Sleeping in the Fire by John Durgin

A fabulous collection of nine stories with a lot of variety.

All nine are unique while giving a good dose of scary. Some are more along the lines of thriller and some are horror. There are creatures, bugs that feed on people, a serial killer, and a deep dark body of water. Just to name a few...

Durgin has a subtle and brazen style in his writing. Imagine being told a story that slowly builds up to a finale that not only satisfies you but also has you walking away feeling a bit spooked and disturbed. The way Durgin can walk you through the words of his stories with simplicity, but can still satisfy the horror craving you have, is a strong talent.

The Relict by DM Gritzmacher

This is an amazing story that is part historical fiction, part thriller, and part horror. It isn’t too heavy on the horror, but there is still lots of blood and gore. I do think many of us would enjoy this story.

The Relict is part one of the Skulldiggery collection. Book two, The Quarry, I read a couple months ago and loved it. Both books can be read in either order, but they do relate to each other. For these two books, there isn’t a wrong place to start, in my opinion.

“Monsters in human masks walk among us.” - page 75

The story alternates between two timelines, one set in the 10th century and the other set in the present day. Both timelines alternate throughout the book and I never once got confused. I think the stories work well together.

In the 10th century, Gunnar, a Norseman settler, experiences some awful events in his young adult life. He sets out to save his village after a couple of tragic events are assumed to be the work of something dark and evil.

In the present day, Russell Stander is a former boxer, current bar owner, and all around good guy. Despite a hard childhood, he has done well, given the circumstances. Now, as an older adult, one of the tragic events of his childhood has come back to the forefront of his life.

Gritmacher has a gift of pulling you into his stories and holding your attention all the way to the end. I was sad this book ended. I wish I was still be reading the story of Gunnar and Russell. They both have so much in common.

Girtmacher knows how to be subtle with twists and turns in his stories. Book one and two have a few connections that once you read them both, you will have some “uh oh” and “ah ha” moments. Sentences are sprinkled throughout the book that are ominous and possibly foretell us what’s coming in future books. It’s like a puzzle right now. There are pieces spread out and as a reader, if we catch them, we can connect these pieces later, and I’m guessing the conclusion will be epic.

‘Til Death, edited by Jason Myers, RJ Roles. Crimson Pinnacle Press

Somehow, the team at Crimson Pinnacle Press finds some of the best storytellers in our community. I honestly think that every anthology CPP publishes is such a fabulous time and all the stories are phenomenal. Normally, I find that anthologies have one or two lacking in suspense or horror; but CPP seems to know what I like and puts them altogether in an anthology.

There are 16 stories in ‘Til Death and every single one of them is great! Here’s a breakdown of each one.

Instead of a foreword in this collection, we have a dedication to M. Ennenbach. Jason and RJ share with us this wonderful human being, Mike Ennenbach. From the interactions I’ve had with the man, I can say this dedication is quite fitting. He is an honest and open person that is someone to rely on. Also, if you haven’t read Ennenbach, you should fix that as soon as possible.

My Ode To Death by Andrew Lennon. Now this is how you start a collection of stories about Death! Lennon has written a poem about his brush with Death. This poem is amazing!

Death of Creativity by M. Ennenbach. Laurie is a well-known writer with lots of popular novels. She has a secret about her outstanding writing that only two other people know about. One day, one of those people came to visit and discuss this little secret of hers. Once again, Ennenbach gives us a unique story.

Death Hands by Jason R. Frei. Death is so busy with collecting souls, he enlists some help from his brothers to capture the souls that had been skipped over and should not still be living on Earth. This story is about love, forgiveness, death, and the Reaper. A fantastic narrative if someone was to sit down with Death and discuss world problems.

The Last Transaction by Barend Nieuwstraten III. This is an existential story of Death’s creation and history. Phenomenal writing and the story just drew me in right away. This is truly a story I will remember for a very long time.

The Company Line by Sean McDonough. A reaper is meeting with his supervisor for some one-on-one discussions about the importance of the cycle of death. The yin/yang of death, so to speak. This is quite entertaining.

Don’t Forget To Ride The Reaper by Vic Kerry. A family of three is on the road to visit an amusement park. When they get to the park, the dad realizes he has been separated from his wife and son and begins his search for them. Literally a wild ride!

Lunatic Red by Jason Myers. Brad decides to work from home to help with his ailing wife’s care. She is slowly getting worse as time goes on and he does his best to stay positive while her health continues to worsen. Per usual, Myers gives a satisfying plot twist at the end.

Self-Checkout by Jason Nickey. After work, a man goes to the grocery store to pick up dinner. This time, he sees a man unable to pay for all his groceries and decides to help the stranger by paying for his food. The two strangers start to run into each other after that. This is a neat story that goes in directions I could not have imagined.

Grimm by Matt Wildasin. Grimm is not meeting his death quota and his job is on the line. He used to be at the top of his game, the leading reaper for souls. To gain his number one lead over all others, he goes to drastic extremes to meet his death quota. A crazy and wild story that satisfies the action and revenge in me.

Short Time by Stephanie Scissom. Lainey works at the town’s jail and there is a winter storm brewing, which leads to a hell of a long night. This one is written so well, I felt like I was dreaming as I read it.

Twofer by Ben Young. Burt owns and runs the family business - a funeral home. On the verge of bankruptcy, he finds help in an odd place. A story about family secrets and to what extreme measures will a family member go to financially survive. A completely unique type of story that I really enjoyed.

Big Little Death by Chris Kosarich. Morgan is an adult entertainer and has a specific way she would like to die when her time comes. A fast-paced story and a wicked little ending.

One Fine Day by RJ Roles. A retired detective enjoys his birthday. He meets a lovely young girl and her mom at the park. This is a kind of bittersweet story. Roles’ soft side shows in this story. If you have read previous anthologies from CPP, you will notice a familiar name in this story. Roles brought back a beloved character.

Coffee With The Dead by James Seamone. A reaper in training is on her very first assignment and it was a big hit. A fun and exciting story. Mr. Seamone, you should come up with your own coffee drink and name it Dead Coffee and we will make it go viral.

Dead End Job by Lance Dale. Mr. Hindley is given Death Duty because of his sins when living on Earth. He doesn’t mind it too much, at first. Then, one day, he gets an assignment that he just can’t believe is happening. Everything was going fine until this one, and it all went downhill really fast.

The Weight of a Feather by Kimberly Rei. A professor would like to make a deal with Death. A fantastic magical horror story. I’d like to read some more stories by Rei, her writing and the plot of this story is perfect.

All the stories in ‘Til Death were a lot of fun to read. I am looking forward to the next anthology Crimson Pinnacle Press releases. I read that they have lots of projects they are working on and I am very excited to hear more about them. Thank you RJ Roles and Jason Myers for this outstanding collection of stories. Most definitely one for the bookshelf.