#Blogtour Ragman by J.G. Faherty

 It's my turn on the BlogTour Ragman by J.G. Faherty.

About the Author

A life-long resident of New York's haunted Hudson Valley, JG Faherty has been a finalist for both the Bram Stoker Award® (The Cure, Ghosts of Coronado Bay) and ITW Thriller Award (The Burning Time), and he is the author of 8 novels, 11 novellas, and more than 75 short stories. He writes adult and YA horror, science fiction, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. He grew up enthralled with the horror movies and books of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, and as a child his favourite playground was a 17th-century cemetery. Which explains a lot. Follow @jgfaherty on Twitter, @jgfaherty/ on Instagram or visit jgfaherty.com

About the book

If you love a great horror tale with ancient mummies, a deluded priest and two oddball cops, then you're in for a treat...

In 1882, a group of British soldiers plunder an Egyptian temple and kill the high priest. The priest vows revenge, and is finally revived in the present day. 

He finds the great-grandson of the man who killed him, but they form an uneasy partnership to get back all the stolen artefacts and send all the descendants of the other soldiers to the Underworld. 

Two police officers, former partners who had a falling out, must put aside their differences as they go from trying to solve gruesome, unexplained murders to risking their lives to stop the supernatural mummy the priest has called forth.

Review

Probably should think twice about crossing a priest, they can get a bit cross, especially when it comes to stealing from the church. They can wreak havoc over generations. Kill and create killers to do their dirty work - all in the name of the gods they serve.

Is it just me or is there something extra creepy about calling this book Ragman? Probably is just me, but it gives it another layer than just reading about an awakened ancient mummy, which is more than enough to creep anyone out. 

Old school horror comes a calling with a modern angle, but a very much typical grudge bearing enemy who is willing to wait a very long time to get their revenge. If not the man he seeks, then a direct relative will do. It's certainly been a while since a mummy took centre stage in a modern day horror tale.

I do wonder if the read will be slightly different for those of us who grew up with monster movies, features that have a tongue-in-cheek feel about them. The fun with the scare.

Buy Ragman at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Flame Tree Press, pub date 10 Jan. 2023. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Flame Tree Press.

#Dark Observations by Catherine Cavendish

It's my turn on the BlogTour Dark Observations by Catherine Cavendish.

About the Author

Hello, my name's Catherine Cavendish and I write horror fiction - frequently with ghostly, supernatural, Gothic and haunted house themes.

My latest novel - In Darkness, Shadows Breathe - is published by Flame Tree Press. Carol and Nessa are strangers with one thing in common, they are in the hands of an entity that knows no boundaries and crosses dimensions - bending and twisting time itself - where danger waits in every shadow

My latest novella - The Malan Witch - is now out from Silver Shamrock Publishing. An idyllic cottage on the Atlantic coast hides dark and deadly secrets. Once, two evil witches lived there. Now one has returned...

Also, from Flame Tree Press - The Garden of Bewitchment. Historical haunted Gothic horror set in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors - pure Bronte country - with a Bronte theme. And - The Haunting of Henderson Close. Ghostly horror set in Edinburgh's Old Town.

Available now from Kensington-Lyrical - the Nemesis of the Gods trilogy: Wrath of The Ancients, Waking the Ancients and Damned bu the Ancients - set in Egypt and Vienna and featuring the sinister Dr. Emeryk Quintillus whose obsession has stayed with him long past the grave.

My novellas The Darkest Veil, Cold Revenge, Miss Abigail's Room, The Demons of Cambian Street, Dark Avenging Angel, Linden Manor, The Devil Inside Her and The Second Wife are published by Crossroad Press.

My novels The Devil's Serenade and Saving Grace Devine have also been released in new editions by Crossroad Press, as has my novel of the Lancashire Witches - The Pendle Curse.

I live with a long-suffering husband and a delightful black cat who has never forgotten that her species used to be worshipped in ancient Egypt. She sees no reason why that practice should not continue. Who am I to argue?

When not slaving over a hot computer, I enjoy wandering around Neolithic stone circles and visiting old, haunted houses. Visit catherinecavendish.com

About the book

Eligos is waiting…fulfil your destiny - 1941. In the dark days of war-torn London, Violet works in Churchill's subterranean top secret Cabinet War Rooms, where key decisions that will dictate Britain’s conduct of the war are made. Above, the people of London go about their daily business as best they can, unaware of the life that teems beneath their feet.

Night after night the bombs rain down, yet Violet has far more to fear than air raids. A mysterious man, a room only she can see, memories she can no longer trust, and a best friend who denies their shared past... Something or someone - is targeting her.

Review

This is the perfect example of when you forget what genre you're reading and suddenly the flame tree aspect comes creeping in, ergo the obscure and horror element. The moments of evil you can sense lurking behind the doors, curtains and sometimes they just stand there bold as brass.

When Violet returns to London with her daughter and granddaughter she flits from being overcome with emotion, as she remembers long since forgotten moments of her past, to being frozen with fear and horror. Sometimes doors to the past should be left closed for a reason.

