The Adirondack Witch by Patrick Reuman

 

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Four "Twisted Suspense" Stars

Scary Crazy Ride!

A taste of what lies within:

Three friends (Hank, Scott, and Charlie) decide to go camping and trail climbing up into the Adironack mountains. Hank is mourning the loss of his wife and wants to get away from it all for awhile, so he talks his friends into going with him on the trip. 

Once they get up into the mountain area they meet up with some other hikers and they all decide to hike together, but they things become creepy twisted when they wake up one morning and the sun has still not risen. The mountain is just as dark as when they went to sleep. Thinking that maybe their timing is off they decide to try and wait it out but nothing seems to be working for them so they decide to head back down the mountain. 

Though as they make their way down things are not what they seem as for some reason they see torches and a possible town that should not exist in their vicinity. Twisted and wild things begin to start happening to them that makes them wonder what is really going on as there is something in the shadows of the mountain waiting for them! 

What has invaded their domain? Why is the mountain still in darkness? What is lurking out in the mountains? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was one suspense building creepy story that sank its teeth into me the more I delved into the book. This is my second book by this author and I felt that the story was just steeped in mystery and suspense to the point that I would read chunks of the story during the night which kept my insomnia fueled. 

The pace was slow and fast though but I just stayed with it as I was wanting to see what had invaded the hikers lives and what were the characters dealing with up on the mountain. 

There is a major twist at the end of the book that sent me reeling and it was not what I was expecting and it pulled the rug out from under me! Another great book by this author! 

Attached is the author, Patrick Reuman, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15111601.Patrick_Reuman

Attached is the author, Patrick Reuman, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Patrick-Reuman/e/B01DAPR23O

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4678994613

Scar: A Deep Sea Thriller by Michael R. Cole

 

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Five "Thriller Killer" Sharks!

Deep Sea Screaming Terror!

A taste of what lies within:

A shark named Scar breaks free from captivity while it is being transported from one ship to another as his creator (Olivia Zoller) watches from a distance. Olivia cannot believe her misfortune when her prized shark twists free and lands in the ocean. As she tries to gather a crew together to go after it, Scar heads out to sea as he realizes that he is free to roam the ocean depths. 

The people of Cross Point are unaware of the danger heading their way until Scar starts attacking boats that are out near their beach, but the worse is yet to come when Scar attacks a pod of killer whales that belong to a marine biologist (Lisa) and from there it becomes hell in the ocean!

Lisa along with Nick (Sheriff of Cross Point) decide to go after the shark and try to kill it, unaware that other people are hunting for the shark too (Olivia and her crew), but who gets to the shark first? 

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

Thoughts:

This is my second book by Michael R. Cole and he is becoming my go-to sea creature author as his writing style just captures my attention within moments of the storyline and throws me into the ocean depths! 

The pace is fast as the shark rips through everything in this story! There is lots of blood and gore within these pages as the graphic descriptions are just full of serrated teeth splatter! 

There is quite a bit of shark and killer whale fights too within this story which throws the action into full throttle which kept me turning the pages faster. Tons of shark/whale action and shark/human action kept my insomnia fueled a few nights!  

I read the last 30% of the book within just a few hours as the story literally went into overdrive! Looking forward to reading more books by this author as he has tons of books out there to read! 

Attached is the author, Michael R. Cole, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21004546.Michael_R_Cole

Attached is the author, Michael R. Cole, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Cole/e/B017PQSP5S

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4107848029

Snow Shark by Brian G. Berry

 

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Five "Snow Snack Attack" Sharks

Gore Shark Action!

A taste of what lies within:

Alex Henning along with his wife and children want to get away for a nice vacation up in the mountains as they want to spend some time on the ski slopes so they head to a lodge to enjoy their time together. 

Unbeknownst to them though a genetically engineered shark has fallen from a cargo plane and landed in the mountain range where Henning and his family will be having fun. 

There will be no fun though when the shark goes on a killing spree as anything in its path will become prime steak as it makes it way through the snowy slopes of the vacation resort and the snowy mountain trails beyond!

Thoughts:

The author, Brian Berry always has creative extreme horror books and he has become one of my favorite extreme authors. I always know that when I read one of his books that it will require one to two maybe three gore suits as his books are always filled with blood and gore. 

This book was no exception as it is filled with blood, gore, and graphic descriptive details of each killing! I am always impressed with the fast pace of his books and this one was no exception as right away something happens and there was no time to catch my breath!

There are quite a few characters in this book that gets in harms way of the shark and it is best not to become attached to the characters as they might not survive, but I was just giddy with excitement of reading about a shark that loves the snow! I am not a ski type of person and after reading this book I don't think I will want to become one either! 

Highly Recommend!

