The Small Hand and Dolly, by Susan Hill

A pair of ghostly stories.  In the first, a rare book dealer stumbled upon a deserted house in the country.  He feels a small hand grab his, despite the fact that he is alone.  From that point on, he continues to be visited by the small hand, and a compulsion to hurl himself into water.  In the second story, a spoiled young girl is sent to spend time with her aunt.  When her aunt buys her a doll, the girl shows contempt for it, because it does not meet her exact specifications.  Her bad behavior has lifelong consequences.

I found this pair of spooky stories to be delightful, and chillingly effective.  In the first story, I felt that the setting was beautifully developed.  I could see the house and the gardens in my mind.  In fact, it was almost as if a short movie were playing in my head as I read, something I always take as the sign of a strong story.  The ambiance of the story was very good.  The characters had a decidedly British feel to them.  The were a little distant, I never felt as if I got to know them that well, but it was not really necessary.

The second story was a little creepier than the first.  Once again, we had a decidedly creepy setting, an estate in the fens.  However, the characters are much more important to the story than the setting.  As a result the characters were much more developed than the first story.  However, I did not really find any of the characters all that likeable, so I was not as drawn into the story.  The action and plot was still spooky, and I was able to enjoy the story even if I disliked the characters.

The book is a quick read, and likely to appeal to fans of thrillers or paranormal stories.  

I received a review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine program in exchange for my honest review.

The House in Wales, by Richard Rhys Jones

During World War II, often children were sent to live in the countryside, away from the bombing.  This was especially common if they were orphans, like Danny.  Sent to live with a vicar in Wales, Danny has no idea what he has gotten himself into.  He has had run ins with the woman who acts as the live in maid, as well as her beastly dog.  Danny tries running away, and is branded as a delinquent.  When he senses there is evil in the house, no one wants to believe him, thinking he is just another troubled youth.

This book is certainly not for the faint of heart, or for anyone who is squeamish when it comes to reading about the occult.  The characters are deliciously deceptive, and concentrated evil.  I personally loved the back story of the Vicar.  It was my favorite aspect of the book.  While he is far from a good man, he was actually a victim in the whole situation.

The story moves along at a fast pace, which I enjoyed.  At times, I was not sure I understood how all the pieces fit together, but they eventually all came together for me.  Some of the minor characters were actually really enjoyable, like the other children in the village.

The book pulls heavily on paranormal and occult themes.  There is also moderate sexuality in the story.  When you combine those things together, you get a book that is probably most appropriate for adult readers who like a good scare (think a sexed up version of Stephen King).  All in all I enjoyed the book.  It left me feeling unsettled in the exact way a horror story should.

I received a review copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Mortician's Wife, by Maralee Lowder

The mortuary is just about the creepiest place in town, and rumor has it a crazy old witch lives there.  When Emily first encounters the so called witch, she realizes that the woman is really just a lonely old women.  Years later, when Emily is an adult, her path once again crosses with that of the old woman.  She learns the tragic tales of the woman's life as the mortician's wife.

The tale is one part haunted house, one part psychological thriller.  The story is solid enough, even though it gets off to a bit of a slow start.  Once the premise is set so that Emily can learn the woman's history, the book really picks up.  I thought Ada, the woman, was an incredible character with an engaging story.  That portion of the book was really well written.  As a character, I found Emily to be a little weak.  I really did not care much about her, and I just found her a little flat.

I would have liked to seen the house itself come alive a tiny bit more.  There was so much there to work with, so much potential.  The scene just needed to be bit richer, with slightly darker tones; then I think the house would have had a life of its own.  I also was not completely satisfied with the ending.  The story seems to stop mid-stride.  I believe there will be a sequel, so perhaps there will ultimately be more resolution.  All in  all, a fun, quick read for fans of spooky stories.

