Title: Goblins

Author: David Bernstein

Release date: Originally published August 4th, 2015, re-published April 23rd, 2020

I don’t recall why this book came onto my radar, but one thing is for sure, the cover art by Lynne Hansen absolutely got my attention and practically forced myself to buy this book. Growing up, I was always a fan of watching the cheap creature movies that’d be on Showcase and Movie Central every Friday and Saturday nights here in Canada. There was always three things you could expect when watching these movies – scares, gore and gratuitous nudity. Three things this movie loving teenaged boy lived for.

This book (while lacking any nudity! ha!) reads like a movie perfectly made for those evenings. We get a small town, with a Chief of Police who escaped to live here, away from his past and his own demons and of course we get a centuries old curse on the island where a Goblin King attempts to gain enough power to return to the surface.

Going in, I wasn’t expecting much more than rapid-fire gore, brutal deaths and crazy creatures, which on that note, this book knocked it out of the park.

What I liked: The story follows along as Chief Hale tries to figure out who is taking the local kids. It’s a fairly straight forward story and I think that part works well and is what made me enjoy it as much as I did.

The action is crisp, the gore is really well done and as brutal as you’d expect and the creatures were fantastic. I loved the aspects of when certain characters would come back and how the humans were struggling to comprehend just what was going on.

One absolute highlight for me was the battle scene that took place when the police find the entrance to where the Goblins are coming from. I don’t think that’s a spoiler, considering the nature of the book, but wow, was that a fun few chapters and seeing how certain elements were introduced and specific sequences played out. Incredibly engaging.

What I didn’t like: The story attempts to have depth by having every single officer have a horribly tragic back story. It actually became tiring to know that when a new cop arrived, we’d get a chapter ending cliff hanger, only to have the next chapter be devoted to the ‘why’ of this person becoming a police officer. The attempt was to create connection and empathy but it became quickly over-used and border line comical.

As well, the climatic scene was more of fizzle, with the ending really being a few sentences long and it was done and over with, which was incredibly frustrating considering the build up we’d had leading to that moment. And I’ll add the final chapter, before the epilogue, reads like a glossed over, add-on, to wrap up the characters story arc’s.

Why you should buy this: Look, at the end of the day, I had fun with this one. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible, and it had some really entertaining parts. The creature feature portion was the absolute highlight, even if the Goblin King felt horribly underutilized.

If you’re looking for a quick, snappy, action-filled read, this one will fit in nicely and make you grin more than a few times.

3/5

Title: The Human Son

Author: Adrian J. Walker

Release date: April 28th, 2020

I’m late to the game with Adrian J. Walker’s writing. I read his fantastic novel ‘The End of the World Running Club’ not that long ago, and really, really enjoyed it. I wanted to check out more of his work, and ‘The Human Son’ was the novel that really seemed to leap out and speak to me the most.

One thing I often find interesting, to my reading brain at least, is that 99% of what I read is typically what I’d deem ‘hard horror.’ The other 1% is filled with the other genres that have my interest – sci-fi, some non-fiction, the occasional thriller and once in a while the releases considered speculative fiction. I’m not great with the genre labels, but ‘The Human Son’ does seem to sit firmly in the dystopian/speculative/sci-fi realm.

The story picks up roughly 500 years after the last human on earth has died. Now, a collection of Ertlings, human-like inhabitants that were created by the humans to return the earth to a livable/inhabitable condition are nearing the end of their time. They’ve achieved their tasks and are setting the stage for Transcendence, when they’ll leave this realm and travel somewhere else.

What I liked: With a synopsis like that I was intrigued to see what Walker would do with it and where he’d take the story. The part that really got me intrigued was as these Ertlings were planning to leave, they decided to create a single human, a boy, and see if this boy would grow and prosper and make different decisions than the humans who destroyed the world.

