Pisces51 > Recent Status Updates

Started reading Volpe's new novel tonight. Interesting, well written, gradually building the characters, the futuristic world, and the inherent interest and intrigue of the plotline. Looking forward to picking the story back up tomorrow evening.

Continued reading J. Boote's #4 Monsters, this installment pertaining to the atrocities perpetrated against babies and prepubescent kids of both sexes. It is not surprising to me that the birth of the Dark Web was an avenue that would be flooded by pedophiles, sadistic sociopaths and murderers. The profit motive is a perk to the siren call of acting out the perverse sexual fantasies. No complaints on 2nd Person POV!

This is proving to be both an interesting read and a sad one. I am not seeing anything in the well written narrative that constitutes new information but it is functioning as a refresher course on this particular variety of human monster. I rank a pedophile and/or a sexual sadist who preys on kids as the lowest of the low. Legalized extermination should be the rule of the land in these cases.

Started reading tonight and thus far predictable. Well written, my third J. Boote novel from his Monster series. Group Read by popular vote in HGW Horror Book Club. This may be in Third Person perspective to act as a shock absorber but I expect it to get rougher as I peel back the pages.

Clowns Gone Postal a Group Read for Splatterpunk Horror Book Club. It collected the votes to squelch the notion.of reading Matthew Stokoe's controversial High Life . The title of the winning second place nomination (and its comical.theme) did not resonate with.me. I downloaded the Sample but it only contained the first paragraph or so of the book. So I purchased it. Opinion after completion.

Blood Bath by Wrath James White is a short work which is written in epistolary format using Diary Entries. The main character deploys this method to provide more insight into his ruminations and motivations. The writing style WJW used is inspired in this brief case study of a madman possessed by violent blood fantasies. Really enjoying it at the halfway mark. Wrath seldom disappoints.

They Used to Call It Christmas By Jeffrey Caston is set in his Pacifica universe thus I knew about "Special Services" and immediately where the story was headed. The novella was simply outstanding, but then I expected no less. A young guy shows up for the mandated draft into any one of several job descriptions to serve his King. Five Stars. I also did like "After the Funeral We Eat". Rated Four Stars.

I have enjoyed the anthology to the extent that I would explore more themed anthologies from this talented group of Indie authors. Among the last several stories I liked a couple of them very must, including "The Orphanage" and "Wreckage". Rated 5 Stars.

I have nearly hit the halfway point and some of the stories were much better than others, just like most story collections. I really liked Hunger Pangs . It has overall been an enjoyable read thus far. Discussion Thread for Buddy Read on HGW Horror Club may also be referenced.

I started reading this themed anthology tonight and but for one contributed story thus far it has been very refreshing and enjoyable. This is a buddy read on HGW Horror Book Club. The Discussion Thread may also be referenced for reader comments.

Pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit in place but only gradually to enjoy the associated twists and revelations. The pivotal characters of Nicolette ("Cole") and Barb are both flawed but somehow sympathetic and relatable. I forgot how much a Hillier novel is akin to a full fledged melodrama with extraordinary detail and believable dialogue. Her works are standalone but with interconnected characters, places.

Heart of Glass is such an addictive, immersive read with an inevitable emotional tide of feeling for the key characters that you forget you are reading a murder mystery about kidnapping, sexual slavery, and homicide. The trio of best girlfriends and what really happened when the girls met a serial killer at Wonderland 25 years ago is still tantalizingly out of reach. It is a "rollercoaster" of a plotline.

Maggie's Grave has thus far been decently written Scottish folklore and an interesting tale of supernatural horror. The lynchpin of the yarn has been the failure of a dying town's teenagers to believe in vengeful witches and curses from beyond the grave. The passion and the wonder of a mother's love for her child is what sets the hook and engages the reader's interest. It is a poignant horror story not EH.

The suspense is building like a ripple in a large stream with the wind picking up. Scenes are shifting among the pivotal players, present day dissolving into scenes playing out in the past of 2001 featuring our three best friends. The criminal investigation into the abduction of two women with one an unsolved homicide is morphing into a much larger scenario supporting a serial murderer visiting Seaside...again.

