Gruvdamen (The Mining Lady) by Daniel Svanberg (SWE/ENG)

Gruvdamen by Daniel Svanberg
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW 

När den hyllade författaren Bergdahl hittas död i sitt townhouse på Upper East Side i New York City rasar Jakob Jonssons värld samman. TV-producenten Jakob är Bergdahls enda arvinge och när han hittar ett gammalt ljudband på sin döda mentors vind får han inblick i ett mörkt förflutet vars rötter sträcker sig långt bak i tiden till Bergslagens djupa skogar. På det knastriga bandet hörs hur två barn mördas.

När Jakob beger sig till Sverige för att nysta i Bergdahls förflutna rullas den gamle författarens smärtsamma barndom upp. Den ensamma uppväxten på barnhem, sadismen och de täta granskogarna precis runt knuten. Och Gruvdamen. Maja. Hon som vill ha kött.

Kort därpå blir Jakobs liv ännu mer förvirrat. Under sitt besök i Sverige kopplar det där mörka och onämnbara som vilar i skogen grepp om honom. Det vägrar att släppa taget. Samtidigt börjar de döda att komma tillbaka ...

Daniel Svanberg är bosatt på Upper East Side i New York City, där han arbetar som författare. Han har tidigare skrivit de bästsäljande reseböckerna Ett annat New York och Ett annat Manhattan. Gruvdamen är hans sjunde bok.

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Har du någonsin vandrat själv i skogen så långt bort att trafiken inte hörs, det enda som hörs är skogen ljud, kanske en gren som knakar eller svaga susningar bland trädtopparna. Det är nästan en tryckande tystnad, inget fågelkvitter, det är mörkt och kompakt och du känner dig både ensam men också inte helt själv som om någon eller någonting där. Nu undrar du kanske varför jag börjar recensionen med en utlägg om djupa skogar? Men jag vill ge dig en bild av känslan man kan få när man läser denna bok. Nu är det inte bara djupa svenska skogar, handlingen tar även vid i New York. Men även Bergdahls hus i New York har något stort och dystert över sig, som om det mörka han upplevde i barndomen har följt honom genom livet. Något hände i Bergdahls barndom, något som påverkade honom hela hans liv och Jakob, ja han hade nog mått bättre av att inte nysta i det. För hemma i Sverige leder spåren honom till det förflutna, till barn som försvunnit och till Maja, Gruvdamen. Hon som vill ha kött.

Gruvdamen är en rysligt bra bok. Vidskepelse, försvunna barn och en författare som tar livet av sig utan att lämna en förklaring varför. Sedan har vi Gruvdamen, hon man inte får göra arg, hon som vill ha kött för att hålla sig lugn. Alltihop tillsammans med en obehaglig förväntan av att något kommer att hända Jakob, att han borde låta bli att forska i det förflutna gör Gruvdamen till en spännande läsning. Utan tvekan en av de bästa skräckböcker jag har läst på länge!

Tack Hoi Förlag för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Jakob Jonsson world collapses when celebrated author Bergdahl is found dead in his townhouse on the Upper East Side in New York City. TV producer Jacob is Bergdahl's sole heir and when he finds an old audio tape in his dead mentor's attic will he get an insight into a dark past whose roots go far back to the deep forests of Bergslagen in Sweden. On the crunchy band can he hear how two children are being murdered.

Jakob goes to Sweden to dig in Bergendahl's past and he discovers the old author's painful youth. The lonely childhood in orphanages, sadism, and the dense pine forests just around the corner. And Mining lady. Maja. She who wants meat.

Jacob's life becomes more and more chaotic. During his visit to Sweden, the dark and unmentionable thing that rest in the forest grip on him. It refuses to let go. At the same time, the dead to come back...

Daniel Svanberg resides on the Upper East Side in New York City, where he works as a writer. He has previously written the best-selling travel books Another New York and Another Manhattan. Mining lady is his seventh book.

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Have you ever walked alone in the forest so far away that the traffic cannot be heard, the only sound is the forest sounds, perhaps a branch cracking or faint sound of the wind at the treetops? It is almost an oppressive silence, no birds singing, it is dark and compact and you feel both alone but also not really alone, like there is someone or something there? You may wonder why I start the review with an outlay of deep forests? But I want to give you an idea of the feeling you get when you read this book. Now it is not only deep Swedish forests, the plot also takes place in New York. But even Bergdahl's house in New York has something big and gloomy about it, as if the darkness he experienced in childhood, have followed him through life. Something happened in Bergdahl's childhood, which influenced him throughout his life, and Jacob, yes, he had probably been better off to not unravel it. For at home in Sweden, the trail leads him to the past, to the children who disappeared and Maja, The Mining Lady. She who wants meat.

The Mining Lady is a really good book. Superstition, missing children and a writer who kills himself without giving an explanation to why. Then, we have The Mining Lady, she who you do not want to anger, she who wants meat to stay calm. All of it together with an unpleasant anticipation that something will happen to Jacob, that he should not dig into the past, all this makes The Mining Lady an exciting reading. Undoubtedly one of the best horror books I've read in a long time!

Thanks to Hoi Förlag for the review copy!

