Swamp Ghosts by Marcia Meara will chill you to the bone.
What Amazon says
Marcia Meara, author of the popular Wake-Robin Ridge books, sets her second series in the sleepy little town of Riverbend, Florida, where the most dangerous animal in the swamp walks on two legs.
Wildlife photographer Gunnar Wolfe looked like the kind of guy every man wanted to be and every woman just plain wanted, and the St. Johns River of central Florida drew him like a magnet. EcoTour boat owner Maggie Devlin knew all the river’s secrets, including the deadliest ones found in the swamps. But neither Maggie nor Gunn was prepared for the danger that would come after them on two legs.
On a quest to make history photographing the rarest birds of them all, Gunnar hires the fiery, no-nonsense Maggie to canoe him into the most remote wetland areas in the state. He was unprepared for how much he would enjoy both the trips and Maggie’s company. He soon realizes he wants more, but before he can win her over, they make a grisly discovery that changes everything, and turns the quiet little town of Riverbend upside down. A serial killer is on the prowl among them.
My review
I listened to the audio book of Swamp Ghosts and I really enjoyed both the book and the narrator. The narrator’s voice perfectly complimented the story and really added to my enjoyment of this book.
Maggie Devlin is a beautiful but conflicted woman with a past. She has lived alone, providing for herself by running ecotours from her boat, for a long time. She is independent and she doesn’t get involved with men, particularly men who either work for her or who she works for. That is until Gunnar Wolfe comes into her life. Gunnar is a wildlife photographer who is looking for someone to help him in his search for a very rare bird that he is desperate to photograph. This will put Gunnar’s photography on the map. Maggie desperately needs the money that Gunnar is willing to pay and she soon finds herself teaching Gunnar how to paddle a canoe so that they can tour the river in search of this elusive bird.
Swamp Ghosts is a lovely story of a scarred woman’s journey to finding love and faith but this romantic theme is woven between the excitement and horror of a terrible discovery by Maggie and Gunnar in the waters of a secluded part of the river. The pair soon find out that there is a serial killer on the loose in Riverbend and their idyllic trust is about to be challenged.
I thought this was rather a unique read with two such strong threads, one a romance and the other a series of murders, running through it. The author did a marvelous job of keeping the me on the edge of my seat throughout this book and also tied up all the loose ends beautifully at the end.
Today, I am delighted to featured Glimpses by Hugh W. Roberts.
What Amazon says
After publishing some of his short stories on his blog, Hugh W. Roberts, who is dyslexic, received numerous requests to publish his short stories in a book.
Here, at last, are 28 short stories that will take your mind on a roller coaster of a ride into worlds that conceal unexpected twists and turns.
My review
I found Glimpses by Hugh W. Roberts to be quite a unique book. It is a collection of short stories, mainly written along a supernatural theme. I am a great lover of supernatural and horror books and have been avidly reading Stephen King since I was ten years old, so this was right up my street. I had two absolute favourite stories/groupings of stories in this lovely book. My outright favourite was The Truth App which I read twice. It is a collection of a few short stories all in the same theme and it really “creeped” me out. Maybe I identified with it so much because it is all about blogging and bloggers which is a world in which I have recently become very immersed. I must say that I had to stop reading this tale in the evenings because it was giving me bad dreams. My advice to bloggers and other readers of this book, be careful what apps you choose to download!
My other outright winner was a short story about a woman who goes to India to have eye and dental treatment. This one stayed firmly in my mind because it made me reflect on the fact that, even if you read the completely incomprehensible list of ingredients on cosmetic and facial and other products, one rarely has any idea of what really goes into that cream that you are liberally apply all over your face. It also summoned up horrible thoughts of articles that I have read recently about testing medications and products on animals. A story that can make you think like that has got to be superb.
