Tag: Horror

Posted in Horror
Posted on by Mama

Title: Goldielocks And The Three Men: Story 3 of Fairytales for Freaks

Author: Anne Snow

Pages: 32

Genre: Extreme Horror, Splatterpunk

Young girls get taken to the concrete warehouse of nightmares.

Some are fresh out of the womb, where Elites pay high prices to do as they wish to them, no matter how cruel or depraved. Of course, they always get away with their crimes, they are important and powerful.. duh.

Goldie must escape this nightmare, but the men aren’t the only threat surrounding the warehouse. Man or bear? Which will she choose?


EXTREME HORROR/SPLATTERPUNK THIS IS NOT FOR CHILDREN. READ THE TRIGGERS AND READ WITH CAUTION.

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this short story directly from Anne Snow and once again, she absolutely delivers.

From the very first page, this story unsettled me. It wastes no time pulling you into a deeply uncomfortable space, and because of that, I have to emphasize:

⚠️ Please read the trigger warnings before diving in. ⚠️

I’ll be honest, stories involving harm to children are not something I typically gravitate toward. It’s a heavy, difficult subject, and not one I take lightly. However, this was handled with as much care and tact as possible, considering the nature of the content. At the same time, it doesn’t shy away from exposing a harsh and often overlooked reality…the darker, more disturbing underbelly of society. It leaves you sitting with some uncomfortable questions about just how cruel and depraved people can be.

And yes… it goes deep.

The story is monstrous, nightmarish, and undeniably grotesque, exactly what you’d expect from extreme horror. But it also manages to tug at your heart in unexpected ways. There’s an emotional undercurrent woven through the brutality that makes it linger long after you’ve finished.

You find yourself rooting for the protagonist from beginning to end. There’s a quiet strength to her that builds beneath the surface, something powerful that even the so-called “Bears” fail to recognize. While part of me craved an even more brutal, unrestrained revenge, there’s something to be said for the restraint in Anne’s storytelling. She walks a fine line between horror and humanity, and it’s done with intention.

This is an incredible short story…if you can stomach it.

I highly recommend it for fans of splatterpunk and extreme horror. But I’ll say it one more time:

⚠️ Please read the trigger warnings before reading. ⚠️

Your mental well-being always comes first.

Meet you after dark.

💀 Your cozy-macabre book bestie

Posted in Horror

The Ugly Duckling: Story 2 of Fairytales for Freaks

Posted on by Mama

Title: The Ugly Duckling: Story 2 of Fairytales for Freaks

Author: Anne Snow

Pages: 22

Genre: Extreme Horror

Dylan, a school shooter to be, incel, easy target to brutal bullying at school and at home, turns to an EXTREME gore-soaked murder spree.

Fairytales promise transformation. But when a heart is starved of kindness long enough, it does not sprout wings.

It grows bullets.

⚠️Please read the trigger warnings before reading⚠️

I thought Two Little Piggies was vivid and grotesque, but this one was on another level.

Shock and horror at it’s finest, author Anne Snow delivers it all in this one. Morbid, revolting, monstrous, and frankly made me take much needed breaks while reading. A short story that is fast paced and unapologetically brutal.

Major props to Anne Snow, this one is going to haunt my mind for a long time.

Hope you enjoyed the review and…

I was serious….read the trigger warnings before proceeding!

Meet you after dark.

💀Your cozy-macabre book bestie

Posted in Horror

Two Little Piggies: Story 1 of Fairytales for Freaks

Posted on by Mama

Title: Two Little Piggies: Story 1 of Fairytales for Freaks

Author: Anne Snow

Pages: 15

Genre: Extreme Horror

Jack and Jill had turned morbidly obese during COVID. They go to extreme and deadly measures to make themselves desirable again. After going into a trance, they start to self-mutilate to fit into today’s unrealistic beauty standards.

How far can someone go to look good again?

Please read with caution; this is shock value vomit.

THIS IS AN EXTREME HORROR SHORT STORY.

⚠️Please read the trigger warnings before reading⚠️

My first dive into splatterpunk/extreme horror, but not a regret.

