Book Review — Beverly Kills

 

Title: Beverly Kills
Author: Sean McDonough
Genre: Slasher
Pages: Paperback 286
ISBN: 978-1-63415-278-5
Opening Lines: "The party was sick. Bro parties usually were."

Rating

"Beverly Kilbourne has it all. She's beautiful, she's popular, and she gets to kill whoever she wants. The problem is that Beverly doesn't want it all. She doesn't want to be a friend, daughter, or cheerleader anymore. She just wants to be a killer. And if she cant get through just one more year of high school, then Beverly can leave home for good and stop pretending that she's anything but a butcher.

"Anthony has nothing. He's a loser. But he's got one more year to muster up the courage to tell Beverly that he loves her and he's determined to do it before they graduate and she leaves his life forever.

"After a senior year filled with drama, confessions, and decapitations, the clock finally runs out on graduation day. As the diplomas get handed out, the question still remains . . . Will the geek get the girl? Or will the girl slaughter everyone?"

~ Jacket copy

Beverly is everything to everyone. To the girls, she's the head cheerleader, damn near the top of her class, popular, and gorgeous. To the guys, she has a killer rack, great legs, and blonde hair. Everyone either wants to be Beverly or fuck her. However, unbeknownst to everyone, Beverly has a little secret—she loves killing people on the side. To her, watching someone's life slowly leave their eyes is better than any orgasm. And, once she graduates high school, she is excited to finally have the freedom to explore being a full-blown killer. She will be done with quickies in the parking lot during parties, missing curfew because someone took longer to kill. She can finally be what she truly wants—the hunter. Unfortunately, she just has to deal with those pesky things called attachments—family, friends, expectations . . . 

Book Review — Home Before Dark

 

Title: Home Before Dark
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Horror
Pages: Oversize paperback 384
ISBN: 978-1-5247-4519-6
Opening Lines: "Every house has a story to tell and a secret to share."

Rating

"Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents, Ean and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. Three weeks later they fled in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book titled House of Horrors. His horror memoir of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skeptics.

"Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn't believe a word of it. Ghost, after all, don't exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren't thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie's father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father's book, she starts to believe that what he wrote as more fact than fiction."

~ Jacket copy

After all the dust settled and the media attention died down, after years of movies and the Satanic Panic, did you ever wonder what the Lutz children thought of The Amityville Horror? This is the follow-up book/docuseries you wanted—the Lutz children returning to the sight of their harrowing encounter with the supernatural and trying to sift through the truth and the lies. (Of course, this assumes the Netflix documentary following the youngest son does not exist . . . I kind of wish it didn't.)

Book Review — Paper Girls vol. 1

Title: Paper Girls vol. 1
Author: Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang
Genre: Graphic novel
ISBN: 9781632156747

 

Rating

"In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time.

"Suburban drama and supernatural mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood."

~ Jacket copy

On a seemingly normal morning after Halloween, collides with three other paper delivery girls as weird stuff starts to happen. Jumped by a couple of people who steal a walkie-talkie, the girls are chased into an abandoned house where they make a discovery. This discovery will lead them on an acid trip of an adventure.

Book Review — Left to You

Title: Left to You
Author: Daniel J. Volpe
Genre: Horror
Pages: Oversize paperback 228
ISBN: 9788755781435
Opening Lines: "Robert Sinclair pushed the wobbly shopping cart down the aisle. The good ones, which the employees hid for themselves, were gone."

 

Rating

"Robert's mother, Helen, is ravaged with cancer. Every day could be her last, and Robert dreads losing the last member of his family. Robert's friend and Holocaust survivor, Josef, tells him an unholy story and leaves him. way to save his dying mother. But, as with everything in life, the salvation comes with a steep price.

"Will Robert accept what's left to him and save his mother? Or will the cost be too high, weighing Robert's soul down to the depths of Hell?".

~ Jacket copy

"What would you do to save a loved one?" Is there any cost too high? Any line you refuse to cross? All of these questions play through the book as the reader follows the agonizing journey of Robert Sinclair, a young man watching his mother die from stage four cancer. Working two jobs to make ends meet and keep in-home hospice for his dying mother, all Robert can do is dread coming home to find his mother dead. However, when a friend (and friend from the local L-Mart) tells Robert a story from his him in Auschwitz, Robert finds himself asking these same questions: Is there a price too high to save his mother's life?

Book Review — Man, Fuck This House

 

Title: Man, Fuck This House
Author: Brian Asman
Genre: Comedic horror
Pages: Paperback 200
ISBN: 9781736467725
Opening Lines: "Through the upstairs window, the House watched."

Rating

"Sabrina Haskins and her family havbe just moved into their dream home, a gorgeous Craftsman in the rapidly-growing Southwestern city of Jackson Hill. Sabrina's a bored and disillusioned homemaker, Hal a reverse mortgage salesman with a penchant for ill-timed sports analogies. Their two children, Damien and Michaela, are bright and precocious.

"At first glance, the house is perfect. But things aren't what they seem.

