Evil Whispers by Owl Goingback

 

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Five "Voodoo Folklore" Stars

What Lies Within the Blackwater Lagoon?

A small taste of what lies within:

Robert and Janet Patterson along with their 10 year old daughter Krissy decide to stay at the Blackwater Fish Camp that is located in a rural part of Florida where life is more peaceful than what they are used to in the city. When Krissy starts telling her parents about her "special friend named Mansa" that she met out by the lagoon her parents kind of shrug it off thinking that Mansa is an imaginary friend. 

The Pattersons learn soon enough though that Mansa is anything but imaginary as they find out from an old Seminole Indian that lives in the area that the imaginary friend is really an evil spirit named Mansa Du Paul who was once a voodoo sorcerer in that area.  Mansa is trying to do whatever he can to get back to the living so that he can continue practicing his evil magic and Mansa wants Krissy to help him complete the task of once again walking the earth! 

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

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and this book took me on a ride into the pits of voodoo hell as the story kept me glued to my kindle! I became so caught up in the story that everything disappeared around me and the visuals of the story just jumped right off the page! 

The author just pulled me straight into the story and didn't let me go as I found myself barreling along wanting to see what would happen next. There are some gory parts that are weaved into the story as well which kept me turning the pages faster! 

I loved all the characters in this book as they were well rounded and felt that they were like people that you could just sit down to talk with about things in Blackwater. 

This author has quite a few more books out there that I will be exploring in the future. 

Attached is the author, Owl Goingback, profile page from Amazon:

Owl Goingback

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review

ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS

 My laptop crashed and the Book Nook Retreat facebook is locked up and I cannot access it any longer as it was tied into that Edge browser that was on my laptop. When I try to access that facebook it gives me a notification that it wants to send a message to my device (that laptop) to get permission to open up on another device and since the laptop no longer works then I cannot access that notification.

What does this mean to you?  It means that when I buy a new laptop later this week then I will need to create a new facebook and refriend everyone. Maybe. I won't know till I can see what I can do. If it doesn't let me access it then will have to go completely new once again. 

Luckily I was able to access my blog as it is on Google so that was easy. However all my artwork that was stored on my laptop is now gone but thankfully a lot of it is stored on this blog.

This is the only way that I could get a message out to all of you. My friend Angel Gelique added a comment to my coffee post that I put up yesterday morning to let everyone know I was broke down with the laptop. But thought I would also post a blog announcement on here too about it.

I hope to be up and running by the weekend maybe. 

Thank you all for your support and understanding! 

Old Hodmedod by David Haynes

 

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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

Churn the Soil by Steve Stred

 

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Five "Frightening Folklore" Stars

Spooky & Suspenseful!

A small taste of what lies within:

A small settlement called The Border is home to people that want to be away from civilization and they have no trust for any authority outside their own way of life. They have their own elders that they confer with in case they need to discuss matters of importance. 

When the murder of a teenager happens in the settlement someone calls in the outside law enforcement to have it checked out and the townspeople do not want the law coming in as they take care of their own, but when officers Brown and Reynolds ends up losing one of their own is when the stakes have been raised and "whatever" is out there killing will be brought to justice one way or another!

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

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author as far as a full novel as I had just finished reading one of his stories in an anthology this month and I read a story in an anthology last year as well. This was a great creepy creature feature story with tons of folklore weaved throughout the story along with some police procedure tucked in the book as well. 

I loved the suspense and spooky vibes radiating off the pages of the book which kept me wrapped in a cocoon of mystery as I delved deep into the storyline. There was some creature carnage thrown in for good measure and I had to grab my gore suit for this one as the chaos goes into full throttle when the story goes into overdrive!

Looking forward to reading more books by this author as I own a few more by him tucked away on my kindle. 

Attached is the author, Steve Stred, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16356875.Steve_Stred

Attached is the author, Steve Stred, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Steve-Stred/author/B01MS029YA

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5156498403

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

 

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Four "Freaky Folklore" Skulls!

Twisted Terror!

A small taste of what lies within:

Melissa (a/k/a Mouse) along with her dog, Bongo go out to the backwoods of North Carolina as her grandmother passed away leaving a house that needs to be cleaned out, but with a warning from her dad that the house could be bad as her grandmother was a hoarder of all things. Mouse just decides to "step into it" and do what needs to be done to help out her dad no matter what. 

Not too long after "tackling the dirty job of cleaning the house" Mouse takes a hike out into the woods with her dog, Bongo and stumbles across an area with some freaky stones. From that point on in the story, things go totally weird and spooky things start happening around her grandmother's house. 

Mouse eventually meets her neighbors (Foxy, Tomas and Skip) which tell her crazy stories about "things out in the woods" and when Mouse discovers an old journal from her step-grandfather, Cotgrave and his ramblings of what he thinks is out in the woods, the creepiness hits the fan!

That is about all I can give on a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more about this book, then go read it! 

Thoughts:

This was a great tension twisted (definitely a great title for this book "twisted") edge of the seat - no holds barred creeped out crazy horror thriller! Wow! First time reading this author and this book just took me into an insomnia fueled freaky dreams a couple or so nights as it dug deep into my psyche! 

The story is told from the pov of Mouse throughout the whole book and what she goes through with finding the "things" out in the woods. I really liked all the characters and loved the dog, Bongo. 

The book had some creepy moments kind of in the beginning of the story but it was spotty here and there throughout until I hit the 50% mark then it totally went "bonkers" and I had a hard time putting it down! Total overdrive scary stuff right after the halfway mark and totally kept me wanting to read the story without taking a break! I have been wanting to read this book for awhile so I am happy that I finally dived into it as it was one creepy ride into the unknown backwoods filled with spooky things!

