Review: Night Soldiers

Night Soldiers by Paul Michael Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

   Under the bed is where the 

darkness lives.

   Now, adults think darkness is 

simply the absence of light. That is a 

charming theory.

   Unfortunately, it is completely 

wrong.

   Darkness is a place.

I recently read Night Soldiers by Paul Michael Kane. It's a short story, in chapbook form, about the battle that occurs every night as children drift off to sleep and the night soldiers awaken to keep the monsters under the bed at bay. I LOVED IT, and can't wait to share this story with my grandchildren. 

Stan is a stuffed sloth who wakes each night as his boy, Parker, falls asleep. His goal: protect Parker from the monsters that emerge from the darkness under the bed. I won't spoil anything here, but will just say that poor Stan has his work cut out for him as wave after wave of different types of monsters try to get past his defenses and reach the sleeping Parker.

The design of this book is fantastic! It has a very cool cover, pairing a "Starry Night" blanket with a stuffed sloth under the bed, ready for battle against the approach of shadowy tendrils. And the two-column layout practically pulled my eyes down the page! 

I also loved the imagery - describing fear as a living thing that "grows best when it has time" and the sound one monster makes as something that "creeps into dreams." 

I also enjoyed the few nods to Stephen King's IT story.

Night Soldiers can be purchased directly from Paul Michael Kane's online store here: Night Soldiers purchase link

Review: The Man On The Ceiling

The Man On The Ceiling : And Other Scary Tales from Young Authors by Chisto Healy (and 12 young authors)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Man On The Ceiling : And Other Scary Tales from Young Authors is a fun collection of dark and scary tales from a dozen young authors ranging in age from 6 to 13. 

The young writers in this anthology have given full rein to their wild and twisted imaginations - in all the best ways! The stories include shadows that come to life and attack the unwary, zombies, an unusual take on birthing new vampires, haunted and evil objects and locations (houses, forests and ponds), encounters with extraterrestrial horrors and an artist gifted/cursed with the power to get even with a vicious bully. While the themes may be familiar, the stories themselves are as unique as those who tell them. 

As Healy says in the book's foreword, the kids wrote their stories and then he worked with each of them "to flesh out their ideas, ... and did my best to help their vision come to life. Make no mistake, these stories are all theirs - not mine." The result is a wonderful anthology full of spookiness, chills, thrills and kills. 

I was drawn to this book by the variety of tales and the premise of helping young authors unleash their imaginations, bring their stories to print, and share them with others. With Healy's help, these young authors delivered the creepy goods!

Recommended for all, and especially for classrooms and programs looking for examples of what young writers can create when given encouragement and support.

Thanks to Chisto Healy for providing an eARC of this anthology for review. 

The Man On The Ceiling : And Other Scary Tales from Young Authors will publish on July 27, 2026 and contains stories from 

• Alexa Taylor: The Man On The Ceiling
• Madilyn Richie: The Dim Bonfire
• Rubi-Leigh Baynam: The Hybrid
• Welles Young: The Girl Who Became a Skeleton
• Mal Iler: Operation Thalassaphobia
• Tucker Coburn: The Invasion of the Dolls
• Gray Hernandez: In The Forest, They Dwell
• Boe Healy: The Revengecil
• Finn Ramirez: What's Wrong With Grandma?
• C.T. McKnight: The Music Box
• GiGi Volpe: The Color Red
• Key A.V.: Duck, Duck, Ghost

Review: #AuthorLife

#AuthorLife by Joe Zagets
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#AuthorLife by Joe Zagets is a dark tale, full of surprising revelations and twists.  It is also a fun, entertaining and satirical look at the publishing industry from the perspective of Mackenzie "Mack" Lane, a down on his luck author, who's hiding the extent of his financial difficulties from his wife, his extended family and his friends. While he had some success with his debut thriller years ago, his more recent books were received with much less enthusiasm and commercial success. The lower sales, along with some poor financial decisions, have left Mack on the brink of bankruptcy. 

