Kelley Armstrong’s books have been hit-or-miss with me lately, but I’m happy to say that this one was a HIT! I love the cover art, I love the Headless Horseman element, and I love the haunted, sprawling estate in spooky Upstate New York. It all just worked for me and my incessant need for cozy, gothic fall horror stories.
The story revolves around a down-on-her-luck protagonist, Samantha Payne, who has just inherited her estranged grandfather’s million-dollar estate. Sweet! Now she can finally pay for her mom’s expensive nursing home and go back to medical school. Oh, wait… there’s a catch. She must stay put at the family homestead—surrounded by spooky woods and a dangerous lake—for a whole month. To me, that sounds like a dream come true, but apparently she’s got some very bad memories to deal with, like the time she caught her dad murdering her childhood bully. However, money talks, and this girl is destitute, so off she goes!
I’ll spare you the spoilers, but I will say this was a fun read with a bonus twist ending. Washington Irving is likely rolling around in his grave yet again, but at least we don’t have a pretty boy playing the role of Ichabod Crane. Yeesh, what was Tim Burton thinking?
Good gracious! It’s been a long, long time since my last post! Why must life get so darn busy this time of year? Now that I have a sliver of time to give my little book blog some love, I’m happy to bring you this little roundup of four-star spooky reads…and sadly a few flops.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
Rarely do I DNF novellas and short stories, but sometimes I just can’t soldier on. I can’t put my finger on it, but this story couldn’t hold my attention. The characters were just too depressing, and I couldn’t tell where this story was even going. While working their night shifts, they formed some sort of cemetery meetup club. At some point, they find the caretaker digging an open grave and decide to investigate him. The premise sounds fun and spooky, but it really didn’t do anything for me. I guess you can say I wasn’t digging it—ha!
The Haunted by Danielle Vega
Oh wow—this was really bad. I’m sorry but claiming this is the “Stephen King of YA” is beyond absurd. The book started off like any campy teen horror movie: a young girl moves into a haunted house with her family and instantly falls into the cool kid crowd. Things start to go bump in the night, and she soon learns that she’s living in a murder house. Sounds fun, right? Just when I thought I might enjoy this book, the author decides to throw in all the annoying tropes. Yep, that means insta-love, a bad boy Vs. good boy love triangle, and a milquetoast “Mary Sue” main character. And then there’s the end! Oh my stars—what a mess! The reveal made little sense, and not clues were dropped along the way to give us readers a chance to piece it together. Not cool, man. I think I’ll go ahead and take the rest of Danielle Vega’s books off of my TBR pile.
Small Town Horror by Roland Malfi
This is my first Ronald Malfi book, which is nuts because I love paranormal horror stories. A YouTube book reviewer likened the storyline to Stephen King’s “It,” so how could I not give this a shot? The storyline involves a group of high school friends reuniting in their dreary small town to ward off evil, which sounds familiar, I’m sure. However, the characters, the town, and the evil forces are far different from Stephen King’s seminal classic. Instead of an evil clown, we’re dealing with witchcraft, curses, and a haunted house with something nasty festering in the basement—such fun! This is a solid horror story set in an isolated seaside town that seems to be shrouded in dread. Think “Midnight Mass” meets “It” meets “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Loved it!
The Safe Man: A Ghost Story by Michael Connelly
This right here is why I can’t quit Audible. Even though I get free audiobooks on Libby and Hoopla, I still can’t get these treasures anywhere else. I’ll confess: this is my first Michael Connelly story, and boy howdy am I impressed! This guy can pen a fantastic ghost story with clever little twists. I enjoyed the entire storyline of a downtrodden locksmith who gets roped into opening a cursed safe. Soon, he and his client (a pompous best-selling horror writer) must close the portal they opened to escape impending doom. Such fun! I loved the ghostly visits and the all-around creepy vibes. This is an amazing full-cast production that is perfect for a long car ride.