As a young woman Violet is plucked from a typist pool and becomes part of a small group who get to work with some of the most powerful men in the country. Perhaps that makes her a target for a group of individuals that are more than they appear, and the fact she is considered vulnerable and easy to manipulate. Spies are everywhere and they are willing to do anything to change to course of the war - if they are your bog-standard spies that is.

The author combines the emotional nostalgia of family relationships, the trauma and simultaneous joy of the return to the past, and of course the inexplicable. Drawing on magical realism and giving it a more nefarious angle, and then taking it one step further into another genre altogether.

Buy Dark Observations at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Flame Tree Press pub date 13 Sept. 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Flame Tree Press.

#BlogTour Adonias Low by D.A. Watson

It's my turn on the BlogTour Adonias Low by D A Watson.

About the Author

D.A. Watson is the author of four horror novels and the fiction and poetry collection, Tales of the What the Fuck. 

His stories, verse and articles have appeared in several anthologies and collections and have won gongs and acclaim from Greenock to Dunedin, including nominations for a Pushcart Prize in the US and the UK People's Book Prize. An occasional poetry performer, he also appeared on the main stage of the Burnsfest Festival in 2018 as the warm up act for the one and only Chesney Hawkes, a personal milestone and career highlight. 

He lives with his family on the west coast of Scotland and is still telling stories. Follow @davewatsonbooks on Twitter, on Facebook  or visit dawatsonwriter.com

About the book

Murder. Robbery. Kidnapping. - Welcome to Napa Valley, California, 1891. - To lawmen and bad men alike, The Low Man is a ghost story. The most feared bounty hunter to ever walk the territories. Whispered to be a Native American shapeshifter, a renegade Pinkerton detective, or the Bible quoting son of a mad preacher. No one knows for sure. He’s a spectre outlaws scare each other with around campfires.

Adonias Low lives in the highlands of Napa Valley with his children, scratching a hard living as a farmer and occasional wagon guard. When a wealthy gin baron hires him to see a valuable shipment safely to San Francisco, the opportunity comes just in time to keep the family afloat.

But when the job turns into a massacre and his daughter is abducted by a deviant killer, Adonias is forced into a violent reckoning that will awaken a darkness he’s long tried to bury.

As the corpses mount up, a dying sheriff tries to make sense of the madness, scalp hunters saddle up and ride for blood, fame.

Review

It's as if someone took the energy and volatility of an urban crime setting, or a one-man Bronson Death Wish vibe, and pulled it back into a Western era, then wove folklore and horror into the fabric. You get the lawlessness, isolation, desperation of the era, and of course the brutality that went with it.

I liked the concept, perhaps because ultimately it comes down to the simple man protects family by any means possible, and that will attract a multitude of readers. I do think it can be done without gratuitous violence towards women and children, because it brings down the tone of the entire story, which is then detrimental to the cleverly interwoven subplot of man becomes legend. Legend becomes fused with folklore, fear and the elements we cannot begin to understand. And although it is part and parcel of said era I would also be cautious when to comes to the gratuitous use of descriptive language in regard to certain people referenced in the story.

Saying that, I can imagine this is definitely the right cup of tea for many readers. Justice, vengeance and guilt become intermingled, when punishing the bad puts you on an equal setting to those people. Where do you draw the line? Do you push before you're shoved, wait until it's too late and accept your fate or do you listen to the devil sitting firmly on your shoulder? 

Buy Adonias Low at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Next Chapter; pub date 17 Nov. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Mestiza Blood by V. Castro

It is an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Mestiza Blood by V. Castro.

About the Author

Violet Castro is a Mexican American writer originally from Texas now residing in the UK with her family. When not caring for her three children, she dedicates her time to writing. Follow @vlatinalondon on Twitter, @vlatinalondon on Instagram

About the book

From the lauded author of The Queen of the Cicadas (which picked up starred reviews from PW, Kirkus and Booklist who called her "a dynamic and innovative voice") comes a short story collection of nightmares, dreams, desire and visions focused on the Chicana experience. 

V.Castro weaves urban legend, folklore, life experience and heartache in this personal journey beginning in south Texas: a bar where a devil dances the night away; a street fight in a neighborhood that may not have been a fight after all; a vengeful chola at the beginning of the apocalypse; mind swapping in the not so far future; satan who falls and finds herself in a brothel in Amsterdam; the keys to Mictlan given to a woman after she dies during a pandemic. 

The collection finishes with two longer tales: The Final Porn Star is a twist on the final girl trope and slasher, with a creature from Mexican folklore; and Truck Stop is an erotic horror romance with two hearts: a video store and a truck stop.

Review

I find with short stories that it is often quite hard to pick a few to review, especially when they are all equally compelling. These are all stories that stand out from the crowd - each one of them thought provoking.

From the dead with a hunger for vengeance, the world of flesh reduced to commodity, the devil and a simple night out on the town.

Castro is bold, brash and a force to be reckoned with. Her inner rage, although one could argue that it is less inner and more in your face, and emotions collide with her creative energy to create powerful stories. Stories born from fact, truth, folklore, myth, fiction and the dark recesses of her imagination. 