We follow Jack and Jill, (yes, I laughed and they did come tumbling down in a big way!) a couple that turned gluttonous once COVID hit – really letting themselves go. One night they come across a commercial that seems targeted just for them and that’s when things turn horrific…

This one is not for the faint of heart, but it’s 15 pages of extremely vivid and grotesque imaginary. It literally makes your skin crawl from discomfort.

Kudos to the author, Anne Snow, for leaving an everlasting impression of my psyche!

Hope you enjoyed the review and…

I was serious….read the trigger warnings before proceeding!

Meet you after dark.

💀Your cozy-macabre book bestie

Posted in Horror

Slasher Summer

Posted on by Mama

Title: Slasher Summer

Author: E.L. Chen

Pages: 250

Genre: Horror, Fiction

In this campy love letter to the slasher films of the 1980s, seven friends reunite for a weekend of fun—only to be hunted down by a cold-blooded killer. But the real horror is not being able to escape who you were in high school…

The sleepy town of Cedar Lake Falls is best known as the shooting location of the campy ’80s horror flick Slasher. In high school, preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, and nerdy Michael had played the cast of Slasher during midnight showings, with virginal Carrie as the Final Girl, of course.

Years later, the friends reunite at the remote cabin where Slasher was filmed. They’ve changed since high school—Patrick came out, Mikey bulked up, and, well, Freddy’s still stoned—and they’re looking forward to a weekend to catch up. But when night falls, and the eponymous masked killer is spotted, the reunion takes a deadly turn. The friends discover their tires deflated and the phone line disconnected, and soon they’re being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?

One thing is for sure. Before the night is over, they each will have to take on the role they thought they’d left behind.

Evenin’ Brave Bookworms! 🔪📼

First things first, thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advanced copy of Slasher Summer. And let me tell you… this one? It absolutely understood the assignment.

This book feels like digging up a dusty VHS tape from the back of a horror-obsessed childhood; one of those slightly warped, static-laced gems you know you probably shouldn’t have watched so young, but did anyway. The vibes? Pure 80s slasher goodness. Campy, cliché, and completely self-aware in the best possible way. It doesn’t try to reinvent the genre instead it lovingly resurrects it.

We’ve got our classic lineup: the jock, the cheerleader, the goth, the nerd, the preppy, the stoner… and of course, our sweet “final girl.” Together, they once formed the delightfully named Jumpscare Society, bonding over horror films, including their town’s claim to fame—a slasher film simply titled Slasher. Subtle? Never. Perfect? Absolutely.

Fast forward a few years (and one scandal later), and this rag-tag group reunites in their hometown of Cedar Lake, because what could possibly go wrong with a weekend getaway at the very cabin where the film was shot?

…yeah. Exactly.

What starts as nostalgia-fueled fun quickly curdles into something far more sinister. A prank call turns into a very real threat, and suddenly, they’re no longer reminiscing about horror but they’re living it. Paranoia creeps in like fog over the lake. Old friendships feel… off. And when you haven’t seen someone in years, you start to wonder…were they always like this?

Or is something darker hiding beneath the surface?

And oh, the tropes… they come in swinging like an axe in the dark. Pun intended! We’re talking: eerie lakeside cabin, ominous phone call, dead lines, no cell service, power outages, and yes, you guessed it – someone in a mask who turned unresolved issues into a body count. Sprinkle in some questionable decision-making (because of course they split up), and it’s basically a love letter to everything that made 80s horror iconic.

It does take a little time to get going, a bit like that slow pan across a quiet forest before the chaos begins, but once it hits its stride… you’re hooked. I had theories. Multiple. I was side-eyeing everyone. And while I thought I had it figured out… the twist still managed to land in a satisfying way.

My one little gripe? The ending. I was craving something grittier – maybe a touch more tragic, something that lingers under your skin. Don’t get me wrong, I see why they went the more crowd-pleasing route, but I was really hoping that final cabin scene would lean a bit more bittersweet… leave us with a chill and a heavy heart instead of comfort.