I received a review copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Oddities and Entities, by Roland Allnach

A young girl is visited by a mysterious creature, and develops the ability to physically see inside people.  A man expels a small gray being that had been living inside his brain.  A brother and sister suffer an affliction in their youth that changes the course of their existence.  These are just half of the strange tales that you will encounter in this truly haunting collection.

I am a sucker for a spooky story, particularly during the month of October, so when I was given the chance to read this collection, I jumped at it.  A long time fan of the horror genre, something needs to be pretty innovative to really knock my socks off.  And innovative does not begin to describe these stories.  They were deliciously disturbing, leaving the reader to wonder about the world around you.  What lurks in the shadows and the recesses of our minds?  Those papery whispers that we hear late at night, are they the wind, or something far more sinister?

Each story is thoroughly developed, the characters rich, the dialog intimate and realistic, the plotlines solid.  These stories changed the way I thought about the world around me, the truths I believed, and the explanations I accepted.  The stories are dark, and raw, and unlike anything I have ever read.  I think fans of traditional horror and dark gothic literature will like the book, but it is so different that I think it could help convert some new horror fans as well.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

A Haunting in the Haight, by Sarah Mathews

Belle has never been able to turn down a good ghost story or haunted location, so when a haunted home in San Francisco is put up for sale, she and her family move in.  Almost immediately strange things begin happening, not all of which can be attributed to ghosts.  Belle is being tortured by her husband's ex-wife, Raffaella.  Sometimes the scariest hauntings are done by the living.

Like Belle, I too cannot turn down a good ghost story.  I started reading books about hauntings, fictional and purported fact, when I was about 8 years old, and have forever remained fascinated.  You do not come across many fresh takes on the ghost story anymore, what with all the paranormal investigation shows and what not.  So I was quite pleased with the spin this book had on paranormal activities.  The book certainly had the feel of an Amityville horror type story, with the house being such a tragic location, but the reasons behind the hauntings provided a twist worthy of M. Night Shymalan.  I particularly loved the way facts about real haunted San Francisco locations, like the Winchester House (inspiration for Stephen King's "Rose Red" t.v. movie).

I probably was most drawn to the paranormal characters, both living and dead.  To me, they were the heart of the story.  The action centered on them, and they were the ones in control of the story, most notably Raffaella.  However, I did have a soft spot for the alcoholic dog, George, who added a bit of levity to the story.

All in all, this is a good, solidly written ghost story, that offers something fresh to the genre.  A real find indeed.

I received a review copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, by Claire Legrand

Victoria is about as straight an arrow as ever there was, striving for perfection, and disliking anything even resembling silliness.  Her best, well only actually, friend is Lawrence, a boy with skunk striped hair, rumpled and untucked shirts, and phenomenal musical ability.  When Lawrence goes missing, and Victoria notices the townspeople behaving strangely, she is determined to get to the bottom of it all.  She suddenly learns that the town harbors a great secret.

You have no idea how much I wish books like this existed when I was a young adult.  This book has so much depth, mixed with heart, mystery, and a pretty substantial amount of darkness.  If books like this had existed when I was a young adult, I might have waited until I was older than 12 to read Stephen King.  I really thought this was a fantastic piece of YA literature.  The characters are memorable and archetypal.  We all had that one perfect boy or girl in school that would flip out over getting an A- as opposed to an A.  Young adult readers will be able to relate to the heart of the story, with the focus on the pressure to conform, and the difficulty in navigating friendship at this tenuous age.  The dark element in the book represents the fact that there are many kinds of evil in the world, even kinds that appear benevolent.  

The story, as I said, is quite dark, and more than once I got a creepy crawly feeling while reading it.  It is very similar to Coraline, with a pinch of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  The story certainly transports the reader to a new world, one that is a little dangerous, a little scary, and very exhilarating.  As an adult reader, I found myself captivated with this book; I can only imagine the effects would be compounded in a young adult reader.

 I received a review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine program. 