However, having said all that this book went totally into the twilight zone strange after the 70% mark as I wasn't expecting the story to go the way it did which drops this book down a star. The story does a complete 360 degrees from spooked scared out of my pants to hyperventilating let me out of this book zone! 

I know one thing for sure and that is if I find any weird stones in my backyard I am leaving the damn things alone! Not adventuring into the wild woods to locate any sources of where they came from as that is what happens in this story. Like the old saying "ignorance is bliss" would have worked well in this story! 😅

All in all though the book has plenty of spook moments and the characters dialogue kept me giggling as I would find myself laughing while reading the book as the character quips were priceless. 

Attached is the author, T. Kingfisher, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7367300.T_Kingfisher

Attached is the author, T. Kingfisher, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/T-Kingfisher/e/B00LBKVU3E

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3585499613

The Ritual by Adam Nevill

 

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Four "Hiking Horror" Stars

Creepy Camping Vibes!

A taste of what lies within:

Four friends (Hutch, Phil, Dom, and Luke) all decide to go on a hiking/camping trip in the mountain hills of Scandinavia for a reunion get together as they haven't seen each other since college days. 

Though once they end up in the Scandinavian wilds the friends come across something weird in the forest that is hanging up in the trees which cannot be explained which really unnerves them but they keep hiking as they try to figure out what they have seen. From that point on they are cautious but when something horrific happens to one of them is when the panic sets in as they realize they are not alone out in wilderness as something is out there and it is waiting! 

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

Thoughts:

This book was one creepy and dreadful suspense novel that right away you could feel the fear permeating the story. The author, Adam Nevill draws you right into the storyline and then adds a slow suspense buildup twisting your guts with fear the more you become involved in the story. 

I have been reading some camping/hiking horror lately and I have decided that I am not going anywhere hiking or camping even with taking friends as they are usually the first ones that get snatched so to keep them safe they can stay home and to keep myself safe so will I! :)

Though I thought this story reminded me a little of one of Nevill's other books "Cunning Folk" as there are some creatures in the book that are parallel to this book. The folklore setting is deep in this book as well though this story was more twisted. I found this story to be more creepier and spookier as there seemed to be more of a "fear factor" that slowly builds up as you read the book. 

The only reason that this book is not getting five stars is the length of being stuck in the wilds of Scandinavia for so long - almost the whole book is the friends trudging along through the backwoods hiking in fear. Though some stuff did happen along the way (not going into details because of spoilers) I felt that it took a long time to get to that point of something happening. 

Nothing really happens till about the 34% mark and then after that it just slowly moves along before anything else happens. Also this book has two parts - the first half of the book is the friends hiking through the wilderness in fear of the unknown and the second half of the book is totally something different as things come to light but in an odd way which I wasn't expecting. 

This book is little long in the tooth as I felt there was too much time spent in the wilderness before anything really happened, but all in all the book is a great one - now I need to track down the movie to see how well it holds up to the book. 

Attached is the author, Adam Nevill, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3381686.Adam_Nevill

Attached is the author, Adam Nevill, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Nevill/e/B0034PH9HA

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2107105645

Bone Snow by David Haynes

 

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Five "Spooky Folk Legend" Stars

A small taste of what lies within:

Leo Newman runs a small store that ends up being a shelter for a rag-tag bunch of people during a snow storm. One of the people is a woman and her baby which she eventually ends up down in the basement as she would rather be alone than be with any of the other customers. 

What Leo and the store customers do not realize is the woman is not what she seems and when snow starts drifting into the basement that should have been a warning that something was not right!

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

Thoughts:

This was a great book with lots of trepidation and a spooky atmosphere. I have read other books by author, David Haynes, and each one always seems to give me tension and suspense. Chills and thrills abound in this book along with some interesting characters with a heavy dose of folklore added for spice and flavor. 

There were quite a few twists and turns along with some bloodshed mixed into the story which kept me entertained and kept me speeding along at a fast clip! Another great book by this author! 

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

David Haynes

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

David Haynes

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

The Dover Demon by Hunter Shea

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Four "Creepy Myth" Stars

Legend/Myth?

A small taste of what lies within:

1977 - Some friends are on their way home from a movie when out of nowhere they see some kind of creature in the road with "freaky" eyes glowing in their direction. They were so freaked out by the episode that they decided not to ever talk about it.

Present day - One of the friends sons decided he wants to explore the theory of the a "Dover Demon" sighting around the area of the town and wants to find out if there is such a thing. What starts out as questions and rumors turns into more than the son bargained for when a camping trip with friends turns into a nightmare! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you are intrigued then go check out this book! 

Thoughts:

This was a creepy story and once again, author, Hunter Shea knows how to write about the creepy creatures that roam the horror world! 

The Dover Demon is myth, legend, and maybe just a little something more which is brought to life in this book! Lots of freaky twists abounds within these pages and it was a fun time as the author goes on a romping blood fest to bring the creature alive within the story! 

The book became fast paced the more I started reading it and the story took me on a terror ride into Dover, Massachusetts. As always you feel everything the characters are feeling as author, Hunter Shea, throws the reader right into the story and you experience everything the characters are experiencing! Another great book by this author! 

Attached is the author, Hunter Shea, profile page from Goodreads:

Hunter Shea

Attached is the author, Hunter Shea, profile page from Amazon:

Hunter Shea

My Goodreads Review:

My Review