Madame Cruller’s Couch and Other Dark and Bizarre Tales by Elizabeth Massie
Crossroad Press (August 2021)
290 pages; hardcover $31.99; paperback $18.99; e-book $4.99
Reviewed by Dave Simms
Tag: Reviews
Elizabeth Massie is an American literary treasure. Yes, she’s won the Bram Stoker Award twice but she’s far more than a horror icon. Ameri-Scares, her middle-grade series that tackles dark legends in every state, was optioned by Warner Horizon. Then there’s the mysteries, psychological suspense, historical fiction, and simply great weird stories.
In this new collection, readers will be treated to a wide swath of masterful stories, from the horrific to the oddly weird and everything in between.
Review: Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren
Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren
Underlined (February, 2022)
224 pages; $8.49 paperback, $9.99 kindle
Reviewed by Haley Newlin
Sometimes they want to hurt you. Sometimes they want you to help them stop hurting.
Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren are an award-winning coauthor duo specializing in edgy rom-coms and horror stories laced with romance, friendship, and movie references.
With this formula, mixed with ghosts, psychics, and inspiration from the infamous Cecil Hotel, the pair breed a spine-tingling tale for young adults in this suspenseful horror debut. Continue Reading
Review: The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor
The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor
Ballantine Books (February 2021)
352 pages; paperback $17; hardcover; $19.79; e-book $11.99; audiobook $28
Reviewed by Haley Newlin
Even though it’s not fully dark outside and all the lights are on, the cottage always feels full of shadows.
I read C.J. Tudor’s The Burning Girls right after Adam L.G. Nevill’s Cunning Folk. Both have made me as obsessed with folk horror as their protagonists are with their town’s lore.
And readers can’t help but sense an ominous feeling of following hypnotic sinister shadows to their own entombment as they tear through this bloody mystery.
Following an entanglement of tragedy for protagonist Jack Brookes, Tudor takes readers to Chapel Croft, an insular village with a gruesome, twisted history built on the burning of religious martyrs, missing girls, and a series of questionable/unsolved deaths.
Here, Jack becomes Chapel Croft’s new vicar after her predecessor’s untimely and bizarre death. Jack envisions a fresh start for her and her teenage daughter Florence — Flo, for short — but quickly finds her heavy conscience and nagging trauma only adds fuel to the town’s ever-burning flames of chaos and suspicions.
What starts as misfortune and a labyrinth of smoke and mirrors becomes life and death for Jack and Flo. Haunted by headless, armless, burnt figures — the burning girls, which, according to the town lore, means something bad will befall them — Jack and Flo unveil a trail of conspiracies and buried secrets.
Tudor weaves a classic haunting tale for a new generation with imagery that felt like a revival of The Wicker Man and the brilliant pairing of horror and heart leveling up to Stephen King in Pet Sematary.
As Tudor always does, The Burning Girls exceeded my expectations. It’s like following a path of steps into an inkblot of darkness. The wind blows, and the warning sign of smoke is in the air. Yet, you have to see the spectral for yourself because you know, deep in your bones, it’s not a trick of the light.
Tudor’s The Burning Girls is my favorite novel from the author yet. Its unfurling chills and brilliant depiction of the ghost of grief and guilt seared together with burning questions of disappearances and murder made this one of my favorite reads of the year.
Tudor has made a life-long fan out of me. Fans of Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass and Cunning Folk by Adam L.G. Nevill, this one’s for you.
Review: The 7 Hungers: Rise of the Crimson King by Morgan Quaid
The 7 Hungers: Rise of the Crimson King by Morgan Quaid
Independently Published (April 14, 2022)
313 pages; $2.99 eBook
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Morgan Quaid is a writer of speculative fiction, specializing in comics, graphic novels, short stories and fast-paced, first person novels. Quaid’s writing tends to blend concision and fast-moving plots with epic sci-fi/fantasy themes, creating stories that often have more in common with film rather than traditional novels. His key works include Whiplash, Rust Chronicles, Shadow’s Daughter, Idle Thuggery, Enmity, and The Blood Below. His newest novel is The 7 Hungers: Rise of the Crimson King.Continue Reading
Review: You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca
You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca
Independently Published (March 2022)
236 pages; $10.80 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann
Mother Horror is going to tell you a little story about a book called Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (THGWSWLS), written by Eric LaRocca. This novella’s ratings on Goodreads are at 20.8K+ with written reviews at 6.6K. These numbers for a book published by a small press like Weird Punk are unheard of. I’ve never seen anything like it. Continue Reading
Review: Under Her Skin edited by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller
Under Her Skin edited by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller
Black Spot Books (April 5, 2022)
145 pages; $14.95 paperback; $5.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
There has been a recent movement in horror writing to promote previously underrepresented voices, which should absolutely be encouraged and supported. Many anthologies have been put together regarding various voices in horror fiction, but little has been done with horror poetry, until now. Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller recognized the dearth of poetry anthologies championing women’s voices in horror poetry, and have edited Under Her Skin, which is a strong anthology and one that I hope is the first of many such anthologies.Continue Reading
Review: Shadowman by Jamie Delano and Charlie Adlard
Shadowman by Jamie Delano & Charlie Adlard
Valiant Entertainment (April 5, 2022)
272 pages; $24.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
When the first writer of the Hellblazer series (Jamie Delano) and one of the major artists of The Walking Dead series (Charlie Adlard) team up, readers know that something exciting is going to happen. Taking Valiant’s character Shadowman, these two artists were able to create a solid graphic novel of voodoo and horror in New Orleans that is sure to entertain any horror aficionado.Continue Reading
Review: Ghoul n’ the Cape by Josh Malerman
Ghoul n’ the Cape by Josh Malerman
Earthling Publications (January 2022)
727 pages; limited edition (1,000) hardcover $75
Reviewed by Dave Simms
What can be said about this monstrosity of a book that either won’t ruin the odd, weird, serpentine, acid trip plot or confuse the living hell out of the reader? That’s kind of simple, actually?