   

Shadow Show, edited by Sam Weller and Mort Castle

Every now and then, an author comes along whose impact is tremendous, whose mark on the face of modern literature is indelible.  Such is the case with Ray Bradbury.  The name alone conjures up iconic images of post Apocalyptic book burnings and rocket ships.  Bradbury's genius touched many, including some writers who are brilliant in their own rights.  This book is a collection of short stories inspired by and celebrating the works of a truly incredible man.

Having not really spent much time with Bradbury's works (a pitiful situation I hope to change soon), I was a bit nervous to read this book.  Would it be all Martians and robots?  Would I fully appreciate the impact of the stories?  In short would I "get it"?  Imagine my surprise when I not only "got it" but felt the desire to immediately read everything Bradbury had ever written.  This book is brilliant, and I desperately want to learn more about the man who inspired such brilliance.

As with any short story collection, some stories were more my style than others.  In a book full of stories by well know writers, the two that stuck out to me were the book's opener, "The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury" by the incredible Neil Gaiman, and the beautifully melancholic "Children of the Bedtime Machine" by Robert McCammon.  Something about these two stories, in particular, struck at the very heart of my humanity, at the depths to which I love literature.  

There was not a single bad story in this book.  Bradbury recently passed away, but he knew this collection was being done, and even wrote a short introduction for it.  I cannot imagine the pride with which he is now looking down, seeing the lasting impact he will forever have on American Literature.  I am so thankful to have said yes to this book, and to have a newly sparked appreciation for a truly gifted writer.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours.  See the rest of the tour here. 

 

Vampire Cookbook, by J.O. Osbourne

Vampires are the hottest trend out there now.  Abe Lincoln is killing them, Edward Cullen is making them, and Sookie Stackhouse is endlessly cavorting with them.  The only thing left to do is to cook for them, and this is just the book to help you do that.

As a kid, Halloween was always my favorite holiday, and I always wanted to throw a Halloween party to end all parties.  So, it is no surprise that I absolutely love cookbooks that specialize in spooky recipes.  Sure, we all could made ladyfingers that look like actual ladies fingers, and we could have red jello out the wazoo, but I would want to step it up a notch, and this book provides endless ways to do this.

This book provides so many recipes that sound so delicious it is scary.  Plus they look gross and bloody.  Who would not love that.  This cookbook does call for a bit more sophisticated cooking skills, probably not a great book for a beginner or kids, although there are some recipes that would be appropriate, such as the appetizers or desserts.  A lot of the recipes call for blood oranges, which may be a bit difficult for some people to find in small town grocery stores.  However, these recipes are so tasty sounding, it would be worth the effort to find the blood oranges.  

All in all, this cookbook is amazing.  Vamp lovers will greatly appreciate it, and many foodies will as well.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author.

I've Been Deader, by Adam Sifre

What is harder than the life of a zombie?  The life of a zombie in love with a breather.  Such is the trial of our undead pal Fred.  You would think Fred would have no trouble scoring with the lovely Aleta, since he is still capable of rational thought.  For some reason, maybe it is the putrifying flesh or the risk of zombie infection, Aleta is just not biting.  So, Fred is.  Now, Fred is trying to lead a zombie uprising, all while trying to find his son Timmy (or is it Tommy, Fred cannot quite remember).

You would think a zombie would not be a very sympathetic character, particularly one with a heavy handed approach to dating, yet I found myself quite sympathetic toward Fred.  It cannot be easy being a being a higher level zombie capable of rational thought, stuck in a shuffling decaying body.  I liked the concept of there not really being a "good guy" in this book.  Even the guy who tries to fight the zombies is not exactly good.  Every person, alive or undead, is only looking out for his or her own interests.

I thought the writing was really clever, and found myself chuckling many times throughout the book.  Each chapter is a story in and of itself, and the chapters are woven together for a truly brilliant overall story.  I thought the chapters from Fred's point of view were the best, but I liked that the story was well rounded, showing the different aspects of the plot.

