Trucker Ghost Stories: And Other True Tales of Haunted Highways, Weird Encounters and Legends of the Road by Annie Wilder

 

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Four "Eerie & Foreboding" Stars

I am not going to do my normal small taste so just going to lay out some thoughts for this book.

Thoughts:

There are 68 short stories of true encounters from real people. The author credits each true story at the end of the story with the person's name. The stories were all interesting - everything from ghost apparitions to unknown balls of light in the sky.  Some of the stories were downright spooky as to what happened to people on the highways and byways late at night. 

I felt that the people that told their stories experienced lots of emotions as they were experiencing these different encounters. I for one would not want to be out in the middle of nowhere seeing some of the things these folks saw out there late at night. 

I liked how the author gave each person a chance to tell their story of what they experienced and I will be looking forward to reading more true stories from this author as she has a couple more books out there with paranormal stories. 

Author Profile of Annie Wilder from Amazon:

Annie Wilder

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

 

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Five "Creepy & Spooked Out" Stars

Spooky & Freaky!

A small taste of what lies within:

Mallory Quinn has had a rough road which put her in rehab and now that she is out she wants a job to help her get back on her feet. She finds one as a baby sitter for a nice couple, Ted and Caroline Maxwell as they need someone to care for their son Teddy who is five years old. 

Mallory and Teddy hit it off and she settles in with baby sitting him. The Maxwell's want her on site so they let her live in the guest cottage so that she can be around whenever they need her.  Mallory loves having her own private space but she also loves spending time with Teddy. Teddy loves to draw and color pictures which is normal but as time moves along the picture drawing takes a turn toward the abnormal and Teddy starts drawing disturbing images which causes Mallory alarm. The more she tries to make sense of it and tries to voice her opinions and fears to the Maxwell's nothing seems to work!

What is Teddy drawing? Why do the parents not seem concerned? Why is Teddy drawing disturbing images?  No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I love a good mystery/supernatural story so I decided to check out this book to see what all the fuss was about. I have to admit though the story was one creepy and freaky ride into the unknown. 

I was captivated by the spooky supernatural vibes radiating throughout the story as I continued delving deeper into what was happening. I loved the characters - everyone seemed to mesh well together. I felt the character Mallory's frustration of trying to get the parents of Teddy to realize that something was wrong. 

There is lots of suspense buildup in the beginning of the story and the author included the picture drawing illustrations in the book so the readers could see what was transpiring. The pictures almost creeped me out more than the story! The pace moves along at a great flow throughout the story and not once did I get bored with what was unfolding in the storyline. Looking forward to reading more by this author in the future. 

Attached is the author, Jason Rekulak, profile page from Goodreads:

Jason Rekulak

Attached is the author, Jason Rekulak, profile page from Amazon:

Jason Rekulak

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent

 

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Five "Thrilling Terror Tension" Stars

Psychic Suspense!

A small taste of what lies within:

Michael Turcotte has a unique ability where if he touches someone he can see what will happen to them in the future which seems to be something bad that will happen to them or something bad they will do. When Michael tries to warn the local authorities that a school bully is about to be murdered no one believes him but when it comes true within a few days people are in shock and everyone looks at Michael differently. 

One of the officers, Samantha Reilly who works in the Major Crimes unit comes to Michael's aid with what he is going through but things escalate for Michael when he finds out that one of his school mates father could be a serial killer but proving it will be another matter!

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 have read some books by author, Jason Parent and I have enjoyed everything I have read by him. This book was no exception as the minute I started reading it the story just zoomed me straight into a fast paced suspense along with tension filled moments! 

I found myself staying up late a couple or so nights wrapped within the story as I could not put the book down! I loved all the characters in this one and even the villain within this story was very horrific and cruel. I was hoping to see some law-abiding action taken against the villain in this book. 

This book is the beginning of a trilogy and I am looking forward to continuing on with the trilogy as I will be stepping into the second book as soon as I can as I don't want to lose momentum with these characters. 