I found rating this book a huge conundrum because five star rating doesn’t allow for much scope with rating. I actually don’t really like this limited system. I finally settled on four out of five because I really enjoyed this book but I have rated my favourite Stephen King books five out of five, namely, The Stand, The Shining and The Dead Zone. These are lengthily novels which gives the writer a lot more scope to flesh out the characters and his ideas and story line. It felt reasonable to give Glimpses four out of five on this comparative basis. I would recommend this book but, perhaps, don’t read it at night when you are home alone.
Today, I’m featuring my favourite horror novel, Dracula by Bram stoker.
What Amazon says
The vampire count of Transylvania seeks his lost love and the conquest of Britain by plague. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.”
My review
I listened to the audio book of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. I don’t know how I missed this one during my book filled youth but I am glad I discovered it now.
The story is told through a collection of diary, journal and other written entries by the main characters to the story and follows the path of the five men and two women who encounter one of the most evil creatures ever known to mankind.
Jonathan Harker is a young and ambitions lawyer with a good and kind heart. The story starts with him arriving in Transylvania to travel to the castle of a Count Dracula who is doing business with Mr Harker’s firm in England. The Count has requested that a legal representative travel to his home and stay with him for a period to bed down certain business transactions, including the purchase of property in England, he wishes to undertake. It is decided by the owner of the firm that Jonathan should undertake the journey as he is dedicated and thorough in his work and his health is far better than that of his older associate.
Following Jonathan’s arrival in Transylvania, it soon becomes apparent that the local people are terrified of Count Dracula and fear for Jonathan’s life and soul. Although perplexed by the bizarre behaviour of the local people, Jonathan travels on to his arranged drop off point where he is collected by a huge and unusual man in a horse drawn coach. The journey to the castle is harrowing and Jonathan is relieved to arrive at this temporary home. Before many days have passed, however, he becomes aware that everything is not as it seems at the castle. The Count does not eat and does not sleep at night. As Jonathan becomes more suspicious of the Count, and wishes to return home he discovers that he is a prisoner in the castle. The Count does not have his best interests at heart and he is just a ploy to help Dracula get to England to carry out his ghastly plan.
Meanwhile back in England, Mina, Jonathan’s devoted fiancee, is greatly concerned that she has not heard from him. She is also worried about her beautiful friend, Lucy, who is sleep walking at night and whose health seems to start deteriorating. Lucy is a delightful and loving woman and the object of three men’s desire. When Mina eventually receives a letter from a nun at the hospital where Jonathan is recovering after a lengthily illness, she leaves immediately to assist him and Lucy is left in the care of her ailing mother.
Lucy’s health takes a turn for the worse and all three of the men who love her as well as Doctor von Helsing, an elderly and famous physician, must battle to save her life and her soul. This is just the beginning of their fight as Lucy’s life is merely one of many that is at stake in this terrifying novel.
The story is told in the most beautiful and descriptive language and I did enjoy the old fashioned manners displayed by the five male heroes. The female characters also display the best of female characteristics and are true, loving and kind.
This great dramatical story is well worth reading and I can understand how it has come to be a one of the great classic stories.
In 1920s Florida, Spiritualism enjoys renewed interest. Daphne Moultrie, the most powerful medium of her time, receives a warning from the other side, “Find her, and keep her with you. Or you will die.” All Daphne knows about this girl is what her crystal ball showed her — a four-leaf clover, and each leaf had a human eye. . Meanwhile, Daphne’s fiancé has designs of his own. He pressures her to continue séances for a strange and very demanding woman. With each of those séances, Daphne becomes weaker and closer to death. . This novella captures the Roaring Twenties, as only acclaimed author, Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene can. Settings, descriptions, and language all come to vibrant life. The ensemble cast has a number of characters, including one you will love to hate. It’s a genre mash-up, part mystery, part suspense, with a dash of light horror.
My review
Teagan Geneviene has created the perfect Halloween tale, full of rich descriptions, interesting characters, and with a fast paced plot involving a frightening demon.