I must admit, it took me a minute to get into this story. It was all just so very strange, and I couldn’t get a handle on the shifting timelines, mixed media and odd characters—particularly the unreliable narrator. All that aside, this book is a classic Paul Tremblay, and I mean that in the best possible way. Here are my thoughts:
The gist: A group of friends reunite to make a low-budget arthouse horror movie that (aside from a few disturbing clips) never sees the light of day. It becomes a cult classic/cursed film, launching the one surviving cast member (starring as the “Thin Kid”) into notoriety. The story flits from the 90s (during the making of the film) to the present (when the big-time Hollywood producers reboot the film). The chapters also flit from the MC’s narrations to screenplay scenes involving three sadistic teens torturing the “Thin Kid.” It gets pretty wild, especially when you discover their grand scheme!
The scares: I have to be vague because this book is too easy to spoil, but I will say that there are about five pages describing a horrifying scene (and the existential thoughts it conjures amongst the viewers). Do you remember that scene from “It Follows” when the terrified teens watch and wait for a monster to cross through the threshold? Well, this part of the book is even scarier! Oh, and I should mention there is some serious body horror going on here! We’re talking severed fingers, bloody torture and third-degree burns—yeesh!
The characters: I’ll be straight with you. The MC and his group of filmmaker friends (Cleo, Valentina and Karson) are not likeable. Yet somehow, I was still fascinated with their stories and yearned to know what led to their fate. It got to the point where it was hard to tease them apart from the demented characters they played on screen. This also includes the MC, who has no direction, drive, self-worth or purpose. He lets others push him around, which never ends well for anyone, does it?
The ending: I’ll keep this short and free of spoilers, but I will say that the ending was ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING! Of course, there’s some ambiguity regarding the supernatural Vs. mental illness, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Overall: This book is unsettling in so many ways! Not only am I bothered by the motives of the filmmakers, I’m also questioning the thoughts I didn’t even know I had whilst enjoying my favorite horror movies. This is next-level horror that I didn’t see coming. Well done, Mr. Tremblay.
Happy Halloween, folks! In honor of our most favorite holiday, my two little goblins CeeCee and Lil Bootz rounded up a dozen more dark and devilish reads for our 13 Books of Halloween extravaganza! Nothing like waiting until the last minute to deliver on our book blogging challenge. You know how it goes, so little time, so many horror books piled up on the TBR stack! Without further ado, here is our bubbling couldren of books filled with ghosts, ghoulies, serial killers and spooky woodland sprites!
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
Hold onto your hats and glasses, folks, because this is a wild ride! This is my first foray into Lucy Foley’s books, and I can assure you it won’t be my last! So we all know from the dustcover teaser that this group of friends partying at an isolated snowy lodge on the Scottish moor is doomed. By New Year’s Day, one will be killed, another will be the killer–but who?! They all have deep, dark secrets that slowly unfold as the tensions roll to a simmering boil. These people may look like well-dressed Oxford-educated yuppies, but they are really just MESSED UP! Sit back, get some popcorn and watch the trainwreck unfold.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
In a word, the best way to describe my thoughts on this book is CRINGE! Yes, yes, I know that this was written way back in the days when women vacuumed around their husbands’ feet while wearing stilettos and hoopskirts, and this is all just a product of the times. Yet, I still couldn’t help hating Maxim de Winter so, so, SO much—and then there’s his whirlwind lover Rebecca, who expertly played the part of the child bride, emphasis on the word “child.” He speaks to her like an abuser chastising a beaten-down dog, and she just ingratiates herself over and over again. Their dynamic is terrible and awful and repugnant, and I hate it so very, very much. That said, I should give credit where credit is due to the author’s talent for prose, tone and foreshadowing. If the characters weren’t so utterly repulsive, I would have truly adored this Gothic “romance” (I’m using that term lightly since it’s more of a codependent, abusive relationship) with a stunning setting amidst the backdrop of a potentially haunted mansion ran by a creep-tastic battle-axe of a housemaid. Props to Mrs. Danvers for keeping me intrigued! That ol’ bitch got what she deserved in the end–HA!
Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
Sorry, y’all, but his is another flop. The premise is great—a tweenage girl who is trailed by a ghost after joining her father on his haunted bus tour of Chicago. I did like the mystery behind the ghost, which provided some historical insights to an overlooked turn-of-the-century nautical tragedy, yet it did not offset the obnoxiousness that is the main character. This girl is a scientist—and she’ll keep telling you about it ad nauseam. However, I have yet to see her in a lab or doing anything to prove she is indeed a scientist. This is just another problem when authors forget to show, not tell. This girl is also a brat with some serious non-problems. I don’t get why she’s so upset about her father’s super cool ghost touring gig, and why she finds it so humiliating. What’s more, she refuses to go to him for help—a person who would truly believe her haunting—because of nonsensical reasons. Also, the dialogue seemed way too mature for a preteen, so I’m wondering why this was created for middle-grade readers. Either way, I’m over it and moving on to my tried-and-true middle-grade thriller authors.
Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn
This right here might be Mary Downing Hahn’s best piece of work! I love everything about this book—the murder mystery, the secretive small townsfolk, the spooky dilapidated theme park—it’s all good fun! I also just love a summer story involving kids tooling around town on their bikes looking for adventures and mysteries to solve. I really enjoyed watching the friendship flourish between the adorkable boy next door (think Kimmy Kibbler meets Erkle) and the new kid on the block Logan. They make a great crime-solving team, and I really enjoyed tagging along on their adventures!
The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates
I’ve attempted to read a couple of books by Darcy Coates but had to DNF due to questionable, undeveloped characters. I wish I could say her shortcomings improved with this book, but alas, it was another dud. To her credit, she paints a great premise with a derelict old mansion, spooky nocturnal noises and unsolved mysteries. However, I have zero interest in any of this when the main character makes ZERO SENSE! How is it that a seemingly intelligent freelance writer cannot scrape together two pennies to even feed herself? I get that her deceased mother had medical expenses, but even in the toughest times, can’t some government programs assist? Like foods stamps, maybe? Also, since her clients aren’t even paying her, why not just get a job in town rather than sitting alone in a house night after night starving to death? I mean, even a low-paying, demeaning custodial job would be better than starvation, no? I just couldn’t make sense out of her situation. I also didn’t understand her lack of curiosity about her new house. It’s HER HOUSE, so why is she tiptoeing around the place like a tentative houseguest? Why isn’t she curious about the many cavernous rooms—hell if she looked around enough, maybe she could find some spare coins to go buy herself a Whopper. I could get into the haunted house part, but I’ll just save you the trouble by advising you to skip this mess. The climax was WAY too insane, and not in a good way. In fact, it was rather laughable, which is not what I want in a scary story.
Survive the Night by Riley Sager
If you’re going to read any of the books on this list, make it this one! Riley Sager is at the top of my list of favorite contemporary authors! Not once have I been let down—and this book might just be the most suspenseful out of them all! Imagine taking a red-eye road trip with a mysterious stranger behind the wheel after your BFF gets murdered by a serial killer on the loose. Through every twist and turn along the dark, desolate icy roads, I was on the edge of my seat wondering who exactly would survive this ill-fated night. This author is a master at character development, almost making me feel like I was the one in the passenger seat doubting my own sanity. Our main character Charlie has some…issues…leading readers to wonder what’s reality and what’s just a “movie in her mind.” I loved the throwback to the mid-90s back when Nirvana dominated the radio waves and cell phone distractions weren’t a thing. I’ll tell you one thing—I’ll never listen to “Come as You Are” the same way again. Such a perfect song for the theme of the book.