Still… something tells me this might not be the last we see of the Slasher. 👀

If you’re craving that nostalgic, popcorn-horror energy with a modern twist, this one is absolutely worth the read. Just maybe… don’t answer the phone while you’re reading.

You’ve been warned. ☎️

Hope you enjoyed the review and keep an eye out for this when it is released.

Meet you after dark.

💀Your cozy-macabre book bestie

Posted in Historic Fiction, Horror

The Wehrwolf

Posted on by Mama

Title: The Wehrwolf

Author: Alma Katsu

Pages: 79

Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction

Alma Katsu, the visionary author of The Fervor, The Hunger, and The Deep, brings readers a terrifying short story about monsters among men—and the thin lines that divide them.

Germany, 1945. In the waning days of World War II, the Nazis have been all but defeated. Uwe Fuchs, never a fighter, feels fortunate to have avoided the front lines as he cared for his widowed mother.

But Uwe’s fortune changes when Hans Sauer, the village bully, recruits him to join a guerilla resistance unit preparing for the arrival of Allied soldiers. At first, Uwe is wary. The war is lost, and rumor has it that Hans is a deserter. But Hans entices him with talk of power, brutality, and their village’s ancestral lore: werewolves.

With some reluctance, Uwe joins up with the pack and soon witnesses their startling transformation. But when the men’s violent rampage against enemy soldiers takes a devastatingly personal turn, Uwe must grapple not only with his role in their evil acts but with his own humanity. Can he reclaim what this group of predatory men has stolen from him?

Or has he been a monster all along?

Evenin’ Brave Bookworms!

I came across this short story by Alma Katsu while browsing Kindle, and honestly, it sounded right up my alley. WWII with a horror twist? That’s practically irresistible in this house.

Unfortunately, that spark of excitement faded far too quickly.

The idea is genuinely interesting, but the execution fell flat. I was pretty bored, which is not what you want from something that should feel tense and eerie. I get that it’s a short story, but there was barely any character development, and the setting didn’t feel immersive at all. I wanted atmosphere, something cold, heavy, unsettling and it just wasn’t there.

I also struggled with the historical inconsistencies. While the fictional village of Scharweg is never clearly placed, the interactions between Russian and American forces in early 1945 didn’t quite align. Certain character backstories, particularly regarding desertion and military service, felt off in ways that pulled me out of the story rather than grounding me in it. If you are going to incorporate historical information in your work, I think it should be accurate.

What makes this especially frustrating is that the concept had so much potential. The real WWII Werwolf program which was intended as a last-ditch guerrilla resistance, offers such a sinister foundation. Twisting that into something truly monstrous, could have been deeply unsettling. Instead, it leaned more into village folklore, which just didn’t hit as hard.

And unfortunately… it was predictable. I pretty much knew where it was going the whole time.

In the end, I appreciated the effort in blending historical fiction with horror, but this one didn’t quite land for me.

Hope you enjoyed the review and until next time…

Meet you after dark

💀Your cozy-macabre book bestie





Posted in Horror, Romance

Such Sharp Teeth

Posted on by Mama

Title: Such Sharp Teeth

Author: Rachel Harrison

Pages: 325

Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Romance

A young woman in need of a transformations finds herself in touch with the animal inside in this gripping, incisive novel from the author of Cackle and The Return.

Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it’s only temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked.

Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver – and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She’s changing into someone else – something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside her the key to acceptance?

This dark, comedic love story is a brilliantly layered portrait of trauma, rage and vulnerability.

Hey Brave Bookworms!

This novel caught me by surprise because it’s more then meets the eye. At it’s heart it’s a werewolf story wrapped in real human experience and life crisis. The author does a brilliant job with the writing; combining humor, body horror and emotional introspection and growth.

The novel follows our protagonist Aurora “Rory” Morris, a sarcastic and emotionally guarded woman who returns to her small town to help her pregnant twin sister, Scarlett. However, one night while driving on a dark rural road coming home from the bar, Rory hits what she thinks is an animal….a very large animal. When she goes to see what she’s hit, well…things take a turn for the worst and she finds herself in the woods being attacked by something.

