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

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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

 

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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

Top 25 Reads of 2023

Another "Amazing" year of book reads! I read quite a bit this year and would sometimes be reading five or six books at once! Crazy I know and amazingly enough I was able to keep all the stories straight in my head! Quite a feat! 😀  

I found some new authors to explore and revisited authors I have read in the past. Once again with the reading of so many books this year it has been hard to figure out who makes this list as I read a lot of great books this year. It is never easy to whittle down book reads for these lists that I do but the books on here are what kept my insomnia fueled all year long and kept me riveted to my kindle. 

So without further ado - off we go to what 25 books and authors kept me wrapped within their minds! All authors are listed in no particular order and are listed according to genre. 

HORROR/EXTREME HORROR/HORROR SUSPENSE

GRAHAM MASTERTON

The House at Phantom Park

My Rating: 👻👻👻👻👻

My Blog Link for Book: The House at Phantom Park

BRIAN G. BERRY

Abominable Snowman

My Rating: ⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄

My Blog Link for Book: Abominable Snowman

MARK LUKENS

Ghost Town

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Ghost Town

JEFFREY CASTON

Mise en Place

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Mise en Place

CATHERINE CAVENDISH

Dark Observation

My Rating: 👻👿👻👿👻

My Blog Link for Book: Dark Observation

RONALD MCGILLVRAY

Cutter's Deep: Welcome to Hell

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Cutter's Deep: Welcome to Hell

JOHN EVERSON

The Pumpkin Man

My Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

My Blog Link for Book: The Pumpkin Man

RONALD MALFI

Bone White

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Bone White

CANDACE NOLA

Bishop

My Rating: 🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

My Blog Link for Book: Bishop

J.D. ALLEN

ZWA T-68 Flight of the Dead

My Rating: 🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟

My Blog Link for Book: ZWA T-68 Flight of the Dead

JUSTIN BOOTE

Chasing Ghosts

My Rating: 👻👻👻👻👻

My Blog Link for Book: Chasing Ghosts

STEVE STRED

Churn the Soil

My Rating:  💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Churn the Soil

TAMARA THORNE & ALISTAIR CROSS

The Ghosts of Ravencrest

My Rating: 👻👻👻👻👻

My Blog Link for Book: The Ghosts of Ravencrest

JOHN DURGIN

The Cursed Among Us

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: The Cursed Among Us

JULIET ROSE

Through the Surface

My Rating: 👻👿👻👿👻

My Blog Link for Book: Through the Surface

JONATHAN JANZ

The Dismembered

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: The Dismembered

GRADY HENDRIX

How to Sell A Haunted House

My Rating: 👻👻👻👻👻

My Blog Link for Book: How to Sell A Haunted House

ANGEL VAN ATTA

The Child (The Children and the Gods #1)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: The Child (The Children and the Gods #1)

MIA DALIA

Estate Sale

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Estate Sale

JASON PARENT

Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1)

PATRICK JAMES RYAN

Demon's Wrath: Death in Caugas (A Michael Moretti Novel)

My Rating: 👿👿👿👿👿

My Blog Link for Book: Demons Wrath: Death in Caugas (A Michael Moretti Novel)

TIM MEYER

Paradise Club

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

My Blog Link for Book: Paradise Club

        ⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟

New to me authors:

Steve Stred

Tamara Thorne & Alistair Cross

Juliet Rose

John Durgin

Mia Dalia

Angel Van Atta

Thoughts:

Horror was off the charts this year for me as I couldn't get enough of it! I wanted to live in these stories - well some of them would have been interesting to live there and some would have been terrifying! lol  But you know horror is my first love and I will always lean toward that genre before any other. 

          

⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟

Fantasy/Urban Fantasy-Dark Fantasy

GRAEME RODAUGHAN

The Metaframe Adept

My Rating: ⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

My Blog Link for Book: The Metaframe Adept (The Metaframe War #7)

JOHN GWYNNE

A Time of Dread (Of Blood & Bone #1)

My Rating: ⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

My Blog Link for Book: A Time of Dread (Of Blood & Bone #1)

JAMIE EDMUNDSON

Toric's Dagger

My Rating: ⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

My Blog Link for Book: Toric's Dagger (The Weapon Taker's Saga #1)

New to me authors:

Jamie Edmundson

Thoughts:

The dark fantasy and fantasy I read this year kept me excited as well. I always love a good fantasy story and I found a new author this year to explore along with revisiting authors I have read in the past. I would love to spend time in these worlds as well. 

            ⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟⚞⚟

FINAL THOUGHTS FOR THE YEAR:

2023 was a great year for books as I spent a lot of nights staying awake reading. Insomnia fuel is always a good thing when reading books as it tells everyone how great the books are if they keep you awake! Looking forward to 2024 with anticipation of what books I will visit and more sleepless nights! 😁

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

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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

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

Donn, TX 1952 by Eric Butler

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟

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

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

Vampires by Kevin J. Kennedy (a/k/a KJK Publishing)

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Vampire Gore Action" Stars

Feasting Vampires!

There are eight stories in this book from eight different authors. All the stories were great and I will tell you this - the vampires in this book were badass! It was hard to pick favorites out of this lineup but out of all eight stories I do have about four favorites:

Laird of Dunain by Graham Masterton

The Nest by Kevin J. Kennedy

The Proposal by Lee Mountford

Devil in the Snow by Nick Roberts

Thoughts:

The stories are kind of short and the book is only around 118 pages on kindle so it didn't take long to read the book. As always, KJK Publishing gathers together great authors for his books and I am always impressed by not only the authors he has but the stories they write.

So if you want to read about some blood spurting in all directions and read some fast paced vampire action then go check out this book! 

Author/Publisher - Kevin J. Kennedy
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5452895.Kevin_J_Kennedy

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review