Attached is the author, Brian G. Berry, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21022968.Brian_G_Berry

Attached is the author, Brian G. Berry, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Brian-Berry/e/B08M413RDW

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

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

Charnel House by Graham Masterton

 

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Five "Wicked Scary" Demons

Screaming Terror! 

A taste of what lies within:

John Hyatt gets all kinds of clients walking through his door at the sanitation department in San Francisco, but when an elderly man (Seymour Willis) comes to see him complaining of hearing "breathing" in his house, John is thinking the man is a little looney. John tries to tell Seymour that he doesn't take care of breathing sounds, but the man is insistent to the point that John finally gives in.

When John and one of his co-workers (Dan) go to the house they finally realize that the man was not kidding - something was breathing as they could hear the sound to the point where it seemed the house was pulsing with it and then something happens to Dan which makes John wonder what is going on. When he tries to find out more about what is in the house he realizes that he has stepped into something so evil that he could very well lose his soul as a demon lies in wait for the humans that have crossed the threshold into its lair!

Thoughts:

This book was awesome! The flow of the story just grabbed me from the get go and when I first started reading it I read a few chapters quickly as I just could not put it down. When things began to happen in the house is when the story broke wide open and I was just entranced with how quick I became involved in the storyline. 

The pace became faster and I was turning pages quickly! This story with the demon became seeped with the occult themes and the story went into total overdrive. I would have read this book faster but I was reading it with some buddies so I slowed down to a crawl (lol) but I just loved this book as a haunted house theme with demons was one scary ride into the pits of hell! 

Attached is the author, Graham Masterton, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10275.Graham_Masterton

Attached is the author, Graham Masterton, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Graham-Masterton/e/B000APAM8K

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

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

The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber

 

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Four "Wicked Werewolf" Stars

Wolf Pack Attack!

A taste of what lies with:

Two detectives (Becky Neff and George Wilson) are on the hunt for whoever killed two policemen, but when they find out that it is not a "who" they are looking for but a "what" is when things become interesting.  

Neff and Wilson find out that something with paw prints were all over the two dead policemen and they begin to wonder what kind of animals would have killed the officers. They soon learn though that what killed the officers cannot be real as it can only be a myth - has to be because what they believe to have killed the officers couldn't possibly exist or could it? 

The two detectives find out quickly that something is amiss when another killing happens and what they believed to really be non-existent does indeed lean toward really being true, so they will do whatever it takes to stop the killings even if it means creating silver bullets to put a stop toward the myth of the werewolf. 

Thoughts:

This was a great story and it has been literally years since I read anything by Whitley Strieber so when one of my friends wanted to buddy read this book I jumped at the chance. The story starts out right away with some blood/gore action but then drops back down to a slow pace in the story with suspense build up.

I would consider this book to be quiet horror as there is not a lot of blood/gore action. There is tons of mystery and suspense along with the main characters trying to figure out what is stalking and hunting humans. 

When the werewolf myth comes up and the detective characters, Neff and Wilson start going in search of what is happening the story kicks up a notch as the suspense is driven to a fever high.

I ended up reading the last 40% of the book within 12 hours as the story became unputdownable! The story seemed to end like maybe there could be another book in the wings, but not sure as it is hard to tell with horror as sometimes the author will just end it with no other book coming. Otherwise will be looking for more books by this author as he seems to have quite a few out there. 

Attached is the author, Whitley Strieber, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18454.Whitley_Strieber

Attached is the author, Whitley Strieber, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Whitley-Strieber/e/B000AQ75B6

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4664784659

Last Call (Jack Daniels Mystery #10) by J. A. Konrath

 

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Four "Shootout Showdown" Stars

Guns and Glory!

A taste of what lies within:

Phineas (Phin) Troutt decides that he wants to hunt down Luther Kite so he finds out that Luther is hiding out in Mexico. Phin sneaks away from his wife Jack and their daughter as he doesn't want to involve them in his plans. But like with any good plan it doesn't always go the right way and Phin gets captured by Kite's goons. 

Jack does find out though and gathers some friends together to go on a rescue mission which results in tons of weapons and tons of skills as they need to penetrate a heavy duty cartel compound to find Phin. 

Jack and crew will have their hands full as it will not be easy smuggling weapons over the border, so they have to find whatever way they can to access the compound without getting caught though it is best to have backup plans as they will need all of them before this mission is complete. 

Does Jack and company find Phin? Are they able to rescue him without any casualties? Who wins and who dies? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was one messed up storyline as everyone that is anyone is within these pages as there are characters pulled from stories that were also written by author Blake Crouch. So there are quite a few characters that all converge into one area of the book eventually and I was turning the pages faster as there was so much happening I couldn't lay the book down! 