Daphne Moultrie is a gifted medium with a lot of empathy and a kind nature. Daphne was born to wealth and lives in a beautiful mansion with her aging housekeeper, Maisy, who has cared for her since the death of her parents many years before.
Recently engaged to the outwardly charming Crespo Irigoyen, a Cuban Count, Daphne has everything to be joyous about, but she is not thriving. Fatigued and wan, she is finding giving seances overwhelming, especially those for the demanding and selfish Mrs Smith. Daphne senses something evil in this foreboding woman and does not want to see her. Her determined fiancé is, however, determined that the relationship with, and seances for Mrs Smith, should continue.
Maisie is concerned and does not trust Crespo. She doesn’t know what to do until the spirit of a dead soldier manifests and gives Daphne a warning.
Is the dead soldier good or evil? Can the outcome he warns of be avoided? Does Crespo really love Daphne or is he a charlatan? Read the book to find out!
A few samples of Ms. Geneviene’s vivid writing:
“A gust of wind caused the tall palm trees to sway. The vivid sunrise faded to clear blue and the sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds. Yet there was something to the air that hinted of a storm in the distance.”
“Regardless, there were dark circles under Daphne’s eyes, and her complexion was ashen. The roses were gone from her cheeks. There was no bounce in her step. That morning the poor thing looked so fragile that Maisy wanted to telephone the doctor.”
“Her murky black aura extends to make a huge sphere around her. I’ve never seen an aura so large or so … revolting. I can feel an oil texture just looking at it,’ Daphne whispered with a shudder, but collected herself quickly.”
Rich with atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties and New Orleans, A Peril in the Bayou begins when Clover Flanagan, assistant to renowned psychic medium, Daphne Moultrie, travels with her to New Orleans to see a spiritualist leader. Mother Leafy agrees meet Daphne, but on one condition — Daphne must travel a haunted bayou so she will understand those spirits. However, Leafy has a rival who is a dangerous woman. . Despite cryptic warnings from a spirit, they head to New Orleans. In the bayou, Clover’s gifts begin to awaken. So do Voodoo gods in want of a sacrifice, and powerful primeval entities of the swamp, which comes to vicious life. . Also on hand from the first book, A Peril in Ectoplasm, are Albert and Phineas in important roles. Housekeeper, Maisy is not entirely left out either. Don’t miss this thrilling romp through 1920s New Orleans, by inimitable author, Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene.
My review
A Peril in the Bayou is a fabulous stand alone sequel to the first book in this series. I enjoyed meeting up with world-famous medium, Daphne Moultrie, and her friend and secretary, Clover, again, as well as supporting characters Phineas and Albert.
Following on from her encounter with dark forces in book 1, Daphne is still recovering and trying to regain her strength. She is taking it easy and planning on writing a book about the resurgence of spiritualism to keep herself occupied and entertained during her convalescence period. As part of her research, she has reached out to a well-know spiritualist in New Orleans called Mother Leafy, and has planned a trip to that city to meet and interview her. It is decided that Clover, Phineas and Albert will all accompany her and they set off, travelling by fast train. Before they have left the Moultrie mansion, strange things start to happen and Clover knows their trip will be mysterious and possibly dangerous.
This second story is fast paced and very exciting. The eerie creepiness of the setting, plotline and writing is wonderful and absorbing, and I enjoyed every minute of this read.
I liked that Clover really came into her own as a strong female character in this story, and was a pillar of strength for Daphne and Phineas. Her own intuitions and powers as a medium continue to grow and develop throughout this story.
The author’s attention to detail in respect of the era is always satisfying and I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of some of the clothing:
“She held up her newest dress. It was yellow cotton with daisies and tiny green leaves embroidered all over. A plain yoke at the top formed a bateau neckline and extended over the shoulders to make cap sleeves. In back, beginning at the edge of the yoke, an inverted box pleat of contrasting green tone went the length of the mid-calf dress.”
