Dying Valentine by Calvin Demmer

 

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Three "Vindictive Valentine Woes" Stars

Horrified Valentine's Day 

A small taste of what lies within:

Daniel Hill was a jumble of knots on Valentine's Day as he was going to be meeting his girlfriend's Julia's parents for the first time and he wanted to make a good impression, but when he hit a woman pedestrian in the street with his car, the whole night went to hell in a handbasket quickly especially when he offered to take her home to let her get cleaned up and Julia shows up unannounced!

That is about all I can give on a small taste as this story is very short - around 25 pages but it packs a punch at the end of the book. 

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author though I have owned some of his books for awhile, but I am just now stepping into them. The pacing was fast, but the story just seemed to be rushed and it was kind of over before it started. 

The story was really good, but I wish it had been a longer to get more of a feel for the characters. I would have liked to know more about the character Daniel and his girlfriend, Julia, but the story opens up with Daniel driving and there is just no detail on his character as things escalate through the short story all the way to the end of the book. I have a few more books by this author, so I will be stepping into more of his work in the future. 

Attached is the author, Calvin Demmer, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9815686.Calvin_Demmer

Attached is the author, Calvin Demmer, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Calvin-Demmer/e/B00P96CDYQ

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3188288511

Mirror by Graham Masterton

 

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Five "Nightmare Mirror World" Stars

Spooky and Sinister!

A taste of what lies within:

Martin Williams is obsessed with everything and anything that had belonged to a child movie star named Boofuls that was murdered in the 1930's as he has his home decorated with different memorabilia from the actor. So when he has the opportunity to buy a mirror that had hung in the child star's home Martin cannot refuse to buy it as he wants to add it to his collection. 

Though Martin finds out quickly that "something" is not right with the mirror as things seem to be reflected differently in the mirror than in the real world. Martin "thinks" he sees Boofuls in the mirror, but he puts it down to his imagination as how could the child star be in the mirror when he was supposed to have been murdered. 

When Martin tests out the mirror by throwing a tennis ball at the mirror he is shocked when the tennis ball disappears into the mirror and another ball is shot out into his world. Martin begins to wonder if maybe the soul of Boofuls is inside the mirror and he was not imagining things after all. Things go from bad to worse when the landlord's son, Emilio disappears and Martin fears that the mirror snatched Emilio as what else could have happened to him, but his fears are confirmed when another boy steps out into the real world that looks to be an exact replica of "Boofuls". 

That is about all I can give on a taste and if you want to know more about this story then you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This is my first time reading Graham Masterton and I do not know why I haven't stepped into his world yet as I know he has been around a long time. I wish I had stepped into him long before now as this book was awesome and the flow of the story just kept me moving at a fast pace. The story is wrapped up with not only disappearances of things and characters, but the story is also wrapped tight within the occult as well. 

There were some scary parts and there are tons of descriptive details of different things that happen within the story. There is a downside to the story that I wasn't happy about as pets are involved in some descriptive scenes that have to do with the mirror. But other than that the rest of the book kept me on the edge of my seat and I literally read a 400+ page book within 48 hours! 

There was never a dull moment within this book and the author keeps the intrigue of the mirror at an all time high as one thing after another happens to characters that come in contact with the mirror. I literally have more books by this author that I will be stepping into at some point in time as I am now a Masterton fan! 

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/4131512428

Ghost Stories by Ron Ripley

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Four "Spooks and Scares" Stars

Chilling Short Stories!

I am not going to do a taste like normal since all the stories within are short stories, but I will set out the story with a cryptic note.

1) Crowe’s Bed and Breakfast: Haunted bed and breakfast is not what it seems. 

2) The Dog Tracker: A ghost girl has a bad temper when it comes to her dog. 

3) The Treasure Hunter: When you rob the dead bad things will happen. 

4) The Rosary: If something is buried in the wall, leave it alone. 

5) Safety: A creature entity appears and it is not happy.

6) Shelter: Breaking into a house turns deadly.

7) The Shepherd: Be mindful of your neighbor as you do not know "what" they are.

8) The Shortcut: A man gets an education on how to be respectful in a cemetery but it comes at a great price. 

9) The Ghost Hunters: A haunted house that inhabits more than ghosts. 

Thoughts:

It has been long time since I have read stories by this author and it was great to be back in his world as these stories just pulled me straight into the horrors of his mind. All the short stories had some kind of twist but packed a powerful punch which kept me glued to my seat.

Attached is the author, Ron Ripley, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14247932.Ron_Ripley

Attached is the author, Ron Ripley, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Ron-Ripley/e/B014OQ8ZZ2

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2176926300

The Horror Collection (Ruby Red) by Kevin J. Kennedy

 

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Five "Terror Tension" Stars

This collection of 10 short stories took me on one hell of a terror ride filled with thrills and chills! I will be setting out the stories by each author with a cryptic note for each story.

1) Preignition by Steve Stred: Four friends are together till the end of time. 