Her novel Queen of the Cicidas is slightly tempered in comparison to the often brutally frank, crude ventures into the world of death, vengeance, reflection and a violence on a variety of levels, in these stories.

This an author to watch, a scribe with a unique style of storytelling, and said stories are infused with the pain and reality of life. The cruelty of humanity laid bare for all to experience. No secrets, just a following of absolute truth, which can be tumultuous and deadly at times. 

Buy Mestiza Blood at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. At Flame Tree Press.

#BlogTour The Lazarus Child by Jay Raven

 Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Lazarus Child by Jay Raven.

About the Author

Jay Raven is the author of Gothic chillers and historical horror reminding readers that the past is a dangerous place to venture, full of monsters and murderous men. He blames his fascination with vampires, witches and werewolves on the Hammer Horror films he watched as a teenager, but living in a creepy old house on the edge of a 500-acre wood may have something to do with it.

If you would like to be informed of new releases, enjoy free short stories and access exclusive giveaways and competitions, please subscribe to Jay's monthly newsletter on his website at www.jayraven.com

Follow @JayRavenAuthor on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, on Facebook, Buy The Lazarus Child

About the book

To save his missing daughter a distraught slayer must venture deep into the heart of darkness

Legendary vampire hunter Anton Yoska is on the edge, tormented by the rumour that the precious child he once thought dead is still alive and lost in a world of monsters.

One creature alone knows for sure what happened to Gretchen, but Terek Modjeski won’t divulge his secret - revelling in the twisted power over his long-time foe.

Despairing and drinking heavily, Anton stumbles from near disaster to near disaster as he puts his team in jeopardy, testing their friendship and loyalty to snapping point.

Only one diabolical solution is possible - to confront Terek in his maximum security cell and force the bloodsucker to end his game of cat and mouse. But making the cunning infernal talk will mean employing brutal methods that go against every code Anton has ever lived by, forcing him to become as much of a demon as the leeches he hunts.

Face to face with the evil, taunting vampire, the desperate slayer takes a decision that will change his destiny forever - sending him hurtling into danger to confront a terrifying truth about his lost child that risks not only his sanity but the future of mankind.

Review

The last sentence... I mean really? It just conjures up all kind of images.

This is the third book in the Blood Riders series, it can be read as a standalone novel, however I would suggest reading the others to get the gist of the characters and their journey.

I think it's fair to share that the Anton we experience in this book is not the Anton we met in the first. Gone is the determination, the soul and the essence that separates him from the monsters he is slowly disintegrating into. He has become a liability to his team, a risk to himself and people are starting to perceive him differently.

The author shows the way his main character is slowly stripped of his humanity, as he navigates the pain and guilt he carries around with him. Each story shows how he inches towards the decline. It gives this supernatural story a bit of an edge. The hunter becomes what he both hates and fears the most.

This story has a load of potential, even three books in. I still maintain that the team element, and the characteristics and personalities of said team, is what drives this series. Not necessarily the sub-plots. Sometimes contemporary trumps niche from an audience perspective, which means the more speculative creativity can be hindered a wee bit. Open up the gates.

The Lazarus Child at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. 

#BlogTour The Sadeiest by Austrian Spencer

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Sadeiest by Austrian Spencer.

About the Author

Austrian had an unfortunate trauma aged eight, when a truck drove over him and his ‘Grifter’ bike. This made him bedridden and a captive of books for too many years. The habit persisted throughout his life (reading books, not staying in bed), to the extent that his daughter’s first painting was of him holding a book, rather than her hand. He has the picture framed in the upstairs toilet, to look at whilst feeling vulnerable.

He is the ‘glass-half-full’, an eternal optimist and believes passionately in you. You are doing exactly what you need to be doing at this moment in your life. He often thinks this, while staring at his daughter’s first painting.

Austrian does not watch horror films, though enjoys horror books.  His influences include Alan Moore, Dave Sim, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, The family King, Iain M.Banks, from whom he wishes to learn. Be inspired. He owes them everything, despite their beards. The Sadeiest is Austrian’s debut novel.

Follow @SpencerAustrian on Twitter, on Instagram, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit austrianspencer.com, Buy The Sadeiest

About the book

Is today a good day to die? Death – a walking skeleton armed with a scythe, a rider of the apocalypse, it has always been assumed – is a man that brings the souls of the dead to wherever they are destined to go.

But what if we got that wrong? What if he were a ghost that, instead of moving your soul on silently after you had died, actually did the hard part for you? Death has to die, again and again, to pay for his sins, and to free trapped souls before their bodies perish – only to replace those souls, to die for them.

A Death whose existence is a curse, where the other riders of the Apocalypse are not his allies, but his enemies.

Armed only with his morals, his memories and the advice of a child teacher, Williams, a Sadeiest, travels through the deaths of other people, on his way to becoming something greater. Something that will re-define the Grim Reaper.

Death just came to life, in time to fight for a child hunted by the other horsemen of the Apocalypse. How do you want to die today?

Review

The read is intermittently broken up with graphic novel illustrations and helps to cement the feeling of violence and uncertainty, whereas the words drive a wedge between what we think we know and an alternate reality. It's a dark hole that might make you feel uncomfortable, because what if all the other theories about death and souls are just an attempt to gloss over the horrific truth. Death becomes the victim, the sufferer instead of the looming figure everyone fears.