Desperate to boost sales and fulfill his dream of being seen as an "important" author, he comes up with a plan (his "Daring Scheme") to increase the buzz around his upcoming novel, and enlists the help of his agent, who reluctantly agrees. Mack knows his plan will cause pain and anguish to his wife and teenage son, but rationalizes that the reward will outweigh the cost in the long run. 

I loved the book, although I must admit that I really didn't like the main character very much. It seems like every time he did something that might help someone else he had an ulterior motive. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME! And to say that he doesn't make the best choices given his situation is a vast understatement... I found myself going between feeling slightly sorry for him, then thinking maybe he might have some redeeming virtues, and eventually just wanting to give him a (proverbial) slap across the face while shouting, in the words of Will Rogers, "When you find yourself in a hole, STOP DIGGING!".

#AuthorLife is a fictionalized, "behind the curtain" look at the publishing industry and some of the challenges authors and agents have, and the lengths to which they might go to give their books the best chance of success. It was fascinating and thought provoking, irreverent and, especially in the later chapters, a roller coaster thrill-ride!   

Many thanks to Bad Hand Books for providing an eARC to review. #AuthorLife releases on Sept 22, 2026.

Review: In Their Eyes

In Their Eyes by Simon F. Godin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I've gotta tell ya, In Their Eyes by Simon F. Godin, is creepy as hell! This is also his debut novel. Let that sink in for a moment... This is a debut novel. HIS VERY FIRST ONE. The book is so well-paced, so well-written and so riveting, it feels like it came from a seasoned author with a massive back catalog of books to his credit. 

Grace Boone - Gracie to her few friends - is a freshman student at Elora University in Winding River. While not a large city, it's much larger than her hometown of Caldmore, Ontario, where she's lived with her police chief father, Hank, all her life. Moving into her residence hall marks her first time away from her hometown and her father, and she's hoping to fit in and find new friends as she majors in Psychology. 

While it's been a (long) while since I went to college, I think Bodin captured the excitement, and anxiety, of moving away from home for the first time and trying to find your place, and your people, in a new environment. Unlike my own experience, however, Gracie Boone experiences a series of unsettling events, beginning with a mysterious hooded figure watching her room from the parking lot at night, and continuing with discoveries that trigger an identity crisis, and have her questioning how safe and secure she really is. She even begins to have doubts about the people around her, including Raven, her roommate and closest friend, and starts wondering who she can really trust as her life begins to unravel around her. 

The story alternates between first person journal entries and third person narration, which works really well. We get to share Gracie's thoughts, her fears and anxieties, as she struggles to find independence, while also maintaining long distance relationships with both her father and her boyfriend, and we get to see the impact of events as they happen to and around her. This is incredibly effective in ratcheting up the tension as the story unfolds.

I'm not a book critic. I'm not a professional book reviewer. I didn't major in Literature in college. As the blog description says, I'm just a reader. Yet when I say that In Their Eyes is absolutely INCREDIBLE, I mean it. This is a tale full of surprises and shocking revelations that made it difficult to put down at night. It captivated me from the very first page. It was dark, creepy, suspenseful and disturbing, making me question who could be trusted, and what the actual truth was.   

If I hadn't known from the outset that this was Godin's debut novel I would immediately be looking to get my hands on the other books he'd written. As it stands, I'll have to wait. But I don't have to be patient about it!!! Where's your next book, Simon??? 

Thanks to the author for offering to send me the eARC of In Their Eyes to review ahead of its publication on September 1, 2026. 

Highly Recommended 

Review: Traps and Specters: Stories

Traps and Specters: Stories by Philip Fracassi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you've read any Philip Fracassi then you know he is a master at serving up incredible stories, whether they are novels or short stories. With Traps and Specters, Fracassi once again delivers, in spades! This is a collection of short, but dark tales, featuring mostly normal people, going about their mostly normal lives. These poor souls find that the lines between success and failure, normality and insanity, and life and death are all extremely thin; very easy to cross on your own, but sometimes you get dragged across, kicking and screaming, without warning.

These stories CREEPED. ME. OUT... in all the good ways! The collection is full of twists and surprises, unhappy spirits, ancient kings, hidden figures and dead relatives. Put 'em all together and you've got a heck of a horror punch for your next party!