2) A Campfire Tale by Tom Deady: Will the true killer please stand up.

3) Tanglewood by Ronald Kelly: Sometimes the dead come back.

4) New Skulls for the Old Cemetery by Calvin Demmer: Respect the dead or else.

5) Larry's Guest by Guy N. Smith: Vampire becomes part of the family. 

6) Where the Holly Ceases to Grow by Lex H. Jones: An unexpected being becomes a lifelong friend. 

7) Crabs by Kevin J. Kennedy: No one is able to eat these crabs!

8) Dead Ends and Open Roads by Kyle M. Scott: An abusive husband gets his just desserts.

9) Lifewatch by Christopher Motz: A watch that predicts time of death. 

10) Family Ties by John Kennedy: A heartfelt poem. 

Thoughts:

All the stories were great and all of them had some type of horror/terror that was weaved throughout each story. Once again, the author, Kevin J. Kennedy was able to gather quite a few authors together for these stories. As always with these book anthologies I know of a couple or so authors as I have read them before and find some more authors to explore which within this book I found a few. :)

Attached is the author, Kevin J. Kennedy, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5452895.Kevin_J_Kennedy

Attached is the author, Kevin J. Kennedy, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Kevin-J-Kennedy/e/B016V0NA7M

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4163440747

Dawn Girl (Special Agent Tess Winnett #1) by Leslie Wolfe

 

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Four "Killer Thriller" Stars

Action and Tension!

A taste of what lies within:

FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett becomes involved in a crime case that seems to be the work of maybe a serial killer as a dead woman is found on the beach all trussed up under a life guard station. Though Tess might have to step on a few toes to find out what is going on as she is assigned to work with two police detectives on the case. Whatever she has to do she will do to see the job done and if she has to muddle up something she will to find out where the path takes her. 

The police detectives seem to be out of their depth when Tess becomes more involved in the case as she seems to go above and beyond to find out what kind of trail the killer has left as it seems that this murder is not the first and it is going to be up to Tess to find out who else the killer has murdered. 

Thoughts:

I love this character, Tess Winnett as she seems to take charge and doesn't let anything stand in her way to get the job done. This is my second book by this author and I really enjoyed the writing style along with the fast pace of the story. I have the rest of this series with Tess Winnett on my kindle and will continue with the series in the future. 

Attached is the author, Leslie Wolfe, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7323368.Leslie_Wolfe

Attached is the author, Leslie Wolfe, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Leslie-Wolfe/e/B00KR1QZ0G

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2178122148

Slander Hall by Matthew Tait

 

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Four "Haunted Horror" Spooks

Spook Central!

A taste of what lies within:

Cedar Jarrell who is the only survivor from a massacre that took place at Slander Hall has decided to revisit the place with some friends. They are curious about the rumors they have heard with the place being haunted and they would like to get some documentation of it. 

But things do not go as planned as when they step foot onto the property "something" attacks one of the friends. Cedar and company still push onward as they figure if they do not find what they want with the hauntings that they will never complete their task. Once they enter Slander Hall though the ghosts have other ideas and to survive the haunting the friends will need to stick together through it all.

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

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was impressed with how quick I was pulled into the story! The story was fast paced and held me in suspense as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. 

The story is really short though and there are two more stories that lie within these pages as well which also was a nice surprising read. I do have a couple or so more kindle books by this author and looking forward to reading more books by him.  

Attached is the author, Matthew Tait, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5073719.Matthew_Tait

Attached is the author, Matthew Tait, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Tait/e/B008KXHLRE

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2523143904

Midnight Falls (The Order of Shadows #2) by Kit Hallows

 

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Four "Supernatural Shadows" Stars

Stay to the Shadows!

A taste of what lies within:

Morgan Rook is once again on a mission but it is of his own making as he is not suppose to be running amok as the Organization wanted him to go in low mode for awhile, but he has his own agenda as he is trying to track down the murderer of his wife and it seems the road leads to a place called Copperwood Falls. 

Once Morgan lands in Copperwood Falls he finds out that the woman responsible for his wife's murder just seems to be on the outskirts of his reach. But the more he digs to find this woman the more he seems to land in hot water and this time Morgan might have a hard time extracting himself out of his predicament as the supernatural entities that are protecting the woman will do anything they can to keep Morgan from getting within range!

Thoughts: 

This book just didn't seem to have the non-stop action like the first book as there was more mystery and suspense wrapped within the story. There is still the sorcery though that the character Morgan dishes out to the supernatural beings but the book seemed to slow down in some parts. 

I felt that it was up and down with the action - there would be some and then it was back to being slow. The pacing was not as fast as the first book but the writing style was still smooth. All in all the story was great and the last 30% of the book the action seemed to pick back up and it kept moving till the end of the story. 

Attached is the author, Kit Hallows, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15862965.Kit_Hallows

Attached is the author, Kit Hallows, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Kit-Hallows/e/B01LZ7NXCR

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4505481707