'Passionately believes you don't have to lead the reader by the nose. Let them think, dammit.'

Hmm good point and I agree to a certain extent, however it depends on what the reader is looking for in a read and perhaps even the genre. When it comes to a read like this one, which I would put in the Speculative Fiction or Speculative Horror genre, often the aspect of speculative may not allow for the reader to do the above.

Trying to outsmart the reader may not let them interpret the premise in the way the author thinks they will. Case in point - the blurb reflects an interesting idea, however the story itself reflects a different one entirely. At least it does for me, which is of course the crux of a reading experience - it's subjective one. Maybe a little more leading and a little less assumption about interpretation or that the reader will walk the intended path. 

I like a walk along the speculative road. It crosses boundaries, it's a way to experience creativity on another level and it opens up new worlds and ideas for readers. Spencer does that and I look forward to experiencing more of his ideas.

Buy The Sadeiest at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: darkstroke / crooked cat, pub date 27 Nov. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Sins of the Father by J.G. Faherty

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Sins of the Father by J.G. Faherty.

About the Author
JG Faherty is the author of 6 novels, 9 novellas, and more than 60 short stories. His latest novel is Hellrider. He has been a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award® and the ITW Thriller Award.

Follow @jgfaherty on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit jgfaherty.com, Buy Sins of a Father

About the book
Henry Gilman has spent years trying to separate himself from his father’s legacy of murder and insanity. Now he has the chance – all he has to do is figure out who’s been killing people in Innsmouth. Then he’ll be a hero and win the heart of the woman he loves, Flora Marsh. But soon he’s caught in a web of danger, with the undead stalking the streets at night, a terrible monster lurking below the city, and a prophecy of destruction about to come true. In the process, his actions cause unwanted consequences and to save Flora he has to do the very thing he’s spent his life trying to avoid: follow his father’s footsteps into madness.

Review
Innsmouth has become a city where the dead are stalking the living. The police are on the hunt for a vicious murderer, but it isn't until Henry stumbles upon a killing in process that he realises there is something more nefarious happening.

Unfortunately it reminds him all too much of the atrocities his father committed, but his inside knowledge also gives him a better idea of what is going on. Simultaneously his love for Flora, and the underlying jealousy he feels because she favours another man, drives him deeper into the evil that lurks in the town.

What he eventually finds or is drawn to makes him question everything he knows about his father and indeed the concept of evil, whether the eyes of the beholder are a true measure and comprehension of what the world understands it to be.

One of the threads of the story I found quite fascinating was the evolution, or is is the devolution of Henry? Is his path a result of nature or nurture, perhaps a combination of both, despite the fact he tries to resist said path. A self-fulfilling prophecy driven by fear of rejection, failure or enhanced by the expectation given his relationship to the man who raised and influenced him. His resistance to the public opinion of himself runs alongside his actions and decisions.

And the question of who judges what is evil, and whether that judgement is more a case of those in charge dictating and choosing the people or groups to be placed under the category of 'evil' depending on the era. Evil now, the norm in the future. Evil in the past and now the norm.

Faherty plays with the perspective and concept of good and what society deems unacceptable. When does science and invention cross boundaries or is it just crossing a boundary because it's not the norm?

It's a horror with a gothic vibe that draws inspiration from Shelley's Frankenstein.

Buy Sins of the Father at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Flame Tree Press; pub date 11 Aug. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Tower by Anne-Marie Ormsby

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Tower by Anne-Marie Ormsby.

About the Author
Anne Marie grew up on the Essex coast with her parents and six siblings in a house that was full of books and movies and set the scene for her lifelong love of both.

She began writing short stories when she was still at primary school after reading the book The October Country by Ray Bradbury. He was and still is her favourite author and the reason she decided at age 9 that she too would be a writer someday.

In her teens she continued to write short stories and branched out into poetry, publishing a few in her late teens. In her early twenties she began committing herself to writing a novel and wrote one by the age of 20 that she then put away, fearing it was too weird for publication.

She wrote Purgatory Hotel over several years, but again kept it aside after several rejections from publishers. Luckily for her, she found a home for her twisted tale with Crooked Cat Books.

Her favourite authors include Ray Bradbury, Jack Kerouac, Stephen King, Denis Lehane and Douglas Coupland. She also takes great inspiration from music and movies, her favourite artists being Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Johnny Cash, Interpol, David Lynch and David Fincher.

After ten years living in London, Anne-Marie moved to Margate where she lives with her husband and their daughter.

Follow @AMOrmsby on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon,Visit annemarieormsby.com, Buy The Tower

About the book
Sometimes the dead come back. And sometimes all they want is to hurt you.

When residents on an east London housing estate start dying in gruesome ways, housing manager Ada begins to worry that her past is coming back to haunt her.

Once a powerful medium, able to talk to the dead with amazing ease, she became more comfortable with the afterlife than real life, and with that openness she attracted something dark from the other side. Terrified by the experience she swore she would never communicate with the dead again.

