Title: They Stalk the Night

Author: Brian Moreland

Release date: October 10th, 2023

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Brian Moreland for the digital ARC of this one!

Have you read Brian Moreland yet? I feel like he’s a name I don’t see shared enough on social media, nor his books. I’ve read a half dozen of his releases and have found I’ve enjoyed them all and loved a few of them. I was on the fence about grabbing this one, but his novel Tomb of Gods was SOOOOO good, and knowing how much I love cold-weather, folklore, creature features, I simply couldn’t pass this one up and OHHHHH BABY am I glad I snagged this!

What I liked: Fade in… to a small town with a riddled past. Where a demonic beast has been kept at bay through the elders of the village ensuring spells are cast and hungers are fed.

Fast forward… to a company blasting to build a pipeline and KABLOOOOUUUEEEEYYYY!!! The sacred hut and land where the beast lives is blown sky high and with that, carnage is unleashed.

Honestly, I could simply leave it at that and you’re either gonna race to order this or think ‘meh, not for me.’ And that’s fair. But you’d be missing out on so much more.

Moreland LAYERS this novel and I mean layers it. We get a mother of two young kids trying to keep her head up while she deals with a husband who is checking out and his best friend who assaults her. This best friend also happens to be the son of the local sheriff. We get a poaching subplot, a ‘this is our land’ subplot and we get a ‘I’ll do what’s right for me and my own’ subplot. But throughout, the guiding narrative of the book is this massive beast, loosed on the land and filled with nothing but vengeance.

It was a really refreshing take on cold-weather terror and throughout, Moreland has infused the novel with characters that have real depth. Even the ones we hate we get to know, understand and it helps us to root for or against them, especially in the final quarter when all bets are off and chaos consumes everything.

The ending was really well done, tons of action and Moreland wrapped it up in a way that had me completely satisfied. It felt like he spent time actively ensuring all loose ends were tied off, which made for a completely unambiguous ending.

What I didn’t like: There’s a few characters that will really get under your skin in this one, but that works well for the story. What did slightly annoy me was that some of these characters begin to be teased out as having bigger roles, only to either fade away or meet a swift ending.

Why you should buy this: Fans of Moreland will know what to expect. This has all his classic notes he hits – solid creatures, great characters and propulsive writing. For those new to him, this would be a great diving in point, especially if you’re a fan of snowy mayhem.

5/5

Title: Deadlands

Author: Victoria Miluch

Release date: September 12, 2023

Right off the bat, I have to give credit to my pal Julie aka @grimdreadful over on IG for even putting this book onto my radar in the oddest way ever!

Did you know you can get a free Kindle book with Prime every month? I didn’t, lol! Not until Julie posted a Tik Tok about snagging her free Kindle book. I went and sure enough, Amazon had six or eight books available for me to choose from. I went through the various books and out of all of them, this one interested me the most.

The book itself is a fairly straight-forward novel about isolation and the struggle to survive, which are two big boxes I always look to check off when I’m choosing a book.

What I liked: Set in the near future, the novel follows Georgia, a nineteen-year-old female who lives with her father and brother, in the middle of nowhere near Phoenix. The world isn’t how it is today. Temperatures have skyrocketed, the air is hard to breathe in cities and a lot of the US is simply on fire. The government has decided to build up instead of out, wanting to build domes for people to live in, with fresh air, drinkable water and all the resources that have faded away over the years.

One day, two strangers arrive where Georgia and Wulf (her brother) live and it’s there that the novel ramps up. Now, I have to admit, having been a horror reader my entire life, I immediately distrusted these two. I was thinking Tremblay’s ‘Cabin…’ or the movie ‘The Strangers’ type scenarios the entire time I was reading it, which made it harder for me to relax and enjoy some of the coming-of-age moments Miluch shared throughout, especially as Georgia comes to understand that she wants to be ‘out there,’ to see the wider world, and not live in isolation and fear.

Her father is an interesting character. I’m not sure if anyone reading this has ever watched the kids animated show Dinosaur King, but all I could picture the dad looking and sounding like was Dr. Z, the bad guy of the show! Ultimately, the character is suspicious, untrusting and anti-government. He wants to do what’s best for his family, but is haunted by events from the past.

