TL;DR: A unique premise with an engaging and fun execution. Source: Netgalley - Thank you so much to Tor Nightfire! Plot: Deaths begin to stack up at the Autumn Springs Retirement and residents become suspicious. Characters: I loved these characters, Philip Fracassi knocked this folks out of the park. Setting: The grounds of the retirement... Continue Reading →
The Whistler by Nick Medina
TL;DR: A lot of promise but I felt a bit lost in the character and didn’t feel the scares. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Henry was an amateur ghost hunter till a ghost caught up with him. Now his life is changed and he needs to deal. Characters: This was both... Continue Reading →
A Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper
TL;DR: This one messed with my brain in the best way.Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Carmen partakes of a play that acts as a drug, and her world is impacted and unraveled along the way. Characters: A delightful mess of love and paranoia. I’m still deciding what happened here! Setting: The... Continue Reading →
Breathe in, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley
TL;DR: Very fun with some unique deaths. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Hannah is trying to recover after the death of her fiancé and agrees to go on a ‘wellness retreat’. All is not well. Characters: A cast of somewhat tropey characters but not the worst. I enjoyed hating some of... Continue Reading →
Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones
TL;DR: Surprisingly complicated with some more thrilling elements than scary ones. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: A double feature, this has a young girl hitchhiking and running into the wrong man and then a babysitter fighting a house for her freedom. Characters: These two girls felt very similar, I’m not going... Continue Reading →
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
TL;DR: Chuck Tingle gets better and better every time. Source: NetGalley - thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: How it made sense was so clever, and just weird enough to make sense. Well done Mr. Tingle. Characters: Unlikable but also so lovable. I was cheering for these folks the whole way through. Setting:... Continue Reading →
Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
TL;DR: A strong start to a disappoint twist. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: An inexperienced child psychologist faces against evil - of what kind is the problem. Characters: These were pretty bland. What you might expect from a thriller/horror. Setting: This started in town but headed into a small village.... Continue Reading →
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
TL;DR: If you want to make yourself terrified read this! I was affected for days. Source: NetGalley, thank so much to Saga Press! Plot: Ultimately this one is just about survival. Gloria is attempting to help her brother, and fighting against racism while her brother is just trying to survive the Reformatory and it’s ghosts.... Continue Reading →
Hauntress by Minetaro Mochizuki
TL;DR: Oh my god, this scared the pants off of me. Genuinely, I was vibrating I was so unsettled. Source: Netgalley - Thank you so much to Kodansha! Plot: Hiroshi Mori helps a woman out, against his better judgement, and things go very badly. Characters: No one here is particularly lovable but you still REALLY... Continue Reading →
The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir
TL;DR: I doubt I’ll remember this, I really do. It was… okay? Source: Netgalley, many thanks to the publisher! Plot: A short story about a woman loosing her mind to pain and lack of sleep. Characters: Our only real character of note is Iðunn and I have to be honest, she wins my rarely awarded... Continue Reading →