Ten years later at the scene of an apparent suicide, her long closed-down connection to the dead is reopened, and she begins to receive information she shouldn’t know about the victims’ final moments.

Stalked in her dreams and in waking life by an angry male presence, Ada begins to relive the dark days when something from the other side wanted her to end her life.

But as the bodies stack up and the visions intensify, Ada realises that in order to stop more people from dying she has to let the dead back in to find out the truth of what is driving her residents to violent acts – and face up to her own ghosts.

Review
Ada is a housing manager, who is called to one of the apartments only to find one of the tenants dead. Brutally murdered or suicide? Or is there something else going on. As the deaths pile up she struggles with visions that seem to suggest she has the power of foresight.

With the help of a local detective she tries to comprehend why she is seeing images of the deaths. Brutal, bloody images that haunt her days and nights. Sometimes she blacks out completely, which isn't as bad as being at the mercy of someone from the other side of the veil. A man who wants to harm her.

The dead are speaking to her, whispering, reaching and yet there is one that brings evil. He stalks Ada at night and during the day - determined to get his message through to her, whether she wants to hear it or not.

It's crime fiction with a horror and paranormal vibe. A ghostly nightmare that turns into something quite unexpected.

Ormsby uses a paranormal element to create a story that appears to be a crime read, but in reality it is a dark read that wanders into layers of guilt, conscience and horror. What could be more insidious than the manifestation of something that comes to not only haunt, but also to kill for you or because of you?

I have to hand it to the author for the ending, which brings the plot together nicely, and opens up a whole different interpretation of the plot.

Buy The Tower at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: darkstroke books: pub date 10 Jan. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Blackwood by Michael Farris Smith

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Blackwood by Michael Farris Smith.

About the Author
Michael Farris Smith is the author of Blackwood (2020), The Fighter, Desperation Road, Rivers, and The Hands of Strangers. His novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, Southern Living, Book Riot, and numerous others, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Best of the Month selections. His essays have appeared with The New York Times, Bitter Southerner, Writer’s Bone, and more. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife and daughters.

Follow @michael_f_smith on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit michaelfarrissmith.com, Buy Blackwood

About the book
In this timeless, mythical tale of unforgiving justice and elusive grace, rural Mississippi townsfolk shoulder the pain of generations as something dangerous lurks in the enigmatic kudzu of the woods.

The town of Red Bluff, Mississippi, has seen better days, though those who've held on have little memory of when that was. Myer, the county's aged, sardonic lawman, still thinks it can prove itself -- when confronted by a strange family of drifters, the sheriff believes that the people of Red Bluff can be accepting, rational, even good.

The opposite is true: this is a landscape of fear and ghosts -- of regret and violence -- transformed by the kudzu vines that have enveloped the hills around it, swallowing homes, cars, rivers, and hiding a terrible secret deeper still.

Colburn, a junkyard sculptor who's returned to Red Bluff, knows this pain all too well, though he too is willing to hope for more when he meets and falls in love with Celia, the local bar owner. The Deep South gives these noble, broken, and driven folks the gift of human connection while bestowing upon them the crippling weight of generations. With broken histories and vagabond hearts, the townsfolk wrestle with the evil in the woods -- and the wickedness that lurks in each and every one of us.

Review
This story is driven in various directions with a rural Mississippi town and its people in the midst of it all. Townspeople that live off the myths, the gossip and the paranoia of the darkness that consumes their town and the surrounding area.

The drifter family who wander in and play a pivotal part in the story are perhaps the most interesting, because the author never deems it necessary to name them, almost as if a name makes them real and gives them a better hold in the events that happen. It's just the woman, the man and the boy.

Then there is Colburn, a man who has never truly been able to escape the darkness and pain of his childhood. Is coming back a way to face his inner demons and guilt head on?

It's hard to pin this down, perhaps because it mixes multiple darker genres together. It has a noirish vibe, often the charm of a Southern gothic, but ultimately for me this was bordering on horror. No matter how much it had a pinky inclined tea-drinking feel to it - it always came back to creepy, mysterious and disturbing. A kind of Twin Peaksesque sense of plotting, which is thrown into disarray with the reality of things that go bump in the night.  The horror behind the mask of small town normality.

I think it's fairly easy to visualise where the author was going with the story, but in all fairness I can see why some readers might feel as if they aren't being given enough information. The kind of story that works well with imagery, as opposed to many words. It's appears to be a style thing. The author wants images to override the words. Feel the clinging darkness of the kudzu, the claustrophobic nature of the wet earth in the dank oppressive cave.

Buy Blackwood at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: No Exit Press; pub date 19 Mar. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Tales of the What the F*ck by D.A. Watson

It's my turn on the BlogTour Tale of the What the F*ck by D.A. Watson.

About the Author
D.A. Watson was halfway through a music and media degree at the University of Glasgow and planning on being a teacher when he discovered he was actually a better writer than musician. He unleashed his debut novel In the Devil's Name on an unsuspecting public in the summer of 2012, and plans of a stable career in education left firmly in the dust, later gained his masters in Creative Writing from the University of Stirling.