This book tackles a huge scope of ideas and real world issues. Climate change, hierarchy of residents, stereotypes, social stigma’s, race and gender roles and even what truly determines if someone is someone’s parent. The book has so many seemingly innocent moments that broke my heart. It’s the journey of a parent watching their child grow up and coming to the realization that they won’t always be there to protect their loved one. As the father of a five year old (at the time of this review) I see this in so many things. Of his growing independence, his developing of friends which will soon lead to less time for me, and even just in how he’s developing and getting smarter and smarter. Infinitely proud but also filled with a sorrow that soon our time that we share together won’t be the same. Soon, he’ll move away and only call sporadically.

The story is told through the perspective of Ima, an Ertling who’d previously been in charge with repairing the sky and the air on earth. Now that her purpose is complete, she volunteers to raise the human son and determine if he is capable of change and if the human race should be reintroduced to the planet.

I loved seeing the may Ima changed over time and went from a data collector who only cared about analysis to a caring, empathetic and emotional being.

Walker does a great job of keeping tension throughout a book that on its surface, really shouldn’t have that much tension. I absolutely HAD to know what happened next and it didn’t take long before I was pushing my other books I’m reading to the side to solely focus on this one.

Lastly, the ending of this book is both spectacular and had me bawling my eyes out. Beautiful, poignant and heartbreaking, but also filled with so much hope.

What I didn’t like: To be upfront, I’m not sure how well this book will resonate or connect with people who’re not parents of any kind – be it kid or animal. I fear that some parts may come off as tedious, repetitive and boring, but wow did these moments bring me back to the early days of raising my son and going through all of that.

Why you should buy this: This is one of the reasons why speculative fiction can work so very well and this book both posits so many questions but also tries to give us some answers. This is accessible sci-fi, accessible dystopian fiction and the bonus was, we get a book that isn’t filled with war and violence and death. Walker is a true master and this book just hits so many highs that it’s a shame that I had to finish it. Well done, and a world I’ll never forget.

5/5

Title: Ghostland: Infinite

Author: Duncan Ralston

Release date: November 19, 2021

And so we arrive at the third and final book in Duncan Ralston’s highly ambitious Ghostland Trilogy.

What a journey it’s been.

We started out with one of the most mysterious, engaging and well constructed marketing events that I’ve ever seen, which led into the stunning ‘Ghostland’ opener. This introduced us to Duck Falls, Rex Garrote, Ethereals and a cast of characters that felt vibrant and fresh while also like old friends. From there, Ralston pushed the narrative and opened the landscape wider with book two, ‘Afterlife.’ We got to see more of the aftermath of the events in book one, while also learning more about Garrote and having some new characters arrive while saying goodbye to some familiar faces. Book two, even with all of its charm, is what it is – a sequel that sets up the finale. Not to say that is a bad thing or that the book was lacking or dipped, but that the reality was – Ralston needed to set up questions that wouldn’t be answered in there, that the readers would need to be invested enough to tag along for book three.

And now that I’ve read book three?

I think those who’ve loved the first two (as well as the prequel novella ‘The Moving House’) will find themselves rewarded and enriched after reading what Ralston has done here.

What I liked: The third book acts as Ralston has intended. I’ll try to be super vague as well to remain spoiler free, as some folks might’ve been waiting for this book to arrive before diving into the entire series. It picks up after the events of book two and does a great job of introducing us to a few new set pieces and characters before we are re-introduced to Garrote and his evil plans.

I really loved how familiar the world feels and it reminded me of how George R.R. Martin has accomplished that. Martin has crafted a world that is massive in scope with a million moving parts and characters, but each time they feel familiar and solid in their crafting. That is the same here with what Ralston’s done. It is highly impressive and I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in awe at the scale of storytelling Ralston has delivered. This is superb and so thorough that I’d hazard 99% of all of the questions and loose ends get answered and tied up. Saying that, he very deliberately left a few morsels dangling that leave threads available for him to return to this world if he so chooses.

At this point in this review, you’re probably thinking to yourself – ‘jeeze, Steve, you are being super vague.’ Yes. And I apologize about that, but the reality here is Ralston has set things up so well from book one, which still works perfectly as a stand alone novel, might I add, that to say specific details of some key moments would essentially ruin the entire book for you. If you’ve read book two – you’ll have some questions that you want answered. And now, if I said for example ‘X goes here and does this,’ you’ll get angry because that will answer that question. So (insert sticking tongue out gif here) too bad! HA!