"Sabrina's hearing odd noises, seeing strange visions. Their neighbors are odd or absent. And Sabrina's already-fraught relationship with her son is about to be tested in a way no parent could ever imagine.

"Because while the Hasking family might be the newest owners of 4596 James Circle, they're far from its only residents . . ."

~ Jacket copy

When Hal gets a promotion that will move the family across country, Sabrina finally sees her dreams of leaving Ohio coming true. Living in a town full of broken promises and dreams, she sees this as an opportunity to finally grow and expand. And, on top of that, their new house is her dream home! Aside from the grumbling tweens and a boring, ho-hum marriage, this could finally be her moment. Until she starts seeing weird things in her house and everyone starts questioning her sanity.

Book Review — The Game

 

Title: The Game
Author: Matt Shaw
Genre: Extreme horror
Pages: Oversize paperback, 134
ISBN: 978154826729
Opening Lines: "The hammer connected with Colin MacGregor's head with a satisfying crunch that splintered his skull into fragments beneath the skin."

Rating

"A not so secret show aired via a private satelite on the dark web, where contestants are forced to fight one another and navigate their way through a maze of unspeakable horrors.

"In this episode it's Victoria's turn. A woman plucked from her normal life and dropped directly into hell, unaware she is being watched all across the world.

"The producers don't know if she will survive and they don't care. All they care about are the viewing figures. More gore, more ratings.

"The game was start . . ."

~ Jacket copy

Waking up in a room with a stranger and a mysterious note on the only door out is not exactly how Victoria planned to spend her day. After people break into her house, kill the family dog, and kidnap her Victoria isn't sure what to expect. The fight through a rudimentary, half-assed version of Jigsaw's puzzles did not top her list. Yet, here she is . . . But will she survive the harrowing experience?

Book Review — The Tattooist of Auschwitz

 

Title: The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Author: Heather Morris
Genre: Historical Fiction/Biography
Pages: Oversize paperback 265
ISBN: 978-1-78576-367-0
Opening Lines:  "Lale tries not to look up. He reaches out to take a piece of paper being handed to him."

Rating

"In 1942, Lale Sokolov arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was given the job of tattooing the prisonhers marked for survival—scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbol of the Holocaust.

"Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale—a dandy, jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer—it was love at first sight. And he was determined not only to survive himself, but to ensure this woman, Gita, did too.

"And then the hallucinations start.

"So begins one of the most life-affirming, courageous, unforgettable and human stories of the Holocaust: the love story of the Tattooist of Auschwitz."

~ Jacket copy

Part historical fiction, part biography, The Tattooist of Auschwitz gives readers a different perspective of the Holocaust—the view of a Jew turned "traitor" and what he did to survive. Unlike many of the heart-rending stories of the victims, The Tattooist of Auschwitz finds joy and hope in the gray, desolate landscape of the most infamous concentration camp and dares readers to consider what they would do for love.

Book Review — The House of Salt and Sorrows

 

Title: The House of Salt and Sorrow
Author: Erin A. Craig
Genre: YA Fairy Tale Retelling
Pages: Hardback 400
ISBN: 978-109848-3192-7
Opening Lines: "Candlelight reflected off the silver anchor etched onto my sister's necklace. It was an ugly piece of jewelry and something Eulalie would never have picked out for herself."

Rating

"Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters and their father and stepmother. Once there were twelve, but the loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is curses by the gods.

"Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister's deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

"When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next."

~ Jacket copy

In the small seaside city, a "curse" plagues the house of Thaumas—taking the wife and daughters of a lord by the sea. While all of the deaths seems to either be from natural causes such as disease or tragic accident, both the people in the surrounding villages and those on the mainland question whether the lord and his previous wife suffer from a curse. Did he anger a god? Did he anger his patron god, Pontus? Each remaining girl—while extremely beautiful—becomes ineligible on the marriage market due to the rumors. Damned to become spinsters, the girls discover a mysterious door in the family's crypt, which leads to lands where their curse is unknown. And each night, the girls escape the manor house and dance all night long. However, despite the joy of being beautiful—and anonymous—bachelorettes, Annaleigh starts to question her sisters' deaths. When she starts to see the ghosts of her sisters and strange things happen around the manor, she also questions her sanity. In a small town by the seas, audiences meet the new Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Book Review — Mary, Will I Die?

Title: Mary, Will I Die?
Author: Shawn Sarles
Genre: YA horror
Pages: Hardback, 296
ISBN: 978-1-338-67927-4
Opening Lines: "She knew she should have been scaredI."

Rating:

DNF

Only one of them knew about Bloody Mary. If you say her name into the mirror thirteen times, she'll show you your future. Some legends say that she'll reveal your one true love. Others, that she'll show you how you'll die. And thens ome believe that conjuring Bloody Mary will bring her into our world.

