Abberton House by Debbie Ioanna

 

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Four "Spooky Suspense" Stars

Mysterious Haunting!

A small taste of what lies within:

The story follows two timelines. 

1916 Timeline:

Dr. Henry Abberton is a doctor in World War I and his wife, Elizabeth and three children are having to get along without him the best way they can. Elizabeth ends up hiring a man (Michael) to help out around the place but one thing leads to another and they have an affair which leads to gossip in their small town. Henry and Elizabeth write letters quite often and Henry does know about Michael as Elizabeth tells him about the handyman helping out. Henry will be coming home eventually and Elizabeth will need to make a decision of what to do! 

2016 Timeline:

Adam and Catherine along with their daughter Bella move into the Abberton House to get away from the city life. The house is perfect for them but their daughter has an imaginary playmate named Charlotte. Adam and Catherine think nothing of it till they start hearing a child's laughter and running feet on the landing which it turns out is not Bella! As time goes on there are faces in the window, banging noises upstairs, and other paranormal activity throughout the house which they learn is the Abberton family. What they don't know is why they are haunting the house but they finally go on a search of what is causing the haunting. 

That is about all I can hand out without giving away spoilers, so if you are intrigued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

I love a good ghost/haunting story and this one delivers on all counts for me. Both timelines are written well and there is quite a bit of backstory for the timeline in 1916 which I loved as you get plenty of details of the family and what unfolds within the household. The backstory for the family in 2016 is just as detailed and I became attached to both families and their lives. 

The author keeps the mystery of the haunting a secret up to the very end which I also loved because sometimes the secret is revealed too soon and then you are left wondering how the story will end, but not this book as the author just kept me in state of suspense of why the Abberton family was haunting the house.

The book is not scary but the mystery of the story is what kept me wrapped within its pages. I would consider this book more along the lines of a supernatural/paranormal suspense novel even though some readers have it shelved under horror. Horror has such a broad scope now days as there are tons of sub-genres under the actual word "horror" that as a reader there is quite a bit of flexibility with what type of books are considered horror. Ghosts and hauntings usually fall under horror but also it can fall under mystery and suspense as well. It is all about the reader and what they come away with after reading a book that has to do with hauntings and ghosts.

This story kept me in a state of total suspense as I kept wanting to know the "why and what happened" for the ghost haunting. The author delved deep into the storyline and I felt that the story kept up its pace with the haunting. Things happen slowly at first with a slight buildup of suspense and then as the story progresses the haunting activity increases. This was my first time reading this author and will be keeping an eye out for this author if she writes anymore ghost stories.

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Debbie Ioanna

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Debbie Ioanna

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Bite Force (Jack Daniels #20) by J.A. Konrath

 

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Five "Blood and Bullets" Stars

Action Packed!

A small taste of what lies within:

Jack is back with Phin and their daughter Sam along with Harry as they deal with two killers that are somehow lurking around in the hospital where Jack, Phin, and Harry are located while they have their injuries looked after. They are not sure how they will go about trying to hunt down the two killers since all three of them are confined to a hospital bed but they will need to do something quick as the killers are making their rounds and all three of them might be next!

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

Thoughts:

This book once again has some chuckles as Harry throws out his quips quite a bit but there is also some tense action in this story as things become heated when the baddies in this book start causing some upheaval. Quite a bit of the book is fast paced and I kept turning my kindle pages at the speed of light to find out what was going to happen next!

As the story flows along with more and more action, the book became hard to put down the more I kept reading. There were quite a few twists and turns in this one as you never quite knew who the baddies were till way later in the story so there was quite a bit of suspense and mystery throughout most of the story with wondering "who" the baddies were as the author kept that secret well hidden throughout the story. 

Another great book in this series and planning on moving ahead with the next book soon. 

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J A Konrath

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J A Konrath

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Salem's Lot by Stephen King

 

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Five "Vampire Scary" Stars

Spooky Suspense!