He has since published two more novels; The Wolves of Langabhat and Cuttin' Heads, a collection of short fiction and poetry, Tales of the What the F*ck, and several acclaimed articles, poems and stories, including Durty Diana, which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in the US in 2016, and the Burns parody Tam O' Shatner, prizewinner at the Falkirk Storytelling Festival and Dunedin Burns Poetry Competition, and nominated for the People's Book Prize in 2018.

Watson's writing has appeared in several anthologies and collections including 404 Ink, Dark Eclipse, Speculative Books, Haunted Voices and The Flexible Persona, and he is also a regular spoken word performer, with past gigs at Bloody Scotland, Tamfest, Sonnet Youth, Express Yourself, Clusterf*ck Circus, and the Burnsfest festival in 2018, where he appeared on the main stage as the warm up act for the one and only Chesney Hawkes, a personal milestone and career highlight.

His fourth novel Adonias Low will be released by Stirling Pubishing in 2021. He lives with his family in a witch infested village on the west coast of Scotland, and continues to write some seriously weird sh*t.

Follow @davewatsonbooks on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Buy Tales of the What the F*ck

About the book
Billionaire terminal cancer patient John Longmire's going to die today, and he's going out in style in the classiest euthanasia clinic in the world. But the strange nurse with the clipboard and the look of a goddess is spoiling the mood, with all her irksome questions about how he's lived his life.

Recent retiree Gerald loves his wife Barbara and he loves his garden, but Barbara hates the garden. Because the garden's taking Gerald over, and Barbara says he has to stop before he has another 'incident'.

Bullied, ridiculed and unloved, moustachioed schoolgirl "Hairy" Mhairi Barry has never had any friends but the ones she finds on the shelves of the library where she's spent most of her lonely childhood. But tonight, she's going to a party with all the cool kids, to show them what she's learned in all those books.

A suspicious smelling smorgasbord of lovelorn psychopaths, vengeful mugging victims, pawn shop philosophers and rhyming Glaswegian alien abduction, Tales of the What the Fuck is a dark, touching, horrific and hilarious collection of short stories, flash fiction and epic poetry from People's Book Prize nominated author D.A. Watson. Things are about to get weird.

Review
This is a collection of short stories, flash fiction and poetry. What they all have in common is murder, mayhem, revenge and fear - not necessarily in that order of course.

Included in the book: Durty Diana, Coming Home, Mhairi, Wasted, Succubus, Catharsis, The Wee man, John, Coasters Music, Tales of a Scorched earth: Afterburn, The Cravin, Sex Tape, Lisa and Me, The Night Afore Xmas, Deep red, Tech Support, The Ones You Love, John Longmire's Last Day, Tam O'Shatner, Rusalka, Love and Cabbage and AaaHHH! Zombies.
I'm just going to pick out two to talk about in my review:

The Wee Man - I enjoyed this one in particular, perhaps because the roots are buried in fairytales and childhood. The essence of original fairytales wasn't to calm or make the reader happy. Instead the tales were grounded in myth and folklore, known as harbingers of threats and death. The adult in this story becomes the child again, as his own childhood fears rise up and threaten to swallow him whole.

Tales of a Scorched Earth: Afterburn - The general assumption, especially when it comes to those who believe in divine intervention and that sinners will eventually get their just desserts, is that true evil will be punished by an eternity in hell. What if that eternity were merely a continuation of their pleasure?

It's a collection of murder, vengeance and hidden desires in the form of short stories, flash fiction and poetry. Watson spins a good tale no matter in which form.

Expect no comfortable tale to embrace you or cotton candy, unicorns and happy endings. Well, then again they might be considered happy endings if you enjoy your stories gory, scary and slightly horrific or score highly on the psychopathic traits test.

Buy Tales of the What the F*ck at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Wild Wolf Publishing; pub date 7 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Dust Devils by Jonathan Janz

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Dust Devils by Jonathan Janz. It's a western and horror combined with paranormal fantasy.

About the Author
Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forest and a graveyard, which explains everything. Brian Keene named his debut novel The Sorrows "the best horror novel of 2012."The Library Journal deemed his follow-up, House of Skin," reminiscent of ShirleyJackson's The Haunting of Hill House
and Peter Straub's Ghost Story."

Since then Jonathan's work has been lauded by writers like Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Tim Waggoner, Bryan Smith,and Ronald Kelly. Novels like The Nightmare Girl, Wolf Land, Savage Species,and Dust Devils prompted Thunderstorm Books to sign Jonathan to an eleven-book deal and to give him his own imprint, Jonathan Janz's Shadow Side.

His novel Children of the Dark received a starred review in Booklistand was chosen by their board as one of the Top Ten Horror Books of the Year (August 2015-September 2016). Children of the Dark will soon be translated into German and has been championed by the Library Journal, the School
Library Journal,and Cemetery Dance. In early 2017, his novel Exorcist Falls was released to critical acclaim.

Jonathan's primary interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children,and though he realizes that every author's wife and children are wonderful and amazing, in this case the cliché happens to be true.

