Book Nook Retreat: 2023

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Old Hodmedod by David Haynes

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Shivering Scarecrow Spooks" Stars

Suspensefully Sinister!

A small taste of what lies within:

An old farmhouse and property are under close scrutiny by a big development company that wants to come in and turn the property into new homes, but there might be a small speed bump in their future as things are slowly going south when old human bones are discovered on the property. Chief Haberlay is quite shaken along with the Mayor and other townsfolk when the discovery is made but they are far from surprised as the old man that lived there at one time (Seth Ackers) had committed some crimes in the past.

The property is haunted which makes it ripe pickings for youngsters and teenagers wanting to get a thrill but they will get more than that if they start stomping around in places that they do not need to be. Seth Ackers was known for putting up scarecrows all over his property but what they represented was far beyond the true purpose of scarecrows. The ghost of Seth Ackers has laid claim to his property and he will do whatever it takes to keep everyone off his land!

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

Thoughts:

Another great book by this author and this book was one spooky ride into terror! I had some weird dreams when reading this book as it kept me encased fully into the clutches of the book! Loved all the characters in this story as I could feel everything the characters were feeling as things began to unfold in the story.

The story starts out right away with a bang and the story just keeps moving at a fast pace through the rest of the book. There is something happening with every page turn and the dreaded suspense of what might happen gave me some breath hitches here and there.

This would be a great story to read around Halloween time as so much happens with the story and the book has tons of spooky moments!

Attached is the author, David Haynes, profile page from Goodreads:

David Haynes

Attached is the author, David Haynes, profile page from Amazon:

David Haynes

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Sunday, December 10, 2023

Slay Bells Ring by J.D. Allen

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Holiday Horrors" Stars

Creepy Collection of Stories

I am not doing a small taste this time as this book is a collection of Christmas horror stories that will draw blood and then mix it in with all the Christmas cheer of the holiday!

Stories and poems in this book are as follows:

The Twelve Nights of Christmas

Silent Nights

Maul Santa

The Snowman

I'm Dreaming of a Red Christmas

The Christmas Carolers of Chaos

Snow Angels

Humbug!

Down Thru the Chimney

Re-Gifted

Secret Santa

Do Not Open Till Christmas!

He Sees You When You're Sleeping - He Knows When You're Awake

The Gingerbread Men

T'Was The Night After Christmas

Thoughts:

All the stories and poems were great! I enjoyed all of them so it is hard to pick favorites out of this collection!

Holiday stories are fun to read especially when there are horrors that lie within them and this book had a few story collections of Christmas stories gone wrong and weird. There are also a few poems too that were fun to read. All in all a great collection of the bizarre and strange of Christmas horror stories.

Attached is the author, J.D. Allen, profile page from Goodreads:

J D Allen

Attached is the author, J.D.Allen, profile page from Amazon:

J D Allen

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Chills and Thrills" Stars

Nail Biting Suspense!

A small taste of what lies within:

1950 - Vermont - Idlewild Hall

A boarding school that is possibly haunted and four roomies that become close friends (Cece, Sonia, Katie and Roberta) and what they each have to endure while living there along with the ghost of a girl named Mary Hand who wanders the boarding school halls.

2014 - Vermont - Idlewild Hall

Fiona Sheridan is a journalist but she has always wanted to know what happened to her sister, Deb that had died at Idlewild Hall. She decides to dig deep into the boarding school to find out what took place there and why it is considered to be haunted. Fiona feels that though justice was served as her sister's boyfriend was convicted of the crime something just seems off about the whole thing and she will do whatever it takes to dig deep into a long buried past to find out what really happened long ago!

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

Thoughts:

This was another great book by this author filled with intrigue, suspense, tension and a haunting. I felt that the story was a little slow at first with background world building but the book follows two timelines from 1950 to 2014 and your dropped into 1950 with the happenings of the four friends then dropped back into 2014 with the journalist character, Fiona as she tries to track down old leads from the 50's.

The pace becomes faster the more I read of the book and there were some twists and turns along the way. There is one twist near the end of the book that I wasn't expecting and it shocked me out of my shoes! This is my fourth book by this author and looking forward to reading more of her work.

Attached is the author, Simone St. James, profile page from Goodreads:

Simone St. James

Attached is the author, Simone St. James, profile page from Amazon:

Simone St. James

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Saturday, December 2, 2023

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

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Five "Daunting Demonic" Stars

Dread and Suspense!