A small taste of what lies within:

Ben Mears is headed back to Jerusalem's Lot (a/k/a Salem's Lot) to fight some old ghosts that he experienced there when he was a kid. Ben is a horror author now and he wants some inspiration for his book from the town where he grew up. But nothing seems to have changed much especially the old house that overlooks the town - Marsten House. 

When Ben learns that the old house has been bought by someone that the town barely knows his suspicious meter goes up as why would someone from out of town want the old ramshackle house and when Ben investigates a little more he learns there is quite a bit of mystery surrounding the new owners and it is worrisome of what they could be up to with owning the Marsten House. Though what is even more worrisome is when he finds out that they are more than what they appear to be and what kind of plans they have for the people in the town! 

Thoughts: 

I read this book way back in the late 80's and my memory of the story was kind of fuzzy so I decided to do a reread of it to get the story more clear in my head. I remember that it was spooky when I first read it back then and wanted to see if I still thought it was spooky this time around too which I found it to be more suspenseful and had tons of spookiness that gave me shivers along my skin! 

The Master of Horror delivers a vampire masterpiece story that digs deep down into your psyche and doesn't want to let you go. I loved all the characters in this story and there are way more than a few to keep track of but the main ones of the story give a grand performance that kept me turning my kindle pages at turbo speed to find out what was going to happen next! 

This book is definitely staying on my favorites shelf and probably should be read around the Halloween season for extra vampire flavor! 

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Stephen King

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Stephen King

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Stitched Together by Juliet Rose

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Five "Spooky Shivers" Stars

Suspensefully Creepy!

A small taste of what lies within:

A sewing shop goes up in a small town which gives some of the townspeople pause as nothing hardly ever happens there but a few teenager friends want to investigate more closely of why anyone would build a sewing shop there.  What they learn and see is beyond their comprehension as the sewing shop is really a front for evil and the friends will do whatever it takes to make sure their town is safe!

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste as this book is short novella and any more details would be spoilers. So if you are intrigued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my second book by this author and once again I barreled through the book quick as so much was happening that I could not put it down! I literally read the whole book in one sitting as that is how much I was involved in the story!

Fast paced, spooky happenings, breath hitching moments, and loss of sleep (insomnia attack - read a spooky book - lol) kept me moving at a high rate of speed! Another great book by this author and it will be going on my favorites shelf! 

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Juliet Rose

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Juliet Rose

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Old Fashioned (Jack Daniels #19) by J. A. Konrath

 

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Five "Thrills and Chills" Stars

Action Galore!

A small taste of what lies within:

Jack along with her husband, Phin and their daughter, Sam have just settled into a new home and hoping that they can relax from all the violence that invaded their lives for so many years. They just want to be "normal" people with normal problems and not have to worry about looking over their shoulders wondering when the next criminal is going to hunt them down. 

But things don't always go as planned and when Jack and her family meet their neighbor Mr. Wintergarten something just doesn't set well with Jack and Phin. They are not sure what has their psyches rattled but the old man neighbor sets off their alarm meters for some reason. 

When Mr. Wintergarten seems to take a liking to Sam and starts bringing over chocolate chip cookies, Jack and Phin feel that there is something more then just the old man being a nice neighbor, but what is the old man hiding and is it something they need to be worried about? 

That is all I can give out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book and series. 

Thoughts:

This was a great story and it kept me pinned to my chair as I had a hard time putting this book down! The story slowly works its way up into suspense and then Konrath slowly lowers the boom as the story jumps into turbo mode when things go crazy and everything hits the fan! 

As always there is some funny quips thrown in to the story as Konrath brings back Harry McGlade and the laughs start rolling. I was chuckling a lot through this one as Harry being Harry was throwing out the jokes left and right. It helps soften the blow of what the story dances around in this book which I won't go into as it would be a spoiler so you will have to read it to find out for yourself. 

Another great book by this author and looking forward to reading the next book in the series which is Bite Force. 

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J A Konrath

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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! 

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David Haynes

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Slay Bells Ring by J.D. Allen

 

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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. 

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J D Allen

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