“All eyes turned to Daphne when she appeared at the top of the stairs wearing an ivory bucket hat decorated with a silk rose, and a tea dress of powder blue georgette. Split flutter sleeves revealed her arms. The dress had a top layer with a “shark bite” hem that curved upward in front. The second layer hit at mid-calf.”
I appreciate these descriptions as they really help me to imagine the clothing and settings of this era, and get into the mood of the book.
The spirits and mythical creatures are well drawn and unique, making this book unlike anything else I’ve read in the darker fiction genre.
A most entertaining read for any time of the year, but especially perfect for Halloween.
Sue Coletta horrifies with a true crime story about female serial killers, Pretty Evil New England.
What Amazon says
For four centuries, New England has been a cradle of crime and murder—from the Salem witch trials to the modern-day mafia. Nineteenth century New England was the hunting ground of five female serial killers: Jane Toppan, Lydia Sherman, Nellie Webb, Harriet E. Nason, and Sarah Jane Robinson.
Female killers are often portrayed as caricatures: Black Widows, Angels of Death, or Femme Fatales. But the real stories of these women are much more complex. In Pretty Evil New England, true crime author Sue Coletta tells the story of these five women, from broken childhoods, to first brushes with death, and she examines the overwhelming urges that propelled these women to take the lives of a combined total of more than one-hundred innocent victims. The murders, investigations, trials, and ultimate verdicts will stun and surprise readers as they live vicariously through the killers and the would-be victims that lived to tell their stories.
My review
I have always been interested in true stories about people behind ghost stories. Most myths and legends about ghostly sightings involve a person who has died badly at the hands of a third party, although a few are suicides. It seem that people who die as a result of murder are generally believed to become vengeful and become trapped in the spirit world due to a desire for revenge on their murderer.
Recently, I have turned my attention from the murdered to the murderer and I have been reading a few true story style books about serial killers and child murderers. I am particularly interestedin the psychology of people who kill.
When I saw this book, Pretty Evil New England, it fitted exactly into latest reading craze and I was most interested to read the histories of these five women who all murdered continuously and without any remorse.
All of the stories in this book were detailed and well researched and I thought there were a couple of very interesting revelations about the nature of female serial killers crimes. All of them murdered their nearest and dearest including husbands and children. The unmarried women and those without children killed relatives and close friends. I thought that was very intriguing. What kind of a woman kills her own child or son-in-law?
Another interesting fact was that they all used some sort of poison, mainly arsenic, which causes a painful and horrible death. Imagine watching your own daughter suffering from cramps, vomiting and dehydrations as they suffer a horrible death. It was also amazing that none of the attending doctors initially realised the deaths of the victims were due to poisoning. It does seems rather unobservant and surprising, even in those days. I wondered if men’s erroneous concept of all women as homemakers and caregivers was responsible for this lack of vision.
As I read the book, the similarities in the illnesses of the victims became very apparent. Many of the women killed a number of people living in the same house or within the same family, which increased their risk of being caught significantly. If your husband or husbands and your children all die, that is bound to raise suspicion. I can only assume that having got away with murder a few times, these women became over confident and this led to their down falls.
This book covered information that interested me greatly, but it is a non-fiction book and some of the content is a bit dry, especially the detail around the court scenes. The last story also jumped between two different cases which, although there were some similarities, were not connected in any way. Moving between the cases made following the two separate stories confusing for me and, as there was no connecting thread at the end, I didn’t understand why the author chose to write this section in that manner.
This book us a fascinating read and lovers of true crime and historical serial killers will enjoy it.
Today, I welcome John F. Leonard with his novella, Night Service.
What Amazon says
It’s been a great night, but it’s getting late. You need to make tracks and cash isn’t king. No worries …all aboard the Night Service. It could be the last bus you ever catch.
