LOCAL GODS by Mark Hurst @MarkHur41481024

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Recommendation

In a Nutshell: An assassin who needs to lie low discovers strange happenings in the village of Little Baddington...

Local Gods is a dark and terrifying little gem that I looked forward to getting back to each time I had to put it down.  London assassin Pete Collins allows personal vengeance to enter into his paid work, which does not please the faceless men he serves.  On the advice of his handler, he drives into deepest Gloucestershire, out in the sticks, to avoid any heat that might come his way.  

After a strangely cool reception on the night of his arrival (with the exception of new pub landlord Craig, who has made the mistake of trying to inject Little Baddington with the culture of Hampstead), Pete becomes increasingly unsettled by every experience in the village, and every local with whom he comes into contact.  And it's only going to get worse.  Suffice to say that Pete the contract killer soon starts to feel like the 'goodie'.

I love a story that surprises me all the way through, with developments I can't predict at all, and this was one such.  It's not a particularly long book, I imagine about 65 or 70K words (though I might be wrong, as the words do tend to whizz by when you're eagerly turning the pages!).  It's beautifully edited, with never a superfluous sentence, just the right amount of detail and atmosphere, with characters that pop into life as soon as they appear.  And the ending ... so, so good.  Really wish I hadn't finished it, though!

As is probably obvious, I highly recommend this novel.  If you're not the sort of person who spooks too easily...

THE HOUSE AT THE END OF LACELEAN STREET

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter, and have read a few of this author's books!

In a Nutshell: Unusual supernatural story about trauma and acceptance

I took the opportunity of receiving an (uncorrected) ARC, as I know Catherine McCarthy's stories are always worth reading. She is a master of atmosphere, writes with a fine turn of phrase and illustrates her characters so well.  

In this mysterious tale, Howard, Claudia and Stacey find themselves on a bus that takes them to the house of the title, where there is nobody else present (aside from the most efficient staff, who neither we nor the characters ever see).  All three are at rock bottom emotionally, because of adverse circumstances in their lives and particular events that appear to have been the 'last straw'.  As the truth about their lives is revealed, sometimes by hint, sometimes in a dream sequence or hallucination, the purpose of their stay becomes more apparent.

I was certainly invested in these characters, and read the book quickly, though I did feel a little 'yes, but why? How?' after I'd read the ending.  This is only personal taste; I'm one of those readers who likes to have everything spelled out at the end and get actual, definite answers.  The outcome is positive in many ways; I just wanted more of it!    

THE SURFACING by Terrance Coffey @terry_coffey #RBRT

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Body snatchers, mind control, a supernatural race, in normal situations in small-town America

What struck me all the way through this book is that it would make a terrific Netflix series of the Stranger Things kind; I notice that the author is also a screenwriter, so I wondered if he'd imagined it in this vein as it was being written.

I like books set in small-town America; this takes place in Lynch, Kentucky and Appalachia, Virginia.  In each close community, it becomes increasingly apparent that some people are not who they claim to be.  Others are possessed of superhuman powers, while mysterious chasms appear in the land, and curious sightings are recorded.  People disappear, or change personality overnight.

The story is written from many third person points of view; again, this would have worked if visual, when the actors themselves provide the characterisation, but when they're just names on a page it's not so easy to keep track of them all.  Some, like alcoholic mine worker Clay and his wife Tara, were fully three dimensional, so I could remember who they were, but I had trouble with others; I kept starting a new chapter and thinking, "Who's this fella, again?"  Aside from this, it was well-written and nicely paced, with the mystery of what exactly was going on unfurling slowly, not fully revealed until half-way through.  I appreciated this, as a good plot (which The Surfacing undoubtedly has) is nothing without skilled pacing.

Nice piece of fantasy/paranormal type scifi, for those who love the genre.

THE MIND'S EVIL TOY (The Life and Death of Amy Dudley) by Gemma Lawrence @TudorTweep

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: A favourite author, was looking forward to it.

In a Nutshell: Historical fiction with a fantastical element.

Amy Dudley, neglected wife of Lord Robert Dudley, walks through the story of her life with him ... after she has departed this world.  She is led from place to place, from situation to situation, by her companion: Death.  The purpose of this journey is to uncover the truth, and thus allow her to rest in peace, behind not only her mysterious passing, but the crumbling of her once happy marriage, as the love between Dudley and Queen Elizabeth I deepens.

