Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: July 18th, 2023

Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Mystery Thriller, Fantasy, Historical, Magical Realism

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film–and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

First Line:

An engorged, yellow moon painted the sky a sickly amber hue, illuminating a solitary figure.
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Montserrat is a sound editor trying to make it in a highly competitive but male-only market in Mexico City. Her best friend, Tristan, is a former telenovela star trying to break into the business after being blackballed by his ex-girlfriend’s father, who blames him for her death. Tristan is thrilled when he discovers that his new neighbor is cult horror director Abel Urueta. Montserrat is slightly more reserved, but her interest is piqued when Abel tells a tale about a former Nazi occultist, Ewers, using silver nitrate film reels to imbue them with magic. But Ewers died before the film was finished, and Abel believes that caused him to be cursed. But, after agreeing to do so, Tristan starts seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend, and a dark presence haunts Monserrat. With cultists on their heels, Tristan and Monserrat must unravel the movie’s mystery and why it is so important to those people.

I am not a modern-day horror movie fan. I am not a fan of gore and blood. I am a fan of the type of horror movie that was made in the ’50s and ’60s. That is why I decided to wish on this book on Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine’s NetGalley page. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the wish to be granted and was very surprised when it was. While it took me a while to get to read the book (thank you, backlog), once I did read it, I was immersed and very glad that I did. Silver Nitrate was a great book.

Silver Nitrate is a medium-paced book that starts slowly. At first, I was a little irritated with how slow the book was. But, as I got into the book and everything started unraveling, I appreciated the slow start. Without that slow start, I wouldn’t have known how Tristan’s background would affect him later in the book and how Momo girl bossed everything.

The main storyline of Silver Nitrate is centered around Momo, Tristan, the film, and the Nazi occultist. It was a meandering and sometimes infuriating storyline that was well-written. This storyline is like good wine; it must be read slowly and savored. If you read too fast, you will run into the problem of missing some essential information. Trust me; this book is worth reading slowly.

I like Momo. She was a great friend (well, almost too good, Tristan did walk all over her at the beginning of the book), a good sister, and she was a good employee. I felt terrible that she was in such a challenging profession. I never considered a sound editor a male-dominated profession in the ’90s. It didn’t cross my mind, and by the middle of the book, I was very mad for her. My other favorite thing about Momo is that once she committed to something, she committed. She started reading Ewer’s book to see if there were any clues about what was happening. I won’t get much more into it, but I was surprised at what she learned.

I hate to admit this, but Tristan annoyed me at first. He was childlike in his actions and mannerisms. I couldn’t understand why Momo even kept him around as a friend. But, as the book went on and the author peeled back Tristan’s layers (and there were many), my annoyance gave way to understanding and pity. His character growth during this book was immense, and I loved his epiphany towards the end of the book. I wanted to smack him and say, “Duh, you idiot.“

Even though he was dead, Ewers was a considerable presence in this book. I had read about Nazi occultists in the past, so I did understand what the author was writing about. But, she got into depth with his character. I was fascinated by everything that the author had written about him in the book. In the author’s note, she did explain that this character was a mishmash of a multitude of occultists, but the namesake was from a Nazi sympathizer who traveled to Mexico.

The book’s main secondary characters (Abel, Clarimonde, Ava, and Jose) were prevalent. They played critical roles in the film (both past and present). I won’t get into how they were involved with Ewers, but it was surprising when everything was revealed. And honestly, the only one I felt bad for out of the four was Abel. He had zero clue what was going on behind the scenes.

The horror angle of the book was very well written. This book wasn’t a gory, blood-everywhere horror. Instead, it was more of a psychological horror. It started with the uneasiness that Momo and Tristan felt when Abel explained what he wanted to do, and it just expanded throughout the book. I loved it.

The paranormal angle of the book was just as well written. I liked that it started gradually (Tristan seeing his dead ex, Abel having a premonition) and then started snowballing. The pinnacle was the scene toward the end of the book, where Momo did what she did.

I also was thrilled to learn about silver nitrate. I had never heard about it before this book, and I did read up on it. In a weird coincidence, my husband listened to a podcast detailing silver nitrate and films (like the book). Learning about silver nitrate was fascinating, frightening, and creepy (the occult angle).

The end of Silver Nitrate was exciting but not what I was expecting. While the author wrapped up the film/Ewer storyline, I wondered what would happen to Momo and Tristan. I wasn’t expecting the turn it took. But looking back, I did see that storyline turning in that direction.

I would recommend Silver Nitrate to anyone over 16. There is language, violence, and no sexual situations.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of Silver Nitrate, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One by Carly Brown

Publisher: Mosaic Press

Date of publication: April 27th, 2021

Genre: Fantasy, Crime Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Horror

Trigger Warning: Rape (graphic and on-page), Attempted Rape (graphic and on-page), Depression (graphic and on-page), Alcohol (graphic and on-page), Domestic Violence (graphic and on-page). Racism (on-page),Death of parent (off-page and remembered), Drugs (graphic and on-page), Kidnapping (graphic and on-page)

Series: Celine Bower

The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One

The Celine Bower Stoyr: Chronicle Two

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | Kobo | Google Play |

Goodreads Synopsis:

Celine Bower woke the morning after her night with John feeling shock and awe, and a growing sense of isolation. She remembered the meticulous plans and instinctively knowing how to cover her tracks. There wasn’t even a spot of blood on her boots when she took them off at the end of the night. Celine knew John couldn’t see what was happening behind him as she methodically prepared to alter his wretched existence forever.

Could it really be Celine looking back into her eyes, or was it someone else that took control of her body and her thoughts?

The Celine Bower Story, Chronicle One, is one woman’s epic journey from a kind and loving veterinarian and assault survivor, to a cunning and dangerous vigilante who will not be satisfied with just taking back the night, she’s taking it all back.

First Line:

“So, what’s your name, handsome?” the woman said as she turned and smiled at John Scott with a twinkle in her eye.
The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One by Carly Brown

Celine had just graduated veterinary college and had landed a job working at her godfather’s veterinary hospital when she was kidnapped, drugged, beaten, and gang-raped. Destroyed and unable to remember anything about the assault, she works to get her life back on track. Then one stormy night, as Celine is tending to a dog hit by a car, the veterinary hospital is hit by lightning, and because Celine is holding a scalpel, she is too. Amazingly she is uninjured, but the strike has some interesting side effects. She is strong, but more importantly, she remembers the four men who raped her. That sends her on a path of vigilante justice. Can Celine get the justice that she so badly needs to heal and that the police can’t give her? And more importantly, will Celine stop after her rapists are taken care of? Or will she deal out more of her particular brand of justice?

I was hesitant when the author approached me to read and review Celine Bower. Why? I wouldn’t say I like reading books that deal with rape, and I try to avoid them at all costs. But, after reading the blurb, I was interested in it. So, I threw out any reservations and accepted the invite. I am glad I did because this book was excellent.