Attached is the author, Jason Parent, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6505947.Jason_Parent

Attached is the author, Jason Parent, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Jason-Parent/e/B008XMAMBY

My review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5070801622

Soul Catcher (John Decker #0.5) by Anthony M. Strong

 

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Five "Sinister Shadow Cult" Stars

Scary Statue!

A taste of what lies within:

John Decker, a homicide detective, investigates a grisly scene where a man (Daniel) was killed by torture in his home. Decker is about to go down a mysterious and dangerous path of finding out how the man died which leads Decker to a woman Egyptologist Emma Wilson as whoever tortured and killed the man was after something particular - a statue of Anubis. 

When Decker learns from Emma that Daniel was someone she knew and had worked with in the past on archeological digs, Decker becomes suspicious but things are turned topsy turvy when the people that killed Daniel go after Emma and almost kill her.  

Decker decides the best way to keep Emma safe is to let her stay with him while he tries to track down the criminals but not all is going to be tied up with a neat bow as the criminals that Decker is hunting are an Egyptian shadow cult that will do anything to acquire the statue of Anubis and they will stop at nothing to acquire it even if it means killing everyone in their path! 

Thoughts:

Wow! This story just took off like lightning! I have been wanting to read this series for a long time but just had not been able to get around to it yet....until now. I have owned the first couple of books for awhile and the series will pop up once in awhile across my Goodreads feed reminding me that I need to read the series. I finally decided to step into it and I am wondering now what took me so long to read it. 

Very impressive story and the deep mystery of the story just took off at a fast pace! I loved the characters, John Decker and Emma Wilson - I found Decker to be a no nonsense type of character and I really like the character, Emma as well. I was planning on just reading a couple of chapters and ended up reading near 40% of the book in one sitting. 

I literally read this story in 24 hours as I just could not put it down! This book was the prequel to the actual series and I already have the first book ready to go on my current read list over on Goodreads. I am planning on trying to read this series back to back as there are quite a few books in the series. From what I have gathered all the stories are stand alone but looking forward to what John Decker has to tackle next! 

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

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14779336.Anthony_M_Strong

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

https://www.amazon.com/Anthony-M-Strong/e/B019L8RBBC

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2154369980

A Witch's Lament (The Salem Witches Book 1) by Cathy Walker

 

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Four "Mystery & Magic" Stars

Magical Mayhem!

A taste of what lies within:

Skye wants to be on her own without her parents, so she throws caution to the wind by buying a house in the heart of Salem as she feels that she is drawn to this house for some reason. The house has sat abandoned for a long time and no one in Salem seems to want to live there, but when the townspeople find out that Skye is moving in, tongues start wagging and the news spreads like wildfire. 

Detective Jerome Phips is especially curious as to why this stranger would want to buy "that house" as he has personal reasons for not wanting anyone to move into the house as his mother disappeared from there when he was a boy. 

When Skye starts checking out the inside of the house, she ends up releasing a latch in the library which opens up a secret wall panel and a skeleton falls out. After she calls the police and Detective Phips shows up on her doorstep things become complicated as Skye realizes that she was meant to buy this house as it is in her blood to be connected to a house that once belonged to witches. 

Detective Phips is not only trying to solve the disappearance of his mother he is also trying to solve murders around his town, but when he clashes with Skye on how she is connected to the house is when things become awry as they both decide that things surrounding the history of the house might somehow be related to the murders. 

Thoughts:

When I picked up this book to read I didn't realize that I would be so drawn to the story as this is a new author to me and the pace of the book just flows along. The author just drew me right into the story of Skye and how she is connected to this house in Salem. The mystery of the house, the city, and the characters just kept me entranced into the book. 

I could tell that the author did extensive research of the witches from that era as it shows with all the extensive detail of those historical times. I was also impressed at how the story just played itself out and how the author weaved the characters around to fit the storyline. More things happen within the storyline as characters are revealed that want to do harm to Skye and Jerome along with rituals being performed and there is a historical knife that is imbued with powers, but to see how everything comes together you will just have to read the book. 

Attached is the author, Cathy Walker, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3137863.Cathy_Walker

Attached is the author, Cathy Walker, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Cathy-Walker/e/B00QT6LQAW

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3275347432