I'm not into the genre of fantasy at all, but this book worked for me so well.  I loved it.  It didn't feel like fantasy as such, I think because the events portrayed really did happen. 

Amy and Death discuss the machinations of her husband and his ill-fated relationship with the queen, shown to them via their invisible presence in scenes from the past.  I found this a perfect way to tell such a story; a straight fiction from the points of view of Elizabeth, Robert and Amy would not have been half so compelling.

The twist on the likely truth behind Amy's demise is clever and interesting, written in the mode of any good murder mystery, though the notes at the back of the book reveal the author's actual thoughts on the matter (I too am in agreement with the general opinion).  However, this is not all the book is about.  It's the story of a love that couldn't be, of ambition and deceit, of the Queen's triumph of sense over passion; it makes one ponder an abandoned woman's lot in such times, and also the value of life itself, with some wise observations from the not-at-all-demonic Death.

'The wisdom of others should never be ignored, but it should also never be followed with such slavish abandon that we forget to use the matter of our own minds'

'All things must end, that is the way of things. But other beings than me, grief, bitterness, resentment, these are the true enemies, for they steal life still there to live.  They make people think life, this precious and unlikely gift, is not worth living, and the worst of it is, it is a lie and people are tricked into believing it.  I am not the enemy, just the end.  Those who steal away life from those still living, they are the enemy'

It is observations such as these that reiterate to me why Gemma Lawrence is so successful at her chosen profession.  Well done.

A MOONLIT PATH OF MADNESS by Catherine McCarthy @serialsemantic

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter; have read and enjoyed others by this author before.

In a Nutshell: Eerie visions in an old family house in Wales, at the turn of the 20th Century.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which I read in just a few days.  Grace Morgan from Vermont inherits the old family home in Newport, South Wales and, after the death of her mother, makes the decision to move back there with faithful maid Lilah.  Family mysteries and secrets abound, and Grace begins to have curious visions, as did her mother.

A Moonlit Path of Madness is a quieter work of the supernatural horror genre - I'm not much of a one for ghoulies and ghosties, but this is more about the emotions of the characters than things that go bump in the night.  Those emotions are so well portrayed, the whole story so atmospheric - and who could resist that glorious cover?  The writing flows, and I was completely immersed all the time I was reading it, eager to know what would happen, wrong about most of my predictions, which is always a plus!

I've just tried to write about the ending three times and deleted each time, because it's hard to do so without giving clues, so I'll simply say that it's just right, with an essence of melancholia that fits so well with the rest of the story

THE WAY THE LIGHT BENDS by Lorraine Wilson #RBRT #TuesdayBookBlog

 4 out of 5 stars

Publishing on Amazon on August 2nd
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Love, loss and the supernatural

An interesting and unusual book that centres around two sisters: the unconvential, wildhearted Tamsin who cannot come to terms with the death of her twin brother, Rob, and perfect Freya, the older sibling with the perfect husand and perfect job.  Then, a year after Rob's death, Tamsin disappears without trace, as does her boyfriend, a curious and shadowy figure about whom nobody knows anything much at all.

The book is written in two time frames, and from two points of view - Tamsin tells her story in the first person, gradually letting the reader into the turmoil in her mind, and showing what led up to her disappearance.  Freya's sections are told in the third person - these are good choices, just right for the story.  Freya's account shows her own, deepening turmoil as she grieves for Rob and becomes obsessed with finding Tamsin; she feels increasingly isolated, and begins to question everything about the way her family lives.  

The setting is Scotland; Perth, St Andrews and a couple of other locations. Tamsin and her friends worked in the grounds of old country house, and ran 'forest schools' for children; I loved all the detail about this.  The novel is beautifully written and flows so well.

Any negatives?  Sometimes I felt the descriptive passages were a little long-winded, when I wanted to get on with the story and find out what Tamsin's mysterious boyfriend was all about, and I was underwhelmed by the ending, which I thought a little wishy-washy after the build-up, but I did enjoy reading this book; much of the prose has an almost poetic, ethereal quality to it, reflecting the subject matter, and certainly the author should be proud of it.

UNDEAD by Mark Brendan #RBRT

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Three macabre novellas of blood, terror and the living dead

In the first of these horror novellas, a man falls foul of the Spanish Inquisition and finds himself on a curious island where he comes under threat from unhuman terrors.  The second tale is about a necromancer in the eighteenth century, and the final one about some members of Napoleon's forces stationed in Northern Africa, who are looking for a way out of their situation.