She survives, clearly! But something is very different, wrong even.

Soon Rory begins to experience strange symptoms she can’t explain. Yes, you guessed it, she’s turning into a werewolf.

Instead of the novel focusing on the sheer monstrous horror of the classic werewolf tale, the story leans into personal transformation. Rory has to deal with her strained family dynamics, an unexpected romance, and the terrifying realization that she may be dangerous to not only strangers, but those she truly loves.

The horror is real, bloody and visceral, but it’s also deeply emotional.

Ahh Rory, well I’ll be completely honest, I had a love/hate relationship for this character. At times I loved the fact that she was imperfect, real, funny, sarcastic, but has a strength that is undeniable. But she was frustrating due to being so extremely guarded, defensive, self-sabotaging and emotionally distant. It was clear that she is used to running from problems and people that make her emotionally uncomfortable. For good reason, I do have to admit.

However, her messiness makes her feel real and authentic.

She has a complicated relationship with her sister Scarlett. They are close in the way twins often are, but their childhood holds a lot of baggage. Scarlett’s life is completely different then Rory’s; she is expecting a baby, more settled down and trying to main some semblance of family stability. All foreign to Rory and her life back in the city.

The tension between them adds emotional depth and weight to the novel, almost like a static in the air. There relationship definitely has it’s ups and downs, but between them both, their love trumps all the negative in the end.

Then there is Ian Pedretti, who is Rory’s blast from the past and a emotional turning point for her. He is patient, kind, and surprisingly understanding. The romance between them doesn’t feel forced due to their history, but instead provides moments of warmth, affection and humanity in a very chaotic situation.

I actually really loved Ian as a “leading man” because he wasn’t this cookie cutter bad boy. He was sweet and caring, but pushed her emotional buttons. Challenged her to stop pushing those she cares for away, which I thought was a wonderful addition. He ultimately became her emotional grounding point when nothing else made sense.

Her transformation ultimately forces her to confront suppressed emotions and memories: anger, grief, fear and extremely vulnerability. Her strength and resilience isn’t born from the suffering she experienced, but the choice to rise beyond it.

Her transformation also isn’t just a physical one, but shows her that it’s okay to stop hiding from who she is and who she truly wants to be now. It causes her to find a balance in her life with the creature she is becoming and her humanity.

Such Sharp Teeth is certainly not your average werewolf novel, though it has some classic tropes about it.

This is not your nonstop creature horror, and by the end of the novel it felt less like a werewolf story, but instead focusing on romance and a reflection on what is means to live life, even when things are messy.

So, if you are looking for an action-packed, blood-soaked werewolf horror, this one may not be for you. However, if you are looking for a bit of comedy and emotional growth wrapped in some classic werewolf tropes, this one should be thrown onto your TBR list.

Just a word of advice, whenever you are diving into werewolf fiction, please keep silver nearby. It’s basic book safety!

Hope you enjoyed the review and until next time…

Meet you after dark

💀Your cozy-macabre book bestie

Posted in Horror, Thrillers

We Used to Live Here

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2026/01/27/3788/

Title: We Used to Live Here


Author: Marcus Kliewer


Genre: Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Mystery


Number of Pages: 308


My Rating: 💋💋


Book Summary:


As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it” (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).

My Thoughts:

This novel had an interesting premise, hence the reason I suggested it for our first read in my ladies book club I have with some friends. A twist on a home invasion that prey on social anxiety and niceties. A strange family in your house that just won’t leave. How do you handle it? What do you do? Sounds like a good read, right?

I thought so until I delved into this book. Because this book wasn’t that at all. To be honest, I’m not sure WHAT this book was about.

I can definitely say it had some spooky moments where it makes you wonder what exactly it is your dealing with. I truly love paranormal stories for sure. Horror novels are a staple in my reading to be sure, but this book wasn’t even horror in my opinion.

The opening chapters were completely intriguing and captured me until it started to, what I personally felt, was just lengthy descriptive bloat. It always felt like there were moments that would lead to something more and then just…die off. It was highly frustrating and disappointing.