As the novel goes on, we get a welcome change of scenery, an introduction of another character, Herm, and when the ‘big moment’ that changes everything occurs, we see how it effects Georgia and how she reacts to it.

The ending will be very divisive for readers. It’ll either work for you or it won’t. For me, I enjoyed it and it felt like a really nice way of sending Georgia off into the larger world, but without an expectation of a sequel.

What I didn’t like: As mentioned, you may find the ending to be a bit smooth, or like a song fading away, but I personally didn’t mind it.

What I didn’t like was the very obvious set up that a moment of intimacy was, as well as a very odd event involving Georgia’s father and one of the visitors in the woods. It’s a throw away moment over all, with her finding them doing something ‘adult,’ let’s say, but it really added nothing to the story. The other event, was fairly telegraphed early on that it would play a significant role later on in the progression, so much so, that when it does happen, it’s a bit of a let down.

Why you should buy it: If you’re looking for a cinematic story of a young girl trying to find her own way in the world, look no further. Miluch has really created an engaging world, a great cast of characters and the internal struggle between devotion to family and the longing to break away and find ones self was wonderfully done.

4/5

Title: Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories

Author: Patrick Barb

Release date: Sept 26, 2023

Huge thanks to Patrick and Keylight Books for sending me a digital ARC of this one!

Have you read Patrick’s novella ‘Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare’ yet?!?!

The reason I bring that up is two-fold.

1st – it is BRILLIANT and will make you an instant fan of Patrick’s work.

2nd – the atmosphere that Barb created within that novella is a perfect way to describe the atmosphere in this collection.

This is haunting. Bleak. Profound. Unsettling. Over and over again, rapid-fire in some instances, Barb sets the ball up and then knocks it out of the park, destroying the reader in the process.

What I liked: Time and time again, while reading these stories, Barb would deliver a story that had me think ‘Yup, that one, that’s my favorite of the batch,’ before the next one would arrive, and I’d repeat that thought. It’s been a while since I’ve read a collection that was just so heartbreaking. Andrew F. Sullivan’s collection that I recently read was close, a batch of real-life folks dealing with real-life sorrow, but this one just went an extra amount in the despondency conveyed and it made for a tough but worthwhile experience.

Let’s go through a few of my personal favorite stories.

This all begins with ‘Lost Boy Found in His Bear Suit.’ It is exactly what the title suggests, where a small child has wandered away from the campsite. His parents are frantic, and a local legend suggests that a mother bear lurks around to steal kids. It all culminates in an ending that made me shudder.

‘Rose From the Ashes’ was an interesting look at someone connecting with the souls of those who’ve recently departed in a funeral home.

‘And Our Next Guest’ was a chaotic and anxiety-fueled look at ‘live’ late night TV and had a really engaging twist.

‘I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script’ as a unique take on and with mixed media. This was a blast to read and one that will stay with readers for a long time after.

‘Pre-Approved for Haunting’ might be the title story but it wasn’t something simply thrown in because of that. We follow a ghost hunter who gets called back to the same house over many different years with many different owners. It made me grin the entire time.

When it was all said and done, my personal favorite was ‘Melvin and The Murder Crayon.’ With shades of the novella, I mentioned previously, this one was simply heartbreaking and as a non-American, feels like something completely and totally avoidable. I loved this story, but it makes me feel ill inside when I use the word ‘love’ for this one.

What I didn’t like: While the stories throughout were all really solid and enjoyable, some just didn’t connect with me. Very common with collections (and anthologies) and in this case a few just didn’t rattle my brain the same way the others did.

Why you should buy this: If you’re already a fan of Barb’s work this is a no-brainer to grab. If you’ve not read his work yet, this is a really great place to dive in and discover why Barb is quickly becoming a must-read author for so many readers.

4/5

Title: Silent Key

Author: Laurel Hightower

Release date: October 10th, 2023

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Laurel for an advanced digital copy of this one!

Look, I’ll say it right off the hop here – I’m a huge fan of Laurel’s work and I consider her one of the most solid folks in the writing community. I consider her a friend and as such, I love seeing friends succeed. With the acclaim of her debut and her recent novellas, her fan base grew exponentially, and when I saw this one announced I was so over the moon excited for her! Flame Tree Press! Another step up the ladder that is well deserved and well earned.

