627642.C_M_Sutter

Attached is the author, C. M. Sutter, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/C.M.-Sutter/author/B01KGM75LI

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3817009748




Friday, December 16, 2022

The Ghosts of Marsh House by Amy Cross

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Spooky Spirit" Stars


Atmospheric Haunting!

A small taste of what lies within:

The Marsh House has been abandoned for over 40 years until Andrew Mitchell decides to try and fix the old place up as he inherited it from his grandfather years ago and now wants to try to bring the place back to life, so he leaves London to clear his head of problems deciding that fixing up Marsh House might help him get back on track. 

Though when Andrew arrives in the town of Brighton he doesn't realize that the house is part of the local haunted tour either which doesn't sit well with him, but then with him being a newcomer to the town he doesn't have much say of the local tradition so he just leaves it alone. 

The problem with the house being haunted is that Andrew does not believe in ghosts so he has no fear of what lies within the house until strange things start happening but even then Andrew just puts it down to the house settling and puts it out of his mind. Later on though some things happen to make him a believer but it might be too late to believing as who haunts the house or why the house is feared in the town! 

Thoughts: 

This was a good story about a haunting and it had quite a bit of spooky atmosphere throughout the book though most of the story is shrouded in mystery as the actual ghost in the story doesn't make an appearance till late in the book. There is a small amount of activity within the house and I did enjoy the story, but I felt that it was a little slow on the ghost actually showing up. 

As always with any story by Cross there are some unanswered questions of different things in the story and sometimes there are plot holes scattered throughout the book, but I felt that the book finally picked up after the 40% mark with the mystery deepening of the story and then the book really kicked in around the 75% mark. The pace of the book was slow in spots and fast in other spots. 

I own quite a few of her books on my kindle, so one more book "cross"ed off my Cross list! 😆


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

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5162936945

Monday, December 12, 2022

One Star - Amy Cross


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Twisted Revenge" Stars


One Crazy Horror Ride!

A small taste of what lies within:

Harry Jenkins read a book that he hated so he gave it a one star review and wrote some mean things in the review raking the book over the hot coals. Months later their seaside village where him and his wife, Debbie live ends up having some vandalism but it is all very peculiar as the local residents are gone for the winter and the only person left is the Jenkins and one elderly neighbor Mrs. Crawford. 

Harry doesn't know what to think about why these things are happening till a woman (Abigail Cane) appears stating that she is renting a cottage from one of the neighbors. All of it is unusual of why Abigail just happens to be there at that time when all the vandalism is going on, but there is far more going on than what Harry realizes and before it is all over he will wish that he had never read that book!  

Thoughts: 

This was a great twisted fast paced story which kept me wanting to find out what was going to happen next! I wasn't too crazy about the character, Harry as he was a motor mouth through most of the book and the rest of the characters were just a little wacky to me.

The story goes into overdrive at about the 40% mark and it continues that way for most of the book. I don't think the book ever slows down as I found myself staying awake late into the night as I wanted to see what the Jenkins family and the character, Abigail were going to being dealing with next.  There was a huge major twist near the end of the book that pulled the rug out from under me and the twist was so big that I never saw it coming! 


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

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5135157834


 

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Sallow Bend by Alan Baxter

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Sinister Spooky" Stars


Spine Chiller Story!

A small taste of what lies within:

The town of Sallow Bend goes into a state of panic when two young girls disappear and everyone goes on a search for them. There is a carnival in town too which makes the townspeople nervous that maybe the carnies had something to do with the girls going missing. 

When the two girls are found there is something mysteriously curious as three girls are found instead of just the two that went missing, but no one seems to remember that it was just the "two girls" and not three that had disappeared in the first place except for one person which is the janitor of the school, Caleb.  He realizes that something is dreadfully wrong and no one seems to remember what really happened. 

When Caleb enlists the help of some locals and ends up getting help from the carnies is when things become even more mysterious as who is this third girl that shows up and where did she come from. More importantly what does she want with the people of Sallow Bend? 