There are trigger warnings in Celine Bower. I do want to warn you that the triggers are many. The author doesn’t back down or sugarcoat anything that Celine goes through. That is what made this book so good and so heartbreaking at the same time. The trigger warnings are:

Rape—Celine is gang raped towards the beginning of the book. But, while you know she was raped and who raped her, the author didn’t get graphic until almost the middle of the book. One of the rapists recounts a memory where his father raped his mother in front of him as a child.
Attempted Rape—Celine interrupts a man trying to rape a teenager. At the end of the book, someone attempts to rape another girl.
Depression—After being raped, Celine goes through a significant depression for weeks. She is brought out of her depression by her mother doing an intervention with her best friend.
Alcohol—Alcohol is enormous in this book. Celine does drink socially. Her rapists also drink socially and use alcohol to abuse women. During her rape, Celine is forced to drink a lot of beer to throw the police off. Alcohol plays a big part in Celine’s vigilante work with her rapists.
Domestic Violence—Celine is beaten while drugged up by one of her rapists. Her injuries were severe. One of the rapists has a girlfriend and daughter. He is known to beat her and other women regularly. One of the rapists witnessed his mother being beaten by his father.
Racism—A witness to Celine’s kidnapping is a Native American. The racists throw slurs at him when he decides to leave. The ringleader shows up at this guy’s apartment and threatens him with violence while throwing racial slurs at him.
Death of a parent—Celine’s father was killed when a drunk driver hit him head-on.
Drugs—Celine is drugged when her rapist (a co-worker) slips roofies into her coffee. The rapists smoke pot before, during, and after the rape.
Kidnapping—Celine is carried to a van by two of her rapists.

If any of these trigger you, I recommend not reading the book.

The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One is a fast-paced book. The pacing of this book fits the storyline. It would have caused some lag with the plotline if it had been any slower.

The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One takes place in Norfolk Falls. The author didn’t specify a state (and if she did, I missed it). Norfolk Falls is your typical medium-sized town, and I loved it. I could see my town (which borders small and medium-sized) in how the author wrote it.

The main storyline of The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One centers around Celine and rape (before and after). This is a well-written storyline with so many layers. As soon as the author peeled back one layer, another appeared. The attention to detail and the author’s expression in describing everything made this book a joy. Of course, I could have done with a little less detail during the rape, but, as I stated above, I am not a huge fan of rape being the main storyline.

I both loved and feared Celine. She was a powerful person who had something horrible happen to her. There were points in the book where I wanted to step in and hug her. When she started her vigilante justice, I was on pins and needles for her and cheered for each rapist she took down.

I do want to touch on the rape investigation. I felt that the author kept it as true to life as possible and portrayed the police as realistically as well. The Sex Crimes officers had their hands tied (without suspects and DNA evidence that took forever to get in). I was upset at the questions that they had to ask Celine. Who in their right mind asks an assault victim questions like that? And when they figured out what Celine was doing, I loved how they had their back. While it wasn’t realistic, it was still awesome to read.

I disagreed with the dark fantasy/fantasy listing that the author gave this book. Nothing was pointing to fantasy until Celine got hit by lightning. And then, it was like it didn’t happen until she beat the guy who attempted to rape the fifteen-year-old toward the end of the book. I am hoping, though, that book two does delve more into that genre. From the little that the author showed, I am very interested.

The crime fiction angle was well-written. The author did a great job detailing the police’s side of Celine’s rape. It showed their frustration with having their hands tied because of the victim’s amnesia and how slow the DNA evidence was to be processed.

The horror angle of the book was well written also. The author did a fantastic job of detailing the horror of Celine’s rape. But, and this is the big thing, she also did a great job of threading horror into Celine’s vigilante work. I am not going to get into detail, but what she did to her rapists was perfect and, honestly, horrifying.

The end of The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One was interesting. The author ended the main storyline but left enough for a second book. I cannot wait to read book 2!!

I recommend The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One to anyone over 21. There is graphic violence, language, and graphic sexual situations. Also, see my trigger warnings.

Other books by Carly Brown:

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of Publication: May 2nd, 2023

Genre: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy, Horror, Speculative Fiction

Trigger Warnings:

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

From author of The Passage comes a standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia–where the truth isn’t what it seems.

Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process–and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming–which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group–known as “Arrivalists”–who may be fomenting revolution.

Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized–and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

First Line:

Dawn is breaking when she creeps from the house. The air is cool and fresh; birds are singing in the trees.
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

Prospera is an island utopia that the mysterious Designer founded to shield people from climate change and the general chaos of the outside world. Death is not known in Prospera. All residents wear a monitor embedded in their arms, and those monitors measure their physical and mental health. Once the meter falls below 10 percent, the citizens must retire to the Nursery. There, their memories are wiped, their bodies rejuvenated, and they are readied to start life again as a teenager. But things are beginning to change in Prospera. The support staff, who mainly live in the Annex, are beginning to question their place in the social order of the island, and a resistance group is formed. While that is happening, Proctor Bennett, the Director of Social Contracts, is having a crisis. He has been dreaming, something no one on the island should be able to do. Proctor also received a cryptic message from his father shortly before his father forcibly retired. Running into roadblocks, Proctor starts to realize that there is more going on in Prospera than he realized and that Prospera isn’t what he thinks it is. What will happen when Proctor uncovers the truth? Will he be able to handle it?

I first heard about The Ferryman when I read several reviews on blogs I follow. What I read got me very interested in reading it. But I figured I would have to wait for it to be published to read it. It so happens that I saw it was on Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine’s NetGalley page as a wish. So I figured I would wish for it and see if I got it. And as you can see, I did. I was very excited; this became the book I read this spring. I hyped it up in my mind, and I became a little wary about it. Usually, when I get so excited to read a book, I get let down. Not in this case. Nope, this book definitely delivered for me!!

The Ferryman centers its storyline around Proctor. Proctor is an Elite. From the age of 15/16, he grew up lacking nothing on Prospera. He eventually married an artist and became head the Director of Social Contracts (who oversaw the ferryman). Life was good until it wasn’t. The author briefly explains Proctor’s early life, including the death of his beloved mother. More focus was on Proctor’s dreams, his rapidly falling stats on his monitor, and his shaky mental health. Everything started to happen after Proctor was forced to retire his father, and his father kept repeating a word over and over. That starts Proctor’s digging into the truth, and what he uncovers is amazing and, frankly, a little scary (and I am applying what was revealed in the last part of the book to this statement)

The other main storyline in The Ferryman centers around Thea, The Annex, Mother, and the resistance. The author did a wonderful job of keeping me guessing how Thea was involved and why she sought out Proctor. And when he melded the storylines, it was gold. I loved it!!!

There was a major secondary storyline involving the heads of the society. I can’t get much into it, but everything they were doing made sense once it was explained. I can’t give any more detail than that. But I was a little surprised by what Proctor did at the end. I was left scratching my head at first, but then I thought of the old saying: Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Then it made perfect sense.

