They Are All Monsters by J. Boote

 J. Boote can write a horrifying and evil story. While there are plenty of barbaric killings in this book, there is a story to it all. A psychological tale of how people can be monsters, this book focuses on childhood trauma and how the victims become the prey. 

This is a brutal story of two serial killers who have different reasons for killing and begin working against each other. As the story progresses, the killing style progresses. The police are doing everything they can to stop the two killers, but neither one leaves clues to find them and end the savage killings. 

I would seriously check trigger warnings with this book. While it was difficult to read at times, it did have a sad story underneath the cold-blooded killing.

Useless Creatures by Jay Bower

 

When I read Jay Bower’s Dead Blood (Book 1), I knew I would end up reading some of his other books. I decided to read Useless Creatures as the next book. It is just as entertaining as Dead Blood and Hanging Corpses. 

Jacquie Arnold and Nikki Bilderback both receive text messages demanding they follow the instructions of the text or they will witness the suffering of a loved one. They are given a set time and place, and must follow the instructions specifically. 

The story picked up really quick and was fast throughout the entire story. While it held my attention the entire time, I did find that the girls accepted the situation a bit too easily. I realize that this is unrealistic given that it is a fictional story, but I wanted more fear and anger before the demands were hashed out to victims. I got a brief level of pain and anger and then all of a sudden, gore and destruction. 

With that, I would still recommend the story. It was a lot of fun and the ending has a nice plot twist that many people won’t see coming. This would be a good story to fill in a slot on your reading challenge for one of the deadly sins or a book under 300 pages (204 pages according to Goodreads). 

My Top 10 Novellas of 2022

 I thought I would add a few more books to my favorites list for 2022. I read so many fantastic books this year it is hard to narrow down a select few. The following books are my favorites because they are so unique and different from the usual novellas you might find. These are in no particular order.

1. Burden by Matt Duchossoy

2. Antique Bed: A Horror Novelette by Timothy G. Huguenin

3. Realm of the Exiled (Exiled Elementals, #0.5) by T. L. Price

4. Donn, TX 1969 (The Donn, TX Collection) by Eric Butler

5. Talia by Daniel Volpe

6. Where the Devil Waits by Wesley Southard and Mark Steensland 

7. The Handyman's Guide to End Times: Poems by Juan J. Morales

8. Phantom Pain by Ruth Anna Evans

9. Reconstructing a Relationship by Micah Castle 

10. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by KC Grifant, Brigids Gate Press

 

Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by KC Grifant, Brigids Gate Press

Publishes February 2, 2023

What started out slow ended up picking up really quick and had nonstop action all the way up to the end. KC Grifant is a talented storyteller. I enjoyed this story more than I realized I would. 

Melinda West and her partner Lance travel from town to town helping to exterminate supernatural creatures that venture away from the Edge, a place of other-wordly beings and no one returns. Unfortunately, Melinda releases a demon and now they are tasked with tracking down this demon to retrieve what it stole from them. The story follows Melinda and Lance, as they meet new enemies and friends on their travels to hunt down this demon. A whole lot of people get in the way and a whole lot of bad luck follows them.

Overall, I would say this is a quick book to read in a couple days. It was different from other science-fiction/horror stories as the creatures are different from the usual ones represented in these types of stories. There is also a large variety of weapons and magic. It does keep to the Western genre with horses as transportation and Melinda being a gunslinger. I enjoyed the story, it was a nice, quick and easy read.  

Thank you KC Grifant for sending this book to me. I appreciate your kindness.

Season of the Witch by RJ Roles and Jason Myers, Crimson Pinnacle Press

 

Starting right off, the foreword by Natasha Sinclair and Ruthann Jagge will pull you in. It sets the tone for what is to come in the 19 short stories. All of the stories offer a wonderful witchy delight. 

The first story, Black Rabbit by Marend Nieuwstraten III, is a fantastic and mesmerizing story. This is one of my favorites. There is a picture at the end of the story.

 

Lunacy by Linley B. Marcum is a revenge kind of story but so different from other types of revenge stories. Definitely one of the better ones I have read. 

The third story, 1885 by Brian McNatt is right up there with Black Rabbit. The writing is amazing and the witch is very relatable. Hehe

Ecoven.org by Zaslow Crane is an okay story. Some witches need to save the town and use their powers to help.

Fifth, Crash Course in Brain Surgery by Rebecca Rowland is awesome. Gruesome and ghastly, so much fun!!

The Witch’s Kiss by Robert J. Stava is a well written story about magical items that can come to life. 

Bobbing For Apples by Matthew Gorman has a plot twist I didn’t see coming! Pretty hard to do with a short story, but it worked well in this one.

The eighth story, Moon Through The Pine Boughs by Deborah A. Coldiron is a lost child type of story. Definitely a magical telling of  this trope. 

Another favorite of mine, A Room of Emerald And Clear Skies by Colt Skinner. It is such a sad story, but I loved it.

Within A Withering Eye by M. Ennenbach. Holy smokes y’all, this was magical! The writing, the style, the story, is just  extraordinary and incredible. I need to read everything Ennenbach has written.

Lowly Creatures  by Sidney Shiv is a different take on a couple going camping. Definitely different from the other types of this kind of story. 

The Mud Witch of Dogtown by London Blue is a quick story. It felt a bit rushed at the end but it was still enjoyable to read.

The thirteenth story, Dark Beira  by M. J. McClymont is a story of abduction. McClymont is a great story teller.

The Devil in the Dealer by M. Betterelli is an entertaining story about a witch’s creation. Karma is a good word for that story.

The Killing Moon by Stephanie Scissom (not to be confused with the song sung by Echo and the Bunnymen)  has a supernatural feel more than the rest of the stories in this book. 

The collector of these stories shares a short story with us. At What Cost?  by RJ Roles. This is a story told over time. Generations have to deal with a witch.

All Hollow’s Rites  by Leon Saul is a Halloween tale of kids finding some mischief. 

The eighteenth story, Moonflower Coen by D. A. Latham is definitely the most gruesome of the stories. 

And lastly, The Baynes  by James D. Balestricri is a love story set during the Civil War.

So all of these stories are fantastic. RJ Roles and Jason Myers has put together a fantastic collection of witchy stories that everyone will enjoy. 

 

 A new collection of horror stories was released recently by KJK Publishing. This is the Sapphire edition. It features many familiar writers as well as some new authors I haven't read before. All of them are great little nuggets of horror. 

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy some of these stories. Initially, they were dull, but quickly picked up and became entertaining. Several of them teach a valuable lesson about life, but in a grim way. There is a cursed object, the supernatural, apocalypse, revenge, and so much more. There is something very unique and different about each of them.

The Void: 15 Creepy Tales by Chad Miller

 I have decided that Chad Miller is becoming one of those authors that I will always grab his latest book. I enjoy his writing quite a bit. While he can be straight to the point and direct, he is also great at spending time with the details of an important scene. He can set the tone and the scene with ease. I imagine, given time, his writing will only improve. He definitely has the skills as a great story teller.

His collection of 15 short stories, The Void, is a great introduction to his writing. Miller puts a lot of heart into his stories and it shows with these fifteen tales. There is a story of revenge, regret, the supernatural, sadness, love, and an odd and weird story (called Tall Tale). My favorite story of them all is The Beast Awakens.