All three stories are highly inventive, and I very much enjoyed some aspects of all of them.  My favourite was the last one, about the French deserters; this one really kept my attention and I was engrossed.  The atmosphere of the time was so well written, and I particularly liked the early scenes at the site of the battle.  I also liked the sections of the first one where the hero is a galley slave. The stories are fairly gory but not unnecessarily so; it worked.

I felt that the book, as a whole, could have done with a better copy editor/proofreader, as there were some wrongly used words and many punctuation errors, mostly missing vocative commas.  The content editing is fine; the stories flowed well and were told in a way that kept my attention. It was just the incorrect punctuation and other errors that should have been picked up, that distracted me.  Also, I felt that on several occasions the dialogue was too modern for the relevant periods in history.  Not horrendously so, but I think an experienced copy editor could polish them up to something first rate.

NEAR DEATH by Richard Wall @writinblues

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter; I'd seen a few tweets about it from the author, then one day I took a look.

In a Nutshell: Murders most brutal, with a paranormal theme.

The story is set in the early 1960s in New York and rural South Carolina.  John Henry Beauregard, a Korean War veteran, is working as the chaplain in Sing Sing prison, when he is called to give last rites to Joseph Hickey, a vicious murderer whose crimes were so horrific that details are withheld from most.  Hickey taunts John, and promises that he'll see him again, even though he is about to be frazzled on Old Sparky.

As other similar murders begin to take place, John and his friend, NYPD cop Eugene, begin to explore possible theories that sound insane even to themselves.  They are both psychologically damaged and at times just trying to hang onto the threads of their lives.

I enjoyed this book all the way through.  Throughout the main story, mostly told by John in the first person, are short chapters that hint about why events are taking place, with the reader being left to piece it all together, gradually.  The pace and drip-feeding of information worked so well, and made the story a real page-turner.  Lots of unpredictable events; I do love a novel in which I can't guess what's going to happen.

The characters of John and Eugene were very likeable, as was Vinnie, the hard-nosed lawyer who flips the bird at convention and authority, and I loved the writing style, which was clear, simple and effective.  I only had one problem with it: 'black', as in the colour of a person's skin, was spelled with a capital B in most but not all cases.  I know this is favoured by the politically correct in this day and age, but it was not so at the time John was telling this story, and it looked out of place.  Similarly, John uses the phrase 'people of color', which was not introduced and popularised until at least a decade later.  I wouldn't usually nit-pick about stuff like this that wouldn't bother most people, but they really stood out to me.

Paranormal is not my usual genre of choice, but it totally worked in this story, seeming possible and believable, and I liked the author's take on what happens after death.  The book is clever, humorous in parts, touching, terribly sad and fairly brutal, with gory and shocking detail, so it's not a book for the faint of heart.  I'm very glad I stopped on that tweet, clicked the link to Amazon and downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited.  At some point I shall take a look at the rest of Mr Wall's work.  Nice one.

IMMORTELLE by Catherine McCarthy @serialsemantic

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read short stories by this author and liked them very much; thus, I bought!

In a Nutshell: Novella, dark mystery/ghost/mild thriller, set in rural Wales about a hundred years ago (I think).

The story is about Elinor, a ceramic artist interested in pagan and supernatural folklore/magic, whose daughter Rowena dies under mysterious circumstances.  In her grief, Elinor starts work on an immortelle (a ceramic, glass-domed wreath, particularly popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras) as a memento as a memento for Rowena's grave.

Soon, many local people are asking her to make immortelles for their own dead loved ones, and, around a year later, one of the departed recipients appears to her.  Elinor has always had suspicions about Rowena's death, and believes that at some point her fears will be confirmed.

As with the other stories I've read by Catherine McCarthy, this one reeks of Welsh mysticism and secrets hidden in the hills, floating by on the wind or trickling in with the tide.  It is beautifully written, with not a drop in quality all the way through; it is this, and the atmosphere Ms McCarthy creates, that made this a page turner throughout, even in the middle section which is more concerned with emotion than events.  Such was the subtle build up of suspense that I felt, all the way through, as if there might be a truly shocking occurrence just round the corner.

I'd class it as a low-key supernatural mystery rather than horror, though it does have that dark, sinister quality to it that this author pulls off so well; it probably comes naturally, as she was clearly born to write this stuff!  The story totally works; it fits nicely into the novella length with an ending that is pleasing on several levels.

