Category: Horror/Thriller

Review | Something is Killing the Children Omnibus Vol 1

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WHAT IS ABDUCTING THE CHILDREN OF ARCHER’S PEAK?

When the children in a sleepy Wisconsin town begin to go missing, all hope seems lost. Most children never return, and those that do have terrible stories of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. But even monsters fear the mysterious stranger that arrives shortly after. She believes the children and claims to be the only who sees what they can see…

Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters. This is all she does, and she bears the cost because it must be done.

The definitive collection of the entire “Archer’s Peak” saga by GLAAD Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Department of Truth, Batman) and artist Werther Dell’Edera (Razorblades) is assembled here in a single volume.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I’ve heard about this series but never picked it up, so was glad to see an omnibus available. I went into it essentially blind other than the title. I did really enjoy the atmosphere and setting. The graphics suited the dark and grit of the story. I did like that we eventually got some background information on who Erica works with and some of the lore there, but I would have liked to get more of that earlier in the story. It does appear there are some spin offs that might have more information and lore, so I would be interested in checking those out to further build on what was established in this first omnibus.

Happy reading!

Review | The Graveyard Club by R.L. Stine

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Definitive horror master R.L. Stine introduces a new cast of devilish teens in a brand new graphic novella!

Parker West is a senior at Grave’s End High, in the sleepy town of Grave’s End, a town surrounded by cemeteries. A place where swarms of bats fill the sky every night, and kids play hide-and-seek amongst tombstones. But none of that feels odd to the locals– Grave’s End is as sleepy and dead as they come. A lonely hill on the edge of the town in the graveyard becomes the local hangout spot for Parker and his group of friends. They goof off, plan schemes, and form a secret club… the Graveyard Club. Members have to be daring and unafraid to wreak a relatively harmless amount of havoc in the name of fun. But one night, after getting into an argument with a local cop, the kids find themselves in a prank war. But what starts off as mostly harmless practical jokes and tricks escalates into attacks that might put these kids in real, life-threatening danger if they won’t back down first… and Parker’s never been one to give up without a fight. Beloved author R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, Fear Street, Stuff of Nightmares), who put a nostalgic sense of dread in our hearts as children, returns with a brand new original graphic novella–a coming of age horror story for generations new and old.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Anything R.L. Stine is a point of nostalgia for me, so I was excited to get to give this title a read. The art style was good, with lots of emphasis on color and shadows, which fit the vibe of the town of Grave’s End quite well. The main characters weren’t exactly likeable, and some of the negative attention on them seemed warranted (not all of it, but still). I found myself actually disliking Parker by the end, which I didn’t want to do, but as some teenagers do, he had a lot of attitude and was making not wonderful choices. I would definitely say that it portrayed a rebellious teenager really well though. It was a fun read and had some paranormal and not so paranormal elements that are quintessential Stine.

Happy reading!

Review | Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates

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When Jenine finds an abandoned polaroid camera, she playfully snaps a photo without a second thought. But there’s something wrong with the image: a ghostly figure stands in the background, watching her.

Fixated on her.

Moving one step closer with every picture she takes.

Desperate, Jenine shares her secret with her best friend, Bree. Together they realize the camera captures unsettling impressions of the dead. But now the ghosts seem to be following the two friends. And with each new photo taken, a terrible danger grows ever clearer…

INCLUDES CHILLING NEW BONUS STORIES:

*A woman survives a plane crash in a remote arctic tundra, accompanied only by a stranger who seems fixated on something moving through the blinding snow.

  • A house stands empty. Hungry. Waiting for the children drawn to it like moths to a flame.

*A woman finds a shoebox filled with old VHS tapes. They have a note attached: “Don’t watch. You’ll regret it.”

*And more!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I’ve enjoyed other works by Darcy Coates in the past so I was excited to get the chance to pick this one up and I was not disappointed. There was a really good mix of stories in this collection, ranging from pretty short and sweet to similar to a novella length. They were not all ghost stories but had a great range of different types of supernatural events and creatures, which I found I really enjoyed. It’s a toss up what my favorite story was, between the first and last stories, but there weren’t any that I disliked. Coates’ writing is easy to consume and definitely at points of high tension does a really good job of holding the attention and keeping the pages turning. They are an auto buy author for me already and each book I read just further cements that.

Happy reading!

Review | A Misfortune of Lake Monsters by Nicole M. Wolverton

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When legends bite back…

Lemon Ziegler wants to escape rural Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania to attend college―but that’s impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate the town’s lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the tradition of Old Lucy, the famed (and very fake) monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations, all to keep the tourists coming. Without Lemon, the town dies, and she can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her best friends about any of it. That includes Troy Ramirez, who has been covertly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to ruin their friendship by confessing his feelings.