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
Ugh…this was bad, y’all. I found this in the horror section, yet I think it needs to be moved to comedy. I’m not saying that to be mean; I just think humor (the dry, sardonic variety) is more in this author’s wheelhouse. I was lured in by the premise of a woman cleaning her dead grandmother’s house surrounded by spooky woods and malevolent entities scratching at the windows. Yet what I got was a hot mess of a story with an increasingly annoying main character who can’t help but crack jokes even while being led into the bellows of the forest by a murderous seven-foot-tall woodland sprite. At that point, I had to stop reading because it was just plain silly. Also, animal lovers, I should warn you that there are gratuitous scenes of animal mutilations in the woods, the worst of the worst of horror genre tropes. Thankfully the dog Bongo (the only character I was rooting for) was able to bypass the serial deer killer, so that’s something, I guess. Either way, this had the potential of being a very spooky story, but the humorous quips just kept throwing off the vibe. If the protagonist isn’t spooked enough to stop cracking jokes, how are the readers supposed to buy into it? DNF city, y’all!
The Haunting by Lindsey Duga
Confession—I love middle-grade horror as much as I love devouring candy-corn pumpkins on All Hallows Eve! Like a shiny lure, this cover hooked me in and reeled me right up to the checkout counter, where I told the clerk, “It’s for my niece.” Life is too short to begrudge ourselves of these guilty pleasures, no? These pocket-sized books are perfect for while I’m walking my dog, who moves at the speed of a geriatric turtle. Hmm…that would be a great costume for next Halloween. But I digress, this book is a fun, creepy read set in the horse-and-buggy times of the Victorian era, which I love! It follows a little orphan and her dog who hit the jackpot with wealthy adopters and a big, stately haunted mansion! Think Daddy Warbucks meets the Munsters. Spooky happenings ensue when a ghostly little girl keeps leading little orphan Emily into mischief, thus rocking the boat—or should I say yacht—and putting her in danger of being returned to the depressing orphanage and its slew of mean girls. I thoroughly enjoyed solving this little mystery with Emily and her pup amidst the spooky backdrop of a haunted mansion with hidden rooms and deep, dark secrets. I’m already planning on using my next audible credit on this author’s next book!
The Thirteenth Cat by Mary Downing Hahn
I love all of Mary Downing Hahn’s middle-grade thrillers…except this one. Aside from the fact that this gets the Cover of the Year Award, this book was a big, fat dud. It is such a big departure from her other ghost stories, and that’s not a good thing. If you’re into far-fetched fantasies involving humans being turned into cats and living together in some weird, witchy colony, this one’s for you. I honestly don’t know why I even finished this thing.
Apart in the Dark by Ania Ahlborn
This new-to-me author is one to watch! Both of the novellas inside this book are quality reads that are sure to win over fans of “Head Full of Ghosts.” The second novella, “I Call Upon Thee,” is so devilishly creepy—the kind of horror that gets under your skin and makes you turn on that extra bright night light before going to bed. It follows Maggie, a marine biology student who begrudgingly rushes home to attend to her sister’s funeral arrangements. There seems to be a curse on her entire family—a curse that was set in motion when she made the grave mistake of befriending a creepy doll and playing the Ouija board with her friend. Very spooky stuff! The first novella, “The Pretty Ones,” is also quite unsettling, but in a different way. This one is more of a true crime thriller set amidst the 1970s backdrop of the “Summer of Sam” killer that follows a very questionable and fashionably challenged main character. This book is perfect for fans of Paul Trembley and Catriona Ward.
Cemetery Girl Trilogy by Charlaine Harris
I’m giving this two stars for the amazing production work on this “movie in your mind.” The actors and sound effects really took it to the next level! Now for the main character, Calexa. I get that she’s an amnesia victim, but she had the decision-making skills of a kindergartener. If your kidnappers believe you to be dead and dump your body in a graveyard, wouldn’t you want to flee the crime scene in anticipation of them coming back to bury their tracks??? Furthermore, why didn’t the kidnappers return to hide the body? Now on to my next befuddlement. She witnesses a horrific cold-blooded murder in the graveyard and manages to get ahold of the dead girl’s phone. Yet she just stashes the phone in her crypt/home and lies in wait while the search parties comb the neighborhood, all the while letting the killers roam free to murder again. She doesn’t want the police to track her down via GPS, but that could’ve been easily avoided if she just made an anonymous call from the girl’s phone outside of the graveyard and then dumped the darn thing. How hard is that to figure out? I’m sorry, y’all. I tried to enjoy this book for the amazing production value alone, but Calixa was 50 shades of stupid, so I will not be moving on to the next installments of this series. Hard pass.