Blakemort - A Psychic Surveys Christmas Novella by Shani Struthers

Blakemort - A Psychic Surveys Christmas Novella by Shani Struthers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“That house, that damned house. Will it ever stop haunting me?”

After her parents’ divorce, five-year old Corinna Greer moves into Blakemort with her mother and brother. Set on the edge of the village of Whitesmith, the only thing attractive about it is the rent. A ‘sensitive’, Corinna is aware from the start that something is wrong with the house. Very wrong.

Christmas is coming but at Blakemort that’s not something to get excited about. A house that sits and broods, that calculates and considers, it’s then that it lashes out – the attacks endured over five years becoming worse. There are also the spirits, some willing residents, others not. Amongst them a boy, a beautiful, spiteful boy…

Who are they? What do they want? And is Corinna right when she suspects it’s not just the dead the house traps but the living too?

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I can't tell you what a pleasure it was to finally read a real haunting haunted house story. I've found lately that either the story isn't creepy enough (seriously cozy horror is not a thing) or it's a romance masquerading as a horror. So, reading Blakemort was a real thrill.

I've never read anything by Shani Struthers before. However, I own the first book in this series (and I bought two books in the series after finishing this one hehe). I'm really thrilled to have discovered an author that can write a thrilling and creepy horror story. Right from the start is the story intriguing and I love how creepy the house is. You can really feel that something is badly wrong here. Poor little Corinna who knows that the house is wrong that it's evil, but neither her brother and mother listen to her and that makes this story so sad. She can see them, there are some rooms that are a bit more "safe", but most of the house is bad. Especially around Christmas.

I like how the story focuses on Christmas during the years they lived in the house. As Corinna state in the book, bad things happened all through the years. But, Christmas was especially bad, every year. I quite liked the mystery of the house, and how they in the last year in Blakemort finally discovered the truth.

Blakemort is a terrific novella. I found it engrossing and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series!

I chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased!

September Wishlist: Horror & Mystery books

September month's wishlist is a bit different than my previous month's wishlist. I usually put up books that I don't own, but this time, I did pick only books that I have. Since it's October and Halloween soon did the idea (Thank you Stephanie) of a list of horror & mystery books seem very appealing. So, here ladies and gentlemen is a list of books that I plan to read next month!

The Restorer (Graveyard Queen #1) by Amanda Stevens

My name is Amelia Gray. I’m a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I’ve always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.

It started with the discovery of a young woman’s brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I’ve been hired to restore. The clues to the killer—and to his other victims— lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I’ve vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

The Gone Dead Train (Detective Billy Able #1) by Lisa Turner

Bestselling sensation Lisa Turner conjures a riveting Southern gothic mystery set in Memphis, with echoes of The Garden of Good and Evil and Lisa Gardener, in which detective Billy Able is thrown into a vortex of bizarre murders, Santeria voodoo, flawed heroes, a damning photograph, and a stunning betrayal by a civil rights icon.

After time away to recover from the aftermath of a horrible case that left his partner dead, Billy’s back in Memphis, drawn into an ever-widening murder mystery that focuses on flawed heroes: a disgraced major league baseball player, two legendary blues musicians on the lam, a straight-arrow lady cop tortured by a guilty conscience, and two iconic civil rights warriors with secrets so dark they’ll shock the nation.

Detective Billy Able is at a crossroads. His previous case left him questioning everything he believed about his abilities as a cop and as a friend. Even though he’s considering leaving police work behind, he’s unable to turn off the instincts he’s honed after a decade on the force.

But when he stops a crime from being committed, he finds himself embroiled in a much bigger scandal. A murder that has just taken place has connections to a series of much older crimes dating back to the civil rights movement. As he investigates, Billy uncovers so many layers of secrets he can barely keep the truth from the lies. And he knows the straight-laced cop assigned to the case is hiding something big. But is it connected to the case? This time he’s determined to make sure he finds out the truth before anything else can happen. But as the search for truth with the help of a Santeria Priest leads him deeper into the underbelly of Memphis, will Billy make it out alive?

Death Notes by Sarah Rayne

Introducing professional researcher Phineas Fox in the first of a brand-new series of chilling mysteries."

Phineas Fox has mixed feelings when he s asked to research the infamous 19th-century violinist Roman Volf for a TV documentary. Hanged for his part in the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, Volf was a notorious criminal and womaniser, whose glittering talent was undermined by his scandalous private life. However, on uncovering evidence which suggests that Volf could not have been involved in the Tsar s murder, Phin s investigations lead him to the west coast of Ireland and a series of intriguing, interlocking mysteries reaching from 1881 to the present day. 

Was Roman Volf executed for something he didn't do? And what is his connection with the reclusive Maxim Volf now living in County Galway? Phin s enquiries will unearth a number of dark secrets which lurk below the surface of the quiet Irish village of Kilcarne.

The Hidden People by Alison Littlewood

The bestselling author of Richard & Judy Book Club hit The Cold Season returns with a chilling mystery - w here superstition and myth bleed into real life with tragic consequences

Pretty Lizzie Higgs is gone, burned to dead on her own hearth - but was she really a changeling, as her husband insists? Albie Mirralls met his cousin only once, in 1851, within the grand glass arches of the Crystal Palace, but unable to countenance the rumours that surround her murder, he leaves his young wife in London and travels to Halfoak, a village steeped in superstition.