The characters in The Ferryman were well-written and fleshed out. I wish I could go more into them because there is more to their characters than what is revealed at first. I loved the comparisons once the author dropped his bombshell. It made sense.

I liked Proctor. He was a natural leader, but he was so confused by what was happening to him. I liked that even his dreams kept telling him to do things. I also liked that his dreams hinted at something that could destroy him. When that was revealed, it did. But then he got back up and resolved to keep fighting.

I thought Thea was awesome. I had her pegged as someone totally different than what she was portrayed as. Her actions throughout the book showed that. She loved Proctor to the point where she was willing to let him go.

The end of The Ferryman was amazing. The author explained everything that was going on in the book. And when I say everything, I mean everything. All of my questions were answered, and then some. Did I agree with what Proctor did at the end of the book? Not really, but I got why he did it. There was also a big twist involving Thea that I maybe should have seen coming, but I didn’t.

I recommend The Ferryman to anyone over 21. There is language, mild sexual situations, and violence.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Justin Cronin for allowing me to read and review The Ferryman. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of The Ferryman, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Justin Cronin:

This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Date of publication: April 25th, 2023

Genre: Horror, Young Adult, LGBT, Queer, Lesbian, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery Thriller

Trigger Warnings: Alcohol consumption by minors, Anxiety disorders (mentioned), Blood, Gore, Body Horror, Cannibalism, Captivity, Confinement, Dead bodies, body parts, Deadnaming, Death of a grandparent, Death of a sibling, drugging, drug use, fire, grief, loss, gun violence, intrusive thoughts, murder, needles, syringes, nightmares, parental neglect, pandemic, scars, sexism, suicidal ideation, transphobia

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCake

Goodreads Synopsis:

Four best friends, one music festival, and a cooler filled with human organs: this summer is about to get gory. 

Jennifer’s Body fans will clamor for this new sapphic horror standalone from New York Times bestselling author Kayla Cottingham.

Three years ago, the melting of arctic permafrost released a pathogen of unknown origin into the atmosphere, causing a small percentage of people to undergo a transformation that became known as the Hollowing. Those impacted slowly became intolerant to normal food and were only able to gain sustenance by consuming the flesh of other human beings. Those who went without flesh quickly became feral, turning on their friends and family. However, scientists were able to create a synthetic version of human meat that would satisfy the hunger of those impacted by the Hollowing. As a result, humanity slowly began to return to normal, albeit with lasting fear and distrust for the people they’d pejoratively dubbed ghouls.

Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are all ghouls living in Southern California. As a last hurrah before their graduation they decided to attend a musical festival in the desert. They have a cooler filled with hard seltzers and SynFlesh and are ready to party.

But on the first night of the festival Val goes feral, and ends up killing and eating a boy. As other festival guests start disappearing around them the girls soon discover someone is drugging ghouls and making them feral. And if they can’t figure out how to stop it, and soon, no one at the festival is safe.

First Line:

When my parents asked if I wanted a Mini Cooper for graduation, I didn’t think ahead to whether or not it would have enough trunk space to accommodate my cooler full of organs.
This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham

Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are preparing to attend a desert music festival. This event is a big deal for them because they were infected with a pathogen three years earlier, which turned them into ghouls. They all rely on synthetic meat to satisfy their hunger, which keeps them from going feral (and turning back into ghouls). But ghouls are feared, and the girls are monitored constantly. So, taking this trip is a big deal to them. But, on the first night, Valeria goes feral, killing and eating a boy. After investigating why Valeria went feral, the girls make a surprising discovery: someone is drugging ghouls and causing them to go feral. With other guests going missing and the National Guard on their way to round up the ghouls, the girls must find out who is behind it and why. But, what they discover is just the tip of something much bigger than what they realized. Can they stop the people behind it? Can they retain their humanity?

I had initially seen This Delicious Death floating around the blogosphere. I liked the blurb for the book and made it a point to put it on my short list of books I want to read. Then I got an email from NetGalley saying they had the book on a limited Read Now for the first 500 people. I made sure that I immediately downloaded it. I can’t even begin to express how excited I was about this. The funny thing about this is that I am terrified of any zombie movie/tv show/book—I legit freak out. So I was curious how I would react when reading This Delicious Death. I didn’t have the reaction I thought, and I loved it!!

This Delicious Death has numerous trigger/content warnings. The author kindly lists everything at the beginning of the book. They are:

Alcohol Consumption by Minors: Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine drink constantly throughout the book. They are served at bars set up at the festival also.
Anxiety Disorders: It is mentioned throughout the book that Celeste and Zoey have anxiety. Also, Jessica and Valeria have anxiety because of what they went through during the Hollowing.
Blood: There is a lot of blood in this book. Seeing that it is a zombie book, I would have been surprised if there wasn’t blood.
Gore: There is a lot of gore throughout This Delicious Death. The explicit scenes happen during each girl’s flashback to the Hollowing, Cole’s flashback, Valeria’s feral scenes, and the scenes in Facility B.
Body Horror: There are quite a few scenes where the author graphically describes the girls eating synthetic organs and meat. There are also scenes where the author details the girls (in their flashbacks) killing and eating people. There are scenes towards the end of the book where the girls watch a ghoul (called the anthropophagi) kill and eat a boy in front of them.
Cannibalism: The girls need to eat human flesh so they don’t become ghouls. It is graphically detailed throughout the book.
Captivity: Celeste and Zoey are captured and held at two different facilities while they are ghouls. The anthropophagi are held captive in Facility B. While at the festival, Celeste, Jasmine, and Zoey are in their cabin.
Confinement: Zoey was confined to a facility for months longer than Celeste. Valeria was confined to her house and then her room during the onset of the pandemic. The four girls are confined to their cabin before going to Facility B and after the events at Facility B.
Dead Bodies: There are dead bodies throughout the book. Some, the girls caused (in their flashbacks and present day), and others, they stumbled upon.
Body Parts: The girls must eat organs and body parts to satisfy their ghouls. Different body parts appear once ghouls start getting drugged and the anthropophagi are removed from Facility B.
Deadnaming: Celeste (who is trans) is almost deadnamed at a party after the Hollowing. The author stopped short of having that person say what her male name was.
Death of a grandparent: Jasmine’s grandmother was killed after she turned. Jasmine and her younger brother left when her grandmother started tearing up her bedroom.
Death of a sibling: Cole killed and ate his older sister while she was on Facebook Live with her boyfriend (who was also Cole’s bandmate). Cole never recovered from doing that.
Drugging: Celeste and Zoey were drugged during their capture. Zoey was drugged constantly during her captivity. Valeria was drugged at a bar, turned feral, and killed the boy she was with. His bandmates drugged Cole towards the end of the book, and he went feral.
Drug Use: I think that drugs were used recreationally by other festival-goers. I don’t believe that the girls (or Cole) used drugs.
Fire: A fire was deliberately set in Facility B at the end of the book.
Grief: Both Celeste and Zoey grieve the deaths of the hunter and camp counselor they killed and ate. Jasmine grieves that she has scarred her brother for life. Valeria grieves what she did to survive. Cole grieves what he did to his sister.
Loss: Each of the main characters experienced loss. There is too much to go into, but the author covers each person individually in their flashbacks and the present day.
Gun Violence: In flashbacks, a hunter holds Celeste and Zoey at rifle point, and Zoey is shot. Present day, Celeste is shot by a National Guardsman while distracting them from seeing Zoey and Jasmine going after Valeria.
Intrusive Thoughts: Zoey is tortured by what she did while a ghoul and thinks about suicide. Cole is also tormented by what he did.
Murder: Zoey and Celeste murder their camp counselor and the hunter. Jasmine murders the white supremacist couple that was threatening her brother. Valeria murders the star football player in a scuffle over a corpse. Valeria murders the boy she was with at the bar. Cole murders his sister.
Needles: Zoey is given medication through her neck with a needle while confined. Celeste takes her hormones with needles. Jasmine gives Valeria the antidote with a needle to the neck.
Syringes: See above.
Nightmares: All four girls suffer from nightmares from what they did while they were ghouls. The same goes for Cole.
Parental Neglect: Zoey’s parents refuse to have anything to do with her after she returns home. Her parents are terrified of her. She is painfully aware of that.
Pandemic: The Hollowing is caused by a pathogen released by melting polar ice caps. That sets off a worldwide pandemic of ghouls.
Scars: The girls and Cole have mental scars from their Hollowing.
Sexism: The lead singer of the band that Cole is in is sexist. He makes several remarks during the book that set me on edge.
Suicidal Ideation: Zoey and Cole have thoughts about suicide during the book. This is directly related to what they went through during the Hollowing.
Transphobia: Celeste is trans (male to female). She is afraid to tell her followers (she is an influencer) because of the transphobic backlash. There is a small moment of transphobia at a party she is at with Valeria and Zoey, but Jasmine stops it.