D7 - A couple walks into a nightmare when stopping at a remote bar for a quick after dinner drink. A horrific hoedown!

The Visitor - A priest called to visit a troubled family in a remote location learns that the pursuit of knowledge has its own dangers. Chilling!

The Mummified Corpse of Reese Witherspoon - Amazon really WILL sell almost anything, but artist Jack soon learns there's truth in the Latin expression Caveat Emptor.  A twisted and creepy delivery!

The Servitor - For generations, one member of the Espinoza family has dedicated his life to maintaining the many traps that preserve and protect the tomb of the Inca king Maco Capac from treasure hunters. Failure is not an option! Tense and surprising!

King Mob - There are orderly protests, and then there's King Mob. Could you resist the temptation to get swept up in the insanity? This story pulls you right into the mob... and history buffs may find a new suspect as the chief instigator of the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in 1780 London. 

The Hunter - When you can't escape a father's insane fits of violence, you may have no choice but to make a promise in the dark. Pulse-pounding dread!

Point Oh One - Would knowing, to the second, when you'll die change how you live? The clock is winding down, but will the terror ever end?

Betrothed - Every couple needs their space. But what if one can't let go? Disturbing and unsettling ... 'til death do we part may not tell the whole tale!

My Love, Do Not Wake - Would you want your true love to bend over backwards for you? You may want to pay closer attention to those strange murmurings in the night.

The Black Rider - Some tales are meant to frighten children to encourage good behavior. Maybe we should all listen. Short, and not so sweet... yet immensely satisfying!

Dream of Me - A young girl finds more than just a way to interpret her dreams in the journal gifted to her by her grandmother. Some grandmothers are creepier than others.

The Resident - An empty house. An antiquated safe. Some jobs are just too easy. Until they aren't. Atmospheric and suspenseful.

  

I Think My Treehouse Is Haunted - A boy and his mother move to a nice house in the suburbs, where he learns that his tree house refuge isn't his alone. Holy crap!! Goosebumps!!! ACTUAL GOOSEBUMPS!!!! 

Red Leather - A traveling salesman, having dessert at a local Sabbath diner, gets a double serving of horror when hearing the story of young love. You can always count on a Sabbath tale for a tasty terror treat, and this one does NOT disappoint!

Thanks to Shortwave Publishing for providing an eARC of Traps and Specters: Stories for review via Netgalley!

#TrapsandSpecters #NetGalley

Review: The Extra

The Extra by Annie Neugebauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

   I scrub my hands over my face beneath my hood, breathe slowly into my damp palms-mustn't seem annoyed to the participants-and walk to a different spot to get a new view of the area. 

   I get ten plus me again. It's not a mistake. There are eleven people here right now. 

   There's an extra.

-- Annie Neugebauer, The Extra

10 people get out of a van and set out on a university-sponsored camping/hiking trip. That evening 11 people arrive at the campsite ... only Matt, the leader, and his 2 assistants realize there is an additional person, but since they recognize and have memories of each and every person in the group, none of them can tell which one it is. 

The Extra is Annie Neugebauer's first book in The Outsiders Sequence and is set in a remote, forested area in Arkansas. The story is told from Matt's perspective as he tries to keep the camping neophytes safe while he struggles with the questions raised by the appearance of the extra: how did they join the group without anyone else realizing it, and why? Which member of the group IS the extra? And, most important of all, what are they going to do about it? 

As the story unfolds the leaders try to unravel the mystery of the extra, and you can feel the tension increase as Matt tries to master his own panic and uncertainty about what to do to keep the group safe.

The Extra is a gem. It doesn't have (or need!) jump-scares, physical violence or gore; what it offers is a suspense-filled, psychological thriller/mystery tale set in a wonderfully atmospheric location. It should be on your TBR pile along with The Other, the second (but standalone) book in Neugebauer's The Outsiders Sequence. 

Review: Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story

Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story by Jonathan Janz is a fantastic short story, released as a limited edition chapbook, that provides background of one of the main characters in his ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ sci-fi/thriller/horror tale Veil.