Every journey is a journey into the unknown, but this trip is an eye-opener, unlike anything that Luke and Jessica have ever experienced. They’re going to learn a few important lessons. Being young and in love doesn’t grant immunity from the everyday awful …or the less ordinary evil that lurks in the shadows. There’s no inoculation from the horror of the world – it’s real and it’s waiting to touch you.
Public transport tends to divide opinion. Some folks think it’s fantastic. They love rubbing shoulders with strangers, seeing life anew through condensation-clad windows. Others consider buses as nothing short of easy-on-the-pocket cattle trucks that the enviro-friendlies promote and never use. There are drawbacks, that’s for sure. A nagging distrust, an under the radar sense of unpredictability. You never know who’s going to be in the seat next to you. You never know, with absolute certainty, if you’ll arrive where you need to be. Especially on those rare darktime buses that run when the sensible folk have done their business and gone home. The last dance, last ditch, leftover choice. The get on or get walking option. They’re the worst.
All the night owls out there need to take care, buses after midnight are decidedly dodgy affairs. Unreliable and loaded with the potential for unpleasant. That said, life doesn’t always leave you with very much choice. Love them or loathe them, sometimes you just have to climb aboard and hope for the best. How bad can it be? Just jump on and enjoy! Time to shut up and let someone else drive. You’re not in control when you travel in lowlife style. No standing, there’s room on top. No smoking and don’t distract the driver. Don’t scream and don’t cuss. Just get on the bus.
Night service is a wild ride. One you’ll never forget. It’s going to take you to places you’ve never been before. Oh, one thing. Don’t expect to get off alive. And don’t expect to see another sunrise if you do. Happy endings can be elusive little devils.
Definitely a horror story. Part of the Scaeth Mythos and one of a number of sinister tales from the Dead Boxes Archive. Some places, just like some objects, aren’t quite what they seem. Ordinary on the surface, but underneath crawling with incredible. They’re scary. They hold miracle and mystery. Horror and salvation.
My review
I love the way this author writes. He uses short and sharp sentences and paragraphs which make you become part of the action and the horror. He also uses marvelously descriptive verbiage to bring his scenes alive and it definitely works for me. Some examples from the first page of what I mean in this regard are as follows: “A few steps and everything changed.” – the first sentence. “They left the main drag and the night unfurled.” I love these short and punchy lines. “The sort of place where getting hurt was to be expected, just an unavoidable consequence of being there.” and “There was nothing but a lonely field of darkness, fragranced wit the unsweet smell of desertion.” For me, I had the chills just from reading the first page and a clear expectation of what was coming.
Luke and Jessica have been on a date which he expects to progress to an overnighter, but they need to get to her place. They decide to take the night bus as neither want to waste money and, after all, public transport is reliable and easy to use, barring the trawl through the neighbourhood to get to the bus stop and the wait.
Luke finds himself having some misgivings about using the bus and nearly decides to call a taxi, but Jessica convinces him that the bus is fine for their purposes. He agrees and that turns out to be a very bad decision.
His feelings of unease increase as other travelers gather at the bus station. A strange young woman with a baby, who seems quite out of context in the circumstances, a heavy-weight who appears drunk and disorderly, three tough-looking members of a band and a most annoyingly chatty elderly gentleman, who, on reflection, is also out of context in the setting. Luke has misgivings, but the bus arrives and he gets on. His journey to hell begins.
This book is not long so the author has limited time to build his world and bring the plot to its culmination. I thought he did a great job of creating this alter and creepy world which exists in parallel to the human world and which is real, but somehow not real.
The descriptions and world building gave me the same creepy and eerie feeling as The Langoliers by Stephen King, a short story I read as a young teenager, but which I have never forgotten. The monsters reminded me of H.G. Well’s morlocks, with the horrible tainted feeling you get when you read about them in The Time Machine. They is a disgustingly slimy suggestion to their looks and behaviour which gave me the shivers.
I really enjoyed this book and its interesting and unusual, but highly appropriate style, and think lovers of clever horror will enjoy this book.