Who is the third girl? What happened to the other two girls that went missing? What is wrong with the townspeople? What is really going on in the town of Sallow Bend? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

First time reading this author and I was really surprised at how quick I became involved in the storyline. The spookiness of the town and what happens with the girl characters disappearing and then showing back up along with the mystery girl turned more into a haunting tale of what was really going on. 

The author slowly brings the story along with lots of mystery and spooky atmosphere then slowly lowers the boom about half way through the book when pieces of the mystery puzzle is revealed a little bit at a time of what is happening within the town. Looking forward to reading more by this author and will be pursing more of his work. 


Attached is the author, Alan Baxter, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/917335.Alan_Baxter

Attached is the author, Alan Baxter, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Alan-Baxter/e/B002BOBQFQ

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5142139968

Lost to the Lake by Anna Willett

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Tension Terror Thriller" Stars


Intense Story!

A small taste of what lies within:

A home invasion becomes terror filled for Marty and Beth Jacobsen, but goes south really quick when Beth finds out from the masked intruders that her husband, Marty is somehow involved with why the men are in their home! 

From that point on in the story Marty and Beth become entangled with trying to escape the intruders which leads them down a very precarious road which eventually leads to murder!

What happens to Beth and Marty? What happens to the intruders? Who gets murdered? How does Beth and Marty get out of their situation? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book! 

Thoughts:

This story was one taut and tense thrill ride into the unknown! I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the book and kept wondering what was going to happen to Marty and Beth next!  The character, Marty got on my nerves a lot though but that was because he was doing stuff that was not in favor of helping Beth. Marty was all for himself and he was just an arrogant prick that I wanted to reach in through the book and knock him upside the head. 😆

The character, Beth put up with more than what I thought she should be handling with Marty and was wondering how she was going to cope with her situation of dealing with her husband. 

The story kept me flipping through my kindle pages at breakneck speed and kept me reading late into the evening on a few nights as I wanted to see how it was all going to turn out. 

Another great book by this author as I have read quite a few of her books now and I am always on a roller coaster ride of thrills when reading her books. 

There are two slight trigger warnings though for readers - pet injury and spousal abuse. 


Attached is the author, Anna Willett, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15315859.Anna_Willett

Attached is the author, Anna Willett, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Willett/e/B01HU1SG3E

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4717479735

Monday, December 5, 2022

You Belong To Me and Other True Cases (Crime Files #2) by Ann Rule

 




🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Trooper Terror" Stars


Interstate Horror!

A small taste of what lies within:

The main storyline revolves around Florida highway patrolman Tim Harris back in the 1990's that would stop female drivers along the I-95 interstate just to check them out and sometimes give them tickets for minor stuff. Though when one of the women came up missing and then her body found out in the woods off I-95 no one really expected Trooper Tim Harris to be involved until the investigation slowly gets moving and then the detectives involved find out more than they want to know about the trooper. 

That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more than you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This book is one of the ones that I never did read by author, Ann Rule. When I first started reading true crime she was the one that I was reading when I would go to the library. I loved her writing style and also how she would delve deep into the lives of not only the victims but the killers as well. 

There are about five more stories in this book of other crimes, but the main focus was on the story of Trooper Tim Harris. The kindle book also has pictures of the trooper along with everyone that was involved in the crime and investigation. 

As far as the story about the trooper - it is a shocking account of what he did and would do to the women drivers that traveled that interstate. He definitely hid who he really was behind his badge and I could feel the shock of the detectives that investigated him when they found out what he had been doing. 

Another great book by this author and I plan on stepping back more into her work as time goes on as I do love how she goes deep into the heart of the crimes and how she tells the story of the criminal and the victims. 

Attached is the author, Ann Rule, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9678.Ann_Rule

Attached is the author, Ann Rule, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Ann-Rule/e/B000AP8V1A

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2179210493

Saturday, December 3, 2022

The Crow Witch and Other Conjurings by Catherine Cavendish

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Creepy Crone" Stars


Sinister Witch Terror!

Since this is a collection of short stories pertaining to witches I will just put out cryptic notes next to each chapter title for a small taste of what lies within each chapter:

Sour Grapes: Plants that have a mind of their own.

The Oubliette of Elie Loyd:  A planned sacrifice

Euphemia Christie:  Learning more than needed with tracing heritage

The Lost Prophecy of Ursula Sontheil:  A dire prophecy.