I will say, the finale of the trilogy finale is fantastic and I loved seeing how Ralston wrapped everything up. He does a great job of ensuring each of the main/major characters get their moments and for those who depart from this world (even the pesky Ethereals) you’ll be happy to see they’ve played a purpose.

What I didn’t like: I’ve laid out a bunch of why I loved this trilogy and how well this book worked as the finale, but I will say – it did pain me a bit to see just how far away this trilogy moved from the basis of book one. I remember reading book one and my eyes going wide when it read like Jurassic Park with Ghosts. Don’t get me wrong, Ralston has elevated his game here, but I loved the concept of book one soooo much.

Why you should buy this: I think, at the end of the day and at the end of the trilogy, Ralston has shown how masterful of a writer he is. This is a truly serious undertaking and I’d hope we see a gorgeous omnibus hardcover edition come out in the future with maps and family tree’s and character synopsis’ etc. For those who believe Ralston is a one trick pony (and who’ve not read any of his other, wonderful books besides WOOM) this series should bash those thoughts into a million pieces. From book one to book three, Ralston has shown, even over course of a few years, how stunning of a writer he is and how he’s always working hard on his craft to improve and I, personally, am just blown away.

This series is phenomenal from start to finish and in the author’s notes after, he hints at some related projects we’ll see in the future, which should make fans of his and this world very, very happy.

Well done, Duncan. Truly an amazing undertaking.

5/5

Title: Handmade Monsters

Author: D.W. Gillespie

Release date: June 12th, 2018

I’ve become a fast fan of D.W. Gillespie’s dark fiction. Between the phenomenal ‘One by One’ and the superb ‘The Toy Thief’ (which is one of my all-time fav books), Gillespie has delivered some really fantastic reads. I’ve also had the privilege of reading an unreleased novel that he is currently seeking a publisher for, and I have to say – it might be his best work yet.

But, I realized, I’d not read anything else from Gillespie and I know he has a number of releases. Off to the Zon I went, but oddly, and to my surprise, the only other release for Kindle was his collection ‘Handmade Monsters.’ Fair enough, Steve snagged it and dove in!

What I liked: The stories within cover a wide range of subject matter, but one thing I found time and time again was that most stories were focused around family and events that disrupt their existence. There were occasions, sure, where it was a straight forward story, but the ones that really had me on the edge of my seat all were centered around family. Maybe this speaks to where I am at in my own life? Who knows, but for what ever reason these all brought me the most joy.

Let’s dive into a few that really stood out for me!

‘The Tree Man.’ The first story in the collection is stunningly superb. This follows a family as it falls apart before our eyes. A husband and wife, with an odd son, all see something odd, all experience changes and before we know it, Gillespie rips everything apart. This is part folklore, part drama, but 100% phenomenal.

‘All Safe in Here.’ A post-apocalyptic story about a son making his way to the fallout shelter his dad made and waiting around for him. This was equal parts claustrophobic and unnerving. Typically, I’m not a fan of epistolary story telling set ups where it’s told through journals/diary entries etc, but this one worked really well.

‘Circle of Mist.’ This ended up being my personal favorite of the bunch. We arrive as a mother is near the end of her life and her battle with a disease, and her two kids struggle with the realization they’ll be living with their abusive step dad once she passes. One morning, they see something outside and this changes everything. I loved where Gillespie took this and how it played out. Just outstanding.

‘Something In Our House.’ Gillespie takes a fairly common horror story trope (kid thinks there’s monsters in the house at night) and injects some new life into the premise. We get some freaky dreams, odd happenings and eventually a horrific finale. Really well done and one that had me pulling my feet further away from the end of the bed.

Gillespie does an amazing job bringing these stories alive and from start to finish the collection is really solid.

What I didn’t like: There will always be a few stories in a collection that you don’t really click with or that fall a bit flat. Reader mileage will always vary, but I will say – I had fun with each and every story here.