I found the book to be really entertaining overall, and quite witty.  It is definitely not your everyday zombie book; I think it will appeal to zombie fanatics, as well as readers who enjoy snarky humor.  Since I enjoy both zombies and snark, this book was perfect for me.

This book is from my personal library.

Fu Man Chu's Vampire, by Guido Henkel

Jason Dark is back again, fighting various supernatural boogeymen.  And as always, he is accompanied by the lovely and skilled Siu Lin.  When a couple of mysterious deaths turn up, the authorities turn to Dark for help, since the cases look to have supernatural elements.  Dark and Siu Lin meet up with the evil Fu Man Chu and his various vampiric henchmen.

Oh Jason Dark, how I have missed you.  I honestly do not think I will ever tire of the Jason Dark stories, each one having its own ability to mesmerize me.  This time, I was completely captivated by the way Henkel wove the new story with threads from the past stories.  While each story can function as a stand alone novella, reading all the stories in the Jason Dark series really gives you a much clearer picture of the genius of Guido Henkel.

I was so excited to see this particular story edge ever closer to Jason and Siu Lin developing a relationship beyond partners in crime.  A particular twist of the plot made it clear that there is a strong, emotional attachment between these two.  I also liked that some seriously bad things happen to to duo in this particular adventure.  It really kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading.

We all know I adore these stories, so it was no surprise to me (and probably not to anyone else) that once again, I completely recommend this book to anyone who likes supernatural thrillers, particularly when set against a historical backdrop.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author.

Ripper, by Amy Carol Reeves

The year is 1888, and Abbie Sharp has recently relocated to London.  She is living with her grandmother because her mother has passed away, and is finding life in society a bit dull.  Abbie begins working at the Whitechapel Hospital, and shortly after she begins there, a series of grisly murders occur, all prostitutes who had been patients at the hospital.  Abbie begins to have a series of visions regarding the murders and murderer, who is now being called The Ripper, and finds herself pulled into an uncertain world of dark, shadowy forces.

I have to admit, I find serial killers fascinating.  So, when I first heard about this book, I knew I would most likely find it interesting.  Set London in the late 1880's, the book involves the coming of age story of Abbie Sharp, which just happens to be occurring at the same time as a murder spree that will later be attributed to Jack the Ripper.  I found the book to be unique and well researched.  The facts of the Whitechapel murders are skillfully mixed with the fictional story of Abbie, and mixed with a dash of the paranormal, to create an interesting story about why the murders occurred.  I quite enjoyed this alternative take.

The characters for the most part are very well developed.  Abbie finds herself in a bit of a Victorian love triangle, which I feel could have been a bit more emphasized.  The development of the romantic angle seems a little jerky to me, but I think it still helps add to the overall story.  I really loved the paranormal aspect to the book, both with Abbie's visions and with what she later learns is the source of the violence in London.  

All in all, I found the book to be an engaging read involving a fascinating historical event.  I think the book will appeal to young adult fans of historical, horror, and/or paranormal fiction; some adult readers will also enjoy it, I certainly did.

I received a review copy of the book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley.

The Predatory Kind, edited by Joe McKinney

Some readers just love to be scared.  Fear is a funny thing that way, how it can bring so much pleasure and so much dread all at the same time.  And our world is full of things for us to fear, predators both seen and unseen.

Once again, we have a book full of frighteningly fantastic short stories.  Why do I love horror shorties so much?  Because I can read a story, get scared silly, take a break, and start all over again with a new tale of terror.  And trust me, some of the stories in this book are that scary.  The book starts off with a bang, a story about how and why roadside memorials, which I find terribly creepy anyway, really come into being.

My favorite story in the book is titled How the Wind Spoke at Madaket, by Lucius Shepard.  In this tale, the wind is personified, and boy is he pissed.  We learn the dangerous power of the wind, and the reason behind the anger.  It had echos of "The Mist" by King, only we learn more about the reason behind the wind's destructive nature.  I loved it.

If you are a fan of horror, check this out, I think you will like it.  New monsters, new myths, new horror.