A small taste of what lies within:

Abby along with her best friend, Gretchen have been through everything together ever since the fifth grade but now that they both are in high school things have taken a slight turn. Abby and Gretchen along with two other friends, Glee and Margaret end up having a get together out in the woods to have some fun but when Gretchen wanders off and gets lost (or so it seems) out in the woods she comes back out of the woods....different. Something is off but Abby cannot put her finger on what it is so she just ignores it.

Abby is befuddled though as Gretchen starts acting more withdrawn and seems to just not be the same but Abby is determined that with them being best friends then friendship will win out no matter what and Abby will do whatever takes to find out what happened to Gretchen when she got lost in the woods and to find out how she can draw her friend out of whatever dark place has taken her. Abby is going to have a fight on her hands when she realizes that her best friend Gretchen has been taken over by demonic forces and her friend, Gretchen is lost within herself as evil has taken a hold of her best friend!

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

Thoughts:

I felt that this book was a coming of age story as this book shows a lot about friendships that you make when you are young and how best friends just grow together through the years. The story just grabbed me right away as it is set in the time of the early 80's so there is a lot of mentions of that era. The book starts out a little slow with background info on the friends and the different things they endure together as they grow up.

The demonic/occult action is a slow buildup as Grady Hendrix just gradually weaves in how the demonic force slowly took over the character, Gretchen. It seems subtle at first which takes up the first half of the book but the last half of the book is where it all hits the fan and things begin happening faster as the story progresses.

This is my fourth book by this author and I am hungry for more! I love Hendrix writing style as he slowly draws the reader into his world and then pummels them with wild action throughout the storyline. Looking forward to reading more by Hendrix as he has a few more books out there that I need to lay my hands on!

Attached is the author, Grady Hendrix, profile page from Goodreads:

Grady Hendrix

Attached is the author, Grady Hendrix, profile page from Amazon:

Grady Hendrix

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Whitechapel Rising (John Decker #5) by Anthony M. Strong

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Five "Ripper Roaring Blood" Stars

Suspense with Terror!

A small taste of what lies within:

John Decker is back in this installment with trying to track down Jack the Ripper who was released from his resting place and resurrected to the point where he goes on a killing spree almost as if time has been reversed from when Jack the Ripper roamed the streets of London.

John along with his sidekick Mina and Colum who is sort of his new boss are on the hunt for the murderer as they track him through the street of London in the wake of murders of young women. They will need to do everything in their power to stop him before he leaves tons of bodies lying all over the city!

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

Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this story as right away the author pulls you into his world with some action! I was surprised that there was not a buildup of suspense first but I wasn't complaining as I love stories where the author grabs you right away taking you on a crazy action spin right out the gate!

This book goes deep into the heart of London as the author brings alive the character Jack the Ripper and sends him on a bloody swath through the streets of London once again and John Decker and his friends must track him down bringing an end to the Ripper's murdering reign!

I felt that the book was just the right pace and I had a hard time putting the book down after the 60% mark as so much happens after the halfway mark that I found myself staying up half the night to finish the book as there was so much action with suspense that there was no way I was going to go to sleep till I see how it all turned out!

Attached is the author, Anthony M. Strong, profile page from Goodreads:

Anthony M. Strong

Attached is the author, Anthony M. Strong, profile page from Amazon:

Anthony M. Strong

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Pedo Island Bloodbath by Duncan Ralston

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Vicious Vamps" Stars

Bloody and Gory Romp!

A small taste of what lies within:

Emory Jackman is known for hosting the best parties for the wealthy and elite so it seems to not be unusual when he invites some friends for a cruise aboard his boat to be taken to Little Pearl Island to have some fun. However things are not all what they seem as creatures of the night are prowling around on the boat and the island lies in wait for a tasty treat of warm blooded bodies!

What is in store for the boat travelers? What lies in wait on the island? Does anyone make it out alive? No spoilers here as you will just need to read the book!

Thoughts:

I wasn't sure where Duncan Ralston was going to be taking me on this hellish ride but once I started reading the book and found out that vampires were involved the story notched up quite a bit. There are quite a few characters to keep track of within this book and a couple or so main characters to track as well.

The story becomes fast paced more around the 35% mark of the book along with some suspense of what is taking place with the characters. After the halfway point the action picks up and the story goes on a full scale ride into terror. There is lots of blood and gore within the pages of this book but I was not surprised as Ralston has written other books with some red gooey stuff that you have to swim through to reach your destination. I was prepared though as I grabbed my gore suit when everything started to hit the fan!