Albie begins to look into Lizzie's death, but in this place where the old tales hold sway and the 'Hidden People' supposedly roam, answers are slippery and further tragedy is just a step away . . .


The Night Parade by Ronald Malfi

First the birds disappeared.
Then the insects took over.
Then the madness began . . .

They call it Wanderer's Folly--a disease of delusions, of daydreams and nightmares. A plague threatening to wipe out the human race.

After two years of creeping decay, David Arlen woke up one morning thinking that the worst was over. By midnight, he's bleeding and terrified, his wife is dead, and he's on the run in a stolen car with his eight-year-old daughter, who may be the key to a cure.

Ellie is a special girl. Deep. Insightful. And she knows David is lying to her. Lying about her mother. Lying about what they're running from. And lying about what he sees when he takes his eyes off the road . . .

Check out my friends September Wishlists:

Stephanie @ Layered Pages

Colleen @ Literary Vacation 

Heather @ The Maiden’s Court

Holly @ 2 Kids and Tired

Erin @ Flashlight Commentary

Chills by Mary SanGiovanni

Chills by Mary SanGiovanni
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

“True Detective” meets H.P. Lovecraft in this chilling novel of murder, mystery, and slow-mounting dread from acclaimed author Mary SanGiovanni . . .

It begins with a freak snowstorm in May. Hit hardest is the rural town of Colby, Connecticut. Schools and businesses are closed, powerlines are down, and police detective Jack Glazier has found a body in the snow. It appears to be the victim of a bizarre ritual murder. It won't be the last. As the snow piles up, so do the sacrifices. Cut off from the rest of the world, Glazier teams up with an occult crime specialist to uncover a secret society hiding in their midst.

The gods they worship are unthinkable. The powers they summon are unstoppable. And the things they will do to the good people of Colby are utterly, horribly unspeakable…

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It was the hope of reading something really chilling was what drove me to read this book. And, at first, I thought that it would turn out to be pleasant reading. I liked the feeling of a doomed city that is taken over by snow monsters and a little group of people trying to save the town, and the world. However, somewhere along the way the story just lost the appeal for me. I think one of the main reason was that the characters were not very memorable. In the end, I think Morris was the only one that was interesting reading about, the rest just lacked anything substantial. I had high hope for Kathy making the book interesting with her dark background, but in the end, she turned out to be spending most of the time trying to find a spell to reverse the opening of the door to the other world. And, thus the one character in the book that really appealed to me when I started to read the book faded into the background. Yes, I did find Kathy and Teagan in the beginning an interesting "couple", But, then I lost interesting in them both when they started to get cozy in the middle of danger.  

Also, I think the story should have been built up a bit better, with a slower start, then there would have been more anticipations for larger and frightening things to happened. Now it was just killing from the beginning to the end, and because of that, there was no thrill in reading the book because you hardly got to know any characters, more than the cops. The rest was just people waiting to be killed. No point in getting attached because most people they were killed as soon as they were introduced. Sure, one or two survived, but they were in the story for a page or two never to be heard of again.

And, another problem was that it was not frightening to read, not even a bit chilling. Hell, I was mostly bored towards the end of the book and just wanted the book to end so that I could read something else.

So, the book started promising, then the story started to get more and more uninteresting and the ending was quite dull. Not, a book for me.

I want to thank Kensington Books for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!  

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Chuck Dutton built Music City Salvage with patience and expertise, stripping historic properties and reselling their bones. Inventory is running low, so he's thrilled when Augusta Withrow appears in his office offering salvage rights to her entire property. This could be a gold mine, so he assigns his daughter Dahlia to personally oversee the project.

The crew finds a handful of surprises right away. Firstly, the place is in unexpectedly good shape. And then there's the cemetery, about thirty fallen and overgrown graves dating to the early 1900s, Augusta insists that the cemetery is just a fake, a Halloween prank, so the city gives the go-ahead, the bulldozer revs up, and it turns up human remains. Augusta says she doesn't know whose body it is or how many others might be present and refuses to answer any more questions. Then she stops answering the phone.

But Dahlia's concerns about the corpse and Augusta's disappearance are overshadowed when she begins to realize that she and her crew are not alone, and they're not welcome at the Withrow estate. They have no idea how much danger they're in, but they're starting to get an idea. On the crew's third night in the house, a storm shuts down the only road to the property. The power goes out. Cell signals are iffy. There's nowhere to go and no one Dahlia can call for help, even if anyone would believe that she and her crew are being stalked by a murderous phantom. Something at the Withrow mansion is angry and lost, and this is its last chance to raise hell before the house is gone forever. And it seems to be seeking permanent company.

The Family Plot is a haunted house story for the ages-atmospheric, scary, and strange, with a modern gothic sensibility to keep it fresh and interesting from Cherie Priest, a modern master of supernatural fiction.

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The Family Plot is such a superb book. I have a deep love for haunted houses and yes, even though I didn't find this book scary was I intrigued and engrossed with the story. Then again, it will take a hell of a lot to scare me. Nevertheless, I found myself hooked from the start with the mystery of the Withrow house. I could easily imagine the place because Cherie Priest manages to portray it so vividly.