I couldn’t wait to dive in – pun intended.

What I liked: Much like ‘Whispers in the Dark,’ ‘Silent Key’ follows a single mom trying to navigate her new normal and keeping her child safe. From there, the story morphs into its own beast, but it was great to see Hightower return to that POV character to drive this one, as that’s 100% her bread and butter.

After her husband has died under mysterious circumstances, some things have come to light that have her questioning the depth of their love, while also revealing some truths that have followed her and her daughter. Coupled with her ‘adopted’ Russian brother, they flee to her deceased uncle’s ranch in Texas, where, much to her surprise, the supernatural elements follow and make things that much more difficult when all they want is to just get away.

As the novel progresses, Laurel continues to reveal different elements that add to the narrative (I’m not gonna expand on this to prevent spoilers) and lead us to the deep dark depths where the crux of the story takes place. We’re led to this moment, often unsure of what exactly is going on, but when we get there, it’s an AH-HA! of storylines coming together.

The ending is solid, closing things off really nicely and giving us a glimpse of what life will look like for those who remain topside.

What I didn’t like: I’m not totally sure if I am 100% sold on Dimi’s storyline and how things turn out. I mean, it all makes sense, I just don’t know if I personally liked it haha!

And, I will say, the first quarter does have some repetitive storyline aspects where it feels like we’re spinning our wheels once Cam, her daughter and Dimi arrive. It is needed, especially in the police procedural narrative, but there are moments where it doesn’t feel like you’re progressing forward.

Why you should buy this: Cam may very well be Hightower’s most developed and ‘real’ character she’s created. You want to root for her, you want to see her succeed and be happy and when things go bad you want to step up and be her backup. ‘Silent Key’ features a melding of several genres that Laurel’s wields deftly and confidently, ultimately giving us readers one of the more solid ‘paranormal-mystery-thrillers’ I’ve read in some time.

4/5

Title: Puzzle House

Author: Duncan Ralston

Release date: September 15, 2023

This meme, made from the viral video where the football player gave an interview and said that line, sums up this book perfectly for me.

A large part of it was my neglect at exploring more, going further, as well as simply ‘believing’ what Duncan had shared. Duncan and I message fairly regularly, and at one point he’d shared the synopsis and cover for this book. By all indications, I was under the assumption this was a singular release and it was a straightforward novel about a group of strangers in a ‘Saw’-type house, where they had to solve their way to survival.

For the most part, that is true, until about the half way point, when we learn way more about the ‘truth’ to who is behind the mystery within and we get a lot of occult/ancient deity involvement. And that, honestly, is where my reading brain started to hold back from the book.

What I liked: I should state first, though – thanks to Wicked House Publishing, Netgalley and the author for sending me a digital ARC of this one.

The novel begins just as I mentioned – we get some back story on an inmate and the world’s biggest female movie star, Joy, who are summoned to Joy’s ex-husbands home. Alexei has died and he’s decided to leave his staggering fortune to those who come. A group of six strangers, but with only Joy who knew Alexei before. Alexei made his fortune through creating complex puzzles and in order to receive their share of his fortune, they must solve the puzzles. Of course, this being a horror novel, we learn that they’ll need to not only solve the puzzles but that they’ll have to actually survive the puzzles as well.

Duncan does a solid job of setting up this premise, but also having us root for the two main characters, Joy and our prisoner. They play well off each other and as the book moves along, it was great to see them have a solid, platonic relationship without any hint of romance or potentially hooking up.

I really enjoyed each new puzzle room – up to a point, which I’ll discuss in a moment – and how they worked collaboratively together to solve it, even as each one becomes more extreme and more squirm inducing.

The first half of this novel had me hooked, but then it went in a very different direction, one I wished was a completely different book.

What I didn’t like: Briefly, before I get into the bread and butter of some stuff, I did find the extra characters, just that – extra characters. No connection, one dimensional and there simply to die in each room. But, the truth is, in a book like that, you need those characters. So, I didn’t mind that they weren’t as well defined or fleshed out.