I received a review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel, by Seth Grahame-Smith and Cliff Richards

Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters are weapons of mass destruction when it comes to taking out the undead.  The zombie scourge has taken over the lovely English countryside, and these girls will simply not stand for it.  Their father encourages them to fight the good fight, while their mother only wishes them to marry and become proper ladies.  When Eliza encounters Darcy, a formidible oponent in more ways than one, she is certain that she will not lose her head, which is less than can be said for the zombies she encounters.

I have long been an proponent of the monster mash up genre, particularly when it is done very very well.  The paperback version of this story is what started my love affair with this genre.  So, it is no surprise that I still really love the story, even in a different form.  I still find it incredibly clever, and innovative.

The part I disliked was that graphic portion of the book  I found it disappointing.  The Bennet sisters were hard to distinguish from each other in the illustrations, which made the reading a little clunky.  I think this would have most definitely benefitted from being in color as opposed to black and white.  I think a lot of the story, and it's impact, is lost in the nondescript drawings as they are.

This is a mixed bag for me.  I love the story, I just prefer it in novel form.  I created much better pictures in my own mind.

Dearly, Departed, by Lia Habel

Welcome to life in New Victoria.  It is 2195, and the world is not at all what people imagined.  People have settled into new places, adopted neo-Victorian ideals, and are at war with the subversive Punks.  And if that was not bad enough, it turns out the government and military have been covering up the fact that zombies exist.  Nora is on school holiday when she confronts this reality face to undead face, and now is trying to figure out how some of the zombies can be good guys, and some can be bad guys.  And more importantly, can she possibly find herself falling for a zombie?

Futuristic dystopian teenage steampunk zombies in love.  Really?  You say it out loud and it sounds ridiculous.  And yet, I completely loved this book.  Who would have thought?  This is my first foray into anything remotely steampunk, and I am intrigued to say the least.  I love the world that Habel has created in this book, a poetic blend of the future and the past, in terms of ideals and philosophies.  One of my favorite scenes in the book talks about a computer than runs on steam energy.  It seems to me that the book may have started out almost satirical, and somehow took on a life of its own as a legitimate, engaging piece of fiction.

Let's talk about the vivid language and imagery in the book.  I saw this book play in my head like a movie.  I thought it was really clever, and I loved that I was completely transported to this neo-Victorian era.  And character development?  Wow, off the charts.  I can only imagine how hard it is to make zombies sexy, what with all the putrescence and brain chomping.  Yet that is exactly what Habel does.  She breathes new life into the idea of zombies, puts a creative spin on the monster creating a hierarchy of zombiism, and somehow makes the undead antihero of the book really sexy and romantic.  Hard to imagine, and one of the numerous reasons you need to read the book for yourself.

In the realm of monsters, I always fancied myself a vamp fan, with my fandom of weres being secondary, my fandom of zombies tertiary, and my fandom of mummies nonexistent.  But this book could movie zombies up to tie for my number one favorite monster, particularly if its sequel is equally fantastic.     

So, yeah, futuristic dystopian teenage steampunk zombies in love.  It totally worked.

I received a review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.

I Was a Seventh Grade Monster Hunter, by A.G. Kent

Hannah is not your typical seventh grader.  She was born into a family with a legacy- a family of monster hunters descended from the great Bram Stoker himself.  Her grandfather has left her with instructions and tools to help fight evil forces and protect her family, but does Hannah really have what it takes?  Surely if Hannah can deal with boys, she can deal with monsters, right?

I absolutely loved this book.  I have been a fan of horror and thriller books since I was a kid, but back then there was a real lack of these types of books that were age appropriate.  By the time Goosebumps hit the scene, I was out of that demographic, and reading adult horror.  So it makes me really happy that a good, quality, horror/thriller series is being published for older middle grades and young adult readers!