And, besides the strong story did the story also have great characters. Dahlia the main character is a strong woman recently divorced (but mostly angry about losing the house she loved rather than the man) and together with her cousin Bobby, his son Gabe and Brad that works for the family business are they planning on stripping the house down. They just didn't expect the ghost. Especially not the angry ghost. I think what really made the book work is the strong characters, yes the cousins Dahlia and Bobby didn't always see eye to eye, but still the deep loyalty to each other is there.

So, what can I say? I'm such a sucker for haunted houses and this just sucked me in and I could hardly stop reading it, despite being tired and needing to sleep when I started it. And, the rest of the book did I finish the day after. Did the ending feel a bit expected? Yes, yet still I liked it. 

I really like the book and I think if you like haunted houses will you like it too!

I want to thank Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!  

The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea

The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THE LEGEND LIVES
Everyone knows the legend of the Jersey Devil. Some believe it is an abomination of nature, a hybrid winged beast from hell that stalks the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey searching for prey. Others believe it is a hoax, a campfire story designed to scare children. But one man knows the truth . . .

THE DEVIL AWAKES
Sixty years ago, Boompa Willet came face to face with the Devil—and lived to tell the tale. Now, the creature’s stomping grounds are alive once again with strange sightings, disappearances, and worse. After all these years, Boompa must return to the Barrens, not to prove the legend is real but to wipe it off the face of the earth . . .

THE BEAST MUST DIE
It’ll take more than just courage to defeat the Devil. It will take four generations of the Willet clan, a lifetime of survivalist training, and all the firepower they can carry. But timing is critical. A summer music festival has attracted crowds of teenagers. The woods are filled with tender young prey. But this time, the Devil is not alone. The evil has grown into an unholy horde of mutant monstrosities. And hell has come home to New Jersey . . .

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Holy Shit, Batman, this is one hell of a gore feast! Which is of course, what I was after when I started to read the latest Hunter Shea book. But, even I think Shea overachieved himself this time. This book has some really pretty disturbing parts, from brutal death scenes to women almost being raped. I can face quite a lot, but even I found some parts hard to read. Shea doesn't shy away from brutal scenes that's for sure. 

However, besides that, the book also have an interesting story. The heart of the story is a family that has been waiting for the Jersey Devil to show up again. Why? They have some pretty personal reasons for wanting to go after the Jersey Devil. But, they soon find out that it's not that easy. It's not one Jersey Devil they have to face, it's a legion. And, soon everything just goes wrong and they have to fight for their lives against the monsters.  

This is a perfect book for people that likes monsters. People that are hard to scare or frankly just want a read an interesting story with some nasty and brutal parts. And, that's me. I have to admit that I enjoy reading books like this. I like finding books that make me uncomfortable. And, this one sure did that!

I want to thank Kensington Books for providing me with a free copy through NetGalleyf or an honest review!

The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey (SWE/ENG)

The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Sent på kvällen dyker en kvinna upp hemma hos Monstrumologen. Hon bönar och ber doktorn om hjälp. Hennes make John Chanler är spårlöst försvunnen i den kanadensiska vildmarken, dit han begett sig på jakt efter en mytomspunnen, fruktad, livsfarlig varelse: Wendigon.

Doktor Warthrop anser att Wendigons förbannelse är ren vidskeplighet, men han och Will Henry beger sig ändå ut i marker- na för att leta efter doktorns försvunne vän.

Och även om de är så säkra på sin sak beträffande Wendigon-myten, ställs de snart inför frågan: Vad är det som härjar i dessa skogar? Och vad har John Chanler egentligen råkat ut för?

Wendigons förbannelse är den andra boken i den hylladeMonstrumologen-serien, som kombinerar H. P. Lovecrafts viktorianska skräckteman med Rick Riordans berättarförmåga

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Med står förtjusning gav jag mig i kast att läsa Wendigons förbannelse, uppföljaren till Monstrumologen som jag läste några månader sedan. Jag älskar att läsa gotisk skräck och denna serie har blivit en favorit för min del och jag var nyfiken på vad Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry skulle utsättas för denna gång?

I första boken fick vi lärt känna Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry, deras bakgrundshistoria, varför Will bor och arbetar för Doktor Warthrop. I Wendigons förbannels får vi reda mer om Doktor Warthrop förflutna och jag måste erkänna att jag var förbluffad hur tragiskt hans förflutna är. Just att man fick lära känna honom mer gjorde också at jag kände mer för honom och hans kamp i denna bok at rädda en gammal vän mer akut. Som vanligt lyckas Rick Yancey blanda in skräckelement på ett bra sätt i boken. Jag kände dock inte samma obehag som när jag läste första boken, dock så fanns det en och annan obehaglig scen.

Jag tycker att Wendigons förbannels är en fantastisk bok, så otroligt bra och vackert skriven. Yancey har en förmågan att skriva så att jag kan stanna upp mitt i berättelsen bara för att läsa om en vackert skriven mening. Yancey förmågan att skriva tillsammans med fantasin att komma på en sådan fantastisk historia gör boken så otroligt bra.