MISTS AND MEGALITHS by Catherine McCarthy @serialsemantic

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I read the final story, Carreg Samson, in a horror anthology and thought it was excellent, so wanted to read more.

In a Nutshell: low-key horror/supernatural stories set in Wales

I read this over a period of two days, and was most impressed.  Catherine McCarthy's love of her country and the spiritual attachment she feels to its past are so evident, all the way through; I haven't been to Wales for many years, and it made me want to go back there.

In every collection such there will be those you love, those you like, and those that don't quite hit the spot for you, but there is not one weak story in Mists and Megaliths.  One of the aspects I loved was that I didn't guess how any of them were going to end.  Not one - and the writing itself made me fall into the story, each time.  My favourites were:

MÃRA - about a husband and wife who purchase a 'spirit box' before moving into a new house, not knowing what they are living with... in the notes for the story (there are notes for each one, a feature I liked very much, as it made them mean so much more), we learn that this is semi-autobiographical.  It's a real shocker.

RETRIBUTION - about a certain darkness that falls over a village and its church, and what Ewan Jenkins does to remedy this.

COBLYNAU - an old man with dementia, sitting by a window in a residential care home, wonders when the Coblynau, the mythical goblin-like creatures that haunt mines and quarries, will arrive for him.  I loved this one partly because it made me think of visiting my mother in the care home in which she lived for around six years before she died (Alzheimer's), and how we would see her struggle to find the words she wanted to say.  Also, it reminded me of sewing her name tapes into her clothes!

CARREG SAMSON - I was pleased to find this one at the end, and enjoyed reading it again.  Carreg Samson is a huge, ancient stone that has watched the movements of man over millennia, and knows that another period of darkness is coming soon...

If you're a fan of the darkly mystical and folklore (or is it more than just folklore?), you will love these stories.  Well done, Catherine McCarthy - a fine collection!

THE LONG VIEW by Mark Hurst @MarkHur41481024

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

On BookBub

How I discovered this book: friend's recommendation.

In A Nutshell: A girl who can see dead people... and a certain evil.

Oddly, the last book I read was about a boy who could see dead people - just coincidence, it's not my new favourite genre!

Fifteen-year-old Sophie Lydon's father is an undertaker, which is somewhat disturbing for a girl who can communicate with the recently deceased.  The gift was inherited from her mother, now dead; Sophie lives with her father and her mute, intellectually disabled uncle.  Life is not easy for her, and being bullied at school by the cool queen of the class, Cassie, makes it a whole lot worse.  Then again, Cassie has her own problems.

Bob Curran is a former detective who grew obsessed with the work of a serial killer, and is sure that an unnamed evil lies beneath his crimes, one that has not yet been laid to rest.  Then the murders begin again...

I very much liked the concept of 'the Long View', a long, long walk after death, destination unknown, during which the walkers are tempted by offers of rest and comfort.  This is an unusual story, and unpredictable, which is always a plus.  The characterisation is good, particularly Cassie and Bob, and the plot is cleverly worked out.

The story has an omniscient narrator, which did not always work for me; it's a hard style to carry off, as too often it can slide into confusing 'head-hopping' - this is when one minute the reader is inside Sophie's head, the next inside Bob's.  This can be executed convincingly, but in this book there were no gaps between 'heads'; a row of asterisks before the next person's POV can make all the difference.  Similarly, when there is a time gap, or a change in setting, so that the reader doesn't think, 'hang on a minute, isn't she supposed to be in a kitchen in the day time?  How come it's suddenly all dark?'.  I think it could have used the eyes of an experienced editor, for this reason.  However, the person who recommended it to me was not bothered by these aspects, so you may not be, either!

Recommended to those who love a dark paranormal story, and who are not too squeamish - it's far from grisly but there is a fair bit of well-written graphic detail about the murders.

LATER by Stephen King

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads 

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse

In a Nutshell:

I love some Stephen King (The Stand, Misery, Thinner, IT before the bit at the end with the daft spider), but am not a massive fan, finding some of them unnecessarily long with too many daft spiders, etc, but that fabulous cover made me look twice.

Jamie Conklin can see dead people.  As he explains, not like in the Bruce Willis film; he sees them just after they die, for a short period of time until they fade away.  During this time he can talk to them - and once dead, they never lie.