Although connected, readers don't have to have read Veil to appreciate the suspense and action of Stretch-Neck

My review of Veil can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

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Review: The Other

The Other by Annie Neugebauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Other by Annie Neugebauer is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, mind-messing, twisted psychological thriller!

Imagine what you might feel or how you might react, if you and your spouse were to encounter your doppelgangers: two other people who look, act, and speak exactly as you do, and who have all of your memories as well. Then, imagine that there's a bit of a scuffle, and when the dust settles you realize that you don't know for certain which one is actually your spouse, and neither do they.

In The Other, that's exactly what happens to married couple Elise and Logan as they're on a hiking trip, hoping to reconnect and make some decisions about what their future together might look like.

And just in case your brain hurt isn't already hurting, consider that Elise and Logan now have to figure out who is really whom, and then they must also find a way to evade the other couple before they can go back to their lives; otherwise they might not go back at all, or even worse, one of them may very well end up going back with The Other.

Telling the tale by alternating the viewpoint between Elise and Logan, Neugebauer sets up this situation masterfully, and her storytelling swept me right along the trail with Elise and Logan. The tension in their marriage, and their obvious desire to find a way forward together are strong elements on their own, but then to mix in the confusion of the "identity crisis" and the very real possibility that Allison and Bryce intend to cause harm, and you have a recipe for a gripping, wonderfully paced, psychological thriller.

Thanks to Shortwave Publishing for providing an eARC for review through NetGalley.

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Review: King Sorrow

King Sorrow by Joe Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

King Sorrow by Joe Hill is a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ horror/fantasy tale about friendship, love, loyalty, desperation, redemption...and a dragon that likes to play with its food.

The problem with inviting the unnatural into your life is it might decide to stay.
Joe Hill: King Sorrow

King Sorrow follows the lives and choices of 6 friends: Arthur, Colin, Donovan (Van), Donna, Allison (Allie) and Gwen, as they deal with the consequences of helping one of them find a way to escape from a blackmailer who threatens to harm a family member if they don't provide them with valuable items from a local college. Their method of escape, and revenge, comes with an unexpected price...one that each deals with differently as it pits their senses of morality with their desire for survival.

Hill delivers a fantastic, superbly paced tale, full of surprises, twists and betrayals... and a dragon... and the ultimate internet troll...

No one was ever in charge of a dragon. Some snakes were too big to catch by the tail.
Joe Hill: King Sorrow

100% Recommended!

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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: Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ryland Grace is an unlikely hero tasked with saving Earth from a space-born catastrophe that threatens to plunge the world into another ice age. He and the other members of the crew undertake a multi-year space mission to find a solution and get the information back to Earth in time to save it. His job is further complicated by the fact that the other crew members have died, and he suffers from amnesia that only slowly resolves itself as the story unfolds.

In spite of a couple of minor quibbles** I have, the story is fantastic - optimistic in tone in spite of, or perhaps because of, the consequences of failure. Weir reveals the characters and circumstances in a compelling way, building tension while unraveling mystery as he goes. The conclusion was an extra treat, well conceived and executed!

**My quibbles: The first is the relative ease Grace has accomplishing multiple EVAs during the course of the mission, some under incredible conditions. The second is the ability of the alien engineer, Rocky, to construct any object needed at will - in some ways a series of Deus ex machina moments.


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Review: Annihilation

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

By the time we were ready to cross the border, we knew everything … and we knew nothing.

I'm not sure how to feel about Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer's first book in the Southern Reach series. I found it to be intriguing, but not compelling.

A group of scientists are the latest in a series of expeditions that are sent across a strange, invisible border into the mysterious Area X to explore and document the region. They're given limited information about what previous expeditions found in the area and are provided very little in way of tools to conduct their research or weapons to protect themselves from whatever dangers might be present. And dangers do exist within Area X - some members of previous expeditions never made it back, others reappeared mysteriously back at their homes, but appear to be changed in some way.