Kent does a brilliant job of resurrecting the movie monsters of old, and breathing new life into them.  I can imagine after reading this book, a lot of kids will want to watch the old Universal classic horror films, which makes me ridiculously happy.  I loved the character development and back story of Hannah's family, and am excited to see what secrets the rest of the series will share about Bram Stoker's progeny.

The story is really original, and I love that what we typically think of as monsters are actually, in this book, the good guys.  The writing weaves together thrills and humor in a way that is sure to keep readers engaged.  This book would make a great Halloween treat for your little ghost or goblin, and even perhaps an adult who is still a kid at heart (like me).

I received a review copy courtesy of the author.

Grave Expectations, by Sherri Browning Erwin

Growing up an orphan, being raised up by hand thanks to his much older sister, getting accosted by a convict, and falling in love with the most unattainable girl he knows, all of these things would make life tough.  Add to this the fact that you are a werewolf, and, well, you have Pip's lot in life.  After an odd encounter with a convict werewolf, Pip's life becomes a serious of curious encounters, including the vampire Miss Havisham, the slayer Estella, and a mysterious benefactor who is determined to make Pip into a gentleman werewolf.  What does the future hold for Pip?

I am a sucker for dark and gloomy novels, so one would think I would adore Dickens, but oddly enough I do not.  I do not actively dislike Dickens, I just find him difficult to read.  So thank goodness for Sherri Browning Erwin.  Her gothic revision of Great Expectations made me love this story.  Once again, she proves that literary mashup genre can be something magical when done correctly; sadly, few authors are as adept at the genre as she.  I had not read the original story since high school, so picking up this book was like walking down a somewhat familiar path that has grown dark and shadowy.  I loved that feeling.

Sherri stays true to the heart and soul of the Dickens classic, but I really love the liberties she has taken with the characters.  I love the juxtoposition of werewolves, vampires, and of course the slayer Estella.  I liked seeing Pip struggle with his wolvish nature, it added a bit of latent sexuality into an otherwise completely chaste tale.  

Clearly, there is a huge theme of transformation in the novel.  The wolves transform, not only due to the moon but due to their own passions.  Pip is being transformed into a gentleman, while Estella into a slayer.  Miss Havisham was transformed into a vampire, and a broken woman.  Dead people are transformed into zombies.  And a dusty literary classic is transformed into a riveting supernatural novel.  

And I, dear readers, was transformed into a Dickens fan.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author.

Pat the Zombie, by Aaron Xim and Kaveh Soofi

Paul and Judy can survive a lot of things, things you probably would never survive.  In this spoof of a classic childrens' book, you get to experience Paul and Judy's zombified world, including checking yourself for infection, playing peek a book with Paul, and feeling Daddy's putrefying flesh.  Most certainly not a book for kids.

Since I have been reviewing mostly standard novels recently, I wanted to mix things up a bit, and this book was the perfect choice.  I personally love spoof and satire, so this book cracked me up.  Designed to look nearly identical to the classic "Pat the Bunny" books, this is not for those with no sense of humor.  It is most definitely kind of gross, but funny.

I was amazed at how similar this book was to the original kids' book.  The typography and drawings are spot on, and the cover and packaging is identical (with the exception of some blood spatter).  The book is a short read, but well worth it none the less.  For anyone who loves zombies, or a zombie book collector, this book is a must have.  Sometimes zombie humor is done in a half-hearted way, and sometimes it is done perfectly.  I think this book is a grand slam.  I great gift idea for the zombie expert in your life.


This book was borrowed for the purposes of this review.

Monster Story, by McCarty Griffin

Christy has returned to West Virginia for her grandmother's funeral.  She had no idea she would end up staying there, but stay there she did.  And now she is living in her grandmother's old cabin in the middle of the woods.  Which would be cozy, if it were not for the killer that was stalking and killing people all around the county.  As more people are harmed, Christy has an idea who, or more appropriately what, is behind the carnage.  But could it be possible?  Do monsters like this really exist?

Wow.  I thought I had read some good monster stories, but this was unlike anything I had read, and I mean that as a very sincere compliment.  Monster story frightened me, sickened me, and mesmerized me.  The way this story was told seemed unique to me, and this monster is certain to scare you.