There is fast paced action, humor (mostly from the character Harry McGlade), suspense, tension, and intense situations. I was exhausted by the time I finished this story as so much happened that my insomnia was fueled a few nights. One main character though doesn't make it and that made me sad as I wasn't expecting it, but if you are wanting to know who that is then you will just have to read this series to find out. 

Looking forward to reading the next book in the series which is White Russian as things were not as wrapped up as you are led to believe. I guess I better prepare for some more sleepless nights! lol

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

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3053950897

Apartment 401 by Boris Bacic

 

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Four "Spooky Boo" Ghosts

Skittering Shivers!

A taste of what lies within:

Brad and Julia move into a new recently renovated apartment building. They are happy that they found a nice roomy apartment to call home as with Julia pregnant they needed the extra room. They are not there long though when small things start happening like Brad's keys moving from where he left them and the keys ending up somewhere totally unexpected, but it doesn't take him long to lay blame in Julia's direction thinking she is moving things. 

When she denies it totally Brad is still skeptical but he starts wondering what is really going on as they start to hear music throughout the apartment. Which at first they think it is coming from the neighbors, but they realize that no one is playing the music and yet it comes at odd hours of the day and night. 

With the help of the neighbors they try to piece together what is going on within their apartment and come to the realization that it could be "haunted". They do not believe it at first, but when they both see ghost children in their apartment is when they finally realize that what they are seeing is real and not their imagination. But it is when they reach out to a medium that things go from bad to worse as when the ghosts are stirred up they become angry and the haunting is just beginning! 

Who or what is haunting the apartment? Why is the apartment haunted? Does Brad and Julia find relief from the ghosts? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was impressed at how quick I was pulled into the story. One of my favorite horror sub-genres is hauntings/ghosts so I am usually on the lookout for those type of stories. 

Though it was a little slow in the beginning of the story to set up world building and introducing characters, but after about the 25% mark the story took off as ghost action started happening. 

The pace kept kicking up with everything that was happening to the characters, but the last half of the book is where the story went into overdrive and I was turning the pages quick to see what would happen next. Looking forward to stepping into more of this author's work! 

Attached is the author, Boris Bacic, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8186042.Boris_Bacic

Attached is the author, Boris Bacic, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Boris-Bacic/e/B0843WFMN6

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4655392682

Dead Man's Song by Jonathan Maberry

 

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Five "Creeped Out Chiller" Stars

Chills and Thrills!

A taste of what lies within:

As Halloween approaches, the town of Pine Deep starts having bodies pile up and something is still not right in the town as bodies that were dead start coming back to life. Things have escalated in the town since all the horrific trouble went down in the first book "Ghost Road Blues". The citizens of the town are trying to learn what is really going on and why bodies that are supposed to be dead are up and wandering the town!

What kind of evil is hiding out in the town of Pine Deep? Why are bodies not staying dead?  Who or what is behind the slayings of the town citizens? Can anyone stop what is happening in Pine Deep?  

No spoilers here as you will need to read this trilogy!

Thoughts:

This second book picks up exactly where the first one left off and the main characters that were in the first book are back in this second installment. The town is in a continual upheaval with bodies being killed and no one seems to know what is really going on or what is actually killing the towns people. 

The author keeps the mystery of what is really happening within the town a secret and the story is slowly built up with suspense. The pace picks up the more I read of the story and I learned more of what is exactly happening to the towns people the closer I got to the end of the book. By the end of the book I knew what was causing the havoc by the description of what was happening to the bodies. But the how and why of it all was wrapped within the mystery of the story. 

Looking forward to reading the last book in the trilogy to learn more of the secrets and mysteries of the town of Pine Deep. 

Note: The books are not stand alone - they must be read in order to understand the storyline as each book runs on the heels of the previous book. 

Attached is the author, Jonathan Maberry, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/72451.Jonathan_Maberry

Attached is the author, Jonathan Maberry, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Maberry/e/B001JSF8TK

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2176924945

Legion (Hexecutioner #10) by William Massa

 

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Five "Hellish Hexorcist" Stars

Demon Battle Action!

A taste of what lies within:

Jaxon is back in this last installment as the temple that was his home is now under attack by the possessed that were prisoners there. The monks are in bad trouble as the demon that resides in Sister Amelia has plans to lay waste to anyone that gets in her way! Jaxon has to utilize all his skills to see that justice is served and to somehow free Sister Amelia from the demon's hold. It won't be easy, but come "Hell or Highwater" Jaxon will see it through to the end!

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

Thoughts:

This last installment was a perfect ending for the series and I was surprised by how this book ended too as I thought I had it fixed in my mind how it all was going to happen, but the author surprised me and had other plans on how it was all going to end. There was tons of action in this last book which kept my insomnia fueled as when everything hit the fan there was no stopping to catch my breath with this story!