When a very real, and very hungry monster is discovered in the lake, secrets must fall by the wayside. Determined to stop the monster, Lemon and her best friends are the only thing standing between Devil’s Elbow and the monster out for blood.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This book was a wild ride. On the surface it seemed like a fun lake monster story, following a trio of teenagers – Lemon, Troy and Darrin – in a town where the claim to fame (and tourism) is a lake monster akin to Nessie or Champ. I really enjoyed that we get a dual POV between Lemon (our main character who has to shoulder a lot of family responsibility) and Troy (one of her best friends who is in love with her). Just when I thought I knew where this story was going it got a lot more twisty and out there. Lemon herself deals with a lot of resentment towards the responsibilities she has to shoulder as well as pressure from her family that results in her feeling like she has to give up all of her aspirations. There are definitely characters I had instant dislike for, her grandfather for example, who had a his way or the highway kind of thinking, but even he had a lot of character growth in the story. Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable story that had a lot more depth than I expected when it came to the characters.

Happy reading!

Review | The Taking of Jake Livingstone by Ryan Douglass

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Get Out meets Danielle Vega in this YA horror where survival is not a guarantee.

Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St. Clair Prep, one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother. It’s hard enough fitting in but to make matters worse and definitely more complicated, Jake can see the dead. In fact he sees the dead around him all the time. Most are harmless. Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again, they don’t interact often with people. But then Jake meets Sawyer. A troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school last year before taking his own life. Now a powerful, vengeful ghost, he has plans for his afterlife–plans that include Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about ghosts and the rules to life itself go out the window as Sawyer begins haunting him and bodies turn up in his neighborhood. High school soon becomes a survival game–one Jake is not sure he’s going to win.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I loved the premise of this book and what I’d originally heard about it but I almost feel like the marketing let it down a bit because it set expectations that weren’t really what the book was about. That being said, this book tackled some heavy subjects while also being full of creepy imagery regarding the ghosts and entities that Jake witnessed on a daily basis. His internal thoughts and worries were valid and current and the directions he took were very understandable considering the pressure he was under. I enjoyed the creepy vibes and the overall journey Jake went through, though there were a few events he went through with Sawyer that were just a little too unbelievable, still it was a fun read and would be a good addition to spooky season. Trigger warnings for racism, homophobia, domestic violence and school shooting.

Happy reading!

Review | Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden

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It’s been three months since Ollie made a daring deal with the smiling man to save those she loved, and then vanished without a trace. The smiling man promised Coco, Brian and Phil, that they’d have a chance to save her, but as time goes by, they begin to worry that the smiling man has lied to them and Ollie is gone forever. But finally, a clue surfaces. A boy who went missing at a nearby traveling carnival appears at the town swimming hole, terrified and rambling. He tells anyone who’ll listen about the mysterious man who took him. How the man agreed to let him go on one condition: that he deliver a message. Play if you dare.

Game on! The smiling man has finally made his move. Now it’s Coco, Brian, and Phil’s turn to make theirs. And they know just where to start. The traveling carnival is coming to Evansburg.

Meanwhile, Ollie is trapped in the world behind the mist, learning the horrifying secrets of the smiling man’s carnival, trying everything to help her friends find her. Brian, Coco and Phil will risk everything to rescue Ollie—but they all soon realize this game is much more dangerous than the ones before. This time the smiling man is playing for keeps.

The summer nights are short, and Ollie, Coco, Brian, and Phil have only until sunrise to beat him once and for all—or it’s game over for everyone.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I was excited to read the conclusion to this series and find out what would happen with Ollie and her friends. I do feel like we got more of a glimpse of the Smiling Man in this installment, and enjoyed the carnival setting, but in a lot of ways I felt like it was a little disjointed. There were a couple different POV’s and jumping in time just a little. I wanted there to be a more climactic event since this was the last book in the quartet and unfortunately felt like I didn’t get that. I did like a lot of the elements that were throughout the book and the clowns were wonderfully creepy, it just felt a little rushed for my taste. When we finally did get some action towards the end it was over too soon. Still, I’m glad to have read the conclusion and do feel it wrapped up the quartet to satisfaction.

Happy reading!

Review | The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

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A social media influencer with a secret past buys a murder house to renovate, but finds more than she bargained for behind the peeling wallpaper in this gothic psychological debut.