The main character, Eve, was infuriating at times. She sometimes acted so helpless and overly dependent on her partner that she can’t function. I sometimes wondered how she even left the house with her crippling anxiety. I would have preferred her partner, Charlie, as the main character. She, at least, would have been more intriguing, brave and possibly fight more the Eve did.


I’m not sure this book really knew where it wanted to go, but instead hit on all the classic horror tropes: A dark creepy basement that seems bigger then it should, A woman in a hospital gown that is too thin for comfort, A strange swarm of ants following an unknown trail to SOMETHING, A creepy toy, Strangers showing up at your home and won’t leave, doppelgangers, a house labyrinth, strange “occult” symbols, and the list goes on. Sadly these all swam in the pool, but the connections never linked up in the slightest.


I can honestly chalk this up to a failed attempt at a home that interconnects a series of parallel universes. However there were so many details that just ended in dead ends or pure useless information. What’s worse is that the novel urges you to continue reading, it almost hints at a larger, potentially more interesting world beyond Eve’s perception/anxiety spiral. Almost promising explanation and revelation. Sadly there is nothing.


I did like the splattering of “documents” that were included, which I thought was creative, however I wish the author would have stuck to the home invasion story. Truly could have done an incredible thriller based on those “documents” alone. Using them to give a back story for the strangers.

All in all I’m giving this two baci. I felt like the author got a bit lost while writing this or maybe it was an adaptation from a short story. I don’t know, but it had so much potential and it really fell flat.

I don’t recommend this one and this one will be put into the donation pile. Hopefully the next person finds it better then I did. Not sure I’ll read anything else by this author, but you never know!

Sorry for the harsh review.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next review which will be the novel The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop.

Ciao!

Posted in Horror

Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/mini-book-review-scary-book-of-christmas-lore-50-terrifying-yuletide-tales-from-around-the-world/

Title: Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World


Author: Tim Rayborn


Genre: Horror, Christmas, Nonfiction, Folklore, Mythology


Number of Pages: 144


Book Summary:

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen…but do you recall the most petrifying Christmas figures of all? Not all children fear just a lump of coal in their stockings. Discover the terrifying Yuletide fables that have horrified kids for generations. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake. This lighthearted song is a bit more ominous in the context of other Christmas traditions. From beasts that threaten to cook children into stew to sinister crones who snatch little ones from their beds, you won’t find any dancing sugar plums here. Outside of the heartwarming Christmas tales we all know and love, there are an abundance of frightening stories to chill all who hear them to the bone. Discover folklore from all corners of the world, These tales are sure to leave you wishing for the Grinch. Whether you are a fan of history and folklore, you love learning about different cultures, or you just want to give a holiday gift that will bring the joy of Christmas to that lucky someone (just kidding), The Scary Book of Christmas Lore is for you. ’Tis the season! Is it beginning look a lot like Christmas, yet?

My Thoughts:

I’m not going to lie, but this one caught my attention immediately when I was looking for some Christmas reads on Bookoutlet.ca. I can’t tell you how fascinated I am with the darker folklore surrounding Christmas or Yuletide for some. It’s mesmerizing and I think it intrigues a lot of people to know what folklore other countries believe. Honestly the most well known minion or companion (depends on how you look at it) of Santa’s is Krampus.

Come on, we’ve all heard of that one!

However, as intrigued as I was to read this book, I have to say that it had some interesting facts about terrifying traditions, holiday demons and so on. BUT I do have a few gripes about the book.

I found this book contained a lot of “may” or possibilities of unsure, which made me feel like it lacked research or just covering it’s bases in case the information was incorrect. Ultimately making me feel like I wasn’t learning some of the true history regarding the legend.

Another annoyance I found was the author’s attempt at humor or interjecting his own thoughts or opinions, sometimes even political ones. Which came off badly and made it seem that he just needed to add words to the page for length. I would have preferred a shorter chapter than the added “commentary”.