Nu vill jag bara säga en sak: Läs denna och den föregående boken. Du kommer inte ångra dig!

Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

While attempting to disprove that Homo vampiris, the vampire, could exist, Dr. Warthrop is asked by his former fiancé to rescue her husband from the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh, and which has snatched him in the Canadian wilderness. Although Warthrop also considers the Wendigo to be fictitious, he relents and rescues her husband from death and starvation, and then sees the man transform into a Wendigo.

Can the doctor and Will Henry hunt down the ultimate predator, who, like the legendary vampire, is neither living nor dead, whose hunger for human flesh is never satisfied?

This second book in The Monstrumologist series explores the line between myth and reality, love and hate, genius and madness.

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It was with great delight that I started to read The Curse of the Wendigo, the sequel to Monstrumologist that I read a few months ago. I love to read Gothic horror and this series has become a favorite for me and I was curious to find out what Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry would face this time?

The first book introduced to Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry and we got to learn the basic fact about them, their background history, why Will live and work for Doctor Warthrop. In The Curse of the Wendigo, we learn more about Dr. Warthrop's past and I have to admit I was taken aback by how tragic his past is. I found that getting to know him more also made at I felt more for him and his struggle in this book to save an old friend acuter. As usual, Rick Yancey's manage to add in horror elements in a good way in the book. However, I didn't feel the same discomfort as when I read the first book, but there was the occasional unpleasant scene.

I think The Curse of the Wendigo is an amazing book, so incredibly good and beautifully written. Yancey has an ability to write so that I suddenly have to take a pause up in the middle of the story just to re-read a beautifully written sentence. Yancey ability to write, together with imagination to come up with such a great story makes the book so incredibly good.

Now I just want to say one thing: Read this and the previous book. You will not regret it!

Thanks to Modernista for the review copy!

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (SWE/ENG)

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Detta är hemligheterna som jag har bevarat…

Så börjar Will Henrys berättelse. Will är en föräldralös pojke som är assistent åt en doktor av ett högst ovanligt slag: en som studerar monster, och jagar dem. Under den tid Will har bott tillsammans med doktorn i 1800-talets New England har han vant sig vid nattliga besök och mystiska expeditioner. Men när en besökare dyker upp med kvarlevorna av en ung flicka – och det monster som ätit henne – förändras hans värld för alltid.

Monstret är en anthropophag, en huvudlös varelse som äter genom en mun i bröstkorgen. Och det finns tecken på att antalet anthropophager nu ökar i skrämmande takt.

Will Henry och doktorn har inget annat val: De måste konfrontera den fasa som hotar att ta över och förtära världen.

Monstrumologen är den första boken i den hyllade Monstrumologen-serien, som kombinerar H.P. Lovecrafts viktorianska skräckteman med Rick Riordans berättarförmåga.

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Jag är totalt hänförd och väldigt överraskad! Jag hoppas att Monstrumologen skulle vara angenäm att läsa, men då det är en bok som riktar sig till tonåringar och yngre vuxna så förväntade jag mig inte att den skulle vara så mörk. Jag hade fel. Totalt fel! Den är underbart härlig mörk, med kusliga varelser och absolut inget romantiskt triangeldrama så långt ögat kan nå. Det är faktiskt knappt några tjejer med i denna boken. Om man nu inte räknar de som blir uppätna eller nära på.

Jag gillar stilen på boken, med att berättelsen är en hopsättning av dagböcker som en man skriver samman efter att en äldre Will Henry har gått bort i en ovanligt hög ålder. Will Henry berättar en fantasifull berättelse om hur han tillsammans med doktorn Pellinore Warthrop som han är assistent för för jagade en huvudlös varelse med en mun i bröstkorgen i slutet av 1800-talet. Dessa anthropophager är så rysligt välbeskrivna att jag tackar min lyckliga stjärna att jag inte är lättskrämd. Faktum är att många scener är väldigt, väldigt spännande att läsa tack vare dessa rysliga monster som tycker om att äta människor.

Monstrumologen var mycket bra och jag kommer utan tvekan att läsa fortsättningen. Jag önskar verkligen att jag hade den till hands nu så jag kunde läsa den på direkten men tålamod är en dygd, har jag hört...

Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.

So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthorpe, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.

A gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does man become the very thing he hunts?

**********

I'm totally mesmerized and also a bit surprised! I had hoped that The Monstrumologist would be nice to read, but since this is a book that is labeled young adult did I not think it would be dark enough for me. I was wrong. Totally wrong! The story in this book was deliciously dark with creepy creatures and absolutely no love triangles. Actually, there are hardly any girls in this book, unless one counts the ones getting eaten or almost eaten. 

The book style is also a thing with the book that I like very much with a story being put together from notebooks that a man put together after an old Will Henry has passed away. Will Henry got to be very, very old, amazingly so and his notebooks tell a fantastic tale of him together with Pellinore Warthrop the doctor he is working for chasing headless creatures with a mouth in the chest in the late 1900-century. The creatures; anthropophagi are so deliciously well described that I thank my lucky star that I'm not easily terrified. One of the reasons why this book is so great is for all the scenes with the monsters that likes to eat people. 