Fast paced action, tension, and suspense!

I would "Highly Recommend" to all dark fantasy fans that love action and that love to keep turning the pages late into the night and into the early hours of the morning!

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

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4559358059

Shadow Detective (Books 4-6) by William Massa

 

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Five "Demon Action" Stars

I am going to set each book out with a taste and then give overall thoughts for all three books.

Book 4: Demon Dawn

Mike Raven has thrown himself literally into the "demon den" with this story as he accompanies some professional bank thieves into a demon bank to retrieve a "soul scroll" for a billionaire that is dying. 

Nothing will stand in Raven's way especially demons from the fiery pits of hell, but even though Raven has some magical weapons to help him out of most of his predicaments he is going to need to rely on the professional thieves and his own wits to outsmart the demons once they realize that Raven and crew are there to steal something of vital importance!

Book 5: Skull Master

Mike Raven has to deal with something "magically" interesting in this story as there is a villain that has attained a supernatural weapon artifact which is able to siphon skulls out of the heads of the victims! Mike is literally befuddled as to how he will be able to stop this villain, but he will have to draw upon his own magic along with his side kick demon that resides within him to hunt the madman down to end the terror once and for all! 

Book 6: Ghoul Night

Mike Raven is above challenged in this story as he has to take on a ghoul demon that is wanting to turn the Cursed City into a smorgasbord of dead bodies so that all ghouls will have a playground for feasting. 

Though Mike is also being hunted himself from the Vatican as they have found out that he shares his body with a demon and they want to capture him as they think Mike will turn bad with the demon residing within him, but Mike has other plans as his human side still wants to protect his city and he is about to prove them all wrong in that he can still fight for what is right. 

Mike's own mentor Skulick also wants to track him down and reaches out to Jane Archer who is now a vampire hunter to help him in the quest of bringing Mike back, but it will take all of her skills to bring him in. 

No one is aware of the demon ghoul that has been loosed upon the city, except for Raven and everyone is about to get a rude awakening from the bowels of hell! 

Overall Thoughts:

Action galore was within this omnibus! Another fast paced read for all three books! Lots of magical sorcery involved along with Raven's supernatural weapons that he uses to take down the baddies. There is never time to breathe in this series as the action seems constant. 

I learned more about the demon residing within Raven and what it's skills and capabilities are used for with how much control Raven actually has over the entity. The good and evil rages within his soul as he tries to keep the demon under control. Both of them will have to work together to keep the baddies in check and the struggle is real for Raven as he had to let the demon take over once in awhile to further his missions. 

Jane Archer makes an appearance and she is no longer what she once was either as she is now a vampire hunter, but it came at a great price as she is now part vampire. Though she is no longer protecting the city as a cop she is still helping to fight the good fight as she now has has some cool supernatural weapons to help her win the war against the monsters that have invaded the Cursed City. 

Though Raven and Archer are not exactly working together they are a force to be reckoned with as they both try to protect what is theirs and to take out the creatures that roam their city. 

Looking forward to reading the rest of this series as there are quite a few more books to pursue. I am curious to see what other situations that Raven will find himself in and what type of villains cross his path. 

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

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3232598284

The Other Ann by Amy Cross

 

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Five "Doppleganger Danger" Stars

Double Trouble Twists!

A taste of what lies within:

Ann Garland has been one of the ones chosen to have a doppleganger from another parallel universe to live with her. A portal had opened with billions of dopplegangers from another world as their world was destroyed by war come breaking through into this world and only certain people end up having a look-alike live with them. 

Ann though loves her quiet life with no one around except her cat, Sheba, but the government has other plans for her as now she has to share her space with her mirror self. At first both of them just want to stay away from each other but eventually they both make the best of it and just try to get along. 

As a little time passes things seem to happen to Ann that make her think her other self has it out for her and she tries to figure out if she is really on the bad end of the deal or if it is all in her mind. When she finds out that her other self was once part of a mental asylum is when everything escalates as she wonders if her other self is really a danger to her well being or not! 

That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading a science fiction/psychological horror from author, Amy Cross. Normally the author stays within the horror field of hauntings and spooks and/or slasher-serial killer stories, but this book just hooked me from the first chapter and kept its hooks in me all the way to the end of the book! 

This book kept my insomnia fueled and I read the book within 24 hours as I just could not put it down! As the story moves along the suspense and tension of what happens with both Ann's just escalates as things begin to happen to the both of them. 

The author keeps the suspense building up from chapter to chapter and the fast pace of the book just keeps growing to insurmountable tension as I kept wanting to see what would happen next! 

Another great book by this author and one I won't soon forget. It makes you wonder if any of us would be able to live with an exact replica of ourselves or would it drive us mad. 

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/2927234087