When the four of them—Elena, Steph, Calvin, and Grace—play the game, they think it's innocent enough. Elena sees her longtime crush. Steph sees a girl she's never met before. Grace sees Calvin. And Calvin sees her—Bloody Mary. They pretend it's all fake, that they only saw their reflections. But something happens to each of them that will follow them for years to come. A demon is unleashed, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Now, five years later, the four of tem are no longer friends and the mirror is only a distant memory. But they can no linger ignore the yes that have been watching them for years. The air is thicker. Her voice whispering in their heads is louder. Accidents start happening. People get hurt. And Bloody Mary won't stop until she gets what she wants.

~ Jacket copy

Four giggling 9-year-olds gather before an old mirror and summon recite "Bloody Mary" thirteen times. We all know how the story goes, right? Surrounded by candles and your giggling friends, you dare each other to summon Bloody Mary. And, in the end, you get nothing but a good scare. This was not the case for Grace, Steph, Calvin, and Elena. Each of the four friends saw something different in the old mirror. Unfortunately, even though they are now in high school and living their separate lives, Bloody Mary has decided to come back and finish the game they started five years ago. And this time, she's playing for keeps.  

Book Review — Spinning Silve

Title:  Spinning Silver

Author: Naomi Novik

Genre: YA Retelling/Fantasy

Pages: Hardback, 466

ISBN: 978-0-399-1809-9

Opening Lines: "The real story isn't half as pretty as the one you've heard."

Rating:

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of money-lenders, but her father's inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.

But Tsat Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadily choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

~ Jacket copy

In a small town forty minutes away from Vysnia, a young Jewish girl and her family fight for survival. Despite being the daughter of a moneylender—and the granddaughter of a renown moneylender—Miryem knows the bite of cold and the bitter sting of hunger. Unlike her grandfather, Miryem's father's generosity is his downfall. Rather than collecting the debts owed to him, he allows the townspeople to walk all over him and forgives their debts. As the town grows fat, his family goes hungry. When her mother falls ill, Miryem takes up her father's books and starts collecting the debts. Following her in grandfather's footsteps, she is rumored to "spin silver into gold". Unfortunately, the rumors find the ear of the Staryk lord—fey who are known to covet gold—and he sets a challenge for her . . . One that will ultimately mean her life.

Book Review — HorrorStör

Title: HorrorStör
Author: Grady Hendrix
Genre: Horror
Pages: Oversize paperback, 243
ISBN: 978-1-59474-526-3
Opening Lines: "It was dawn, and the zombies were stumbling through the parking lot, streaming toward the massive beige box at the far end. Later they'd be resurrected by megadoses of Starbucks, but for now they were the barely living dead."

Rating:

Something strange is happening at the Orsk Furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjërring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, secuirty cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-to-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they'll patrol the empty Showroom floor, investiage strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy imagination.

~ Jacket copy

As a subpar employee, Amy is not surprised to find herself called into a meeting with Basil, the store manager. However, upon meeting Ruth Anne—a well-loved and all-star employee—waiting for the same meeting, Amy starts to question Basil's motives. Amy knows sales have been down, but firing Ruth Anne seems like a calloused and stupid move. Basil, however, has another offer for the ladies—work an overnight shift with him, make some extra money, and find the person squatting in the Showroom before the regional managers and risk assessment team arrives in the morning. With the threat of being evicted from her apartment for late rent, Amy begrudgingly accepts the offer.  Besides, what could go wrong? At least that's what she thought before strange graffiti appeared in the women's bathroom, water spots started showing up on the break room ceiling, and a squatter helps them perform a seance to summon the souls of mental institution . . . 

This book . . . First of all, Hendrix does a brilliant job of balancing horror and humor. The names of the furniture, the comments about IKEA, and the slowly building suspense is priceless.  I had a hard time putting this book down to sleep. 

The Good:

-- The ghost hunting TV show

-- Everything surrounding the beehive (it was downright creepy)

-- The setting

-- The characters

The Bad:

-- The ending. While it made sense, it felt as though it fizzled out. It left me wanting more.

If you ever wonder what it would be like to cross an horror movie with an IKEA store, HorrorStör is definitely that book! Grady Hendrix never ceases to entertain!

Book Review — Alice

 

Title:  Alice
Author:  Christina Henry
Genre:  Retelling
Pages:  Oversize paperback, 291
ISBN:  978-0-425-26679-3
Opening Lines:  "If she moved her head all the way up against the wall and tilted it to the left she could just see the edge of the moon through the bars.  Just a sliver, almost close enough to eat."

Rating

"In a warren of the crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City stands a hospital with cinder-block walls that echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

"In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn't remember why she's in such a terrible place—just a tea party long ago, and long ears and blood . . .

"Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape. She tumbles out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the Rabbit waits for his Alice."

~ Jacket copy

Do you ever wonder what happened to Alice after her strange adventures in Wonderland?  Did her family believes her wild tales of "Eat Me, Drink Me"?  Were they enraptured by the concept of a talking rabbit who is always late "for a very important date"?  Maybe they merely pawned it off as the strange murmurings of a mid-afternoon nap.  Or maybe—just maybe—they feared Alice might be truly and utterly mad.  And, rather than allowing their mad daughter to upset their social status, Alice's family had her committed to a life of living hell—an asylum for the insane.