The Monstrumologis is a marvelous book and I will, without a doubt, continue reading the series. I do wish I had the next book right now so that I could read it right now. But, alas, I do not. However, I have heard that patient is a virtue.

Thanks to Modernista for the review copy!

The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone

The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deep in the jungle of Peru, where so much remains unknown, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist whole. Thousands of miles away, an FBI agent investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Kanpur, India earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. During the same week, the Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. As these incidents begin to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at a Washington, D.C. laboratory. Something wants out.

The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake.

**********

I want to think of myself of hardened when it comes to horror. There is just not much that can make me really uncomfortable. Sure books can be intense, but it seldom I really feel pure horror or discomfort. THE HATCHING made me really, really uncomfortable. Sure I wasn't really frightened, although to be honest, there are some really nasty parts in this book. Let me put it this way; do you suffer from arachnophobia? Then, don't read this book. I don't like spiders, I don't have a phobia. But, this book had some scenes that are really nasty that even I found hard to read...

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Schweigart

The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Schweigart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this book, we met for the first time Ben Mckelvie who together with his fiance moved to the Barcroft, a suburb in Washington, D.C. However, what they didn't know that they would be neighbours with crazy raccoon-loving Madeleine Roux. Everything just gets worse with Ben's fiance leaving him and his poor dog gets killed. But, it even gets worse than that when the predator that killed his dog seems to start to kill his neighbours one by one...

I read Northwoods and absolutely loved the book so I had to get The Beast of Barcroft that is the first book in the series. And, this book is good, not amazingly good as Northwoods, but still pretty darn good and I especially liked getting to know how Richard Severance, Ben McKelvie, Lindsay Clark, and Alex Standingcloud first met. And, now everything I read about Barcroft in Northwoods makes much more sense. Ben McKelvie is a normal guy and he never expected to have to deal with a supernatural predator that seems to be targeting his neighbours (and him), but thankfully with some help from new "friends" will he try to save the neighbourhood (and himself). And, it's action, some gore and even some humor in the book. Just the way I like it!

I'm a big monster fan. I just love those X-files episodes with monsters in the woods, etc. So, reading books like this, well-written and interesting and intense is pure happiness for me. The Beast of Barcroft is thrilling to read, but it never gets as fascinating and heart pounding to read as Northwoods did. I guess partly because I was more worried about whom would live and who would die in Northwoods, but also because I found the story in Northwoods with its monster more exciting.

So, if you like monster books, then I recommend this book to you and after you read it should you definitely go for Northwoods. Me? I'm waiting for the next book to be released!

Aliens / Vampirella by Corinna Sara Bechko

Aliens / Vampirella by Corinna Sara Bechko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb from NetGalley: Two iconic horror franchises collide, as Vampirella - the fan-favorite supernatural heroine - faces the most nightmarish creatures ever to appear in cinema: the Xenomorphs from Alien! As the first human colony on Mars digs deeper into the crimson soil, they discover the catacombs of a hibernating civilization, tens of thousands of years old. The evidence suggests that they are Nosferatu, an ancient and sinister species that Vampirella is all too familiar with. Called to the Red Planet to investigate, the monster hunter and her human allies find a chamber with hundreds of ellipsoidal, leathery eggs... and after they hatch, the true horror begins. In space, no one can hear Vampirella scream!

I have never really cared that much for Vampirella, most seen her as the skimpy dressed vampire and never really bothered with anything to do with her. But, I'm a huge Aliens fan. So, I just knew I just had to read this graphic novel on NetGalley. And, despite me being pretty much sick and tired of the whole vampire culture (please God not another movie or book with vampires in them is usually my reaction nowadays) so was Aliens / Vampirella quite entertaining.

I loved the whole idea of an Aliens / Vampirella crossover. Vampirella realizes quite early on that the Nosferatu is not the big problem on Mars, there is something else dangerous down below, the problem is that when shit hit the fan is it Vampirella that gets the blame for all the dead people. So, now she has to face of Aliens and the humans that are in charge who thinks she is the one that killed the crew. She is the vampire of course, easy to blame.

The art is good, suits the story and I like that Vampirella isn't running around is some skimpy bathing suits kind of costume. Well, she is one the cover and for instance on this pic that I have added, but I guess the artists gets a bit creative when they do cover images and other artistic stuff. And, red skimpy bathing suits kind of costume is her "thing"!



But, in the story, she dresses more normal!



Thanks to Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! 

Arachnohazard by Wren Cavanagh

Arachnohazard by Wren Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Devon Douglas returns home only to find his mother and aunt dead and his father Terry dying a very horrible death. Terry had found out that John Edwards, a college of him had done horrible experiments with spiders and tried to put a stop to it, but in the end, Terry failed. And, Edwards revenge towards Terry was merciless. But, he didn't stop there. He took his creations, his mutated spiders and in what looks like harmless butterfly boxes he is spreading the spiders all over the USA...

I won this book a while back and I was really looking forward to reading it. This is actually my second spider book (See The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone) I have read this year. And, for some strange reason, despite not really liking spiders in real life do I like to read about spiders in a book. Or like, that's perhaps not the right term. It's more like I have found something to read about that really is dreadful (in a good way). And, it's not hard to get sucked into a story with awful mutated animals. Especially when it's well-written and never dull for a moment. Like this book. 