I think for me, and minor spoilers here – so enter at your own risk – is I went in completely invested in a singular novel about people struggling to solve life-or-death escape rooms, and this was so much more. That so much more is a solid thing, a good thing in most cases (looking at you Ghostland trilogy), but I wasn’t invested in that when I started. I found the Book of Magic to feel out of place and the Infiniti Enterprises aspect should’ve been featured in a completely different book.

I went along for the ride, wanting to see who would survive and what would be left of them, but I was a bit frustrated when it went very ‘raising the dead’ and ‘the world you left isn’t the world you’ll return to.’ I was also expecting a solid, THE END, not a jarring finish with the dawning understanding that there would be another book.

Why you should buy this: Now, it may sound like I didn’t like this book, but honestly, I did. I liked each avenue separately, and I am invested now, wanting to see what tricks Alexei and Trent have in store for our survivor and what this strange new world has become. Saying that, I still do lament the fact that I didn’t get a straightforward Puzzle House story.

So, I’m splitting the difference. The first half, for me was a solid 5/5. The latter half a good 3/5.

Overall, this one was a 4/5 and a reminder that I shouldn’t always go in blind to books, as this reading brain will sometimes get far too stuck in its ways to loosen up and go with the flow!

Title: The Boy on the Bridge

Author: M.R. Carey

Release date: May 2, 2017

Way back when, almost a decade ago, in 2014, M.R. Carey released the phenomenal ‘The Girl With All the Gifts.’ Not long after it came out, I snagged a hardcover and devoured it from front to back, loving his take on the Zombie trope. This was also around the time zombie’s had risen to storm the lands and take over everything once again. The Walking Dead was in control of what people watched, with tens of millions tuning in each week. Zombies were everywhere and after reading this book and a few of The Walking Dead novels, I slowly began to tune out the zombie ‘fad.’ I just had enough. The Walking Dead was the same every week and because it was on AMC, it felt like a Lite production. Not as dirty or gross as the real world would be. No swearing. No excessive violence. Just tame.

When this novel, the ‘sequel’ to ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ came out in 2017, I paid it no mind. A few years back, I snagged it on a Kindle deal, thinking maybe one day I’d get to it, if the day came where I felt like dipping my toes back into a subgenre of horror that I’ve struggled to find engagement in over the last few years.

But, and I have no clue why, recently, this novel as been pulling at me. Maybe it’s seeing it slowly make its way up my TBR list. Maybe it’s been seeing more people posting about it recently on Bookstagram and Booktok. Or maybe my brain is subconsciously saying, ‘Hey, big fella, why not rediscover the joy zombie fiction brought you for all those years?’

No matter the reason, I dove in and returning to a world that I’ve not been in for many years felt not only refreshing, but a bit like a homecoming.

What I liked: A decade after the previous events, a small group of scientists and soldiers have been tasked with heading out of the safety of the city of Beacon in an armoured vehicle, searching for a potential cure of the zombie virus or any significant changes in the world.

Not long after we get a brief intro to those onboard, we soon learn that Dr. Samrina Khan (Rina) is pregnant and will most likely have to give birth in the vehicle named Rosie. She has an unlikely friendship with Stephen Greaves, a teenager with high functioning autism, whom the douchebag crew of soldiers have labelled ‘The Robot.’

As the story moves along, we get political upheaval, the discovery of a possibly second generation of ‘hungries’ as the zombies are called and all the while we follow along as Rina’s belly grows and her anxiety increases.

The tension ramps up when someone is bitten, but Greaves devises a way to subdue the infection, to which the question is raised – the moral and ethical debate over the ages – is it better to wipe out an entire species in the hopes of saving the human race.

It was kind of odd to read this one post ‘Covid,’ in the sense that this felt similar to those who were anti-vax were focused solely on doing what was best for themselves versus the larger population of people.

The ending was fantastic, a great blast of carnage and action, which led to a somber and melancholic send off of a few characters.

I will say, the epilogue was glorious and a closure fitting really well with the two book story arc that Carey had created.

What I didn’t like: While I knew there was a reason for the way Stephen was treated, it still didn’t make for an enjoyable feeling. I wished Carey would’ve had a few of the scientists stick up for him more often, considering that they’d understand the autistic aspects and would have the means to tell the soldiers to stuff it.