It’s written by Josh Malerman. That should be enough for most to pick it up.
Review: The Eleusinian Mysteries by Isaac Stackhouse Wheeler
The Eleusinian Mysteries by Isaac Stackhouse Wheeler
Aubade Publishing (March 22, 2022)
84 pages; $14.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Isaac Stackhouse Wheeler is part of a literary translation team with Reilly Costigan-Humes. They work with both Ukrainian and Russian and are best known for their renderings of novels by great contemporary Ukrainian author Serhiy Zhadan, including Voroshilovgrad, published by Deep Vellum, and Mesopotamia, published by Yale University Press. Wheeler is also a poet whose work has appeared in journals including The Big Windows Review, The Peacock Journal, and Post(blank). His newest collection of poetry is The Eleusinian Mysteries, a series of narrative poems based on the Greek story of Persephone.Continue Reading
Review: Just a Bite by Boris Bacic
Just a Bite by Boris Bacic
Butterdragons Publishing (March 22, 2022)
230 pages; $12.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Boris Bacic is a horror author who has written more than ten novels, including collections of short horror stories. He’s been writing stories for years, ranging from genres like horror, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, suspense, etc. He’s been praised widely as an author who constructs compelling narratives and plots that will keep you at the edge of your seat. His stories regularly find their way among the top posts on Nosleep and he’s had dozens of his stories narrated by famous Creepypasta YouTube narrators. His newest novel is Just a Bite, a medical horror novel that’s a quick read and will interest fans of body horror. Continue Reading
Review: Dark Tales of Sorrow and Despair by Jack Darby
Dark Tales of Sorrow and Despair by Jack Darby
Independently Published (November 2021)
337 pages; $14.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by R.B. Payne
Reviewer’s Note
Many of you know I relocated to Paris, France in 2018. Here, I am connecting with like-minded authors who specialize in dark fiction whether it be horror, thriller, or science fiction. These writers are a diverse group living in Spain, Iceland, Italy, Germany, Romania, Belgium, France, Denmark, Poland, Ireland, Lithuania, and Austria, to mention a few.
These “European Dark Fiction Writers” bring a vastly different perspective to their stories because here, amongst the charming castles and ancient battlefields, history is old… very, very old. Wounds and fears are centuries or eons deep, yet some primordial scars are still oozing fresh blood. The creatures that lurk just beyond the shadows in the cities and forests and mountains of Europe may not be quite so recognizable as the ones you think you already know.Continue Reading
Review: Secret Identity by Alex Segura
Secret Identity by Alex Segura
Flatiron Books (March 15, 2022)
368 pages; $27.99 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
“It was barely eleven and Carmen Valdez already wanted to die.”
Doesn’t exactly sound like someone working at their dream job, does it? Carmen Valdez knows that being the secretary for the owner/editor-in-chief of Triumph Comics isn’t what she wants, but she’s hoping it’s at least a foot in the door…a first step on her journey to writing comic books for a living.Continue Reading
Review: Escaping the Body by Chloe N. Clark
Escaping the Body by Chloe N. Clark
Interstellar Flight Press (March 7, 2022)
118 pages; $12.99 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Chloe N. Clark is the author of Collective Gravities, Under My Tongue, Your Strange Fortune, and The Science of Unvanishing Objects. Her forthcoming books include Every Song a Vengeance and My Prayer is a Dagger, Yours is the Moon. She is a founding co-EIC of literary journal Cotton Xenomorph. Her favorite basketball player will always be Rasheed Wallace and her favorite escape artist can only be Houdini. Her newest collection, Escaping the Body, is a tour de force exploring the physical body and the liminal spaces between one’s soul and one’s skin and bones. Continue Reading
Review: The Pussy Detective by DuVay Knox
The Pussy Detective by DuVay Knox
CLASH Books (February 2022)
180 pages; $14.95 paperback
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann
The Pussy Detective. A title like this elicits a response; an invite to engage right off the bat. For some, it’s off-putting because of the p-word. Others see the title and the amazing retro-inspired artwork and pull the trigger. Some people think it’s a joke or a parody.
“Wait, this book is about women who have lost their pussy and some detective helps them find it?”
That’s exactly right.Continue Reading
Review: Entomophobia by Sarah Hans
Entomophobia by Sarah Hans
Omnium Gatherum Media (January 2022)
178 pages; $14.99 Paperback; $3.49 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre
Bugs, amiright? Creepy little bastards. Skittering around on too many legs. Staring at us with too many eyes. Click-clacking their chitinous carapaces from the dark corners. Then they have the nerve to squirt out all those gloppy bits when you squish them. EW!Continue Reading