Annihilation is told from the viewpoint of an unnamed biologist, one of the four never-named members of this latest expedition, whose husband had been a member of the previous group. She describes her experiences and observations of Area X and the other members of her group, and their encounter with a "Crawler" found within an underground Tower located near their base camp but missing from maps provided to them. As members of the expedition experience the effects of Area X, the biologist begins to suspect that what they have been told by their superiors about the region and the fate of previous expeditions was incomplete at best. Exploration of a previously identified Lighthouse further away from the base camp leads to more questions than answers.

I know that many readers have enjoyed this book and its sequels, but I think my journey into the Southern Reach series ends here. As I said: intriguing, but not compelling for me.

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Review: Veil

Veil by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Veil by Jonathan Janz is Predator meets Falling Skies and The A-Team all rolled into one fantastic, wild ride!

What starts out as a simple story of John Calhoun, a father desperately trying to keep his family from falling apart, turns horrific as first his son, then his separated wife, and finally his daughter are abducted in the midst of nation-wide series of unexplained disappearances. Rumors spread that the abductions are part of an alien invasion as reports surface of people literally vanishing into thin-air. As the world around him devolves into chaos, John wants nothing more than to bring his family back together, and joins with a small group of misfits who have a risky and radical plan to find and battle the abductors and bring their loved ones home.

With Veil, Janz has crafted a tension-filled story that evolves into an action-packed thriller, with strong and interesting characters and skillfully applied echoes of government and citizen reactions to the 2020 pandemic.

I'll be looking for more books by Jonathan Janz.
Recommended!

Thanks to #NetGalley for the early review copy of #Veil

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Review: No One is Safe!

No One is Safe! by Philip Fracassi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what took me so long to get around to reading No One is Safe!. This is a wonderful collection of short stories by Philip Fracassi and should be on the TBR pile of anyone who is a Fracassi fan or wants to get a sense of what kind of storyteller he is.

I wouldn't describe it as a "horror" collection, although there are some stories that do fit that category/genre, but all of these tales have elements of horror in them. From "The Wish", about a boy who wants nothing more than to be able to see his father again, to "Row", about an idyllic weekend away that goes horribly awry, these stories all bring their characters to life (and sometimes to death!) in a compelling fashion.

Highly Recommended!

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Review: A Prayer for Owen Meany

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A classic story as relevant in 2025 as when it was first written. A coming of age tale that wrestles with the power of Faith, the tension between youth and established authority, the legitimacy of war and the question of what makes a hero.

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Review: The Fireman

The Fireman by Joe Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Fireman by Joe Hill is a great read. A virulent infection, known as Dragonscale, from an unknown source causes people to develop black and gold markings on their bodies and to spontaneously combust. This pandemic sweeps the world, leaving death, destruction, and ashes in its wake. As governments fail to find ways to contain the spread of the disease or find a cure, civilization collapses, leaving those infected without hope or protection from roaming "Cremation Squads" who have decided the only way to deal with those infected is to eliminate them.

In the middle of this mess is Harper Grayson, a nurse who does her best to help the infected, until she becomes infected herself and her life begins to fall apart. Pregnant and abandoned by her husband, she's on her own until help arrives in the form of a mysterious stranger who leads her to the safety of a secluded camp that is home to a large number of other infected people. There she learns of a way to control the infection, but the cost may be too high.

The Fireman is a riveting story. Hill delivers fascinating, tragic and, in many cases, fanatic characters, each with their own secrets and approaches to dealing with a world falling apart, and manages to continue increasing the suspense with every chapter.



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Review: The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre

The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

... getting older was nothing but a series of slow deaths of the people we once were, and how, with each death of our past selves, those held memories of past lives also died.
-- Philip Fracassi: The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre

I was fortunate enough to be able to read a pre-publication version of The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre. While a senior citizen enclave doesn't seem like a great setting for slasher story, Philip Fracassi delivers an amazing tale. Funny, sad, horrifying and not to be missed.

Rose DuBois, Beauregard Mason Miller and their friends are living comfortable lives in the Autumn Springs Retirement Home. Although many are forgotten by their families, they still enjoy movie nights, cocktail parties and playing games, knowing that the facility can continue to provide care and a home for them if their bodies and/or minds decline as they age. Even though a series of unexpected deaths are dismissed by the authorities as unfortunate, but not unusual in an old folks home, Rose and her friends feel something isn't right and begin to investigate on their own. It's only after the deaths continue to grow and become more gruesome that they are finally taken seriously. Too late, perhaps, to do any good.