Why you should buy this: Well first, if you haven’t read either ‘One by One’ or ‘The Toy Thief,’ I can’t recommend either enough. Both are out through Flame Tree Press, so you already have an idea of the caliber of releases they have.

Secondly, if you’re looking for a really great collection filled with stories that hum and crack with emotion but frequently go dark and then darker, look no further. Gillespie showcases why I consider him a must-read author time and time again!

4/5

 

Title: The Briar

Author: Craig Wesley Wall

Release date: September 1st, 2021

I actually have a few of Craig’s books on my TBR, but have yet to get to them. When ‘The Briar’ was announced, the synopsis sounded right up my alley and I clicked that pre-order button super fast. I was hoping to have read it near release date, but as sometimes happens, and with the toppling scope of my ever-growing TBR, I just got to it now.

I was really intrigued to see what Craig crafted here with this PNW-Folklore style story, as I spent over a decade of my life living just north of the area where Craig lives and where this is set.

What I liked: A decade ago, Eli was swept away in the night by his mother, his father yelling at them to go. Now, all these years later, he learns that his father has died and the house has been left to him. Begrudgingly, Eli heads back, travelling from Portland to the remote small town in northern Washington to clean it up and sell it as fast as he can.

Now, don’t get me wrong – this is a setup/trope frequently used and I could see why maybe some people might be on the fence about diving into that narrative once again – but rest assured, that is the only part of that trope that Craig uses.

When Eli arrives, he sees the town has dried up, the once fertile farmlands barren and instead vines, blackberry vines are everywhere. The small town that Craig creates was fantastic and eerily familiar. Where I lived, in Abbotsford, BC, we would often order products to be picked up just across the Canada/US border in the very small village of Sumas, in Whatcom County. They had everything Craig described here; boarded up hotels, saloons and restaurants. When we still lived in that area, there were a number of restaurants and gas stations that still flourished, what with it being right at the border crossing, but I’ve heard due to Covid, some of that has faded away.

Craig also does a fantastic job of creating some really creepy characters. People you know instantly are not what they seem and when we learn the ‘true reason’ for Eli returning, it’ll make your blood run cold.

When the feces hits the fan at about the 75% mark and we get to see, not only the creature that has been set up, but the action that occurs around it, Wesley Wall goes full tilt and the carnage and devastation was truly phenomenal.

What I didn’t like: There’s a reason for it, but there’s an offshoot side story about Eli and his significant other. She has news but can’t share what it is until he returns (which every single person will guess what it is immediately) and this is used later on. Like I mentioned, there is a reason for it, but I’d have almost preferred it to not have even been mentioned earlier.

Why you should buy this: Folklore, when done well, is for me at least, quite possibly the most frightening subgenre of the horror world, knowing that people will do whatever it takes to offer sacrifice to their God or whatever it is they’re worshipping. Wesley Wall offers up ‘The Briar’ into that world and he knocks it out of the park. For fans of Adam Nevill’s folklore fiction, you’ll absolutely eat this one up and with it being a novella, with all of the fat cut from the bones, this is a lean, mean story that hums along at a million-miles-an-hour. Kudos to Craig for forcing me to stay awake two nights in a row so that I could finish this one, as I desperately wanted to see how it played out.

Outstanding work.

5/5

Title: Rejects

Author: Matthew Vaughn

Release date: May 31, 2021

If you’ve read my other Vaughn review from today (Mephistopheles Den) you’ll have read about my first excursion into buying from Godless and what Godless is all about.

I won’t rehash any of that here, but I will say, I was happy to have not one, but two, Vaughn releases to dive into.

What I liked: ‘Rejects’ features a trilogy of short stories that have appeared in various anthologies, collected here for the first time.

Hammer Smashed Face – if you listen to death metal at all, you’ll have heard Cannibal Corpse’s song ‘Hammer Smashed Face.’ This story took really only the title into consideration, as instead, we pick up with a man doing some housework, who smashes his thumb with a hammer. As he goes to leave to get help, his neighbor barges in, telling him he can’t go outside, as there are monsters out there. Vaughn does a great job of creating tension in this one and having some brutal scenes in such a short page count.