Really enjoyed the last several chapters and shifting perspectives of the pivotal characters. Feels like the momentum is picking up but may be just material has been especially entertaining. It is early for any major puzzle pieces to start locking into place. Hillier's forte to me is presenting a number of subplots featuring main characters and an intriguing storyline (murder), then finally piecing them together.

Halfway point and I would say that the story of Maggie's savage murder and the curse she cast upon the town and its citizens is a better than average supernatural story. The four teenaged protagonists in the beginning are not especially likeable. The young mom sympathetic but devoted mother to an extreme. Potential still exists for the second half to pull out the stops and plotline to supply more horror and gore.

This novel about superstition and witchcraft really upping the ante for this reader with some well written descriptive prose to address the fates of a group of teenage interlopers disrespecting and denigrating the cabin and grave site of the tortured Maggie Wall who was accused of witchcraft in the superstitious climate of the country's past. Extreme horror scenes were imaginative and visceral in nature.

The reader learns more about the successful reality TV Star Cole. She begins her interview on Criminal Confessions about the serial killer dubbed the Carnival Killer. Barb is irked by Cole's decision to go against the promise they made to each other to stick to their story about how Lorelei died. The storyline is dark, submerged in a pool of mirky half-truths and lies. Of course, this is Hillier's wheelhouse.

The teenagers travel the country road to visit the cabin and grave site of Maggie Wall. Reality disappears and the teens who reside in the town experience horrors of the past. The origin story of Courtney becomes a more interesting topic. The horror tale has more clearly redefined its parameters and purpose. The supernatural story is an unsurprising snapshot of the terror and torment which had befallen Maggie Wall.

Heart of Glass feels like vintage Hillier to me. The story is multifaceted with a complex plot. But you are pulled in by the MC (and her circle of friends by association). Hillier moves fluidly from the present to the past with surprises and rich detail about the dark secrets that lurk there. The 25% mark can allow me to say Hillier has brought her A-Game. Murder, abduction, deception, betrayal, and more.

Just started reading late tonight. Hillier's literary style is as familiar as my favorite pair of house slippers. I have really missed getting comfortable and relaxing before bed with one of her dark thrillers. Think I have read most if not all her works. I was thrilled to see her new book when I was browsing. A pleasant surprise. Plan a pertinent status update after I am further into the story.

First quarter of storyline is largely spent laying the foundation for the plot to follow. The reader is introduced to the teenagers of the town that time forgot, and learn about mysterious meetings the adults must attend held by the town's policeman. A stranger arrives in town, a teenage girl who is stirring things up. One teen returns home to find their mother murdered. The group seeking the ruins of Maggie's home.

I began reading David Sodergren's folklore horror tale about supernatural vengeance tonight. It focuses on the grave of an innocent woman tortured to death for witchcraft in the "ghost town's" sordid history. In this instance the "ghost town" reference may be accurately applicable to more than the small town's handful of residents. This is a designated group read on HGW. Read the Sample before deciding but thumbs up!

I started reading late, or would have likely finished this short horror work by new-to-me Erica Summers. Darren, a hen-pecked hubby is trapped inside his vehicle with a wife he loathes and two kids he despises. They are en route to a boring destination in Florida for a vacation coupled with visiting a father-in-law he can't stand. The writing is good, smartly efficient, and the acerbic wit is LOL funny.

Began Sierra Waff's much talked about Splatterpunk novella. The grand endorsement on the stunning Cover Art by an apex predator of the genre like Jon Athan is more than impressive. I loved Stuart Bray's Foreword which was peppered with salty language but left the distinct taste of his admiration and approval in its wake. The use of first-person narrator is going to render this immersive tale of transference a KO.

I finished the novel (final 20% the bonus novella prequel SKINWRAPPER) which I have yet to read. It is with chagrin that I now temper my prior unbridled enthusiasm for this outstanding 2018 Splatterpunk Award Nominee. The characters, action, plotline and mini cliffhangers as exclamation points at the end of chapters easily held me to 5 Stars prior to the final third of the book. Last stretch and end disappointed.