Jamie lives in New York with his mother Tia, a literary agent.  He was a young child when he first discovered he could see the dead; terrified of this at first, he learns to live with it.  The story takes a darker turn when others want to exploit his gift for their own ends.

Of course Mr King is a master storyteller and this had me pretty much glued to the page all the way through; it's gripping, funny, sinister and relatable, all at once, and coasts along nicely, always with the hint that something much, much worse is going to happen.  I enjoyed the whole New York vibe, though I was disappointed by the ending - it just sort of stops.  Like King couldn't think of a really good way to end it, so he wrote the last big action scary bit then wrapped it up.  There's a bit of a twist at the end, but it doesn't have that much bearing on the story.  It's a good length for a quick, couple of days read - about 230 pages - and a book I looked forward to getting back to each time.  If it'd had a worthy ending, I'd have given it 5*.

KNIGHT IN PAPER ARMOR by Nicholas Conley

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In A Nutshell: Supernatural/dystopian/near future US

Billy Jakobek was born with powerful psychic abilities and has lived most of his life in a town called Heaven's Hole, under the care of the Thorne Corporation that dominates America.  Billy absorbs the physical pain, trauma and memories of everyone he meets, which, most of the time, causes him fear and sadness.  He frequently visited by an entity called The Shape, which he perceives as being the darkness in man, and which predicts a calamitous future for mankind.

At school, Billy meets Natalia, with whom he feels an immediate, powerful connection—it is more than just attraction.  Elsewhere, we learn more about Billy's 'Mother', aka scientist Roseanne, and Caleb Thorne himself.  I liked that the author wrote chapters from Roseanne and Caleb's point of view, too, as shows us what is really going on behind the scenes—and what Caleb's plans are once he has harnessed Billy's powers.

I liked the feeling of depressed doom about the town of Heaven's Hole, in which immigrant workers live and work in appalling conditions, though I would have liked to know more about it, and also how the country came to be how it is now—more background would have been welcome. 

The characterisation is good; I had a clear picture of who each of the main players were, and the dialogue is strong and realistic, the emotions portrayed well.  What I was not so keen on was the frequency of inner thoughts in italics (on just about every page), and the fact that the book was more YA-orientated than I thought it would be; I would class it as a YA book even though it is not listed as such.  One can have enough 'teen speak'.

I thought this book would be very much my cup of tea, though it wasn't so, but it's good of its type, and it is clear that a lot of work and thought has gone into it; and the aspects I was not so keen on are down to personal taste rather than there being anything wrong with the book.  I've given it 3.5* for how much I enjoyed it, though it's worthy of 4* for readers who enjoy teen-supernatural books with powerful themes of good and evil, and the overcoming of light over dark.

 

HIGHLAND COVE by Dylan J Morgan @dylanjmorgan #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In A Nutshell:  Five twenty-somethings investigate a supposedly haunted abandoned asylum on a Scottish island.

A highly atmospheric story that gathers momentum like skeletal fingers walking slowly up your back, Highland Cove is a book that will delight lovers of dark, horrifying ghost stories that do not necessarily end well... 

The party of five who set out on this foolish mission—to make a documentary in a haunted asylum on a lonely Scottish island—each have their own story, and the characters are well-defined, particularly Liam, for whom this project is something of a passion, and Alex, the sceptical rich boy who has been invited purely because he is willing to fund it.  Dylan Morgan's descriptive powers are first class, and I particularly liked the meeting in the pub, early on, with the old sailor who was to take them across from the mainland.

I was pleased to find that the horror certainly ramps up during the second half, with many surprises, and I thought the last twenty per cent was actually the best part, with a twist in the tale or two that I didn't expect, at all.  I felt that some of the detail in the first half could have been chopped down a little, but on the whole I'd say that this is a fine, well-written book with good plot, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to become immersed in a novel on the gory horror end of the supernatural genre.

HIGHWAY TWENTY by Michael J Moore

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Contemporary creature horror, small-town America

I enjoyed reading this—I like books set in small-town America, and this had a rather B-movie, pulp fiction feel to it, suitable for the genre.

The townspeople of Sedrow Woolley, Washington State, are disappearing—then they come back and they're ... different.  The book starts off with a man abducting a small boy, and finding that he has bitten off more than he can chew; a most compelling, if shocking, beginning.  The main characters are a mechanic called Conor and a homeless man, Percly, who sleeps in a disused train, and the story alternates between their chapters, written in third person point of view.