Feelings of Malaise – absolutely my favorite of the three, we arrive to find a man sitting in a strange waiting room. Across from him, another person is attempting to do something horrible to themselves. When he is called into see the doc, his wound has changed and things go from bad to worse. Vaughn even says this is Cronenberg-esque and the story is all the better for it.

Showdown at a Seventh Street Strip Club – this one was actually a ton of fun. It was essentially an Extreme Horror take on the movie ‘The Hangover.’ We get two friends who can’t remember much, piecing together the events after they decide to go to a strip club and do drugs. Such a blast.

What I didn’t like: The stories were all good, but as Vaughn even mentions in his notes, they all would’ve benefitted from a longer word count. Each one either just ends or is missing a bit of detail to truly elevate them.

Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Vaughn’s these are great stories to read and see him work outside of his normal characters. If you’re a new fan or Extreme Horror Fan, these are all great starting points.

4/5

Rejects by Matthew Vaughn

Title: Mephistopheles Den

Author: Matthew Vaughn

Release date: October 13, 2021

For those unaware or not tuned into the Indie Horror Community, over the last year or so, a new player has arrived in the shape of Godless. Godless is considered an alternative to Amazon. A place where Extreme and Indie Authors can have a platform to sell their releases and skirt around the ever growing arm of Amazon. For some – this is their only option – having been previously banned by Amazon due to content. For others – this is another place for them to connect with potential readers and find the right reader for their work.

On my end – I’ve not dove into Godless much. Consider it platform burnout/time limitations. At the heart of it, I’m not a massive Extreme Horror fan. Don’t get me wrong, Extreme Horror when done well is fantastic and can be utterly moving and emotional, but I’m not always seeking gore and blood and cuts and private parts chopped off. But, saying all of that, Godless has a really well curated depth of authors and creators and having their own platform also means they can navigate easier through the pricing options as Amazon has minimum prices etc.

So, what purpose did I have for this long winded intro? Ha… uh… one sec, let me check my notes… oh yeah, yeah – Matthew Vaughn. Mr. Vaughn. Mr. Massive Beard. I connected with Vaughn some time ago and we’ve kept in touch every since. Throughout this period, I’ve also read a few of his releases, and really enjoyed his Hellsworld Hotel novella. A novella about the Harrington family and their haunted house, which is just a front so they can brutally slaughter random customers. From there I read the prequel, Lucifer’s Manor, and enjoyed it as well.

But now, we’ve arrived at Mephistopheles Den. A second prequel to Hellsworld Hotel and I couldn’t wait to read it. Vaughn has now moved over to the Godless world – you can still find his earlier work on the zon – so, ole Steve-a-ree-no made his first ever Godless purchase (this one, another Vaughn and a third book!) and dove in.

What I liked: If you’ve read either of Lucifer’s Manor or Hellsworld Hotel, you know exactly what you’re in for. The difference here is Vaughn adds an emotional layer that I wasn’t expecting.

The story follows Lucy, a young 18-year-old woman, who is in an emotionally abusive relationship ship with a much older male. Halloween has arrived and they decide to go see what the fuss is over the Haunted House attraction that has popped up for one night only.

We get a great secondary storyline featuring some high school students who go as well and happen to bump into Lucy and her crew, and of course, we get a whole lot of blood and gore, courtesy of the Harrington Family.

Vaughn does a great job of setting up the story until they arrive at the Haunted House, and once there we see how each character reacts and how the Harrington’s live for this night.

The ending was great, I would suspect this was the last prequel we’ll have, which may lead into a sequel of Hellsworld Hotel and I really enjoyed seeing the trajectory Lucy’s character took.

What I didn’t like: As I mentioned, I’m not the biggest Extreme Horror fan, so once the killings began some of them felt a bit ‘more-of-the-same.’ I would imagine for fans who read these for the splatter effect, you’ll truly love the ultra-violence that takes place within the attraction.

Why you should buy this: Vaughn is a respected and well known name in the Extreme Horror Community and his longevity in the game shows in his writing. Well crafted, well set up and following a traditional beginning-middle-end plot, we get a really fun character study embedded in a truly horrific evening.