The book starts off with a BANG, or perhaps more with OUCH. Devon is at his father's deathbed. The doctors can't do anything more for him and his sister Aneni hasn't managed to get back in time. It's on Terry's deathbed that Devon learns the truth of Edwards, or parts of, more will come later. And, when Aneni gets back they decide to do as their father asked them to stop Edwards for good themselves since the army would only try to take him alive. And, as they prepare to stop him the butterfly boxes are starting to reveal its true content...

I found this book to be really good, and I enjoyed the illustrations in the book by Daniela Morescalchi. That was a very nice move. There are a lot of characters involved in the story. Some have important roles while other are just there for the moment. And, you could never really be sure who would live or die. Sometimes I felt a bit lost when the focused shifted to someone that I couldn't place, but only for a moment. The only time I was really confused was when I thought a soldier had died and then he was alive a couple of pages later on, but then again, there were a lot of soldiers and a lot of action going on with them and the mutated spiders. 

The book was great and as I said before, never a dull moment, and definitely not towards the end when everything came together for a spectacular finale. 

Arachnohazard is perhaps not an ideal book to read if you have arachnophobia. But, if you like well-written mutated spider books, then I recommend this one. And, if you ever see a butterfly box? RUN! 

Death Follows by Cullen Bunn

Death Follows by Cullen Bunn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Birdie, her little sister, their pregnant mother and their father live on a struggling farm. And, when a farmhand named Cole comes walking up their road should the children be thankful for some extra help on the farm. But, Birdie feels that the man is evil, there is something wrong with him and when the dead rats start to dance, then she knows for sure that Cole is making the dead restless...

Cullen Bunn has become a name that I recognize after reading The Sixth Gun and Harrow County. So, of course, I had to read Death Follows when I saw this graphic novel on Edelweiss.

And, it's a horrifying and chilling tale and I could hardly stop reading it. You know when you read something, and you want to read, but at the same time, you feel dread about turning the page? Reading Death Follows is just like that. Have you read Pet Sematary by Stephen King? If you have, then you probably know what I mean, it's a great book, but still I'm not sure I want to read it again since it's such a dreadful story. And, Death Follows is also dreadful to read. So, Cullen Bunn has really succeeded with writing a page-turning story with a heartbreaking good story. Birdie us such a great characters, and I really felt for her throughout the book, worrying about Cole, seeing things in the dark. And, the last thrilling issue in this volume just broke my heart. And, that ending...well let's say that it's a bit...creepy...

I also really like the art, the colors, the way the characters are drawn, the whole thing. It suits the story so well.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review.

Black Creek by Gregory Lamberson

Black Creek by Gregory Lamberson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

In 1979, the US government relocated more than eight hundred families from Love Canal, New York, after decades of toxic contamination. Not all of the residents left: some remained in their homes on the outskirts of the disaster area. Others went underground. Hiding. Changing. Breeding.

Almost four decades later, Love Canal has been renamed Black Creek Village and restored for inhabitation. The residents there and on neighboring Cayuga Island remember the tragedy of Love Canal but have no knowledge of the monsters living below the surface. When the worst snowstorm in forty years isolates all of western New York, the forgotten inhabitants of Love Canal emerge from hiding to reclaim what once belonged to them.

And they are hungry.

**********

I had a bit of a reading slump the other day, and I needed to read something that was not too heavy, something that would entertain me. Some people may go for a chick-lit or perhaps a cozy mystery book. I choose a monster book. I just know that it will take away the funk I'm in. Sure a cozy mystery could probably help also, but sometimes I just love to get lost in a really gruesome monster book. And I was really lucky because BLACK CREEK is really good. This is the first book I have read by Gregory Lamberson, and I'm impressed because he managed to write a truly disturbing story.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

Northwoods by Bill Schweigart

Northwoods by Bill Schweigart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ex–Delta Force Davis Holland is now working for the Customs and Border Protection up in the North. It's a more peaceful place to work than Douglas, Arizona where he worked until his bosses transferred him up north after an attack against him. But that is about to change when he and a local sheriff stumbles over a massacre in the woods. Someone or something is loose in the woods, something dangerous.

Wealthy cryptozoologist Richard Severance sends Ben McKelvie, Lindsay Clark, and Alex Standingcloud to investigate. They have not seen each other for around a year, not since a deadly shapeshifter almost killed dem in Barcroft. Now they must once against face danger together.

Northwoods is the sequel to The Beast of Barcroft and despite the fact that I haven't read the book was it quite easy to get into the story. The three main character Ben, Lindsay, and Alex have all bad memories of facing down the shapeshifter the year before and now they are once again investigating something paranormal.

Davis and Barnabus Sheriff Gil were attacked in the woods where the massacre took place and they are still a bit jumpy 2 months later when Ben (and his cat Gus), Lindsay, and Alex travels up north and soon all hell breaks loose.

This book is really great, I find that Bill Schweigart did a marvelous work with creating both very likable characters and an intensive story. I loved the setting of the peaceful towns like Barnabus and how everything very fast goes to hell when the town is attacked. When people start to die and Ben, Lindsay, Alex, and Davids have to start fighting then the book really gets thrilling. I was constantly worried that something would have happened or the main characters or poor Gus the cat and I was almost exhausted when I finished the book after worrying so much about the characters.

