Hello, Tartlets and Darksiders! A new book club podcast episode is up on Dark Side of the Word. Join me and Kait as we discuss the horror/thriller novel Hide by Kiersten White.
Fourteen people arrive at an abandoned amusement park for a life-changing opportunity. All they have to do is play an elaborate game of hide-and-seek, and the last person standing will win $50K. But, if they're all hiding, who's the seeker? Why is there blood on the...
Dixie Wheeler, the main character of Theme Music, is a little odd. She gets a pass, though. You would, too, if your whole family was brutally slaughtered in front of your eyes. You heard me. The prologue of this debut novel by T. Marie Vandelly is an incredibly graphic replay of when Dixie’s father pulled a Lizzie Borden on his family, taking an axe and chopping them into pieces one Thanksgiving morning. Reader, be warned. This lil' intro is...
I feel like Blanky is a cautionary tale about trusting people who can't spell. I mean, would you buy something from a shopkeeper advertising "BABY CLOSE" (i.e., "clothes") for sale? I sure as hell wouldn't. If for no other reason than on the principle of being a proud (and snobbish) English major who mastered second grade spelling. Unfortunately, main character Steve and his wife weren't as bothered about this obvious portent of doom. They went...
I didn't think I was spooked by The Graveyard Apartment. I really didn’t. Then I had a dream that I was trying to herd my Japanese family (which I don't have) out of our high-rise apartment building (which I don't live in) that's teeming with ghosts. THAT'S when I knew this intensely creepy, Japanese horror story had really gotten to me. It's easy to understand why. The sense of dread and unease that permeates the The Graveyard Apartment...
The Silent Companions is a damn good ghost story. Except, it’s not a ghost story. The house in which the main characters live is most decidedly haunted, but not by ghosts, per se. The things that go bump in the night are far less sinister at first glance, which makes their effect upon the story that much creepier. However, calling this a “bewitched wooden figurine story” just doesn’t carry quite the same weight. In my opinion, it’s...
I never thought I would be terrified of Ikea. But, it’s been a little while since I finished Grady Hendrix’s Horrorstör, and I’m still giving the store some side eye as I drive past it on my way to work. Despite the fact that I’m now too scared to go buy that third Billy bookcase I’ve been wanting for awhile, I highly recommend you read this book if you’re looking for a good scare. There are a lot of things I loved about this...
What. The. EFF. Is. Going. On…. ?!?!?!?!!?!? This is what replayed in my head as I delved deeper and deeper into Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World. This book is INSANE. In the best possible way. Definitely one of the best books I have read all year. I greedily consumed this novel with the same intensity as I did Bird Box, which I actually finished in one day. Had I had an entire day at my disposal to read The Cabin, I...
Welcome to Part 2 of this month's Quick Look Books! I posted recommendations of supernatural horror stories for the YA audience earlier this week, and now it's time to feature some titles for the grown-ups. I'm a connoisseur of spooky stories, and after many years of reading about the paranormal, it's rare that I find books that truly unsettle me. You already know how much I loved (and was terrified by) Ania Ahlborn's The Bird Eater. Here are...
I can't believe it's the second week of October already! Halloween is rapidly approaching, which means it's definitely time to over-indulge in reading my favorite genre of books -- supernatural horror. This month's Quick Look Books is a two-parter. While I have plenty of scary books to recommend for adults, I also get asked about supernatural reads that would be appropriate for pre-teens and teenagers. I greatly empathize with the plight of...
Love can be creepy. And The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, among many other things, is a love story. A twisted, gruesome, incredibly disturbing love story. AND IT’S AMAZING. Where do I even begin? First, you should know that this is my first time reading anything by Kiersten White. I received an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) of her newest book from Delacorte Press, and while the premise of the novel sounded interesting, I had never...