4/5

Mephistopheles Den by Matthew Vaughn

Title: Into the Mist (Taine McKenna Adventures #1)

Author: Lee Murray

Release date: April 13, 2016

I’ve had this book on my Kindle for some time, and as I’ve made my way through my TBR and its slowly ascended to the tip top, Lee Murray has went from a revered author who has been nominated for a number of awards, to a revered author who has won numerous awards. Through all of that, Lee has remained one of the kindest and most generous people in the horror community.

(Hilariously – I finished this last night and I’m posting this review today – which just happens to also be a celebratory day as the ‘Tortured Willows’ poetry anthology Lee is a part of has launched! Big congrats, my full review for that will be on Kendall Reviews in the next few days!)

So, Taine McKenna. His first adventure. Oddly – this won’t be my first go-around with Mr. McKenna. In fact, I’ve already read a story of his in Lee’s fantastic ‘Grotesque: Monster Stories’ that came out last year. I really enjoyed that story, but definitely felt like I was missing a bit about him, his character, so it was great to go back to the start.

What I liked: The story is relatively straightforward. Taine and his crew are sent alongside a geological survey team on an “off-the-record” mission. People have been going missing, including a relative of a high ranking official.

From there, Murray transports us into the remote jungles of Te Urewera National Park and we quickly discover that the beast that is creating all of this havoc is more powerful, and intelligent, than previously understood.

I loved the fact that Lee took her time to set this up and we get some solid backstory, lead up and hike in, which often can be pushed aside to get the reader to arrive at the creature as soon as possible, which usually is a detriment to character development. Not here, not in the hands of a master storyteller.

We also get a large amount of traditional stories and history peppered throughout, which was fantastic. There is a lot of slang terms used/location specific words (there is a glossary in the back) but it only worked to heighten the feeling of being a part of McKenna’s team and being actually on location.

McKenna himself is a well done character, not over the top military, but a kind, caring leader who wants to ensure everyone survives. His right-hand man, Trigger, was also really well done.

I actually found myself enjoying Jules (Dr. Asher!) and Jug’s characters maybe the most. Jug was a really great secondary character to root for, and as the team medic, I loved how he stayed grounded and rational. Jules was a strong female in an otherwise testosterone based cast, especially after another female character disappears.

What I didn’t like: A number of the other characters ultimately felt unnecessary, and Jules boss showing up didn’t have the dynamic I thought we’d get. These other characters (while necessary in the sense that the army would send all of McKenna’s team) didn’t add any emotional impact along the way, so when any of them met their ends, I easily moved on.

Why you should buy this: You may find it odd that I got to the end of my review and haven’t really even mentioned the antagonist, the beastie featured within. Well, stress no more. The creature (they ultimately give it a genus name) is truly fantastic and every single scene where they arrive and chaos ensues was top notch and such a fun moment to see how the characters reacted and what the outcomes would be.

Murray has started a series here that is engaging, feels fresh and incredibly cinematic in scope, which is phenomenal when you consider the good versus bad/evil story plot that we get.

Really great stuff from one of the best out there!

4/5

Title: Compendium of Creatures

Author: Ksenia Murray

Release date: October 1st, 2021

I’ve only read one short story prior to this collection from Ksenia Murray, but it stuck with me, to the point that when she tweeted out looking for any one available to give her newest collection a read, I jumped at it. I’ve hit another groove with my reading here, and knew I’d be able to slot it in and start on it asap.

I didn’t ask about a synopsis before hand. Why? Judging from the title and the fact that it was a short story collection, I just assumed each story would revolve around a different creature!

I just want to add that midway through the first story, I was enjoying it so much, that I snagged the Kindle version of her novella ‘The Cave,’ which I’ll be starting in the next few days!

What I liked: The stories in here cover a range of creatures from around the globe, but what I really found to be the highlight was the way Murray made the characters within each come alive in such a short time. That’s tough to do, especially when you have limited word counts and want to rip and shred and decapitate those who wander where they shouldn’t, but story after story after story, she delivered relatable characters that all felt like you knew them before reading their story.