Fracassi does a wonderful job revealing the story and the characters. He builds suspense by carefully laying his groundwork in the first half of the book and then takes us on a wild ride as the story speeds to its conclusion.

Anyone who has, or has had, relatives or friends in a nursing/rest home or retirement community will recognize at least a few of the staff and the residents. What won't be as familiar are the creative, horrifying and in at least one case heart-breaking ways in which the killer ends the lives of some of their victims. I'd hate to think what the police would say if they ever had reason to look at Fracassi's browser search history.

I was kept guessing and remained suspicious of various characters right until the very end. I hope we get more stories featuring some of the residents of Autumn Springs in the future.



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Review: Revenge is Good for the Souls

Revenge is Good for the Souls by Aaron R. Tyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aaron R. Tyler delivers a dark, horrific and delightful tale with Revenge Is Good For The Souls. He takes the notion of "bad things happening to good people" to another level in this disturbing story about Michael Vickers, a college professor who is just living his life, minding his own business, when a terrible car accident causes him to begin seeing people that no one else sees. These ghosts, or souls as they prefer to be called aren't your "Casper the Friendly Ghost" types ... they suffered horrendous torment when living and they are angry and out for revenge. Vickers has to become their tool, or else he will become their target and be driven insane. A solution of sorts is presented, but everything comes at a price and he has to decide whether the price that is demanded is one he's willing to pay.

While Revenge Is Good For The Souls is a standalone tale, there are connections with The Waifs: From the author of The Twin Tiers Serial Killers trilogy, one of Tyler's previous books. It's not required, but I recommend reading The Waifs first as this new story has some mild spoilers for that earlier book.

This is a wonderful read, although be warned: the story includes graphic descriptions of violence, bullying, sexual grooming and exploitation. The ending was completely unexpected and provided a fantastic twist to a fantastic tale.

Recommended.

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Review: The Waifs: From the author of The Twin Tiers Serial Killers trilogy

The Waifs: From the author of The Twin Tiers Serial Killers trilogy by Aaron R. Tyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In anticipation of the release of Revenge is Good for the Souls by Aaron Tyler (March 1, 2025) I decided to read one of his earlier books - The Waifs - in part because one of the characters makes an appearance in the new story as well. I was NOT disappointed at all.

Set in a small town, the characters in The Waifs are likely familiar to all: the "Losers" (Waifs), the Jocks, the Shop Kids (Greasers) and the parents and teachers around them. Although the Waifs originally band together because no other group would have them, they find acceptance, friendship and support in each other.

The Waifs are bullied throughout their school years but manage to avoid serious harm by keeping to themselves and avoiding run ins with the worst of the trouble makers at school. That seems about to change however when one of The Waifs is falsely believed to have told the school administration who it was that committed an act of vandalism. It doesn't take long for the vandal and his friends to find an opportunity to take revenge upon the Waifs, and with no one to defend them it seems the Waifs' run of luck may be over.

Tyler has delivered a good story here with unexpected twists, plenty of tension, and a more-than-satisfying climax. Fair warning, though. Along with descriptions of bullying the story does contain some fairly graphic violence which may be triggering for some.

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Review: Below

Below by Kev Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Below is a fast-paced horror/thriller by Kev Harrison that follows Nick Jones, Jess & Sofia as they try to uncover what happened to several miners who were trapped and never rescued decades after a 1957 mine collapse. The investigation holds special meaning for Nick since his grandfather and namesake, Nicholas Jones, was one of those trapped inside the mine after saving many of the other miners. After the blocked mine entrance is cleared and additional supports are added to shore up the tunnels, the trio enter and begin their search. They soon find the evidence they'd hoped for of the lost miners...and more.

I would give this story 4.5 stars if I could. My only minor complaints with the story are the apparent lack of concern about unexplained noises within the mine and with an event that causes the mine entrance to become blocked. The ending also felt a bit rushed, but overall this was a great story by a "new to me" author, and I'll be looking for more from him.

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