Follow @JonathanJanz and @flametreepress on Twitter, Follow Janz On Instagram, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit jonathanjanz.com
Buy Dust Devils

About the book
It is 1885 in the wilds of New Mexico and Cody Wilson and Willet Black are bent on revenge after their loved ones are slaughtered by a group of traveling actors, but neither of them suspects what they're really up against.

For the actors are vampires. Their thirst for human blood is insatiable. The two must battle the vampires—alone—or die trying.

Review
Janz has been making a name for himself in the horror genre. It's fair to say he tries to mix it up and redefine it by combining old favourites and modern ideas. This time it's a western meets paranormal fantasy extravaganza.

The relationship between Cody and Willet is one of the highlights of the book. The two of them bond over the fact the vampires have taken loved ones from them. Cody becomes almost paternal towards Willet, perhaps the boy represents the future he has lost.

Some of the scenes are quite graphic, especially the violent and sexual ones. Janz can be a bit of a shock jock at times. A bit of a 'let me lull you with the intricately woven relationships and my writing, then when you least expect it a wet kipper will whack you round the face' kind of storyteller. The violence or the more graphic details creates a sense of unease and keep the readers on their toes, which I think is intentional. Janz doesn't want his readers getting too comfortable.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think readers who know Janz are aware of his style and hey the genre is known for being extreme and bending the boundaries. I think there has to be a nice balance, so it doesn't appear to be gratuitous. Sometimes less is more, especially when it comes to the sexual element.

It's a western and horror combined with paranormal fantasy. Cowboys vs Vampires, which is far more politically correct and results in some interesting scenarios. It's a blood-drenched read.

What I can say without a doubt is that Janz enjoys evoking a strong emotional response in readers, regardless of whether they are feeling sympathy, disgust or anger.

Buy Dust Devils at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Flame Tree Press; pub date 27 Jun. 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Flame Tree.

Read my review of The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz.

#BlogTour Ghost Mine by Hunter Shea

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Ghost Mine by Hunter Shea. It's horror meets western and and a wee bit of historical fiction.

About the Author
Hunter Shea is the author of over20 books, with a specialization in cryptozoological horror that includes The Jersey Devil, The Dover Demon,Loch Ness Revenge and many others. His novel The Montauk Monster, was named one of the best reads of the summer by Publishers Weekly. A trip to the International Cryptozoology Museum will find several of his cryptid books among the fascinating displays. Living in a true haunted house inspired his Jessica Backman: Death in the Afterlife series (Forest of Shadows, Sinister Entityand Island of the Forbidden). He was selected to be part of the launch of Samhain Publishing's new horror line in 2011 alongside legendary author Ramsey Campbell. When he's not writing thrillers and horror, he also spins tall tales for middle grade readers on Amazon's highly regarded Rapids reading app.

An avid podcaster, he can be seen and heard on Monster Men, one of the longest running video horror podcasts in the world,and Final Guys, focusing on weekly movie and book reviews. His nostalgic column about the magic of 80s horror, Video Visions, is featured monthly at Cemetery Dance Online.

You can find his short stories in a number of anthologies, including Chopping Block Party, The Body Horror Book and Fearful Fathoms II. Living with his crazy and supportive family and two cats, he's happy to be close enough to New York City to see the skyline without having to pay New York rent. You can follow his travails at www.huntershea.com.

Follow @huntershea1 on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon,

Buy Ghost Mine

About the book
Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla bound. The only problem those who go seeking their fortune never return. Black-eyed children, strange lights and ferocious wild men venture from the deep, dark ghost mine...as well as a sinister force hungry for fresh souls.

Review
Blackburn is asked by the President himself, Teddy Roosevelt, to investigate the disappearance of his troops, who were sent to a rural isolated town to find out if there is any truth to the rumours of a huge gold deposit in the area. There is no trace of them or of any other of the townspeople. Something strange is going on in the town of Hecla.

It's getting a bit of a reputation, which is why other local townspeople are unwilling to set foot in the area. The question is whether it is all just folklore, paranoia or is there really something more nefarious going on. Perhaps they should steer clear of the creepy gold mine.

I really enjoyed the way Shea gave the story a cheeky western nuance, and the relationship between Teta and Blackburn is absolutely what makes this more than just a horror read.

The two of them have a camaraderie, they are brothers in arms and they have each others backs no matter what comes their way. The author gives the setting an old school two cowboys and their horses go on an adventures feel to it. Their relationship sets the tone for the rest of the story.

In fact I actually think it will entice more non-horror readers to read the genre. The author draws readers into the read by hooking them with the rambunctious, devil may care attitude of the two main characters. Then once he has lulled readers into a false sense of security the horror starts trickling in.

It's horror meets western and a wee bit of historical fiction. On a side note, I would love to read more about Teta and Nat in the context of their previous experiences and adventures.

Buy Ghost Mine at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Flame Tree Press; Paperback pub date 30 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Stoker's Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Stoker's Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi. It's horror meets urban fantasy with a nod at historical fiction.

About the Author
Steven Hopstaken was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he spent his formative years watching and reading science fiction and horror. He has a degree in journalism from Northern Michigan University and spends his free time traveling; writing screenplays, short stories and novels;and practicing photography.

