I’m not a huge horror fan, but I am easily influenced by a book’s cover and that was all it took to lead me into Chuck Wendig’s novel A Staircase in the Woods. Who could resist a cover like this? Or this premise: Five high school friends partying in the woods discover a staircase in a clearing. They dare Matthew, one of the five, to climb it and he does. And then he jumps off ... Read More...
Victorian Psycho
Apparently, this is Victorian era week at the blog. On Monday it was a novel about Oscar Wilde’s family. Today I’m going with a female serial killer. I’m not sure which is more disturbing, the novel, Victorian Psycho, or the fact that I read it in an afternoon and delighted in its gruesome darkness. Written in the style and format of Victorian times, much like Jane Eyre by ... Read More...
Bringer of Dust by J.M. Miro
When J.M. Miro’s historical fantasy Ordinary Monsters ended a small band of children gifted with different magical capabilities was under assault as the divide between the world of the living and the dead was being breached by an evil seeking to grow its power. Now, Charlie, Marlowe, Ribs, Oskar, and Komako are back in the aftermath of their battle, to deal with their new ... Read More...
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Siblings Gloria and Robert live on their own in a small Florida town after their father was run out of town for trying to get the local mill workers to unionize. Their position is precarious because it’s the 1950s and Jim Crow, the KKK, and racism are still strong in Florida. So, when 12-year-old Robert kicks a white teenage football player in the leg for making advances on ... Read More...
Holly by Stephen King
I know many people have moved towards cozy holiday reading in the last month, but my reading has remained varied and a little bit dark. So, I have a compromise today: a book with a Christmas-y title, but written by the master of suspense and horror. It’s Stephen King’s Holly and while it won’t warm your heart it does involve hearts and is no more terrifying than the news these ... Read More...
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
Sorry for the lack of reviews this week, but as a reward for your patience I’m back with the perfect Halloween weekend reading from the master of creepy, Stephen King! Bill Hodges is a highly decorated, newly retired police detective struggling with the depression of living alone without the motivation of his job. There were a handful of cases he and his partner were never ... Read More...