Professor Claire Davenport yearns to be a mother. After suffering four miscarriages, the university microbiologist tries and fails to qualify as an adoptive mother. Then Claire’s husband leaves.
Alone and emotionally wounded, Claire takes a summer sabbatical from her microbiology classes and escapes to rural Virginia to heal. There, she meets local farmers with strange agricultural practices.
Claire moves into the historic manor house she rented for the summer, and an abandoned child greets her. Is the child real, an answer to her prayers? Or is he a figment of her tormented emotions? Perhaps the tight-knit locals are playing a trick on the science lady from the city.
Whatever the boy’s origin, Claire is determined to find the truth, but the truth may be bloody.
My review
The Hay Bale is one of the best horror short stories I’ve read in along time. It is clever and creepily disturbing with a climax that will have you wondering about it for a long time after you’ve finished reading the last page. For me, it was a bit reminiscent of Children of the Corn by Stephen King with it’s remote rural setting and deviant cult-like community beliefs and behaviours. The author created and maintained the same breath-holding tension.
Claire is a successful career microbiologist who has had four miscarriages and had to face the realisation that she cannot control her own biology. An unsuccessful attempt at adoption due to her unstable mental condition has led to the complete breakdown of her relationship. In an effort to pull herself together and get back on her feet, Claire has rented an old farmhouse in a remote location. She plans to rest and come to terms with her losses and future path.
Soon after her arrival, Claire starts to hear strange scratching sounds. She also meets the peculiar minister of the local church who warns her to keep away from a seemingly diseased hay bale. Are the two tied together, and if so, how?
The story is well written and fast paced with good tension throughout. If you like good horror and are not feint hearted, you will enjoy this dark short tale.
Kalb Ward slaughters dogs for the Colony, a closed, dystopian society where resources are tight, free speech is nonexistent, and those in power have eyes and ears everywhere. Ward desperately wants to quit his grisly job, but he knows he’ll be arrested, or worse, if he tries.
In the Colony, a citizen’s future is determined by a placement exam. Score high, and you’re set for life. Score low, and you end up living a nightmare–like Ward.
My review
This book is not for the faint of heart. It delves deeply into the cruelty of the dog meat industry and some of the descriptions are very disturbing. If you have a strong stomach, this books is worth the read.
Kalb Ward lives in a post-revolutionary dystopian society where all citizens are assessed through an examination at the age of 11 and assigned their future path in society. Ward was ill when he took the test and didn’t perform well, as a result his assigned path was that of a manual labourer. Despite the best efforts of his parents, they are not able to change this outcome and Ward has gone on to become a dog slaughterer for a restaurant. His job is very distasteful and distressing to him and the only way he can get through the killing of the dogs, which must involve extreme torture in order to season the meat, is by dissociating from his body. His ability to dissociate give the reader the first indication of Ward’s strength of mind and determination. Ward is desperate to find a way out of his awful life, even if it means going to jail which is called re-education by the ruling party.
Ward was an interesting character who reminded me a bit of Winston in 1984. In fact, the dystopian world inhabited by Ward also has a slightly ‘1984’ feel in that it has a version of a Big Brother ensuring that all citizens toe the party line and no infractions or transgressions of the societal laws are tolerated.
As the story unfurls, the reader learns that Ward’s father was an intelligent and successful man who was murdered by revolutionaries and his mother is also a woman of superior intellect. The frustration felt by Ward in his job that is not only dead-end, but also very cruel, is understandable given his obvious inherited intellect, and kind heart. His rising up against the restrictions imposed on him is not at all surprising, but there are a few interesting aspects to Ward’s character that are exposed through revelations of his past and present behaviours over the course of this intense novella.
I am always fascinated by the attitude, determination, and fortitude that people can exhibit in the most adverse of circumstances. The author has tapped into the intriguing aspect of human behaviour with the creation of Ward.
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