This is a lengthy list. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

The main storyline of This Delicious Death centers around the four girls (Zoey, Celeste, Jasmine, and Valeria), their trip to the festival, the mystery of who is behind drugging the ghouls and why, and the girls’ backstories. Let’s start with the backstories first. The author gave each girl a smallish chapter explaining how they became ghouls. It was heartbreaking in all cases because of how young they were. They were all around 15 years old, and they were all in different parts of California. The author details what they did to survive and sometimes did it explicitly. But those chapters were sprinkled throughout the book. The main focus was on Valeria going feral and why. I loved how the girls went about their investigations. They were resourceful with their limitations. Because they were ghouls, they were not allowed to go beyond certain boundaries. Once they discovered the drug, it was a search for who and why. It was a very twisty investigation, and I was surprised at what the girls turned up. I wasn’t surprised at who was behind it (because I had an idea it was those people).

The main characters (Celeste, Zoey, Jasmine, and Valeria) were well-written and multifaceted. I liked that they were diverse, but at the same time, they weren’t (if that makes sense). I liked that each girl brought their personality to the story. Even when they were fighting, which they did quite a bit of in the middle of the book, they were still respectful of each other and watched out for each other. It was watching out for each other that eventually paved the way to the ending events of the book.

The romance angle of the book was well played out. You knew what Zoey’s feelings were for Celeste since page one. She was in love with her. But she wasn’t sure how Celeste felt about Zoey, and the author kept it that way until the end of the book. I wasn’t sure if I liked the almost romance between Zoey and Cole, mainly because it didn’t feel right.

The mystery angle of This Delicious Death was wonderfully written. The author had me guessing who drugged Valeria and the other ghouls. I liked how the girls did their investigations and ended up at Facility B. But how they tied everything together (with Cole’s help) and decided to get the antidote to the drug and rescue Valeria made the book!!

I was almost unreasonably angry with Zoey’s parents. Finding out your kid had been changed into a flesh-eating monster was soul-shattering. But to let her languish in that detention center and treat her like dirt when she got out was awful. For three years, she raised herself while her parents made themselves scarce. At least she had a parent in Celeste’s mom. Speaking of Celeste’s mom, she was the MVP of the entire book. She was one of the most accepting, down-to-earth, loving people ever!! I was jealous of Celeste.

An interesting secondary storyline involved Cole’s stepfather, the drug he tested out, and ghouls that went crazy. There was a point in the book where I wondered if the author would explain the background of the anthropophagi. I wasn’t expecting the horrible backstory to that, though. I also didn’t expect Cole’s stepfather to develop a conscience about his actions and create an antidote.

The end of This Delicious Death was gripping and heartbreaking. I expected everything to go down differently than it did. I’m not going to go much more into it other than that.

I would recommend This Delicious Death to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and nongraphic sexual situations. Also, see the very long list of triggers above.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Fire, NetGalley, and Kayla Cottingham for allowing me to read and review This Delicious Death. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of This Delicious Death, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Kayla Cottingham:

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

Star Rating: 3

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: March 7th, 2023

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Horror, Audiobook, Psychological Thriller

Trigger Warning: Gun Violence, Violence, Addiction, Bullying, Child Death, Murder, Rape (implied), Sexual Assualt (implied), Trafficking (off page)

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A stay-at-home mom with a past.
A has-been rock star with a habit.
A reality TV producer with a debt.
Three disparate lives.
One deadly secret.

Twenty five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, a bond forged as residents of Savior House, an abusive group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down—after the disappearance of several kids—the three were split up.

Though the trauma of their childhood has never left them, each went on to live successful, if troubled, lives. They haven’t seen one another since they were teens but now are reunited for a single haunting reason: someone is trying to kill them.

To save their lives, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their past—a past that holds the secret to why someone wants them dead.

It’s a reunion none of them asked for… or wanted. But it may be the only way to save all their lives.

First Line:

At the top of a knoll through a break in the trees, five teenagers stand at the edge of a shallow grave.
What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

Twenty-five years ago, five teenagers did something terrible but necessary (in their eyes). After their group home was dissolved, the five were separated and went to successful but troubled lives. Jenna is a stay-at-home mom, Nico is a reality TV producer with a massive gambling debt, Donnie is a rock star, Ben is a respected judge, and Artemis is a billionaire. Their lives are good until suddenly, one day, Ben is killed. Shortly after, Donnie and Nico are injured in accidents that turn out to be hits on their lives.

On the other hand, Jenna is set up for an attempted assassination. With the assassins hot on their trail, the three must go back to where it all began-the group home that they lived in. There, they must face the past and what they did that night. Because all is not what it seems, and the enemy might be closer than they think.

I accepted the publisher’s invitation to read this book because it was a thriller and a mystery. Since I enjoy both, I figured I would like What Have We Done. And I did. But I was captivated by how the author spun Jenna, Nico, Donnie, Ben, and Artemis’s stories. I couldn’t get enough of their backstories.