I really liked the setting of this book.  As someone who grew up in the Appalachian foothills, I know how creepy  backwoods areas can be, and it made for the perfect setting for this story.  I also really enjoyed the characters, and seeing their relationships develop over the course of the book.  I was most enthralled by the development of the "monster", not only in how he came to be, but in how he lost all semblance of humanity.

As a long time horror lover, both in film and book form, I have to say, I would love to see this book come alive on film.  If done right, it could make for a great feature film, and even a low budget movie could do well with this story; I am a firm believer that there is real value to B movies.  Overall, I was impressed by Griffin's writing, and it gave me the same feelings I get when I read Stephen King.  That is not something that I can say about many horror writers.



I received a review copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Curse of Kali (Jason Dark Volume X), by Guido Henkel

A man us dead, and the scene is set to make it look like a statue of an ancient Goddess has killed him.  With both Jason Dark and Sherlock Holmes on the scene, it is not long before the mystery appears to be solved.  Or is it?  Holmes concludes it is an open and shut case of murder, but as Jason Dark digs a little more, it is clear this crime has a supernatural element.  So, the question is, who is behind it, and why?

I was so excited to learn that Sherlock Holmes would be making an appearance in this Jason Dark book.  His arrival has long been hinted at, throughout the series, and I am happy to not only see it happen, but to see the interesting twist Henkel put on the interaction of the two investigators.  I personally liked seeing Holmes being trumped by Dark.

The story in this novella, like all of the Jason Dark novellas, is a fresh, unique look at what can be scary.  Henkel skillfully combines the Victorian gothic setting with universal horrors to make for stories that still are frightening to modern readers, but also appeal to those who like classic horror.  I personally found this to be one of the spookier stories, since the idea of a murderous statue would never have occurred to me, thereby making it a new terror.

Now that we are quite a few books into the series, Henkel is able to weave bits of the histories of past tales into the book, while also hinting at what may come in the future.  I find this to be incredibly engaging as a reader (and it makes me want to go re-read all the past novellas), yet it is done in a way that should someone choose this book as their first foray into Jason Dark, they would not be confused.  That is the sign of a skillful writer in my opinion.

So, my question for you is, why are you still reading my review, when you could be reading this fantastic book?



I received a review copy of the book courtesy of the author.

Necromancer, by Lish McBride

Who would have know that Death could come in the form of a 10 year old girl?  But that is exactly what Ashley is now, a harbinger of death, typically unseen by humans.  The exception to this rule is her best friend, who sees her and communicates with her regularly.  One day, he asks if he can watch her in action as a harbinger.  But even watching Ashley do her thing does not change the fact that she is his best friend.

This whole thing was a little on the deceptive side.  This book is labled as a novella.  When going on word count, a novella is usually between 10,000 and 40,000 words.  There is no way this was a novella.  I am not even sure it was a novelette, most likely it was just a short story.  And to even get to the short story, the plot of which I describe above, one must first read an excerpt from a full length novel.  However, the excerpt is not, in my opinion, presented in a way that makes me want to read the novel, it is presented in a way that makes this whole "novella" confusing.

Posting excerpts in ebook form and calling them a free book download is somewhat surreptitious if you ask me.  And I see it becoming a big trend on sites that support various e-readers.  It tends to be ill received by those who do download and read the book.  Sure, free is free, but when you are doing it to promote a book people need to pay for, you are somewhat shooting yourself in the foot.  There are better, more forthcoming ways to do this that do not alienate a reader.  Write a prequal.  Or in this case, write a really good novella, an actual novella, and put the excerpt at the END of the ebook, not the beginning.

It made me sad that this turned out to be so disappointing.  Both the short story and the excerpt did seem to have a lot of promise, but the whole experience of the book being not what it purported to be just sort of pushed me away as a reader.


This is a book from my personal elibrary.