Sarah Slade is starting over. As the new owner of the infamous Black Wood House—the scene of a grisly murder-suicide—she’s determined that the fixer-upper will help reach a new audience on her successful lifestyle blog, and distract her from her failing marriage.

But as Sarah paints over the house’s horrifying past, she knows better than anyone that a new façade can’t conceal every secret. Then the builders start acting erratically and experiencing bizarre accidents—and Sarah knows there’s only so long she can continue to sleep in the bedroom with the bloodstained floor and suffer the mysterious footsteps she hears from the attic.

When menacing notes start appearing everywhere, Sarah becomes convinced that someone or something is out to kill her—her husband, her neighbors, maybe even the house itself. The more she remodels Black Wood House, the angrier it seems to become.

With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. Though she desperately clings to the lies she’s crafted to conceal her own secrets, Sarah Slade must wonder . . . was it all worth it? Or will this house be her final unraveling?

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I was hooked on the concept of is it a haunted house, could there be an intruder or is the MC going mad, so I was excited to pick it up. I sometimes hesitate when it’s an unreliable narrator, especially when it’s a woman who drinks a lot, since that’s a too common trope. I enjoyed the slow unwinding of Sarah and Joe’s past and what had led them to the point they are at today. I also enjoy the additional perspectives that pop up later and further expand the angles we see the story from. There were definitely some messy spots and lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing until right before the end. I felt the final twist was a good one and not entirely expected. The writing was also compelling and made it an easy book to consume in one sitting.

Happy reading!

Review | A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman

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Both seventeen. Both afraid. But both saying yes.

It sounded like the perfect first date: canoeing across a chain of lakes, sandwiches and beer in the cooler. But teenagers Amelia and James discover something below the water’s surface that changes their lives forever.

It’s got two stories.

It’s got a garden.

And the front door is open.

It’s a house at the bottom of a lake.

For the teens, there is only one rule: no questions. And yet, how could a place so spectacular come with no price tag? While the duo plays house beneath the waves, one reality remains:

Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I was really excited to finally get to this one, but ended up somewhat disappointed. If I had to sum it up I would say I just found myself wanting more. I wanted it to be a bit creepier and have more explanation. The writing itself and the descriptions were very atmospheric, which I really enjoyed – but again, I was left wanting more in a lot of cases. My other issue is the ending. I’m not even sure what was being said or what it was supposed to mean at that point. I’m usually all for a book playing some mind games and having deeper meanings, but this one just fell a little flat for me and left me wanting.

Happy reading!

Review | Her Darkest Secret by Jessica R. Patch

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When a cold-case serial killer returns, FBI special agent Fiona Kelly has one last chance to stop him before he claims the prize he’s always wanted—her.

The sight of a goose feather at a murder scene modeled after a children’s poem is enough to make FBI special agent Fiona Kelly’s blood turn to ice. Almost two decades ago, a feather was left with her sister’s body—and with every subsequent victim of the Nursery Rhyme Killer. Now he’s back. Only this time, his latest gruesome murder is a message to the only one who ever got away: Fiona.

Finding “Rhyme” is an obsession that’s fueled Fiona’s career—and destroyed her marriage to fellow FBI agent Asa Kodiak. Now Fiona and Asa have to put their past tensions aside and work together one last time. But Rhyme is watching, and catching this killer may force Fiona to reveal her biggest, darkest secret…the one only he knows.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I hadn’t read from this author before, but the premise of the story had me hooked from the beginning. Right from the get go the story is intense and constantly driving forward as Asa and Fiona have to work together to try and catch the killer. There weren’t any characters which felt unneeded, everyone was very integral to the story. I was not expecting how dark the story would go, but couldn’t put it down. I obviously don’t want to say too much about the specifics of the story as I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you enjoy shows etc. that focus on serial killers then this would be up your alley. A compelling story/mystery/hunt for a killer along with fully developed characters that drove the story made this one an excellent read. I will definitely be picking up more from this author in the future!

Thank you again to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for any honest review.

Happy reading!

Review | Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

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Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves this new job. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, and his stick figures steadily evolve into more detailed, complex, and lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to suspect these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell’s house.

With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy—while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past—before it’s too late.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was not a hard book to get into as Mallory’s voice from the beginning is likeable and relatable. I really enjoy that not everything was revealed about her at the building, but her narration definitely laid a foundation for herself as a character and the place she’s in in her life. It does lay ground work for a suspicion that she may not be entirely reliable later on. The story itself was wonderfully creepy especially with the question of if there was something supernatural going on and the decades old murder mystery that might be tied to current events. This story was a great read and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a creepy thriller.

Happy reading!