What Have We Done is told from several different points of view. The main ones are Jenna, Nico, Donnie, and the psychotic twins. This book also goes between past and present but does it fluidly. There were only a couple of times when I couldn’t immediately figure out what was happening and who the chapter was focused on.

The characters in What Have We Done were well-written and well-fleshed out. But I couldn’t connect with Donnie or Nico. They were just too damaged and a little self-centered (ok, a lot self-centered). Jenna was the one I connected with, and I couldn’t wait to read her chapters. I loved seeing her rely on her former assassin skills to outwit the twins. Plus, when her family was threatened, she didn’t run. Nope, she made her husband run with their daughters while she laid a trail away from them.

I do want to mention the psychopathic twins. I shouldn’t have laughed at them, but they bungled everything. They couldn’t kill their objectives (but had no issues killing other people). They were almost cartoonish in their mannerisms. The scene at the very end of the book with Jenna, her ex-handlers, and the remaining twin was pretty awesome!

Of course, I liked seeing them get their just deserts.

The main plotline with Nico, Donnie, and Jenna investigating Ben’s death and trying to figure out if someone found out about what they did twenty-five years earlier was exciting and action-packed. Donnie was a little useless in this storyline (he was busy telling his story to a ghostwriter). Nico and Jenna were the ones who pieced together everything that was happening. I saw a twist in this storyline coming, but it still surprised me.

The alternating storyline at the group home (with Ben, Nico, Donnie, Jenna, and Artemis) was alarming. I was horrified at what those kids were going through and the rate at which the girls in the home disappeared. Some were explained (like Jenna), but the others weren’t until the end of the book. It wasn’t until a crucial scene towards the end of the book that things were revealed. And let’s say that it made me sick. But, this plotline has a huge twist revealed during the showdown as adults. My mouth dropped when that confession was made. I did not see it coming, which both saddened and disgusted me.

The end of What Have We Done was exciting and a little bloody. I will not get into it, but Donnie, Nico, and Jenna figured everything out. The book’s climax was pretty good, and I liked the confession.

I would recommend What Have We Done to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and sexual situations. Also, see the trigger warnings at the top of the review.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Alex Finlay for allowing me to read and review What Have We Done. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of What Have We Done, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Alex Finlay:

A Paroxysm of Fear (Doyle & Braham: Book 2) by Chad Miller

Publisher: Hear Our Voice

Date of publication: February 3rd, 2023

Genre: Horror

Trigger Warning: Violence (Graphic), Gore (Graphic), Homophobia (mentioned)

Series: Doyle & Braham

The Prisoner of Fear—Book 1 (review here)

A Paroxysm of Fear—Book 2

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | AbeBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fear and mystery follow me like an unwanted shadow. As the case of my missing friend, Dr. Charles Thorton, has horrifically concluded, a new mystery emerges! My miserable colleague, Thomas Braham and I discovered that Cordelia had been transformed into an abominable monster, and now we are now off on a discovery to find the root of her evil. We are whisked off on many twists and turns as our adventures lead us to lunatic asylums and underground surgical arenas. Our new apprentice, Scarlett, also joins our endeavors as I pray she only acts as our silent observer and resists sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.

And still, our anonymous prisoner remains. They sit there waiting to be rescued and survive the torment and torture that awaits them. I’m confident they will be discovered, but I worry that the empty cell will be quickly filled by another poor soul.

I say with the greatest of confidence that Thomas, Scarlett, and I will uncover the truth. My fear and anxiety still remain. Sometimes it’s better to let things lie peacefully in ignorance. What sordid and cruel vermin will slither to the surface once we start turning up stones and digging holes? But my curiosity and need for discovery tamps down any trepidation I may have, and besides, I owe it to Dr. Thorton. Pray for us.

To life and light,

John Doyle

First Line:

June 4th – It was a silent night on the train, but I found myself unable to sleep, which was a predicament that my dear friend John didn’t suffer.
A Paroxysm of Fear by Chad Miller

Thomas Braham and John Doyle, along with Thomas’s niece Scarlett, have solved the case of Doyle’s missing friend, Dr. Charles Thornton. But the end of that case has opened up another question: How and why did Cordelia become a cannibalistic monster? Determined to find the answer, Braham and Doyle follow the clues. These clues lead them to illegal surgical rooms to lunatic asylums. Meanwhile, Scarlett is still in town, digging up clues there. It is Doyle and Baraham’s hope that she does so quietly and not draw attention to herself.

Meanwhile, our anonymous prisoner from the first book is slowly transforming into something horrendous. Will Braham and Doyle find any answers? Will Scarlett be able to keep under the radar? And what will happen to the prisoner?

A Paroxysm of Fear is the second book in the Braham and Doyle series. Readers cannot read this book as a standalone. You need to read book 1 to understand what is happening in book 2. You will be lost if you only read book 2.

Like the first book, A Paroxysm of Fear is written mainly through diary entries and letters. In 98% of books, this wouldn’t work, but in this case, it does. I felt slightly uneasy and nervous for the main characters when the diary entries and letters ended. It was because I didn’t know what would happen to the characters in the time between entries/letters. My imagination was going into overdrive. And people, that is what makes this such a good horror book.

The main plotline of A Paroxysm of Fear centers is Braham and Doyle’s investigation of what happened to Cordelia and where it occurred. They (and I) wanted to know what happened to her and why she turned into this horrendous thing. Their journey took them throughout Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. As for the people they met, I didn’t trust any of them, and I have them all lumped into my “It could be him” category. As for Scarlett, she did a great job digging up information about Cordelia’s victims. I do think she was onto something towards the end of the book.

The other main storyline was about the anonymous prisoner. It was genius that the author chose to blank out who the captors were. I also loved seeing this person go from right-minded to insane. Of course, I did figure out who it was. But I couldn’t figure out who the captor was. His (and it was a he) motives were clear; he was looking for an elixir for some cure. Then there was a plot twist I didn’t see coming. Another anonymous prisoner is taken, and I can’t figure out who it is!!! Two people went missing towards the end of the book, which could be either of them.

Horror is the primary genre in A Paroxysm of Fear, and the author nailed it. As mentioned above, I was often left uneasy and nervous during the book. Compounded with the fact that Braham and Doyle didn’t know what they were digging into, it kept me off balance. The other genre that the book fits into is mystery, and it was written perfectly. I cannot figure out anything in this book, and I love it!!!

There are trigger warnings in A Paroxysm of Fear. They are violence, gore, and homophobia. The violence and gore are graphic. Homophobia is mentioned, but there is no great detail about it.

The end of A Paroxysm of Fear was interesting. Nothing was wrapped up. Instead, a whole new sense of urgency is instilled. I can only say that people go missing, and another anonymous prisoner is in the cell. Add on that the book ended on a cliffhanger, and oh my!!!

