Review: The Counting Game

The Counting Game by Sinéad Nolan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THE COUNTING GAME by Sinéad Nolan is an outstanding, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ missing person tale set in the village of Drumsuin in southwest Ireland in 1995. The Kellough family has had a rough time of it lately and then young teenager Saoirse Kellough goes into the forest with her younger brother Jack, but only he returns. Is she just lost in the woods? A runaway? A victim of some sad accident? Or the latest in a series of girls who have gone missing in the area over the last 20 years? The Gardai (police) need Jack's help to understand what happened... but he's not talking.

Therapist Freya Hemmings is enlisted to help unlock the secrets that Jack is keeping, in hopes of providing the Gardai with the information they need to find Saoirse and bring her home safely. As Freya slowly begins to gain Jack's trust, she learns more about the family's past and their difficulties, as well as the town's widespread fear of the forest. The more she learns, the more she questions what may have really happened.

This story drew me in - Nolan's characters are compelling, intriguing and tragic - each with their own strengths, weaknesses and secrets. The rural setting is beautifully described and the nearby forest is almost a character in and of itself.

Nolan delivers captivating characters, tense situations, lots of possibilities about what happened and who might have been involved, and a surprising ending.

Recommended!

Thanks to #Netgalley and Gallery Books for the early review copy!

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Review: Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting

Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting by Richard Chizmar & W.H. Chizmar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

WIDOW'S POINT: THE COMPLETE HAUNTING is a dark, disturbing, haunted lighthouse found-footage thriller by Richard Chizmar and W.H. Chizmar. The perfect read leading up to Halloween... or any time you're looking for a few sleepless nights. 100% recommended.

This is a bad place. Something is wrong with it. I don’t think people are meant to live here.
-- Diary entry from WIDOW'S POINT: THE COMPLETE HAUNTING

The Widow's Point Lighthouse is set on the coast of Nova Scotia in the small, idyllic village of Harper's Cove. Idyllic, that is, for those who are smart - or lucky - enough to remain clear of the lighthouse and its surroundings. The reader first encounters the reportedly haunted lighthouse, site of many deaths and accidents, as well as a number of unexplained disappearances and horrific murders over the years, in 2017, when paranormal author Thomas Livingston arrives to spend a weekend locked inside the abandoned structure. Through a series of video and audio recordings he recounts the tragic history of the lighthouse and documents his ... disturbing ... stay.

Fast-forward to 2025 and another, larger group of investigators enters the lighthouse, planning to stay for the week leading up to Halloween. The 6-member group is led by Trent Bell , a wealthy Youtube influencer known as T-Breeze. With him are his cameraman Steph, video editor Jeff and producer Phil. Also in the group is Professor Catherine Durand, a former resident of Harper's Cove and a respected anthropologist/historian proclaimed as “the world’s leading authority on haunted houses who doesn’t believe in ghosts”, and Rob Elliott, a famous paranormal investigator/ghost hunter and Twitch streamer. They come prepared with lots of high-tech video and audio recording devices, along with a variety of specialized ghost-hunting equipment, to document their stay and any supernatural events they experience.

Richard and W.H. Chizmar know how to tell a spooky tale. Their unique, shifting perspective, found-footage approach allows the story to unfold naturally and helps the reader share the tension and fear that grows within the group as they take up residence in the lighthouse and begin to experience odd sensations and unusual events. Also shared is the group's increasing anxiety as secrets are revealed and some begin to act oddly the longer they remain under the influence of the lighthouse and its other occupants.

WIDOW'S POINT: THE COMPLETE HAUNTING has many unexpected twists and surprises, a very high "creepiness" factor, and more than a few frightening revelations. The Widow's Point Lighthouse is tall, its pull is strong and its reach is long. It's best read as far away from the coast as possible, with all the lights on, the shades drawn and in the company of a large, calm dog.

Review: The Hollow Choir

The Hollow Choir by Paul Michael Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We all have "those bands" that stay with us. You know, the groups that deliver the memorable songs that find their way from our ears into our minds and, in rare instances, our souls. There are those groups that become part of who we are. Then there is THE HOLLOW CHOIR.

In this superb, atmospheric tale, Paul Michael Kane delivers tension, dread and hope as private investigator Vic Everstone tries to free a client's sister from the grip of a horrific cult.

Echoes of THE HOLLOW CHOIR will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

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Review: The Midnight Muse

The Midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With THE MIDNIGHT MUSE author Jo Kaplan delivers a unique ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ tale of possession and heavy-metal horror, weaving together the past and present to reveal the truth of what really happened to local indie-band Queen Carrion during a weekend in the woods.

A year after the disappearance and presumed death of their lead singer/songwriter Brynn Werner, the remaining members of the metal band Queen Carrion gather, somewhat reluctantly, in the Umpqua forest near where Brynn was suspected to have spent her last days before vanishing. Some have come to say goodbye, others to find a way to move on, and for Harlow Sorenson, the band's drummer who isn't willing to accept that Brynn is dead, it is a chance to search for her in the dense forest. The weekend away gets off to a rough start when the isolated cabin they've rented proves to be difficult to find, and its condition is much worse than shown on the rental listing. They soon realize that they aren't as alone as they expected, but who and/or what is out there with them ... and why?

The story is told mostly from Harlow's perspective who, in the present day, is confined to some sort of institution, and enhances the mystery through the use of news articles and log excerpts from a defunct research project, as we learn of the weekend's strange and horrific events.

THE MIDNIGHT MUSE is eerie and disturbing. Kaplan weaves a tale of tension and suspense, making the reader wonder what is real and what is delusion.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #ClashBooks for the review copy!

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