Let me preface this review by saying this is THE BEST collection of short stories for your next camping trip or your next bonfire party.
Also, I would like to warn you that this is a long review because I want to highlight each story.
A fantastic collection of twenty short stories about camping. From college camp counselors to cryptids, each one is a freaking delight.
First up, the Foreword, by the one and only, Richard Chizmar (writer of Chasing the Boogeyman). It is a great commentary on the benefits of indie publishers working hard to get us, the readers, some awesome stories. Indie publishers do this for the love of storytelling, and as readers, we should all be grateful and let them know we appreciate their hard work putting together these fantastic books, filled with indie authors we get to experience and put on our “must read more of them” list.
The first story, Did You Hear The Icecream Man Last Night? By Michael Paige. This little dizzy of a story is about an ice cream truck that serves more than ice cream for the kiddos! I’m certainly going to be leery of those trucks this summer.
The second story, Shadow Hunt By Jason R. Krei. A father and son are out deer hunting and come across something evil and dark. Fantastic writing and lots of gore.
Next is The Dead Hand Gang By Mark Towse. Some kids are on a camping trip and enjoying some time hanging out. On their last night together, they get a nice little visitor. This one is quite entertaining.
Red Moon Over Red River Station By M. Ennenbach. If you have not read Ennenbach, do yourself a favor and fix that, right now. This is a good, creepy camping story gone wrong. Amazing writing.
The fifth story, Silent Scream By Andrew Lennon is a fantastic creature feature. Very eerie and absorbing!
Next is The Revenge of Katrina Bloodspell By Douglas Ford. As the title says, this is a good revenge story. The ending was unexpected!!
Jason Myers brings us Wentworth Pond. This is a wonderfully wicked and twisted story of an evil mind going to a party.
Lizard Kingdom By Chris Kosarich. An odd but great story about lizards. I don’t want to say too much of what the story is about, but it is definitely one I will remember.
The ninth story is Leaving the Beaver By Thomas R. Clark. I did laugh at the title of this one, and I did laugh A LOT reading it!
No Signal By Warren Benedetto is a good serial killer story but not your typical “at the campsite” type of setting.
This next one, Trouble At Shining Lake By D. A. Latham is freaking awesome. Latham’s two main characters are named after Jason Myers and RJ Roles, the two that put this collection together. A MUST READ!
Cherish The Time You Had By Micah Castle is an impressive story of a man mourning the death of his wife. I’ve read another story by Castle, and he has yet to disappoint me.
The thirteenth story, I Didn’t Hate This Goodbye By Jae Mazer. This is about an evil creature that helps people. It's a terrific twist, I absolutely enjoyed this one a lot.
Memories of Summer’s End By James Seamore has one of the best plot twists I have read in a very long time. So worth the time to read this one!
Now this next story is a story that you MUST READ ALOUD at the bonfire party!! Country Fried Cryptid Killers: The Adventures of Buck and Gunner By M. Betterelli. Holy shit this was a hilarious story. I laughed so much, I had to put the book down to calm myself because my belly laughs kept me from reading because the book shook too much. Seriously, read it for storytime.
Unresting Place By Stephanie Scissom is about some kids that want to find answers to a missing teenager killed years ago. Impressive writing and story, I enjoyed this one.
Paper Creek By Ruthann Jagge is another story of revenge. Jagge is a great story teller. I’m going to read some more of their stories. I think a longer story by Jagge could be quite entertaining.
Next is The Trapper Keeper By London Blue. First, that title is everything! A nice creature feature with an awesome twist!
RJ Roles brings us The Treehouse. Three teenagers are hanging out in a treehouse for a few days when they get some unwelcome visitors. Outstanding story!!
The last story, Incident at Camp Knotty Pines By Megan Stockton is an absolute blast of a story. This is a perfect final story for the book. I need to read some more Stockton stories.
This is the second Crimson Pinnacle Press Anthology I have read and I am so impressed with the authors of these books. I have not read a single story from these two books I did not enjoy. I highly recommend these Anthologies!
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