The opener ‘Pipes’ just may be my favorite of the batch. We follow young friends, Jeff and Chris, as they go and explore the drainage/sewage pipes near their homes. The story itself went places that I expected but also in directions I wasn’t, which really had me on edge.

‘Inheritance’ was a fun look at Leo and Oliver, new home owners, who’ve just moved in when they hear a noise. Of course, like every moron in dark fiction, they go to investigate and what they find isn’t so nice.

‘The Receptionist’ was a fun story. Sharing the arrival of a rookie in the Army, they end up overseas and the draw of the exotic ‘ladies-of-the-night’ is just too much for him to ignore. I loved how short and snappy this one was and how, even though you knew what was going to become of our soldier, you couldn’t wait to see it happen.

‘The Snow Globe’ was another really great story. Cynthia receives a gift from her grandma on the day she is born. Over the years she realizes a pixie lives within it. But when she wants to leave it behind and move to college, she sees just how malevolent that little pixie really is.

My other favorite was ‘Its In the Garden.’ Mia gets a phone call from her grandmother that something is in her garden eating her prized flowers. I never, never, in a million years would’ve imagined where this story went. Not only with what is actually in her garden but also the reason’s etc etc.

Murray does a great job of keeping each story fresh and inviting and ensuring that tension is used to perfection.

What I didn’t like: As with any collection/anthology a few stories weren’t really for me. A few stories also felt like I would’ve enjoyed them a bit more if they went full Rated R instead of almost a soft R. Hard to describe, but it felt like maybe a bit was held back or softened.

Why you should buy this: Murray has delivered a really great, engaging collection filled with fast-paced stories and characters you’ll root for. I really loved the variety within and can’t wait to dive into ‘The Cave.’

Awesome job!

4/5

Title: Temple of Ghosts (Ghost Writers Series #3)

Author: J.H. Moncrieff

Release date: November 6th, 2017

Jackson and Kate return, in this, Moncrieff’s third entry into her fantastic Ghost Writers Series. The series itself now has six books out as well as the first in a spin off series, but I’m still plugging away, now having finished the third book. Moncrieff is one of my favorite writers, but with series’ it is always a dilemma. Do you dive into the next book right away? Do you take some time between releases?

In this case, I decided to take some time away, but am so happy to have returned to the ever expanding world of these two supernatural/paranormal helpers. After events in China and then Poviglia, we now see ourselves heading to Egypt, a place that’s always held a fascinating and mystical spot in my mind.

(Side note – I’ve already read Moncrieff’s next release – the amazingly dark ‘The Restoration’ out through Flame Tree Press at the end of October – don’t sleep on that one!)

What I liked: After the events in book two, we pick up shortly after in book three. Jackson and Kate realize something else is up and things ramp up and explode from there. It’s tough to really say a lot there as I like to stay as spoiler free as possible, but if you’ve read the first two then you’ll know what I’m alluding too here.

Jackson and Kate discover some eerie warning signs (think biblical events) and decide that all clues lead to confronting the demon that has arrived in Egypt. Moncrieff does a great job of keeping things fresh as we head overseas, but the use of secondary characters never felt more important, nor as well done within the series as it has in this release.

I loved the way the things fall into place once we arrive in Egypt and Moncrieff brings the hustle and bustle alive and vibrant. The action is really well done, I think of the three so far, I liked the descriptions and cinematic scope of these moments the best and we really see just how solid of a team, but also a couple these two have become.

The ending was great, and really does act as a natural ending to a trilogy, but did keep the door open for another release – which we know does happen.

What I didn’t like: As with book two and now in book three, Jackson’s jealous trait really annoys me and ground me when it would happen. Prime example – after discovering something in Kate’s place, they take it to an insect expert. Immediately, Jackson’s thoughts go to how this guy wishes he was with Kate and not just a friend.

Why you should buy this: A fantastic third entry in a series that continues to excite and grow and twist and change, Moncrieff really did a great job of keeping Jackson and Kate feeling fresh and the tension high. Awesome stuff, but would you expect anything less from Moncrieff?

5/5