So if you want a book that has vampires with lots of blood and gore then check this book out and if you need a gore suit then I have one to lend out! 😁

Attached is the author profile page from Goodreads:

Duncan Ralston

Attached is the author profile page from Amazon:

Duncan Ralston

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Thursday, November 23, 2023

The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid #2) by Freida McFadden

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Five "Sinister Suspense" Stars

Twisted Mystery!

A small taste of what lies within:

Millie is back in this second installment as a housemaid except this time she has been hired to more or less be a cleaning lady - she does the laundry, cleans the house and even cooks for her new employers who are Douglas and Wendy Garrick. The only odd thing about her job is that Douglas Garrick tells her to leave his wife, Wendy alone in the upstairs room as she is not feeling well and wants her privacy. Millie is not allowed to interact with her at all and if Millie needs anything she is to contact Douglas.

Things are not all what they seem and when things go into the weird zone then Millie becomes the focus when something happens with the Garricks and it will be all she can do to not only save her skin but to figure out what she needs to do to get out of the mess that has enfolded her into the twisted mystery of the Garricks lives!

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

Thoughts:

This story starts out a slow suspense build up as the author just draws you into the storyline gradually. The pace picks up though right after the 30% mark and as the mystery deepens of what is going on with Millie and her new employers it was all I could do of trying not to go to sleep as I wanted to keep reading the book!

After the 40% mark the suspense is so thick that my insomnia went into full throttle as I could barely put the book down and wanted to almost read all night long! There were a few insomnia nights with this book as I just could not lay the book down!

The main character, Millie along with all the other characters in the book are just so believable that I can actually see the situation Millie finds herself in happening in real life. The author makes the characters so real and believable that you become attached to them along with the situations they find themselves in. I love the writing style of this author as she literally pulls the readers into her world and keeps them there for the duration of the book! There is a third book coming out in this series but it will be a long while before it gets here so in the meantime I am going to track down the other books that this author has written and see what else she has out there.

Attached is the author, Freida McFadden, profile page from Goodreads:

Freida McFadden

Attached is the author, Freida McFadden, profile page from Amazon:

Freida McFadden

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Rosecliff Manor Haunting (Addison Lockhart #2) by Cheryl Bradshaw

👻👻👻👻

Four "Mysterious Ghosts" Stars

Eerie Spooky Vibes!

A small taste of what lies within:

Addison Lockhart along with her boyfriend Luke tries to solve a haunting mystery of why Addison is having dreams of two young ghost girls. Addison thinks it might be somehow connected to her home that she inherited of Grayson Manor at first but then realizes that it is connected to another manor with the name of Rosecliff.

Addison realizes that something is amiss when she delves into the mystery of why two sisters died at the manor of Rosecliff as a lot of the townspeople think it was just an accident but the more Addison investigates of what happened the more she seems to think that it was no accident and something else happened!

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

Thoughts:

I really like this series by the author, Cheryl Bradshaw and I have decided to continue on with the series as I read the first book about three years ago and I own all the books in the series. The stories are stand alone too - the only connection is some of the main characters. All the stories are different.

I love all the characters in this series and the story moved quickly once it got going. It started out a little slow with a small buildup of background information of what was taking place in the story but once the mystery started to deepen then the pace picked up. Once I was past the 40% mark the story just took off and I felt myself caught up in a wind storm of pace as I was flipping through the pages faster as the mystery of the story intensified and I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next! Looking forward to continuing on with the series to see what mystery Addison finds herself in next!

Attached is the author, Cheryl Bradshaw, profile page from Goodreads:

Cheryl Bradshaw

Attached is the author, Cheryl Bradshaw, profile page from Amazon:

Cheryl Bradshaw

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Friday, November 10, 2023

Donn, TX 1952 by Eric Butler

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Four "Spooky Scarecrow" Stars

Twisted Terror!

A small taste of what lies within:

Jerry and his wife, Debbie stop off at a wayward motel as Debbie has been very ill through their road trip but things are not what they seem in Donn Texas as it is harvest time and sacrificing must begin!

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

Thoughts:

Another great story in the Donn TX series by this author. Though this story is super short but Butler delivers a horror punch that will pull you into his world!

Attached is the author, Eric Butler, profile page from Goodreads:

Eric Butler

Attached is the author, Eric Butler, profile page from Amazon:

Eric Butler

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

The List by J.A. Konrath

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Thrilling Suspense" Stars

Fast Paced Action!