Daft Old Bat:  Do not mess with a willow tree.

Marzana's Hut: An evil surprise awaits within. 

The Malan Witch:  A witch's revenge stirs things up in this story. 

Thoughts:

All in all the stories contained within this book just grabbed me from the get-go! I loved all the "witchy" tales which would really be a perfect read around Halloween time. 

Once again the gothic style writing of author, Catherine Cavendish just takes you deep into an atmospheric read except this time there are more collection samples to savor along the way. So snuggle down in your cozy chair and spend some time with this author as she unfolds the spooky stories within. 


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

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120769205

Friday, December 2, 2022

Top 25 Reads of 2022

Wow! I know I say this every year about how great each year is for book reads and once again I read my heart out this year as I read lots of great books and discovered new authors as well. So once again I gathered up my top 25 reads of the year throughout all the genres I read this year. Once again I am adding in the Goodreads book links and the Goodreads link to my reviews of all the books. All authors are listed in no particular order for each genre. 



HORROR READS




RONALD KELLY

The Saga of Dead Eye Book One: Vampires, Zombies and Mojo Men

My Rating: Five "Gun-Toting Zombie" Stars











GRAHAM MASTERTON

Charnel House

My Rating: Five "Wicked Demon Scary" Stars




My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4349220991


ROBERT MCCAMMON

They Thirst

My Rating: Five "Fatal Fangs" Stars




My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4541532755


NICK ROBERTS

The Exorcist's House

My Rating: Five "Scary Demonic" Stars







My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785383941


CATHERINE CAVENDISH

The Garden of Bewitchment

My Rating: Five "Bewitching Spooky Mystery" Stars





BRIAN G. BERRY

Snow Shark

My Rating: Five "Snow Snack Attack Shark" Stars




My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4666522473


JUSTIN HOLLEY

Seven Cleopatra Hill

My Rating: Five "Haunted Hotel" Stars





RONALD MCGILLVRAY

Tales from the Parkland

My Rating: Five "Terror Thriller" Stars





LEE MOUNTFORD

Darkfall: Deathborn

My Rating: Five "Evil Creature" Stars




My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4985558313


JEFF STRAND

The Odds

My Rating: Five "Game of Chance Horror" Stars




My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4833477314


DAVID HAYNES

Klondike Slaughter

My Rating: Five "Frightening Folklore" Stars





ERIC BUTLER

Donn, Tx 1969

My Rating: Five "Harvesting Horror" Stars



KEVIN J. KENNEDY 

The Horror Collection: Ruby Edition

My Rating: Five "Terror Tension" Stars



My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4163440747


HUNTER SHEA

Ghost Mine

My Rating: Four "Haunting Horror" Stars





DARCY COATES

From Below

My Rating: Five "Deep Sea Spooky" Stars




TIM MEYER

Kill Hill Carnage

My Rating: Five "Creature Feature Rampage" Stars




GLENN ROLFE

Something in the Groove

My Rating: Four "Horrifying Demon" Stars




PATRICK JAMES RYAN

The Night They Got Out

My Rating: Five "Carnage Creature" Stars




JUSTIN BOOTE

Combustion

My Rating: Five "Burning Demon" Stars




Goodreads book link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61924309-combustion

My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4914353896


NICK CUTTER

The Troop

My Rating: Five "Wicked Worms" Stars





DACRE STOKER

Dracul

My Rating: Five "Spooky and Suspenseful Vampire" Stars




Goodreads book link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43983939-dracul

THOUGHTS:

The horror books this year kept my insomnia fueled with quite a few sleepless nights along with some very interesting dreams! To all the horror authors - thank you for taking me deep into your twisted minds as you all kept me on a rollercoaster ride of terror! 💀👿👻🧛



AUTHORS DISCOVERED THIS YEAR NEW TO ME:

Graham Masterton

Robert McCammon

Nick Roberts

Justin Holley

Ronald McGillvray

Justin Boote

Dacre Stoker


=====================================================


Fantasy/Urban Fantasy-Dark Fantasy




STEPHEN KING

Fairy Tale

My rating: Five "Magical Well" Stars








JOHN GWYNNE

The Shadow of the Gods

My Rating: Five "Sword & Shields" Stars








ANDY PELOQUIN

Assassin (Darkblade #1)