Northwoods is one of the best monster books I have ever read. I love the monster-of-the-week episodes X-files when Mulder and Scully were out in the woods hunting bigfoot etc. and this book had some X-files vibes. Now I really want to read The Beast of Barcroft!

Thanks to Hydra and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Blackout by Tim Curran

Blackout by Tim Curran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the midst of a beautiful summer, in a perfectly American suburban middle-class neighborhood, a faraway evil is lurking, waiting to strike the unsuspecting residents.

First come the flashing lights, then the heavy rains, high winds, and finally a total blackout. But that's only the beginning...

When the whipping black tentacles fall from the sky and begin snatching people at random, the denizens of Piccamore Way must discover the terrifying truth of what these beings have planned for the human race.

**********

This is my first Tim Curran book and I will without a doubt read more. Blackout was a fantastic science fiction story about a neighborhood that discovers that people are disappearing, that something is grabbing them from the sky. First, it is just confusing for them, the stars are gone, the sky is black and then it hit them! And I really mean hit them, long tentacles from the sky is snatching up people as soon as they touch them. And our little group of people has to do anything to stay alive.

I got sucked into this story so much that last night when I was finishing off the story I had to put the book down a while. I had read I think around 75% of the book and I had to calm myself down because I cared so much for Jon, Billy, Iris, and Bonnie that it was hard reading the book  and knowing every time I turned the page that anyone of the could be sucked up into the sky. This is the first horror/science fiction book that has gotten to me in a long while. The book reminded me a bit of The Mist Stephen King just this book was better, more terrifying and had better characters. The characters in this book, they are not perfect, they could act annoying but considering the circumstances, everything is forgiven in my opinion, it’s not every day you get to be witness to the end of the human race and I would probably freak out too. Blackout is a terrific book and I recommend it highly to anyone that likes science fiction, horror or the end of the day stories!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

The Morning Dew by Edward Lorn

The Morning Dew by Edward Lorn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jimmy is looking forward to a sleepover in a treehouse with his two close friends. They will play games and listen to music. Having a good time without parental supervision. It doesn't matter that the weather is bad and that it starts to rain...they are safe in the treehouse..or are they?

This is actually a story that I didn't find too short. The length of it was perfect! Read it!

Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror

Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror by Edward Lorn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I say without a doubt that anyone planning on reading this book during Halloween is picking the right book to read.

The Riggle twins: 2 siblings go trick and treat…lock your doors and don’t open!

Pumpkinhead Ted: Don’t mess with the boy with the pumpkinhead…

Ghost light road: If your friend wants you to take a drive on ghost light road, stay home and watch a scary movie on Netflix instead!

Easy picking: Don’t mess with a boy and his imaginary friend…

The Scare Rows: What’s up with horror stories and corn? No one dies in a field of wheat…

All and all 5 good scary stories, well the last one was odder than scary and with an ending, I really didn't see coming...

Now I just hope for Bad Apples 2 next year...:)

Fog Warning by Edward Lorn

Fog Warning by Edward Lorn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Tick, tock, tickety, tock. Time’s slipping away, doc ... ”

Emergency Room Physician Brent Cummings is harboring secrets he’d rather leave in the shadows of his past. But, when he finds a dead woman in a foggy park, all his skeletons come tumbling out of the closet.

In a deadly race against time, Brent attempts to alter the future so that he might finally let go of the past.

Will he heed the warning in the fog, or will fate prove more dependable than the good doctor?

**********

First I want to thank Edward Lorn for the opportunity to read an ARC if his new novella. Also, since this is an ARC it is not a finished version of the book and I was prepared to face a book that hasn't been proofread yet and I had no intention to nitpick the book for spelling mistakes. (I didn't find any, but it could be because English isn't my native language.)

Emergency room physician Brent Cummings life could be better. He has relocated himself to Bay's End after an accident and here he tries to start a new life working in the hospital. But in the end, the past will come back to haunt him when he sees a dead woman in a foggy park...

One thing I really liked about the story was that I had no idea where it would go. I actually refused to read any of the (two) reviews I've seen on booklikes because I didn't want the story spoiled or getting influenced by other people. And I didn't even remember the synopsis when I read the book. All I knew that it would be something foggy. So I had no idea what would happen and even though it wasn't that of a horrifying story that I had expected there was one scene in the hospital with Brent Cummings that really was disturbing. But I was actually surprised that the story wasn't that gruesome. Brent Cummings is a flawed character that has done something awful in the past and the past is back to haunt him and in a way set him free.

I had a problem rating this book. I wasn't sure about 3,5 or 4, but, in the end, it got a 3,5 (a 4 here on GR) because even though I liked the story, really liked the ending, the story just didn't hook me like The Morning Dew did (If you haven't read it an excellent novella). What can I say, I was expecting something more horrifying with the fog...
Edward Lorn has a talent for writing short stories. It's a hard thing to do because you have to get so many things together on fewer pages than an ordinary book. But he does it always so well. Fog Warning was well-written!