I would recommend A Paroxsym of Fear to anyone over 21. There is violence, but there is no language or sexual situations.

Many thanks to Chad Miller for allowing me to read and review A Paroxsym of Fear. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Date of publication: February 21st, 2023

Genre: Horror, Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, LGBT, Lesbian, Queer, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

Trigger Warning: Mention and referral to sexual assault and rape, death, loss of loved ones, child abandonment, mentions of cancer, trauma, mentions of drugging, gun violence, violence

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Andrea Hannah’s Where Darkness Blooms is a supernatural thriller about an eerie town where the sunflowers whisper secrets and the land hungers for blood.

The town of Bishop is known for exactly two things: recurring windstorms and an endless field of sunflowers that stretches farther than the eye can see. And women—missing women. So when three more women disappear one stormy night, no one in Bishop is surprised. The case is closed and their daughters are left in their dusty shared house with the shattered pieces of their lives. Until the wind kicks up a terrible secret at their mothers’ much-delayed memorial.

With secrets come the lies each of the girls is forced to confront. After caring for the other girls, Delilah would like to move on with her boyfriend, Bennett, but she can’t bear his touch. Whitney has already lost both her mother and her girlfriend, Eleanor, and now her only solace is an old weathervane that seems to whisper to her. Jude, Whitney’s twin sister, would rather ignore it all, but the wind kicks up her secret too: the summer fling she had with Delilah’s boyfriend. And more than anything, Bo wants answers and she wants them now. Something happened to their mothers and the townsfolk know what it was. She’s sure of it.

Bishop has always been a strange town. But what the girls don’t know is that Bishop was founded on blood—and now it craves theirs.

First Line:

The land had always been parched but its thirst for blood was learned.
Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah

Bishop is a town haunted by sunflowers, windstorms, and missing/murdered women. The most recently missing women, a trio of best friends, left behind four daughters: Delilah, Whitney, Jude, and Bo. They are surviving the best they can, but they all want answers to two crucial questions: Where are their mothers, and why are so many women being killed? As they dig into Bishop’s history, they realize something isn’t right with the town. The closer they get to the truth about Bishop, the more danger they are in. What is Bishop’s secret? Why are women getting killed and going missing? Will the girls find out the truth, and at what cost?

I admit it; I mainly accepted the publisher’s invitation because of the cover. I usually don’t get books purely based on their covers, and this was a rare expectation to that rule. I am glad I did because this book was one of the creepier ones I have read this year. It was sufficiently scary and made me want to know why the author made sunflowers so evil.

Where Darkness Blooms storyline centers around the town of Bishop and four abandoned girls: Delilah, Whitney, Jude, and Bo. It explores the aftereffects of child abandonment and trauma gritty and raw way. But this book also showed that most people rise under extraordinary circumstances (in this case, the town and a madman out for their blood). I was equally saddened and amazed at what these girls could do while their mothers were gone.

The town of Bishop was creepy. It was blocked off from the rest of Kansas by unending fields of sunflowers. Those sunflowers always seemed to be watching the town. The fields were where the murdered women were found and where the girls’ had a memorial to their mothers. Bishop started getting weirder and weirder as the book went on. Even though it was fictional, the wind started driving me nuts. I couldn’t figure out how the wind and the sunflowers were connected until the end of the book. Everything (and I mean everything) was explained at the end of the book.

I liked Delilah. She came across as the group’s mother hen and was determined to look after the other girls. Her relationship with Bennett was different. I don’t know if I could stand to be with someone whose touch hurt me. But, somehow, she managed, even though she liked someone else. I felt terrible for her because while she missed her mother, she figured her mother had voluntarily left her. She was so sad, yet so strong.

Whitney was a huge factor in determining why their mothers left. But, when things started coming to light, Whitney was the one who did the leg work. She went and interviewed her ex-girlfriend’s grandmother in the nursing home. She was also the one that put two and two together about the town founder. All while fighting an attraction to a nurse’s aide who helped her and running from the bad guy.

Jude is Whitney’s fraternal twin. I didn’t have an opinion of her until her past with Bennett was discussed. Then I had an “oh crap” moment when I realized it was Delilah’s Bennett. I found Jude a little mopey and somewhat obsessive over Bennett. But she could do what she had to when push came to shove.

I wasn’t a fan of Bo. She was so angry and self-destructive for almost the entire book. It was hard to imagine her as happy in any form. I got at least some of her anger. I would have been pissed, too, if my mother had just disappeared. But, it was clear from the beginning that her anger was more than that. I would love to say she was helpful, but I felt she hindered more than helped. Her temper gets her into some trouble towards the end of the book.

I was shocked at who the villains turned out to be. Well, one of them, I was surprised at who it was. The other two, I had a feeling they were bad news. Coupled with what they could do with the wind, I wasn’t surprised that they played with the girls as long as they did. Of course, why they did it was also explained, and it made me so mad!!

The end of Where Darkness Blooms wasn’t what I expected. I can’t get much into it, but I wasn’t very excited when certain things happened. I was expecting one thing, and the complete opposite happened. But it was that last chapter that made the book for me. I was pleasantly surprised by what the author revealed and then by what the author had that character do.

I would recommend Where Darkness Blooms to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and sexual situations. See also the trigger warning section at the top of the review.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, NetGalley, and Andrea Hannah for allowing me to read and review Where Darkness Blooms. All opinions stated in this review are mine

If you enjoyed reading this review of Where Darkness Blooms, then you will enjoy reading these books:

The Drift by C.J. Tudor

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: January 21st, 2023

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Three ordinary people risk everything for a chance at redemption in this audacious, utterly gripping novel of catastrophe and survival at the end of the world, from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man

Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. During a hasty escape from a secluded boarding school, her coach careened over a hillside road during one of the year’s heaviest snowstorms, trapping her inside with a handful of survivors, a brewing virus, and no way to call for help. If she and the remaining few want to make it out alive, with their sanity–and secrets–intact, they’ll need to work together or they’ll be buried alive with the rest of the dead.

A former detective, Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She is in a cable car suspended far above a snowstorm and surrounded by strangers in the same uniform as her, with no memory of how they got there. They are heading to a mysterious place known to them only as “The Retreat,” but when they discover a dead man among their ranks and Meg spies a familiar face, she realizes that there is something far more insidious going on.

Carter is gazing out the window of the abandoned ski chalet that he and his ragtag compatriots call home. Together, they manage a precarious survival, manufacturing vaccines against a deadly virus in exchange for life’s essentials. But as their generator begins to waver, the threat of something lurking in the chalet’s depths looms larger, and their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails–for good.

The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater threat–one that threatens to consume all of humanity.

First Line:

They circled the body in the snow. Scavengers. Looking for anything they might strip from the corpse.
The Drift by C.J. Tudor

When I first read the synopsis for The Drift, I was initially put off by it. Why? For one, I am suffering from post-Covid burnout. That means I am actively not reading books with pandemic themes running through them. But something about this blurb made me take a second look at it, and that second look made me want to read it. Forget about the pandemic theme; I was genuinely interested in the scenarios and characters portrayed in the blurb. I am glad I did because this turned into a great horror book after a rocky (somewhat confusing) beginning.