A small taste of what lies within:

Tom Mankowski, a Chicago Homicide cop has an interesting number tattoo on the bottom of his foot. He has always wondered about why he has it but has never delved into the background of how he got it. When a murder victim pops up in his jurisdiction Mankowski learns that the victim also has a tattoo number on their foot.

Tom Mankowski goes down a rabbit hole of suspense and intrigue as he learns there are more people out there with those number tattoos on their feet. What he learns is way beyond anything he has ever imagined and it leads him down a mysterious path of twisted corruption!

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste so if that has piqued your curiosity then go read this book.

Thoughts:

I wasn't sure where this story was taking me but it being written by Konrath I had a feeling it was going to be interesting and I was right! The story weaves around into some historic aspects along with fast paced action, intrigue and high suspense.

I loved all the characters in this book and once again Konrath threw in some funny quips that lighten the mood of the story. This story unfolds as a techo-thriller and as always with Konrath's writing style he draws the reader deep into the story capturing the essence of the mystery of what is taking place. Another great book by this author!

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

J A Konrath

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

J A Konrath

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Ghostly Suspense" Stars

Creepy Haunting!

A taste of what lies within:

A ghost hunter, Alistair Gellis is in a pickle as his assistant Matthew Ryder is out of town and Alistair needs help on a ghost hunting adventure to the town of Waringstoke so he hires Sarah Piper from a temporary agency to help him. As luck would have it though Matthew Ryder does make an appearance at the last minute but it is decided that Sarah can just go along to be with them since Alistair is paying for her to be there.

When they get to Waringstoke and meet with the client Mrs. Clare, she tells them that she needs her barn to be cleansed of a ghost but when they try to do just that the ghost does not want to leave the barn as something is keeping her there and Alistair, Matthew, and Sarah will have to find out why the ghost is hanging around and what happened for the ghost to be haunting the barn. The mystery deepens when they all find out there is a lot more going on then everyone originally thought as the ghost of Maddy Clare is on a revenge rampage and they will need to find out what secrets are lying in wait for them in the town of Waringstoke!

That is about all I can give out on a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you find your curiosity piqued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

Wow! I loved this story! The mystery of the haunting of Maddy Clare just slowly took shape the more I became involved in the story. The author slowly builds up the mystery and suspense of the story as she also unfolds of why there is a haunting. It takes awhile though for the haunting mystery to be solved but the atmospheric tones of the story just drew me right in to the book.

I also loved all the characters - the main characters of Alistair, Matthew and Sarah just meshed together and I felt at times that the story was wrapped within the gothic genre. The setting of the story is not too long after the first World War and you can feel the times of that era as things happen within the book.

Sometimes I felt that I was right there with the characters as things were happening and for an author to be able to pull you into their world where it feels like you are experiencing the feelings of the characters and the world they live in never ceases to amaze me. I tuned everything out while I was reading this story and was carted away to that time era. The haunting itself also slowly builds up to a crescendo and the last 40% of the book I just could not put the book down! I do have to say though there are a few steamy romance scenes dotted here and there within the story but other than that the story kept me held in suspense with lots of haunting mystery woven within. Another great book by this author and looking forward to reading more of her work!

Attached is the author, Simone St. James, profile page from Goodreads:

Simone St. James

Attached is the author, Simone St. James, profile page from Amazon:

Simone St. James

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Nightmares and Dreamscapes Goodreads Group - Co-Moderator

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Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction Even though our main themes are horror, fantasy, and science fiction we also love other genres too which are reflected in threads within this group. If you love spooks, dragons, demigods, crime and mystery stories then join us.

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Dracul
by Dacre Stoker
Start date: June 1, 2022

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Castle Terror Goodreads Group - Co-Moderator

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Come for the Castle - Stay for the Terror! 🏰🐺💀🔥 This group is for everyone who loves vampires, werewolves and creatures of the dark books. Horror, gothic, classic, fantasy, paranormal, whatever! All genres welcome. We have featured authors throughout the year where we will read vampire, werewolf and all sorts of things that stalk the night. We also do book challenges, buddy reads, and we have other fun stuff to do on here. <img src="https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/016/128/762/large/chang-wei-chen-castle-0213-2.jpg?1551022328">

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Klondike Slaughter
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If you love horror literature, movies, and culture, you're in the right place. Whether it's vampires, werewolves, zombies, serial killers, plagues, or the Old Ones, you'll find plenty of great discussions and recommendations at HA. Find us on Twitter: @HA_Goodreads