I did enjoy the book for what it was and learned about some interesting characters I’d never heard of before. Some were even quite terrifying, and I definitely have a few new favs – Perchta, Türst, Sträggele, Grýla, Winter wolves, Jólakötturinn – the Yule cat, just to name a few.

So if you do come across this little book, I strongly suggest you take it with a grain of salt, but definitely could have been written and put together a little bit better.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next mini review!

Ciao!

Posted in Horror, Novella/Short Story

Ghost Camera

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2025/11/26/book-review-ghost-camera/

Title: Ghost Camera


Author: Darcy Coates


Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Short Stories, Fiction


Number of Pages: 341


My Rating: 💋💋


Book Summary:

They’re Always Watching…

When Jenine finds an abandoned Polaroid camera, she playfully snaps a photo without a second thought. But there’s something wrong with the image: a ghostly figure stands in the background, watching her.

Fixated on her.

Moving one step closer with every picture she takes.

Desperate, Jenine shares her secret with her best friend, Bree. Together, they realize the camera captures unsettling impressions of the dead. But now the ghosts seem to be following the two friends. And with each new photo taken, a terrible danger grows ever clearer…

THE HORROR HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN.

Full of rich bonus material, Ghost Camera contains even more chilling tales from USA Today bestselling author Darcy Coates, including:

  • A woman survives a plane crash in a remote arctic tundra, accompanied only by a stranger who seems fixated on something moving through the blinding snow.
  • A house stands empty. Hungry. Waiting for the children drawn to it like moths to a flame.
  • A woman finds a shoebox filled with old VHS tapes. They have a note attached: “Don’t watch. You’ll regret it.”


My Thoughts:

I finished this novel near the end of October, so I’ve been putting off this review a bit.

I should have read the description more closely when I looked at this one on Bookoutlet.ca, because when I read it quickly, I expected the vast majority of this novel to be about two friends who now have to deal with a haunted camera or ghost camera. It sounded intriguing and I figured the bonus stories would be closer to the end of the book. Boy was I incorrect.

I will credit the author for being majorly creative and I did find some of the other stories to be far more intriguing and much better written than the novels title story. In my opinion, I found Payment for the Dead, Death Birds, Untamed Things, A Box of Tapes creepy, eerie and all around captivating. I wish these stories were longer to be quite honest or even their own novels. I would have loved to have dived in deeper and gotten more nitty gritty and detailed.

However, the title story Ghost Camera was….lackluster at best. It felt a bit rushed, especially at the end and the character development was okay. I will say the friendship between the two girls was very well written and something I feel felt like was a genuine friendship you would come across in the real world. However, the story felt a little boring to be honest. I feel like it could have been extremely unsettling if it had been longer than exactly 100 pages.

Now let’s discuss the short stories I did enjoy briefly, shall we?

Payment for the Dead was about a man who falls on hard times and takes a job as a grave digger with a man named Pieter. Working in the cover of night, digging up bodies for cash just to get by and to provide for his family, especially during Christmas. This job paid double and occurred without warning. He was later informed that he stood in a child’s grave and the parents paid the witch outside of town to have their son back….

Creepy right! I won’t spoil it entirely, but it was so good!

Death Birds was about a doctor who is working his shift at the hospital when he notices a these supernatural birds or ‘Death Birds’ as they are known. According to the story, they show up with death is about to occur and they feast on the dead bodies. There was an unusually large number, hundreds if I recall in this one location….the hospital. They called in extra staff (nurses, doctors, etc) because they were expecting a large flood of patients due to some catastrophic event, however what they didn’t expect was it to happen right there at the hospital…

DUN DUN DUUUUUUN…INCREDIBLY WRITTEN!

Untamed Things was part of the excerpt on the back of the novel and frankly they did a pretty good job at a short description. This is about a woman who survives a plane crash and discovers there is only one other survivor. The woman claims to have experience in the frigid mountains that they landed in and fixated on moving forward so they don’t get caught by the creature following them. Eventually a rescue team finds her in the nick of time, but her companion is no where to be seen…

OOO, honestly so creepy and had me at the edge of my couch reading it!