There are trigger warnings in The Drift. They are gore, death, blood, body horror, detailed injury, gun violence, violence, murder, child death, suicidal thoughts, medical content, medical trauma, car accident, animal death, rape, suicide, terminal illness, torture, grief, abandonment, pregnancy, addiction, and body shaming. If any of these triggers you, I recommend not reading this book.

The Drift is a fast-paced book set in modern-day and future England. The plotline for The Drift could have been clearer to follow at first. Not going to lie to you all, but I had an issue following the timelines (there are three different ones) and the main characters. But the author does eventually tie them all together, but until then, it isn’t evident.

Getting back on topic, The Drift follows three people – Hannah, Meg, and Carter. Hannah is a student at a prestigious academy who is being evacuated to a place called The Retreat with several other students. On the way there, there is an accident, and everyone on board is killed except for Hannah and five other students. Desperate to escape, Hannah realizes that the virus that has killed half the population and keeps mutating is present in one of the dead. But there are more significant problems, such as a blizzard burying the bus, wolves, and several people on the bus hiding explosive secrets. Will Hannah and the other survivors make it out?

Fast forward ten years later, and the pandemic is still going strong. Meg, a former detective, is woken up and finds herself stuck in a cable car with other strangers while a snowstorm rages outside. When it becomes clear that no one is coming, the group of people starts turning on each other, with tensions ending in murder. Who is killing the other people in the cable car, and why? Will help come, or will Meg have to do the impossible swing on the cable car line to get to safety, which is 200 meters away? And what will happen to Meg once she is at the cable car station?

Fast forward around 2-3 years later, and everything has stayed the same. Carter is part of the science team who is turning out vaccines desperately to stem the pandemic’s spread. But his life at The Retreat is falling apart. Their generator is failing, the infected are closing in on the chalet, and the man who gives them supplies is suddenly wanting more. So, when various crew members are murdered or missing, Carter is on edge. See, Carter has an ulterior motive for being at The Retreat, and this motive, along with everything else, might get him killed. Why is Carter there? Who is he looking for? And, more importantly, will he survive the fallout?

The characters in The Drift were well-written. What I liked the most about them is that they were written to be morally gray characters. Take Carter, for instance. He did awful things to get where he was. But he wasn’t a bad person. He was doing what he had to do to get by in a society devastated by a pandemic that didn’t have a cure.

Hannah— I liked her the most out of the three main characters. In her parts of the book, she brought a clinical, almost detached view of what was happening. She learned to do it after her mother died and relied on it to process everything. She quickly discovered certain things on the bus and was instrumental in helping when things started to go sideways. And it was that reason why I was so mad with how the author ended her storyline.
Meg—She had the most heartbreaking storyline of the three characters. She was the most emotional out of the three because of what she went through. But I liked that she also thought like a cop. She knew something was up with the other people in the car. The scenes where she escaped the car were harrowing, and I didn’t think she would make it during parts of her escape. I disagreed with how her storyline ended, but I got why the author wrote it the way she did.
Carter—I didn’t understand why he was included until halfway through the storyline. Then a lightbulb clicked on in my head. It made sense why he had such extreme frost bit to his face. I also liked how he followed his gut about who was killing the other people at The Retreat.

I mentioned at the beginning of this review that I wasn’t a fan of how the author wrote the timelines. She jumbled them all together, and we had to figure out where in the 12 years this book covers that it took place. It wasn’t obvious. But, a little more than halfway through the book, the author starts tying all three of the storylines together, and by the end, everything makes sense.

The storyline with Hannah, the bus crash, and everything else were well written. I felt awful for Hannah. Not only did she discover something horrible, but she had to do something terrible to save a life. I also felt her trust in a specific person was misplaced. As I mentioned in her section, I wasn’t happy with how her storyline ended.

The storyline with Meg, the cable car, the other passengers, and what happens after is interesting. I say interesting because of what the author reveals. Keep that in mind while you’re reading the book. How the author portrayed that storyline was interesting. There was a mystery that should have been super easy to solve but wasn’t. The breakout scene of this storyline was Meg’s escape while traveling the cable car lines. It was perilous. Again, I wasn’t happy with how Meg’s storyline ended, but I understood why it ended that way. It was something she wanted more than anything in the world, and while it broke my heart, it made me so happy for her.

The storyline with Carter, The Retreat, and the murders was interesting. I’m not going to get much into this storyline because there are major spoilers. But several things surprised me while reading it. Such as the murderer. I thought I knew who it was, and that was wrong. I also liked how the author brought elements from the previous storylines into this one. Again, I was taken by surprise at certain things revealed. Like the other two storylines, I wasn’t thrilled with how Carter’s ended. But it did make sense, and it explained a particular scene.

The Drift fits one hundred percent into the horror genre. The author did a fantastic job of creating a world ravaged by a pandemic similar to Covid. I had no issue picturing what happened in this book happening in real life. There is also a mystery angle to this book that the author did a fantastic job with. I usually can figure things out reasonably early, and I couldn’t in this book.

There are no happy endings in The Drift. I was surprised by who was featured at the very end. What that person did was surprising. All I could think was that this person had a death wish. It left me sad because of everything that had led up to that small chapter.

I would recommend The Drift to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and non-consensual sexual situations. Also, see my trigger warnings.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and C.J. Tudor for allowing me to read and review The Drift. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of The Drift, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam

Date of publication: October 4th, 2022

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Suspense, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fantasy

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white Rust Belt town. But she’s not the first—and she may not be the last. . . .

It’s watching.

Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward and passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the bride’s daughter, Caroline, goes missing—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.

It’s taking.

As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: a summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She’s seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart missing. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can’t be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town’s history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.

It’s your turn.

With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness.

First Line:

Tanisha Walker loved the stars. She didn’t memorize the paths of the cosmos of their patterns.
Jackal by Erin E. Adams

When I first read the blurb for this book (and saw the striking cover), I thought this would be a great book to read around Halloween. And I did intend to read this book on or around Halloween. But life gets in the way, and I ended up pushing this book off until mid-January. However, I am glad that I read it when I did. Jackal was a disturbing book, and honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to handle reading it around Halloween.

Some prominent trigger warnings come with this book. I had googled it when I got the approval from Random House, so I knew what I was getting into reading it. The trigger warnings are racism (explicit), fatphobia (moderate), domestic violence (detailed in one scene), alcoholism (explicit), anxiety (explicit, it triggered mine in places), death of a child/children (all explicit, I had nightmares), and kidnapping (moderate to explicit). If any of these trigger you, I recommend not reading this book.

Jackal takes place entirely in the mountain town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is a fast-paced book that kept my eyes glued to the pages. I could see similarities to where I am living now, as sad as that is.

