Since it’s getting to be about that time of year, I figured I should get into the holiday spirit by reading some Christmas-themed horror. And quite at random, I came across a spooky-sounding 2023 novel called Alice: A Christmas Ghost Story by prolific British author Shani Struthers. Just what Santa ordered! Much like classic holiday … More Books: Alice: A Christmas Ghost Story by Shani Struthers
British author Alan Golbourn will be no stranger to regular readers of this site, as I previously reviewed two of his other novels, 2022’s The 666 Murders, and its 2023 follow-up, The Cult From Beyond. Alan recently contacted me again and asked if I’d have a look at his latest novel (his fourth), a vampire … More Books: The Last Breath Before Death by Alan Golbourn
A longtime friend of the 13 O’Clock Podcast, Oracle of the Mundane, often recommends books for me to check out, and she’s never steered me wrong yet. Just recently, she was kind enough to buy me an ebook of Barbara Hambly’s 1994 supernatural fantasy Bride of the Rat God, which immediately intrigued me with that … More Books: Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly
I’ve probably mentioned this a couple of times before, but I’m generally not a massive fan of vampire novels. There have been a few I’ve gotten really into, but vampires as monsters are a bit stale for me, and I don’t make a habit of seeking out fiction featuring bloodsuckers. But something about the cover … More Books: The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
Since I was still in a thriller kinda mood after enjoying The Haunting of Whitehall Manor a couple of weeks back, I decided to spin that Kindle Unlimited roulette wheel once again, and this time it came up with a 2023 novel called Don’t Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders. The book was getting quite … More Books: Don’t Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders
As you guys who have been around for a while are aware, I’ve been (very) slowly making my way through the 1960s Thriller series, hosted by Boris Karloff. Though up to now I’ve been making posts and videos discussing six episodes at a time (a tradition I started for reasons I can’t even remember now), … More Revisiting Thriller with Boris Karloff: Season 2, Episode 7 – “The Last of the Sommervilles”
I was in the mood recently for a good old-fashioned gothic horror story, and lo and behold, my Kindle Unlimited recommendations seemed to read my mind once again, offering for my literary pleasure the gothic novel The Haunting of Whitehall Manor by L.V. Pires. I had never read anything by this author before, but she’s … More Books: The Haunting of Whitehall Manor by L.V. Pires
LM Kaplin is a writer from upstate New York, and the 2024 book I’m discussing today, Mine: A Psychological Horror, appears to be his first full-length novel (prior to this, he had a short story in an anthology called Screams from the Ocean Floor, and published a collection of his own vampire short stories called … More Books: Mine: A Psychological Horror by LM Kaplin
The 2022 novella This is Where We Talk Things Out was my first experience reading Canadian author Caitlin Marceau, and it definitely won’t be the last, because this was a gripping, fast-paced story that I blazed through in less than two hours. I’ve seen it compared to Stephen King’s Misery (due to the “trapped in … More Books: This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau
Another random spin of the Kindle Unlimited wheel has brought me yet another wildly entertaining read, thank goodness. I’m not entirely sure why I chose Paulette Kennedy’s 2024 novel The Devil and Mrs. Davenport over all the other recommendations on offer; something about the title and the “midcentury suburbia” vibe of the cover just really … More Books: The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy
The Scare Salon 