Review: Our Trespasses

Author: Michael Cordell

Started reading: May 25th 2022

Finished the book: May 28th 2022

Pages: 247

Genres: Paranormal, Horror

Published: October 15th 2021

Source: TCK Publishing

Goodreads score: 3.95

My score:

Synopsis

Drowning in a meaningless existence flipping burgers, Matthew Davis suddenly collapses from a powerful psychic connection he shares with his twin brother, Jake. The pain is violent and immediate, and Matt knows exactly what it means… hundreds of miles away, Jake has been viciously killed. But instead of severing their connection, the murder intensifies it and Matt begins to suffer the agony of Jake’s afterlife.
Hell bent on solving Jake’s murder in order to break the connection, Matt travels to his troubled hometown of Hatchett, Nebraska, where an old lover and savage new enemies expose the festering wounds that Jake left behind.

Matt tries atoning for Jake’s sins, but when a demon infests the connection between the two brothers, Matt must find a way to sever their bond before his world, and ours, become engulfed in the flames of hell.

Review: The Perfectly Fine House

Author: Stephen Kozeniewski and Wile E. Young

Started reading: April 17th 2022

Finished the book: April 25th 2022

Pages: 232

Genres: Paranormal, Horror

Published: March 16th 2020

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: 3.75

My score:

Synopsis

In an alternate reality where ghosts are as commonplace as the weather, the most terrifying thing imaginable is a house not being haunted.

Donna Fitzpatrick runs a surrogacy agency, where ghosts can briefly possess volunteers in order to enjoy carnal pleasures. She’s also working herself into an early grave. But that’s no big deal because death is no worse than puberty. That’s particularly evident in Donna’s twin, Kyle, a self-absorbed roustabout who spends most of his time high on sage. Kyle’s been in arrested development since his motorcycle accident fifteen years ago.

When Donna has a panic attack, Kyle insists she take a vacation at an abandoned mansion. There’s just one small problem: there isn’t a single ghost in Jackson Manor. And while an unhaunted house seems no worse than an oddity at first, soon ghosts go missing, natural disasters consume entire cities, and every afterlife on earth is threatened by the terrible secret behind... The Perfectly Fine House..

Review: Halloween Land

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy

Started reading: March 27th 2022

Finished the book: March 30th 2022

Pages: 180

Genres: Horror

Published: March 17th 2021

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: 3.59

My score:

Synopsis

Zak and Wendy are a couple of horror buffs who love Halloween. In their sleepy, run-down little town, an exciting attraction promises to inject some life into the place for one special night only. A travelling carnival, making its debut on Halloween.

Anticipation builds, and the mysterious 'Halloween Land' carnival is the talk of the town; the calliope music, bright lights, and sweet and savoury smells from the pop-up carnival lure in the crowds flocking to the pier. The two teenage friends Zak and Wendy are eager to be among the first. Revelations unfold, mysteries peek from the outer limits. The kids have to think and act fast to defeat the evil that's come to town and it’s nothing like in the movies!
This tale is full of mystery, fun, magic, tension and dread.

Step up for the ride, give your ticket to the clown, she'll show you a good time; no one can say where you will end up, but it'll be a wicked ride!

Review: Broken Monsters

Author: Lauren Beukes

Started reading: February 3rd 2022

Finished the book: March 26th 2022

Pages: 441

Genres: Horror, Crime, Mystery

Published: June 16th 2015

Source: Received the book as a gift

Goodreads score: 3.61

My score:

Synopsis

Detective Gabi Versado has hunted down many monsters during her eight years in Homicide. She’s seen stupidity, corruption and just plain badness. But she’s never seen anything like this. Clayton Broom is a failed artist, and a broken man. Life destroyed his plans, so he’s found new dreams – of flesh and bone made disturbingly, beautifully real. Detroit is the decaying corpse of the American Dream. Motor-city. Murder-city. And home to a killer opening doors into the dark heart of humanity.
A killer who wants to make you whole again…

Review: Tender Is the Flesh

Author: Agustina Bazterrica

Started reading: March 10th 2022

Finished the book: March 21st 2022

Pages: 224

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Dystopian

Published: February 6th 2020

Source: Ebook

Goodreads score: 3.91

My score:

Synopsis

It all happened so quickly. First, animals became infected with the virus and their meat became poisonous. Then governments initiated the Transition. Now, 'special meat' – human meat – is legal.

Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans – only no one calls them that. He works with numbers, consignments, processing. One day, he's given a gift to seal a deal: a specimen of the finest quality. He leaves her in his barn, tied up, a problem to be disposed of later.

But the specimen haunts Marcos. Her trembling body, her eyes that watch him, that seem to understand. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost – and what might still be saved…

Review: Later

Author: Stephen King

Started reading: July 10th 2021

Finished the book: August 25th 2021

Pages: 248

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller

Published: March 2nd 2021

Source: Storytel

Goodreads score: 4.04

My score:

Synopsis

The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

Later is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King's classic novel IT, Later is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.

Review: 100 Word Horrors 4

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy and others
Started reading: January 30th 2021
Finished the book: February 2nd 2021
Pages: 109
Genres: Horror, Short Stories
Published: December 8th 2019
Source: Digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: 4.28

My score:

Synopsis

100 Word Horrors: Book 4 brings you over one hundred new drabbles from a wealth of horror authors. Some new, some old, but all great. Each and every one of us hope you have a blast with the final instalment in the series.

Review: I Am Legend

Author: Richard Matheson

Started reading: December 18th 2020

Finished the book: December 25th 2020

Pages: 162

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Classic

Published: July 1954

Source: E-book

Goodreads score: 4.07

My score:

Synopsis

Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has succumbed to the vampire plague, and they are hungry for Neville's blood.

By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn.

How long can one man survive like this?

Review: The Horror Collection: Pink Edition (THC Book 6)

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy

Started reading: December 16th 2020

Finished the book: December 21st 2020

Pages: 126

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

Published: ?

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: 4.17

My score:

Synopsis

Book 6 in the Horror Collection contains stories by Tim Curran, Douglas Hackle, Kyle M. Scott, Mike Duke, Zoey Xolton, Natasha Sinclair & Kevin J. Kennedy.

We will take you on a trip through hell, to vampire torn lands, find out the perils of collecting too many books and on many more terrifying adventures.

Review: Merry Fuckin' Christmas and Other Yuletide Shit

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy

Started reading: December 21st 2020

Finished the book: December 23rd 2020

Pages: Unknown

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

Published: December 16th 2020

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: Not enough ratings

My score:

Synopsis

Kevin J. Kennedy has brought the horror world three bestselling Christmas horror anthologies. Now, for the first time ever he collects his own tales of Christmas madness between these pages. You will find a mix of extreme, comedy, gross and bizarro Christmas horror, and there is even a few drabbles thrown in.

WARNING: This book isn't for everyone. If you are easily offended, it's not going to be for you.

Review: Vampiro and Other Strange Tales of the Macabre: A Collection of Short Horror Stories

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy

Started reading: August 29th 2020

Finished the book: September 2nd 2020

Pages: 93

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

Published: November 17th 2019

Source: Digital copy from the author

Goodreads score: 4.41

My score:

Synopsis

After the success of Kennedy’s first collection, Dark Thoughts, he brings you Vampiro and Other Strange Tales of the Macabre. This one contains stories inspired by TV shows from his youth, such as ‘Tales from the Crypt,’ ‘Eerie India,’ ‘The Twilight Zone’ & ‘The Outer Limits.’ Inside, you will find tales of a carnival vampire, a town overtaken by a special kind of Easter bunnies, tales of the insane, a journey through Hell at Christmas time, and many other shorts to make your hair stand on end. Some are funny, some are gross and some touch upon the evil of your fellow man.

Come and join us, but be warned… you may never want to leave.

Review: The Horror Collection: White Edition

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy and others
Started reading: December 27th 2019
Finished the book: December 27th 2019
Pages: 115
Genres: Horror, Short Stories
Published: October 22nd 2019
Source: Digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: 4.26
My score:

Synopsis

Book 4 in KJK Publishing’s The Horror Collection series is a Christmas edition.

Bringing you festive treats and Yuletide chills:

Mark Tufo, Amy Cross, Mark Allan Gunnells, Mark Cassell, Lex H. Jones, Chris Miller, Steven Stacy, James Matthew Byers & Kevin J. Kennedy

We hope your Christmas is both wonderful and terrifying.

Review: 100 Word Horrors 3

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy and others
Started reading: October 11th 2019
Finished the book: October 13th 2019
Pages: 110
Genres: Horror, Short Stories
Published: September 4th 2019
Source: Digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: 4.75
My score:

Synopsis

Book 3 of the 100 Word Horrors Series

Over 100 drabbles by some of the finest horror authors writing today.

Review: Horrorstör

Author: Grady Hendrix
Started reading: September 7th 2019
Finished the book: September 13th 2019
Pages: 248
Genres: Horror, Humor
Published: September 23rd 2014
Source: Birthday present
Goodreads score: 3.62
My score:

Synopsis

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

Review: The Skin Room

Author: Morgan Fleetwood
Started reading: August 10th 2019
Finished the book: August 10th 2019
Pages: 300
Genres: Thriller, Horror
Published: June 29th 2017
Source: Physical copy from publisher
Goodreads score: Not enough ratings
My score:

Synopsis

The Skin Room is an unnerving suspense thriller narrated by Alex Melville – multi-lingual translator and multiple murderer. The blood-stained document that comprises the narrative of the novel is his claustrophobic, unreliable account of the murder of Valentina, and the incarceration and death of his drug-addicted sister, Sonia. This is no ordinary confession, however. In a unique and distinctive style, Alex gradually reveals his secret: this story has only one reader, the police inspector he holds responsible for his beloved sister’s death, and that while he writes in the flickering candlelight, he has one last grotesque secret to share that is his ultimate revenge.

Review: End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy #3)

Author: Stephen King
Started reading: June 21st 2019
Finished the book: July 21st 2019
Pages: 432
Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller
Published: June 7th 2016
Source: Bought the book
Goodreads score: 4.09
My score:

Synopsis

In Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, something has awakened. Something evil. Brady Hartsfield, perpetrator of the Mercedes Massacre, where eight people were killed and many more were badly injured, has been in the clinic for five years, in a vegetative state. According to his doctors, anything approaching a complete recovery is unlikely. But behind the drool and stare, Brady is awake, and in possession of deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room.

Review: Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy #2)

Author: Stephen King
Started reading: May 12th 2019
Finished the book: June 18th 2019
Pages: 431
Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Horror, Mystery
Published: June 2nd 2015
Source: Bought the book
Goodreads score: 4.04
My score:

Synopsis
John Rothstein, an iconic author who created a famous character, Jimmy Gold, but who hasn’t published a book for decades. Morris Bellamy is livid, not just because Rothstein has stopped providing books, but because the nonconformist Jimmy Gold has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein and empties his safe of cash, yes, but the real treasure is a trove of notebooks containing at least one more Gold novel.

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years.

Review: Collected Easter Horror Shorts

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy and others
Started reading: April 29th 2019
Finished the book: May 14th 2019
Pages: 371
Genres: Horror, Short Stories
Published: April 1st 2017
Source: A digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: 3.97
My score:

Synopsis
From the darkest recesses of some of the horror world’s most chilling minds, Kevin J. Kennedy brings back together some of the authors that brought you Collected Christmas Horror Shorts, alongside several new authors, from upcoming indie stars to Amazon top sellers.
Whether you like Easter or not, you’ll certainly have a different view of it after you read the stories contained within these pages.
Grab an Easter egg, dim the lights, get cosy and get ready for some chilling tales by some of the horror world’s finest.

Review: Screechers: A Post-Apocalyptic Novella

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy, Christina Berling
Started reading: March 14th 2019
Finished the book: March 17th 2019
Pages: 88
Genres: Horror, Apocalyptic
Published: March 6th 2019
Source: Got a digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: 4.41
My score:

Synopsis
In the apocalyptic fallout of the burned world, the screecher is a massive beast evolved to kill and built for survival. One screecher abandons its home among the crushed remnants of a city and moves to explore the wider world. Unbeknownst to it, one of its surviving nephews decides to tag along.
Far away, across the dusty sand dunes, three men flee the smoldering ashes of their community along with their regrets, looking for a new place to survive.
These two stories, of screechers and humans, alternate and dance around each other before the creatures and men intersect and weave into one story.

Review: Carnival of Horror

Author: Kevin J. Kennedy and others
Started reading: February 26th 2019
Finished the book: March 13th 2019
Pages: 358
Genres: Horror, Short Stories
Published: October 22nd 2018
Source: Got a digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: 4.17
My score:

Synopsis
Roll up, roll up!

Welcome to the carnival!

Enjoy the sweet smells of the cotton candy and candy apples. Listen to the calliope music as you wander among the many stalls, to the screams of children enjoying the various rides. It’s all been designed to take your money, but you already know that. What you are not aware of, however, are the strange goings-on of the carnival world after dark. Do the carnies want more than your money? Does the fortune teller know more than she tells you? Are some of the games more dangerous than others?