My Rating: Five "Sword/Dagger Action" Stars









WILLIAM MASSA

Shadow Detective Box Set (#4 - #6)

My Rating: Five "Demon Action" Stars









THOUGHTS:

I stepped into some fantasy/dark fantasy this year and really enjoyed all the stories. Lots of magical moments along with some bloody battles within the stories. More sleepless nights within this genre too. To the fantasy/dark fantasy authors - thank you for creating worlds that make the reader want to live there. ⚔️🛡️ 🗡️


=====================================================

COMPLETE THOUGHTS:

This year (2022) was a rocking great year in the book world as I discovered some new authors to explore plus revisited previous authors works. As always I am enthralled with the works of authors. No matter what genre I read I seem to always find a niche of some great authors that whisk me away to the adventures and sometimes twisted realms of their minds. 

 Looking forward to 2023 with great anticipation of what all of you authors will have in store for us readers! Keep writing those books so we readers can keep reading them! :) 


Wednesday, November 16, 2022

From Below by Darcy Coates


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Deep Sea Spooky" Stars


Breath-Hitching Tension!

A small taste of what lies within:

The Arcadia which has been missing since the 1920's has been located by a diving crew (Cove, Vanna, Roy, Hestie, Aiden, Sean, and Devereaux) and they are wanting to go to explore the ship as no one knows much about what could have happened to the ship or what happened to the ship crew so they want to go check it out and record their diving footage of the ship. 

Though what the diving crew find when they finally get to the ship wreckage is beyond their imagination and it will be everything they can do to make sure that they are able to get the footage they need without losing their lives!

What do the crew find within the wreckage? Do they get the video footage they need? Do the crew make it out of the wreckage? 

No spoilers here as you will just need to read the book! 

Thoughts:

I have read quite a few books by author, Darcy Coates, but I think this book is one of her best books yet! The story just grabbed me right away and took me on a fast pace into the deep sea as the tension of the book took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions from breath-hitching moments of anxiety to throat closing claustrophobic atmospheric intensity as I barreled my way through the storyline!

Author, Darcy Coates is known for writing her books with atmospheric emotions but this book seemed to be hundred times more with atmosphere than any other books she has out there as I literally had to lay the book down a few times to catch my breath as I felt that I was having anxiety attacks while reading this book. I loved all the characters as they just seemed so real and the story just drew me in so much that I felt I was right there with them experiencing the same emotions that they were going through themselves. An awesome story by this author and it will be going on my favorites shelf and a book I won't forget anytime soon!

Attached is the author, Darcy Coates, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7734837.Darcy_Coates

Attached is the author, Darcy Coates, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Darcy-Coates/e/B00HVNVT0E

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4610782343


Thursday, November 10, 2022

Undertaker's Moon by Ronald Kelly

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Howling & Ripping" Stars


Snarling Suspense! 

A small taste of what lies within:

Old Hickory, Tennessee becomes the backdrop for this story as it is an old mill town. Things seem peaceful until the O'Shea family move into town along with Squire McManus and they take over the funeral home.

As they become involved in the town, deaths start happening to the point of bodies being ripped apart. No one wants to believe one of the local boys that saw his friend being attacked by some type of beast.

No one seems to think anything about the mystery of how the beast seemed to appear after the family arrived. Soon though it becomes apparent that they are somehow involved and when the family feel threatened they will not go down without a fight as when their secret is revealed is when the crap hits the fan!

Thoughts:

Southern gothic horror along with a touch of the Irish is what author, Ronald Kelly stirs up in this book and the atmosphere of the story just grabs a hold of you from the first page taking you on a "snarling" ride all the way to the end of the book! Lots of fur and fangs along with a small town homey feel makes this book a very fun read! This was my second reread of the book and I enjoyed it immensely the second time around!


Attached is the author, Ronald Kelly, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/783444.Ronald_Kelly

Attached is the author, Ronald Kelly, profile page from Amazon:


Attached is my review from Goodreads: