London, 1677. A house with a dark secret. A lawyer in pursuit of magick. A witch, dead for fifty years. Israel Cutler, dealer in second-hand goods, discovers the journals of Doctor Winter. Detailing the doctor’s relationship with a hanged witch, he recognises an opportunity. Seeking out a lawyer he knows with an interest in the occult, Cutler tries to sell the journals, but soon finds himself involved in a terrifying ritual—one that could bring black witch Lizzie Pickin back from the dead. Again. Forced into a dangerous partnership, the witch leads Cutler on a trail of murder and revenge. In this horror series set in London, Shadow of the Witch is book #2 in the Black Witch Saga.
My Review: The cover attracted me as it made me think of an actress of a diva of the silent movies age, someone like Theda Bara. It’s a short novel of a long novella and it brought me to dark places and made me live some disturbing moment. This a mix of horror and thriller so I’m not shocked if there’s darkness and disturbing moments as it’s part of the game. The author did a good job in developing the world building, the historical background and the fleshed out characters. Even if it’s the second in a series it can be read as a stand alone. I read it in one sitting and hope that more person will read it because it’s entertaining and gripping. Recommended. Many thanks to Colin Darrow and Rachel’s Random Resources for this digital copies, all opinions are mine
Colin Garrow grew up in a former mining town in Northumberland. He has worked in a plethora of professions including taxi driver, antiques dealer, drama facilitator, theatre director and fish processor, and has occasionally masqueraded as a pirate. His short stories have appeared in several literary mags, including SN Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, Word Bohemia, Every Day Fiction, The Grind, A3 Review, 1,000 Words, Inkapture and Scribble Magazine. He currently lives in a humble cottage in Northeast Scotland where he writes novels, stories, poems and the occasional song. He also makes rather nice vegan cakes.
When fake spiritualist Brigit returns home to investigate the disappearance of two teenagers, the case eerily echoes her own sister’s death sixteen years earlier.
This chilling tale of siblings, the emotional toll of the places you once called home, and the necessity of confronting and moving beyond past trauma brings together the psychological horror of The Babadook with the found footage and supernatural eeriness of The Blair Witch Project. Brigit Weylan’s older sister, Emma, is dead. Sixteen years ago, Emma walked into the woods in their small hometown of Ellis Creek and slit her wrists. She was troubled, people said—moody and erratic in the weeks leading up to her death, convinced that there was a monster in Ellis Creek, and had even attempted to burn down the copse of trees where she later took her life. Marked by the tragedy, Brigit left and never once looked back. Now, Brigit and her cameraman Ian travel around the country, investigating paranormal activity (and faking the results), posting their escapades on YouTube in the hopes that a network will pick up their show. The last thing she expects is a call from an Ellis Creek area code with a job offer—and payout—the two cannot refuse. When Brigit and Ian arrive in Ellis Creek, they’re thrust in the middle of an investigation: two teenagers are missing, and the trail is growing colder with each passing day. It’s immediately apparent that Brigit and Ian are out of their depth; their talents lie in faking hauntings, not locating lost kids. Except for the fact that, in the weeks leading up to their disappearance, the teens had been dreaming about Emma—Emma in the woods where she died, ringed with trees and waiting for them. As Brigit and Ian are drawn further into the investigation, convinced that this could be the big case to make their show go viral, the parallels to Emma’s death become undeniable. But Brigit is worried she’s gone too far this time, and that the weight of being back in Ellis Creek, overwhelmed by memories of Emma, will break her…if it hasn’t already. Because Brigit can’t explain what’s happening to her: trees appearing in her bedroom in the middle of the night, something with a very familiar laugh watching her out in the darkness, and Emma’s voice on her phone, reminding Brigit to finish what they started.
More and more, it looks like Emma was right: there is a monster in Ellis Creek, and it’s waited a long time for Brigit Weylan to come home.
My Review: Horror in any flavour is quite popular at the moment and this horror/thriller is a good one that keeps you on the edge and I would not advise to read at night-time. This is an atmospheric story, creepy and eerie at time. The characters are fleshed out and you never know if Bridget is deluded or seeing visions. Her relationship with her dead sister, living on the border between this and the other side. The plot is tightly knitted and fast paced. A well done and well plotted story that I think will surely be love by fan of Krewe of Hunters. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Jaq Evans is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA program and a former Pitch Wars mentee . Her short fiction has been published in Three-Lobed Burning Eye, Apparition Literary Magazine, Fusion Fragment, and others.
Brigit Weylan slid her fingers across the vintage tape recorder in her lap, the plastic warm as living skin. “Are you picking anything up?” Ian asked, snaking a hand beneath the camera on his shoulder to massage his trapezius. He caught her watching and she cut her eyes away, thumbed off her mic. “Nothing but your breathing.” “It’s ambience. And we’re stalling because…” She shifted on the pine floor. Pinkish clouds of insulation erupted from the walls on either side, and the ceiling sloped aggressively. It was a delicate maneuver to uncross and stretch out her legs in this tight space, but her foot was at risk of falling asleep. Brigit switched her mic back on. “Sorry for the technical difficulties. We’re getting a little interference, which is actually a good sign— At the far end of the attic, a cardboard box fell off its stack. Papers spilled across the plywood in a plume of dust that brought the moldering scent of dried mouse droppings. Ian coughed but kept the camera level. In the living room downstairs, the baby goth who’d hired them would have a perfect view. “Hello?” Brigit asked calmly, holding in her own cough as her throat burned. “Logan, is that you?” Logan Messer, struck down by a heart attack in 1998. Craggy of face and black of eye, he’d glared up from the obituary they’d found in the Woodbridge library like a nineteenth-century oil magnate. Definitely the most likely of several spirits that could be haunting Haletown House. At least, that’s what Brigit and Ian had told its newest occupant. A gust of wind ruffled the scattered papers in the corner, although the attic had no windows and the rest of the air sat thick and claustrophobic. Dust motes swirled through the wedges of light cast by the single hanging bulb. Brigit pushed her short hair back from her forehead and presented Ian’s camera with an unobstructed slice of profile. “Logan, my name is Brigit Weylan. My sister and I are here to help you find peace.” She took a moment to steady her voice. “Is Emma with you now?” From the corner came a sharp rap like knuckles on wood. At the same time Ian strangled another cough in the crook of his arm, nearly drowning out the knock. Brigit kept the tension from her face by digging her fingertips into her thighs. A small black hole had opened in her chest where her sister’s name had passed. “I know you don’t want to leave, but I promise you’ll be happier once you do. All you need to do is take Emma’s hand and you’ll be free.” The knocking came again, louder. Brigit had expected an echo, but the air seemed to catch the sound. The rest of the house was so chilly, all its warmth trapped up here like breath. Whatever mice had left those droppings probably suffocated. Little mummies in the walls. “Brigit,” Ian murmured. “Can you see them?” “I can’t see anything.” She licked her lips. Her tongue felt dry, chalky with dust. “But Logan is here. I can feel him in the room with us. I may need to move—don’t lose me.” Brigit raised her voice. “Emma, I’m with you. Let me help. Let me give you strength.” She stretched her hand toward the corner. The knocking was a drumbeat now, even faster than her pulse. Slowly, Brigit shifted to her knees and readied herself to crawl toward that wedge of darkness—and the drumming stopped. Ian let out his breath in a quiet whoosh. Brigit exhaled too, long and slow. Then she turned to face the camera and smiled. “It’s done,” she told Haletown House’s youngest resident. “This house is clean.”
The boy who’d paid for their services was waiting on the couch when Brigit and Ian climbed down from the attic. Brigit went first, Ian following with the camera bag now stuffed with their equipment: the laptop and its associated Bluetooth speaker, the miniature fan she’d hidden underneath the boxes, the fishing line trap in the corner. There were a few other props around the outside of the house—such as the rotten eggs in the upstairs gutter, which had been carefully planted in an early-morning excursion that had nearly put Ian in the hospital—but those were all biodegradable and couldn’t be traced back to them. In and out, that was the modus. They were surgeons like that, implanting a psychic placebo effect. Honestly, most of these people? They just wanted to feel believed. The rest wanted to see themselves on YouTube. Brigit hadn’t needed that moral reassurance when she finally agreed to Ian’s pitch for the series a year ago, but there was something about this kid today. A familiar sloppiness to the liner drawn below his pale blue eyes. He asked, “You think the old man’s really gone?” “I hope so,” she said. Ian watched her from the doorway to the living room. Brigit could feel it on her neck as she dropped into a plush armchair. “You’ve got our contact info if he isn’t.” The boy shrugged. “Guess I’ll be on the show either way.” “Technically we need the waiver signed by someone over eighteen,” Ian put in. The kid looked at him while Brigit looked at the kid. Dyed black hair, chapped lips. His sneakers weren’t actually black, just Sharpied to a purplish gray. She sat forward. “You’ll be on the show. Your birthday’s what, next year? This wouldn’t go online for a few months anyway. We can hold the episode.” Why had she said that? It didn’t matter how old he was. Their first season hadn’t gotten picked up despite all attempts to woo a real television network, and neither would the second. Ian was fooling himself if he thought this thing was going to happen for real. The kid smiled, and his eyeliner cracked. Discomfort fisted in Brigit’s chest. “Cool,” he said. “Thanks.” “I do need something in exchange. If things keep happening around here, stuff only you can hear, smell, whatever? Tell your parents. Call us too, but you have to tell your folks.” “Why? They’d lose their minds if they knew about this.” “Because you’re a minor, and this isn’t exactly a hard science. If it turns out I screwed up in there and it comes back on you, I need to know you’ve got someone in this house who can get you out.” Or if he was in real trouble, the kind that could hit kids at around his age, that he would confide in someone other than a fake psychic out to pocket his summer cash. It was a moment of weakness, wanting this promise she’d never be able to confirm, but Brigit couldn’t stop herself. The kid chewed at the inside of his lip. Something turned behind his eyes, a decision being weighed as Brigit held her ground. Then he grimaced. “What if I lied to you just now?” “About what?” “They wouldn’t lose their minds. They wouldn’t care at all,” he said. “My dad doesn’t even live here. The house was a bribe to keep my mom from making his life more difficult, and she hates that she took it, so she just works all the time. I tried telling her before, about the old man, and she said I needed more friends. That was before the wine.” The spike of decade-old commiseration at this was so sharp and startling that Brigit almost laughed. Behind the kid, Ian looked faintly stricken. “Got it,” she said briskly, and relief eased the kid’s shoulders. “How about a neighbor? Someone at school?” “Ms. Brower, maybe. My English teacher?” “Classic choice.” Brigit calibrated a wry smile and won half of one in return. “Okay. More weird stuff goes down, you tell Ms. Brower and then you call me. Deal?” She stretched her hand across the coffee table. The kid hesitated. Behind her, Ian’s breathing was louder than anything else. Then a slim, chilly hand smacked into hers, and for a moment, Brigit wasn’t in this stranger’s living room at all. She was in the woods, the Dell, in the cold dark night, her sister’s icy fingers clamped around her own. You want to be the wild child, Wild Child? “Deal,” said the kid. Brigit didn’t blink. The room came back to her, his grub-white face, cold palm against her own. Vanilla candles on the mantel. Nothing of Emma or their game but the bitter tinge of earth beneath her tongue.
The Broken God by Gareth Hanrahan (The Black Iron Legacy #3)
My Review (5*) In this post I listed some of my most expect books being published in the next months (https://annarellix.tumblr.com/post/650351849275342848/fantasy-sci-fi-and-urban-fantasy-may-august). The Broken God is the first one being published. The Black Iron Legacy is one of my favorite fantasy series and you always wonder what will happen as each book is full of surprises, new places and characters, and new horrors. We get to discover new places , new gods and to learn what’s happening in the life of the main characters. My expectations for this book were very high and i can say I wasn’t disappointed as I turned pages as fast as I could. Spar, the man who became a city, is my favorite one and we follow his struggle to choose if reaming human or becoming a god. There’s a lot of changes in this story and I was left wondering what will be next. We follow Cari and we met people from her past and visit new places. Rache is a sort of villain as we follow his descent into madness. There are some images that reminded of me of Hyeronimus Bosch’s The Garden of Delights. and I think that Gareth Hanrahan is one of the most visionary author in the fantasy field. This books is well written and gripping, the world building is breath taking and the character development excellent. I thought this was going to be the last in the series but I discovered that are some more. I’m more than happy because I want more places, more characters and more vision. A gripping and highly entertaining book, strongly recommended. Many thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The plot (via Goodreads): The Godswar has come to Guerdon, dividing the city between three occupying powers. While the fragile Armistice holds back the gods, other forces seek to extend their influence. The criminal dragons of the Ghierdana ally with the surviving thieves – including Spar Idgeson, once heir to the Brotherhood of Thieves, now transformed into the living stone of the New City. Meanwhile, far across the sea, Spar’s friend Carillon Thay travels towards the legendary land of Khebesh, but she, too, becomes enmeshed in the schemes of the Ghierdana – and in her own past. Can she find what she wants when even the gods seek vengeance against her?
The author: Gareth Hanrahan’s three-month break from computer programming to concentrate on writing has now lasted fifteen years and counting. He’s written more gaming books than he can readily recall, by virtue of the alchemical transmutation of tea and guilt into words. He lives in Ireland with his wife and three children. Twitter: @mytholder. Author page: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/contributor/gareth-hanrahan/
My review (5*): I discovered Neil Spring’s books last year and I was hooked as I loved his mix of thriller and paranormal, the creepy atmosphere and the great plots.
This book is no exception and, even if it’s a bit less creepy that the other, it’s a highly entertaining and gripping read.
It kept me hooked since the first pages and I was enthralled by the bleak atmosphere, the great characters and the growing tension.
Lizzy is not a likeable character but I got to like her and we can read about her changing and making amends for the mistakes that destroyed her career and forced her to change her life.
She’s facing the unknown and she’s facing some terrifying experiences.
The characters are well thought and I found them interesting.
I loved the world building, the description of the places and the paranormal side that has the right creepy factor.
The author is an excellent storyteller and i found this story enthralling.
I can’t wait to read the next book by this author, this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mien
Book Description:
When Lizzy moves to a desolate shore to escape her past, she hopes to find sanctuary. But a mysterious stranger is waiting for her, her father’s carer, and when darkness falls, something roams this wild stretch of beach, urging Lizzy to investigate its past. The longer she stays, the more the shore’s secrets begin to stir. Secrets of a sea that burned, of bodies washed ashore – and a family’s buried past reaching into the present.
And when Lizzy begins to suspect that her father’s carer is a dangerous imposter with sinister motives, a new darkness rises. What happens next is everyone’s living nightmare . .
The Author: Neil Spring was born in south Wales in 1981. He started writing at the age of twenty-eight. Between 1999 and 2002 he studied philosophy, politics and economics at Somerville College, Oxford. In 2013 he published The Ghost Hunters, a paranormal thriller based on the life of Harry Price. The Ghost Hunters received outstanding reviews and has been adapted into a major television drama under the title Harry Price: Ghost Hunter for ITV. Neil is Welsh and lives in London.
My review (5*): An excellent story that mixes element of coming of age, family saga, horror, magic realism and thriller.
All those elements work well together and the author did a good job in delivering a gripping and entertaining story.
I love this characters, the woman are both strong and frail and they have to live with their heritage working to accept themselves and their action.
The plot is slow burning but the pace became faster after the first part of the the book. The world building is interesting and I loved the storytelling and the style of writing.
It was the first book I read by this author and won’t surely be the last.
I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
The plot: It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else. But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good. But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
Author bio: Estelle Laure, the author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back believes in love, magic, and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her family. Her work is translated widely around the world.
Author’s social handles o Twitter: @starlaure o Instagram: @estellelaurebooks
My Review (5*): This book starts slowly and you are slowly hooked to this story that is one of the best horror I read in some times. All the elements of a gothic story are present: the weird family, the isolated and dark mansions, family secrets and a sense of dread that get more intense as you turn pages. And then it becomes a series of nightmare mixed with moments of normality and tenderness while you try to understand if it’s Noemi who is dreaming and experiencing terrible visions in her dream or it’s the reality and the horror of the reality. I can tell it was not easy to put this book down as I was enthralled and turning pages as fast as I could. The last 20% of the book was a whirlwind of emotions, horror scenes and it left breathless and with a lot of adrenaline in circle. There’s also an interesting part about eugenic, race and the dominance of the superior over the inferior. They are well woven into the plot and they play an important part into how things work. I can’t find no fault to this book: the atmosphere is dark and fascinating, the characters are well rounded and interesting. Ms Moreno-Garcia is a very talented storyteller and this book is a perfect example of how well she writes. This book made me think of The Turn of the Screw and Dracula as it shares some traits in common with both books. It’s not a book for the faint of heart or if you are easily scared. It won’t be easy to forget the emotions it made me fell and the great characters. It was an exciting and excellent read that I strongly recommend. Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
The plot: He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me. When glamorous socialite Noemí Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging to be rescued from a mysterious doom, it’s clear something is desperately amiss. Catalina has always had a flair for the dramatic, but her claims that her husband is poisoning her and her visions of restless ghosts seem remarkable, even for her. Noemí’s chic gowns and perfect lipstick are more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing, but she immediately heads to High Place, a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside, determined to discover what is so affecting her cousin. Tough and smart, she possesses an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom. Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to leave this enigmatic house behind …
About the author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of Signal to Noise, named one of the best books of 2015 by BuzzFeed and more; Certain Dark Things, a Publishers Weekly top ten; The Beautiful Ones, a fantasy of manners; and the science fiction novella Prime Meridian. She has also edited several anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (a.k.a. Cthulhu’s Daughters). Born and brought up in Mexico, she now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Silvia is available to write pieces, for interview down-the-line and for features. Follow her on Twitter: @silviamg
My review: (5*) It’s the first book I read by Ms Littlewood and it won’t surely be the last because she’s a very talented writer. While I was reading I couldn’t help picturing the building, the snow, and feeling what Leah was feeling. It’s an excellent horror but it’s also a novel about grief and starting again to live. Leah is a fleshed out and well thought character, a woman who’s grieving and living in a past that it’s not her own. She’s living something that’s out of her experience and she feels part of her story at the same time. I think this novel feature all the elements of a good horror like the growing tensions, the ghosts, the references to long lost usage and it builds the tension in a way that nearly made me stop breathing at times. I think that the ghosts are all interesting characters but some, like Martha and Ellis, are more realistic and strong, driven by their emotions and their desires. Past and present are strongly bound in this story and this is one of the elements that makes it so enthralling. It’s also a Christmas story and even if it differs from the usual one there’re elements of hope and renewal that are part of the festive season spirit. It was an excellent and fascinating read, highly recommended. Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The plot:
Leah thought Maitland Farm could give her a new life – but now old ghosts are dragging her into the past.
Following the tragic deaths of her husband and son, Leah is looking for a new life. Determined to bury her grief in hard work and desperate to escape Christmas and the reminders of what she has lost, she rushes through the purchase of a run-down Yorkshire farmhouse, arriving just as the snow shrouds her new home.
It might look like the loveliest Christmas card, but it’s soon clear it’s not just the house that needs renovation: the land is in bad heart, too. As Leah sets to work, she begins to see visions of the farm’s former occupants – and of the dark secrets that lie at the heart of Maitland Farm.
If Leah is to have a future, she must find a way to lay both her own past and theirs to rest – but the visions are becoming disturbingly real …
My review: (5*) It’s the first book I read in this series but not the first one by Simon R. Green. I read it in one setting and I couldn’t put it down. I don’t know if the genre is sci-fi, horror or paranormal thriller, I think it kept me reading feeling the growing creepiness and claustrophobia. I loved the humour in this book as much as I loved Ishmael and Penny. The mystery was good and the ending came as a surprise. I look forward to reading other books in this series. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC
The plot: Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny have been despatched to assist a group of scientists who are investigating a mysterious black hole which has appeared on a Somerset hillside. Could it really be a doorway to another dimension, an opening into another world? When one of the scientists disappears into the hole – with fatal consequences – Ishmael must prove whether it was an accident – or murder. But with no clues, no witnesses and no apparent motive, he has little to go on. Is there an alien predator at large, or is an all-too-human killer responsible? Only one thing is certain: if Ishmael does not uncover the truth in time, more deaths will follow …
Scrapping&Playing 