The great strength of this story is the characterisation and dialogue, which was spot on and totally convincing, particularly the highly likeable Conor, his wild and boozy girlfriend, Shelby, and his colleague, John.  It's a very easy read, a page-turner, and flowed well; Mr Moore can certainly spin a yarn, and the suspense was delivered well, too, with the story unravelling at a good pace.

My only complaint is that it did feel a bit too pulp fiction at times; I could imagine it being a slim volume that one might pick up in a 'dime store' in 1950s Sedrow Woolley, with a picture of a cartoon damsel in distress running away from a monster, on the front—it does need a better proofreader/copy editor, as I found more errors than I would expect, with issues like backwards apostrophes at the beginning of words, and the odd wrongly assigned dependent clause.  But it's good, and basically well-written.  If you enjoy these sort of stories and aren't too picky about minor errors, I think you'll love it.

NIGHT SERVICE by John F Leonard @john_f_leonard

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: A Bus Ride Into Hell

In this horror novella, Luke is on his third date with Jessica and, finally, is getting to spend the night with her - but first they have to get from their night out in the city centre to her home, in a village miles away.  Luke would get a taxi, but it would bankrupt him, so they settle on their only option: the night service.

Also on board are a drunk skinhead, a chatty old man, a woman and a baby, and three members of a rock band.  All seems, if not fine, then not too much of a worry, until the bus begins to speed up, and they begin to realise that the silent driver is missing out all the stops...

Born from the author's many travels on the night service in his younger days (it says in the notes at the back), this is a fun horror story that kept me turning the pages in its unravelling of unexpected developments, and well-painted atmosphere.  Although horrific, it is not without humour, and it sits well in the novella length, without any padding or excess detail that would slow it down.

The only aspect I was not so keen on was the constant use of the subordinate clause - short, staccato, incomplete sentences - to emphasise urgency, shock, fear.  I'm not necessarily a traditionalist when it comes to literary styles, and thought that sometimes, although not 'correct', it worked well, but other times it was used to the extent that it marred my enjoyment of the story.

The ending features another nice little twist; I'd say that if you love this genre and prefer shorter books that will only take you a couple of hours or so to read, you should like this.


Good article about sentences, subordinate and independent clauses HERE

THE HUNGER by Alma Katsu

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read a few reviews of it on book blogs, via Twitter.

In a Nutshell: Fiction taken from fact - pioneers crossing America heading for California, in 1846, slowly realise that a great danger is walking alongside....

I didn't realise until I read the author's notes at the back that this is based on a true story; I wish I had known.

The atmosphere in this book is a such a winner, and the naïveté of the families who set out to travel through uncharted territory, from Illinois to California, is quite pitiful; they fancy they are setting out a great adventure, little understanding the size of America, the range of temperatures and terrains, the dangers they might face when trying to transport their families and entire homes through completely wild lands.

Main characters feature: Stanton, a lone traveller with a troubled past; Bryant, a man fascinated with the Native American culture; Tamsen, a dissatisfied trophy wife; Reed, a pompous former shop owner; Elitha, a young woman who hears voices, the sinister Keseberg, whose back story is flesh-crawlingly gruesome, and there are points of view from various others, too....

...in fact, there are so many characters that I sometimes forgot who was who, but the main ones were well-drawn enough for them to stand out, and I realised after a while that it wasn't absolutely essential to remember everything about a character, just because he or she had a name.

The party have started out too late in the season, and face many problems on the way, as, against advice, they take a route that is supposed to shave many miles off the journey, which becomes increasingly arduous ... and, waiting in the wings, is another danger.

I did enjoy this book, a lot, though I thought it could have done without the supernatural aspect, which didn't really work for me, and seemed superfluous, turning the book into a genre it needn't have been; the darkness of man himself was enough to add all the terror the story required.  However, this side of it is not too over-played, and I enjoyed it enough to buy a book suggested in the notes at the back - an account of the actual story, which Katsu used in her research: Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick.

I felt that some of the individual stories could have been rounded off more (I was left not knowing exactly who had died and who hadn't, or maybe I just couldn't remember, because the dramatis personae was so extensive), but on the whole the ending was satisfactory - I do most certainly recommend, and look forward to reading the book mentioned above.