As well, I still felt detached from the parts where suspense was supposed to happen because of my struggle with zombie stuff. This was a great take on them and changed things up, but it took me a bit to feel ‘worried’ at any moment.

Why you should buy this: If you loved ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ but haven’t read this one, definitely get on it. The world Carey’s created is wonderful and the quest for humankind survival invigorating. If you’re looking for a 1-2 punch of zombie books, these two work so well together and really carry the emotions of ‘how do we go on from here’ throughout both stories.

Really well done.

5/5

Title: All We Want is Everything

Author: Andrew F. Sullivan

Release date: June 30th, 2013

After devouring Andrew’s novel, ‘The Marigold’ and his co-authored novel ‘The Handyman Method’ (with Nick Cutter), I had the fortune of actually meeting Andrew when I was out in Toronto this past May. It’s always great when you connect with someone and that connection continues in person and it was fantastic spending some time with him.

Also, after having read those two novels, I wanted to go back and read his previous output, which consists of this, his debut collection, as well as another novel (‘Waste,’ which came out back in 2016 and one I’ll be reading soon). Unfortunately, this collection isn’t currently available as a digital book on the Zon, where I’d have bought it and read it on my Kindle, BUT! Andrew fantastically shared on his Twitter account not long ago that the publisher was having a sale and the ebook was there! So, I grabbed it and got to it on the double.

What I liked: Much like ‘The Marigold,’ this group of stories is covered in grime and festering pond water. Nothing shines, everything feels dirty and you know that the good ones will die young. From top to bottom this one feels like you’re desperately hanging onto a rope, dangling from a cliff, as you watch the rope slowly fray and prepare to snap and send you plummeting to your death below. The cover should have a little fake sticker on it that says ‘Warning: No Hope In Sight.’

We start off with the ‘Good King,’ a story about Big Red, a labourer who ends up revisiting a particular Christmas from his youth. No good comes from that. This occurs while he attempts to save a coworker and we get a claustrophobic ‘A Christmas Story’ retelling where there are no good players and the reader will need a long shower after to clean the sorrow away.

From there, nothing gets warmer, there are no smiles on the character’s faces. Andrew can do more in a flash fiction piece than some authors can do in an entire novel, both in character development and in emotional damage. Take ‘God is a Place.’ Actually, scratch that. I wish I hadn’t read that story. It’s like reading ‘Red X’ from David Demchuk. It follows Caleb, who takes Twink’s baby while she’s at work and ruminates on how life will be better when they’re found in the morning. Heartbreaking.

‘Crows Eat Well’ is another masterful portrait of Canadiana, where a man returns home from prison to have ‘words’ with his father.

‘Towers’ comes at you like a precursor for ‘The Marigold,’ a story about a sinkhole, people living in the buildings and just what might actually be down below.

The story ‘Cloud’ is a unique take on dystopian, apocalyptic occurrence where birds arrive and invade a small town and two friends come up with a plan to take their homes back. This one walked the line of coming-of-age and can’t-trust-anyone themes.

‘Pumpkinheads’ felt like a small town diary, where Juan dies at the factory, and George forces his way into Anita’s life, Juan’s widow. It covers a lot of ground in a short page count.

Of all the stories, I think my favorite was ‘In A Car In A River Outside Peoria, Illinois.’ To sum it up in a single line, this is about a man at the end of his life. But it’s so much more. It’s shame, regret, gaslighting, acceptance, fear of the unknown and understanding. And it all happens as the water slowly fills up the inside of the car. Wonderful story even if the subject matter is very far from that adjective.

What I didn’t like: Like all short story collections, some just didn’t connect. Each story had an energy, a pulse to it and some shared the same wavelength as my reading brain did while reading it and some didn’t.

Why you should buy this: If you liked ‘The Marigold’ or ‘The Handyman Method’ you’ll definitely want to dive into this collection. A solid cross-section of everyday people struggling with the ramifications of the decisions they’ve made and where they’ve ended up because of it. Sullivan’s managed to create characters you immediately know, situations you understand and in each story, an ending that will have you catching your breath.

Truly, a solid solid collection.

4/5

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