The author did not write the characters in Jackal to be likable. I don’t know how to explain, except I could see these characters walking the streets of my town. Out of the introduced characters, I liked Liz and Mel the most. Something about them struck a chord with me, and their characters stayed with me long after I finished the book.

Liz—She was a freaking mess. She didn’t want to come home to Johnstown and, in fact, had spent almost all of her adult life avoiding traveling there. But she came home because Mel, her best friend, was getting married and Liz was in the wedding. When Caroline was kidnapped, and fingers began pointing to Liz, she was desperate to find her. Her detective work wasn’t the best, but Liz did find some good leads (even when the cops didn’t and wouldn’t). All the while, she depended on the one cop she trusted to help her. I loved how she connected Caroline to the other missing girls.

Jackal fit perfectly into the horror genre. At first (and I had to read Tanisha’s chapter a few times to get it through my thick head) because I didn’t understand what was happening. But the author was able to drop enough hints and build it up so that I did understand. Add in the racial tensions and the tensions over the kidnapping, and this book exploded. There was a mystery angle that added extra depth to the storyline. I liked figuring out who took the girls (all teenagers/pre-teens) and the motivation. I thought that I knew, but yeah, I didn’t.

The author amazingly wrote the storyline with Liz, Caroline’s kidnapping, and the other girl’s murders and how it ties together. The author kept me guessing who the kidnapper was, and she had me think of one person when it was someone else. I loved that the author wrote short chapters about each of the girls who were killed from 1985 and on. I also loved how she tied those killings to Caroline’s kidnapping. There was a part in the book explaining why each girl was killed, and it blew my mind.

The storyline with Liz, the Jackal, Caroline, and the killers was terrific. It went in-depth into the racial and class division in Johnstown. It also explained the Jackal and the motivations behind the killings.

Several smaller sub-storylines added extra depth to the main one. Those more minor storylines explained why Liz was the way she was. They also illustrated several other things brought up in the book. Put it this way; I will never look at a baggie of popcorn the same way again. Talk about disgusting!!!

The end of Jackal was interesting. I will not say a lot, but Liz was fantastic. The author explained the Jackal’s roots (and it did surprise me). There is also a small scene at the end where Caroline lists every girl killed. But other than that, I can’t say anything more because of spoilers.

I recommend Jackal to anyone over 21. There is language, violence, and non-graphic sexual situations. Also, see my trigger warning above.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, NetGalley, and Erin E. Adams for allowing me to read and review Jackal. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of Jackal, then you will enjoy reading these books:

All Hallows by Christopher Golden

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of Publication: January 24th, 2023

Genre: Horror, Holiday, Halloween, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical, Thriller, Mystery, Adult Fiction

Goodreads Synopsis:

With the 80’s nostalgia of Stranger Things, this horror drama from NYT bestselling author Christopher Golden follows neighborhood families and a mysterious, lurking evil on one Halloween day.

It’s Halloween night, 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, horrifying secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man. There’s a small clearing in the woods now that was never there before, and a blackthorn tree that doesn’t belong at all. These odd children claim that The Cunning Man is coming for them…and they want the local kids to protect them. But with families falling apart and the neighborhood splintered by bitterness, who will save the children of Parmenter Road?

New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author Christopher Golden is best known for his supernatural thrillers set in deadly, distant locales…but in this suburban Halloween drama, Golden brings the horror home.

All Hallows. The one night when everything is a mask…

First Line:

In the woods behind Tony Barbosa’s house, the autumn leaves screened out so much daylight it seemed like dusk had already arrived.
All Hallows by Christopher Golden

This isn’t easy to admit, but I am a giant baby in reading or watching anything horror. Take, for instance, the new series on HBO Max, The Last of Us. I was sitting with my husband and oldest daughter, and whenever something scary would come on, I would cover my face with a blanket and tell them to tell me when it was over. That is how I felt reading All Hallows. I wanted to cover my face and wait until it was all over, but I couldn’t. This book scared the living out of me!!

I am going to be upfront with the trigger warnings in this book. I wasn’t expecting a couple of them, and they left a bad taste in my mouth when I realized what was happening. The triggers are child sexual abuse (not graphic, but a couple of scenes that describe a victim’s emotions), racism (overt and subtle), domestic violence, cheating, bigotry, and homophobia. If any of these triggers you, I recommend not reading this book.

The plotline for All Hallows was exciting but all over the place at first. Halloween has come to a Massachusetts town, Coventry. While kids are out trick or treating, the individual families are fracturing. Add to this, there are kids in the neighborhood who don’t belong. They are dressed in old-fashioned costumes and are begging people to let them in their houses. Why? They have escaped from a being called The Cunning Man and are running from it. But not all is what it seems, as the hours count to midnight and long-held secrets are uncovered. Who are these children? What do they want? Will The Cunning Man get them? Or is everything they told a lie? What horrors are in store for the families that took them in?

All Hallows has multiple main characters; writing a short blurb on each is impossible. So, I am not in this review. It would make this review go on forever; we all know people don’t like it.

The main characters in All Hallows were well-written and fleshed out. Each character brought a fresh perspective to what was happening in that neighborhood that night. I loved seeing the same events from different eyes.

As for the secondary characters, some of them felt a little flat. While they did provide some needed filler in the storylines, I couldn’t connect to some of them. And that made it impossible for me to care when certain things happened in the book (like Donny Sweeney’s semi-redemption arc).

All Hallows fit perfectly in the horror genre. The author did a great job of making me want to cover my eyes during parts of the book. This would have been a great book to release around Halloween because, well, the book is set on Halloween afternoon/night.

The storyline with The Cunning Man and the displaced kids was unique. The author did take me for a ride with that one. I was expecting one thing to happen, but a neat twist in the storyline had me shaking my head and saying, “No way.”

The storyline with the neighborhood relationships fracturing was, again, well written. The author didn’t do a massive deep dive into the people he featured during that night, but it was deep enough to know that this was beyond what neighbors act like, especially in 1984, when neighborhoods were tight. I was seven in 1984, and I remember my neighbors being like second parents. If we (my brothers and I) were outside playing, someone was always out with us. Like in the book, the neighbors treated Halloween like a party for the adults, and we kids would go around the neighborhood trick or treating, barely supervised. You can’t do that these days, which is sad.

The end of All Hallows was interesting. While the author resolved things, only some were, if you understand. There were a few storylines that I had questions on that were left up in the air. Also, there were no happy endings. People died and were hurt; the end was maybe three days later. Everyone involved was still processing what had happened. There might be a book two because of the last couple of scenes. I would love to see Vanessa, Chloe, and possibly Julia get revenge!!

I recommend All Hallows to anyone over 21. There is language, violence, and no sex (some light kissing). Also, see my trigger warnings.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Christopher Golden for allowing me to read and review All Hallows. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading All Hallows, then you will enjoy reading these books:

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