(note 7/5/19: Nearly finished Desperate Passage, which I highly recommend.  Had I read it first, though, I don't think I would have enjoyed The Hunger as much as I did; I would have been too irritated by the way Katsu changed the story and characters, and gave so little story space to what was actually the longest and most horrifying part of the journey.  To read The Hunger just as fiction, is probably better.)

HERE AFTER by Sean Costello

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse

In a Nutshell: Man whose son has just died goes on a mission to find the son of a friend who has been abducted.  Paranormal element.

I was attracted to this book because I'm a sucker for a cover with a road going into the distance, and I made the decision to buy because the reviews are so good.  I didn't realise until later that I'd read an earlier book by this author, Squall, that I thought only so-so; this book, though, is in a different class.

The early part, when main character Peter is dragging himself through his days after the death of his son, is so well done and believable.  I'm not usually much of a one for death-in-family dramas, but this is very readable.  At a group for parents who have lost children, he meets Roger, whose son was abducted.  Roger is a mess; aggressive, drinking too much.  Peter begins to see a connection with Roger's son and another boy abducted previously.

After the great start I felt my enthusiasm for this book ebb and flow; sometimes I was really enjoying it, other times I thought it needed a bit of editing down, as there is a fair bit of detail that I found too long-winded.  Then I'd start to enjoy it again, particularly in some terrific bits of dialogue with some people Peter meets on his search; small town types, and a great section in which some the policemen on watch outside another abducted child's house are killed.  You know when you read a few pages and find yourself sitting back, thinking, wow, that was good?

One thing I did like was that the paranormal element (only minor) is not over the top; it was just kind of touching.  And he never tried to explain it, which absolutely worked for me.

The last third of the book is the best, really gripping, and the plot unfolds in a way I would never have guessed; it would make a great TV series.  I definitely recommend!

BAD PENNIES by John F Leonard @john_f_leonard

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter

In a Nutshell: Lad Lit meets Supernatural/Horror.

Chris Carlisle is an ordinary guy doing an ordinary sales job that he hates, with a couple of mates that he sometimes loves and sometimes loves to hate, and a gorgeous girlfriend: the nauseating Becca.  She was meant to be nauseating, I think; something about the way she calls Chris 'special fellow' and 'my special man' all the time.  Chris is always skint, a typical lad lit hero who doesn't bother to clean up unless he's likely to have company.  He's a nice guy; you can't fail to like him, with all his flaws.  The scene-setting was quite long and fully sketched, which I liked; I'm not one who needs to be plunged into action on page one.  

At the end of most chapters are hints that danger is around the corner, in a 'little did she know this was the last time she would see him' sort of way.  I liked this; I thought it added to the suspense and made me want to keep turning the pages, and it worked along with the slightly comic book tone of the novel.  

Chris's life changes when he discovers a bulging wallet, the property of a man he saw run over.  It's not just an ordinary wallet...and Chris little understands that, by claiming it as his own, he has opened doors that should have remained shut.   There are some good dark and dingy descriptive pieces in the book, particularly a scene featuring a detective in the home of the repulsive Ronald Hodge, in the bleak and mysterious Empire Road.  

I enjoyed the 'real life' elements of this book most, and the darkly comedic side.  I liked the whole 'totally ordinary guy in super-weird extraordinary circumstances' thing.  John F Leonard has a witty, easy-to-read writing style, with some good turns of phrase: 

'No milkman in his right mind would have delivered to Brabham Building, Ashton High Street.  Even the postmen wanted stunt doubles and danger money.'

'...tall wide and ugly in every way you could imagine.  He looked like he ate BMWs for breakfast'

'My source of income, other than my shit job at the ISWS misery factory?  Well, you see, I found, sort of stole I suppose you could say if you wanted to get pedantic about it, an enchanted wallet.  Yeah, yeah, I know, it's shag me in the ass without lube mental, isn't it?' 

My general feel about the novel as a whole was that it needs another tidying-up draft, and perhaps the intervention of a more experienced copy editor/proofreader, to sort out the lack of vocative commas and the few editorial errors, and cut some of the funnies that need a bit of fine-tuning.  All of this would have made it the book it deserves to be; there is no doubt that Mr Leonard is a talented writer, and I enjoyed it.  I did guess the twist, from early on, but it's well done and was in no way obvious; my mind jumps ahead when I'm watching TV shows, too.  I especially appreciated the well-thought out last chapter and a great epilogue that definitely makes you want to see what happens next!