Shout out to Netgalley and Macmillan for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book will be hitting the shelves this September.
In short: We’ve got a handful of unreliable narrators who are more than what they seem: Ted, a reclusive, grossly unhygienic oddball who may or may not be a psychopathic kidnapper; a cat named Olivia who’s on a mission from God to rescue Ted; a little girl (age unknown) with anger issues who may or may not be the little lost girl from the lake: and then there’s Dee, the new next-door neighbor who’s on a quest to avenge her missing sister.
What I liked: First of all, this cover is nothing short of masterful! I’m a sucker for haunted houses and cats, so count me in! Aside from that, this book is definitely a departure from anything else I’ve read in the horror genre. I was in a constant state of disorientation and had no idea where the story was going until I reached the final chapters and got pummeled with a flurry of bombshells. I can’t say anything more without giving away spoilers, but I will say that you will be deceived…multiple times. So yeah, if you love those M. Night Shyamalan plot twists, this book’s for you.
What I didn’t like: I, for one, do NOT like being deceived. I’m sorry, y’all, but I didn’t much care for the big “this isn’t so scary” surprise ending of “The Sixth Sense.” Don’t even get me started on “The Village.” So yeah, I’m not all too jazzed about how this book shaped out when the hundreds of questions finally got answered. When I pick up a horror paperback, I expect the author to deliver on the promise that it will indeed be a scary story. To be fair, there were some scary elements weaved into this psychological thriller–Ted’s childhood flashbacks, in particular. His mother was downright terrifying. And then there’s the creepy vibe happening in the woods, where “The Gods” are always watching. To be fair, there’s a lot of spooky buildup, so readers are likely to get creeped out…well until they get slapped in the face with the big reveal.
Character development: All of the characters, cat included, were indeed complex with fascinating backstories, but here’s the problem: they are all unreliable and strange. I want to feel a connection with at least one character, but that’s impossible when there’s clearly something very off and you don’t get the full story.
Overall: I think this is one of those books readers either love or hate. Judging by all the glowing reviews, this book is a big hit, so maybe give it a go and see what you think. This unreliable narrator stuff just isn’t for me, but it seems to be a growing trend and a clever way for authors to pull the rug out from under you with a big ol’ “FOOLED YA!” at the very end. Nope, not my cup of tea.
Note: I scored the free audiobook on Netgalley, but their app isn’t compatible with any of my devices so I went ahead and scored an audio download from the awesome Austin Library! Thanks, Libby!
This was a fantastic audio experience! The author’s British accent really helped me picture the blue-collar English village and its surrounding haunted woods. I listened to this to scare myself silly on my evening runs around the neighborhood. Maybe not the safest activity, but a girl’s gotta get creative during this time of quarantine, right?
There is something very, very spooky about a group of misfit kids playing around with the dreamworld via witchcraft in order to manifest a red-handed monster with their subconscious minds. Think Slender Man meets Nightmare on Elm Street meets Flatliners! Like I said, it’s freaky stuff!
The book skips from 25 years ago to present day and follows a man named Paul who was a part of the “dream-incubating” group of kiddos until they took things to a whole new level and he had to bail. Good call, buddy. One of the kids gets killed and Paul finds himself walking the earth a haunted, depressed shell of a man. When he returns home to take care of his ailing mom, bad things start happening again in the woods and red hand prints stain his front door! Like I said, this book is creeeeeepy!
While reading it, I kept steeling myself for an anticlimactic ending since the buildup was so dang good. I promise not to spoil anything for you, but I will say that the ending wasn’t a total letdown, but it wasn’t how I wanted things to pan out. It left me feeling more melancholy than scared, really.
Aside from that minor gripe, this book is well worth a read for those of use who love to feel those little hairs stand on end! The writing is top notch, and I will most certainly read his first book “The Whisper Man.”
BUBBLE BUBBLE BOOKS & TROUBLE 