Melissa Prusi was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (often mistaken for Canada), and studied video and film production at Northern Michigan University and the University of Michigan. She’s been a video editor,a semi-professional film reviewer,a three-time champion on the quiz show Jeopardy!,and a Guinness world record holder (1990 edition, for directing the longest live television show).

They met in a college screenwriting class and married three years later. They spent a brief time in Los Angeles, where they both worked for Warner Bros. television. They eventually ended up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they love the arts scene but dread the winters. While they both currently make a living as website content managers, they have sold two screenplays, which have been lost to development hell.

They've indulged their fascination with Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde through trips to Dublin and London to research their lives and visit sites mentioned in Stoker's Wilde.
They live in St.Louis Park, Minnesota with their two cats. If they're not writing, you can usually find them at a movie, local theater production, improv show or pub quiz.

Follow @StokersWilde on Twitter
Buy Stoker's Wilde

About the book
Years before either becomes a literary legend, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde must overcome their disdain for one another to battle the Black Bishop,a madman wielding supernatural forces to bend the British Empire to his will.

Review
What a wonderful way to combine two very important writers of the 19th century, and a wee bit of horror and the supernatural. Hopstaken and Prusi, the writing duo behind Stoker's Wilde, have melded the creativity of both men to create an entertaining read.

The result is a band of merry werewolf and vampire slaying men. It reminded me of old classic horror stories and films. However it still manages to weave the oppressive morality laws and the way society seeks to conform individuals to their own set of standards, into the story. This defined Wilde's writing and thought processes, which of course should have a place in his letters.

The book is set up with diary form and journal entries placed intermittently throughout, which have been collected and are held by The White Worm Society. Oscar writes to Florence Balcombe, his wife and later also his literary executor. There are also extracts from Stoker's journal relating his version of the events. It gives the story an air of historical fiction, of someone wading in a piece of written history, and yet at the same time it has the exuberance of an urban fantasy plot.

It works because the writers know their stuff and have done their research. It's important, when using a real historical figure in a fictional setting, to get the facts right, especially when it comes to being able to portray them realistically.

I came away from this read with a sense of nostalgia, despite the fang-toothed bloodsuckers and the furry moon-stalkers. With a need to pick up and read Wilde and Stoker and embrace their words. It's horror meets urban fantasy with a nod to historical fiction.

Buy Stoker's Wilde at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Flame Tree Press; Paperback pub date 30 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour One Last Prayer for the Rays by Wes Markin

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour One Last Prayer for the Rays by Wes Markin. It's crime fiction, but with a horror vibe.

About the Author
Wes Markin is a hyperactive English teacher, who loves writing crime fiction with a twist of the macabre.

​Having released One Last Prayer for the Rays he is now working on the second instalment of DCI Michael Yorke’s wild ride, The Repenting Serpent. He is also the author of Defined, a prequel to his DCI Yorke novels, which takes the reader back to his blood-soaked university days.​​
​
Born in 1978, Wes grew up in Manchester, UK. After graduating from Leeds University, he spent fifteen years as a teacher of English, and has taught in Thailand, Malaysia and China. Now as a teacher, writer, husband and father, he is currently living in Harrogate, UK.​

Follow @MarkinWes on Twitter, on Facebook, Visit wesmarkinbooks.weebly.com
Buy One Last Prayer for the Rays

About the book
DCI Michael Yorke faces his most harrowing case yet.

When 12-year-old Paul disappears from school, Yorke’s only clue is a pool of animal blood. Fearing the worst, he turns toward the most obvious suspect, recently released local murderer, Thomas Ray.
But as the snow in Salisbury worsens, Ray’s mutilated body is discovered, and Yorke is left with no choice but to journey into the sinister heart of a demented family that has plagued the community for generations. Can he save the boy? Or will the evil he discovers changes him forever?

Review
DCI Michael Yorke is called to the scene of what appears to be a brutal crime. A pool of blood in a school toilet and a missing 12-year-old boy suggest that something awful has happened. If someone in the school killed him then where the heck have they hidden the body?

The story takes on a whole different angle when it appears as if the scene of the crime isn't quite what it seems to be and to make matters worse there is a known mentally unstable murderer on the loose.
It's interesting how Markin gives the readers a horror crime scenario, but manages to write it in a way that doesn't present it as overly graphic. The reader gets a sort of birds eye view of the horrific crime scenes or crimes, the author adds in some suggestive descriptions and dialogue, and then leaves the rest up to our imaginations. (Shudder)

It's like a really screwed up episode of Criminal Minds when it comes to the really insane and murderous Ray family. There are just far too many of them for anyone to feel safe. Just take that into consideration the next time you meet someone with the surname Ray. You never know they might be a second cousin twice removed or crazy great uncle Rays illegitimate progeny. Just saying.

It's crime fiction, but with a horror vibe. The type of story that creeps you out and creates an unhealthy measure of distrust. I am hoping the Rays don't procreate any more going forward, there is something seriously wrong with the majority of them.

Buy One Last Prayer for the Rays at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Independently published; pub date 29 Jan. 2019, Buy at Amazon com