A Box of Tapes was another excerpt on the back of the novel and once again, well done for a quick short description. A woman moves into a new home, in a new town with her daughter. She finds a box of old VHS tapes and attached is a warning note not to watch them. Curiosity killed the cat and she begins to watch the videos, disturbing imagery and unnerving events are depicted. What’s worse is that things begin to happen in her home and around her daughter which makes her begin to question and investigate what really happened within the tapes….who is that creepy woman? What is happening to her? Is she really seeing the woman in the woods?

To say this was so unsettling is an understatement, it is literally everyone’s worst nightmare! Incredibly well written and should have been a novel all on it’s own.

Sadly though, those were the saving graces of this novel. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend reading this book personally and I had such high hopes for this one. However, I am not saying the author isn’t talented, like I said the few short stories I did enjoy in this were intriguing and you can tell she is a wonderful writer. So I have a few other novels on my TBR list by her that I will eventually get to. But sadly, for me, Ghost Camera kind of missed the mark.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next review which will be the novel Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. This one I recently finished.

I’ll also be doing, what I am going to call, Mini Book reviews. It’s the first in the series and these will be books, magazines, etc that I finish quickly. So look out for Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World by Tim Rayborn.

Ciao!

Posted in Historic Fiction, Mystery

Silence for the Dead

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/book-review-silence-for-the-dead/

Title: Silence for the Dead


Author: Simone St. James


Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Paranormal, Fiction


Number of Pages: 363


My Rating: 💋💋💋💋💋


Book Summary:

In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful, and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote, once magnificent estate turned hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Hiding the shame of their mental instability, the patients suffer from nervous attacks and tormenting dreams. But something more is going on at Portis House – its plaster is crumbling, its plumbing makes eerie noises, and strange breaths of cold air waft through the empty rooms. And why do the patients share the same nightmare, one so horrific that they dare not speak of it?

Kitty finds a dangerous ally in Jack Yates, an inmate who might be a war hero, a madman…or maybe both. But even as Kitty and Jack create a secret, intimate alliance to uncover the truth, disturbing revelations suggest the presence of powerful spectral forces. And when a medical catastrophe leaves them even more isolated, they must battle the menace on their own, caught in the heart of a mystery that could destroy them both.


My Thoughts:

I’m a sucker for books based on early medical practices, hospitals and mental asylums so this one immediately caught my eye on bookoutlet.ca. I was worried it was going to be an extremely slow burn, but the pace was steady. Though if you aren’t into a little romance mixed into your haunting, I’d skip this one. It may not be for you.

An old, decaying mansion converted into a medical facility, known as Portis House, for soldiers suffering from shell-shock and other mental maladies from the war. The perfect atmosphere to set a spooky ghost story. However, this story is filled with not only a mystery and haunting, but a story of self-discovery, friendship and a little bit of romance.

You quickly learn that Kitty is running from her past, falsifying her resume as a nurse to acquire a job at Portis House. However, the head nurse and her boss, quickly calls her out on her deception but keeps her due to the sheer fact the facility is understaffed and desperate for nurses. She basically has to learn hands on and quickly.

Kitty discovers immediately that this isn’t the easiest line of work and she is tested both physically and mentally on a daily basis. But her will is strong and her personality stubborn, she does gain some allies in other staff members and even some of the patients. Her main ally being Jack Yates, or patient 16, his identity being kept secret from the other patients until Kitty decides she just needs to know. Discovering the war hero and becoming enamored with one another as they begin to unfold the evil that is plaguing the patients and the mystery of Portis House.

The growth of the characters, especially Kitty, was nicely done and the stead unraveling of the mystery that surrounds Portis House was intriguing. I loved the subtle twists and turns, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place nicely. And I personally liked that Kitty and Jack got a bit of a happy ending.

All in all I give this book five Baci due to the historical setting, the gothic mystery and who doesn’t like a ghost story set in an old, decaying mansion turned medical facility. Wonderful story-line and cast of characters, would definitely recommend and one I’ll be keeping on my shelf. I’ll definitely be reading more from author Simone St. James!

I’m currently reading Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next review!

Ciao!