Manxiety-A Collection of Disturning Stories

I love a collection of short stories and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. This anthology is unique and different in the respect that the author used his real-life events, nightmares and dark memoirs (his words) to write these stories. He states in the opening that he wanted the stories to evoke emotions and I can definitely attest to that. There were a few stories that I was definitely on edge, and I was teary eyed in a few. At the end of the book, he gives author notes where he explains each story, where it came from and what he was going through during that time. I really liked this feature, and it gave each story a more personal feel. 

Although I really liked each story and there isn't a bad one in the bunch. Here is a list of the ones that are my favorites.

*The Boy In The Center of the Road- As a mom this story really made me anxious. But it's a great story, nonetheless.

*Recalculating- I loved this one, felt very science fictiony but glad the guy got it in the end.

*The Overbrook- I love a good ghost story, especially in a place that is real, and I can google, lol.

*Devlins Manse- Again, I love a good ghost story and in particular a period piece. But the story behind how it came about was equally interesting.

*The Dead Girl- I do not personally have any experience with addiction in this sense but I really felt this story.

*Witness- This story had me on the edge of my seat and I was certain who the killer was and then was wrong, but I really enjoyed this story.

*The Last Waltz- A fantastic story of survival. 

Overall, this is an incredible collection of personal stories that draw the reader in and put them into his world. Many of the emotions he wanted to extract came out while I was reading it. I highly recommend this book if you are also a fan of short stories. Thank you to the author for sending me a review copy to read. 

Premeditated Myrtle-Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery #1

I have been a lifelong reader of mysteries. I remember reading Nancy Drew as a kid and I grew up watching Columbo, Murder She Wrote and Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett. I received this book and the following three from the publisher and after reading this one, I am totally in love with this series. 

The story centers around Myrtle Hardcastle. A twelve-year-old girl who is whip smart and wise beyond her years. She lives with her father, and her governess, Miss Judson, her mother having passed on earlier in her life. Myrtle has been spying on her neighbors and is convinced the lady of the house has been murdered. 

The book is set in 1893, a time when girl children, and children in general, were meant to be seen and not heard. However, Myrtle is not your typical child, let alone, a typical little girl. She is precocious, clever and does not have a filter. The cast of characters in this story is perfectly put together. From her father to her governess, the cook and a new addition to her family, the neighbor cat, Peony. I can tell the author did research in to detective procedures for the time. Of course, in the end, Myrtle is able to figure out who did it and save the day. 

I really love this series and cannot wait to dive into the next one. I have a twelve-year-old daughter myself and she will definitely be reading this series as well. Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for sending me the first four book in this series. 

The Twisted Dead-Gravekeeper #3

This is the third book in the Graveyard Book series, and it is absolutely fabulous! 

Keira, Mason and Zoe are back and this time they are in more danger than ever before. The story begins with Keira cleaning up the cottage she lives in after it was set on fire as a threat by a local. Shortly after, all three of them receive a letter from a local recluse, Dane Crispin. His family founded the town, and he is the last remaining relative. They decide to go because no one has been in his house in decades and he's very reclusive, often wandering at night through the town. 

When they arrive, Dane asks Keira for a favor. It seems a local boy who has befriended Dane, has told him that Keira has experience with ghosts. Dane feels his house is haunted and when Keira uses her second sight what she sees is very disturbing. The ghosts from his family are feeding on him, feeding on his energy. Keira tries to banish them only to find she can't and she's not sure exactly how to go about doing it. But she's not willing to give up just yet. 

Mason also has a favor for her. He reveals the reason he left the university he was at. He was too focused on being the best and when he heard a scream on the campus he was on, he ignored it and it ended up being one of the most liked students on the campus being murdered. He wants Keira to go to the campus and see if his spirit is still there. They head off to the campus and Keira uses her second sight and finds that while his spirit is not there, she was able to feel the area and see through a vision who killed him. They then head off to the cemetery where he is buried to see if his spirit is there.

Once they arrive at the cemetery, Keira is immediately on high alert as the symbol on the gates leading to the cemetery is the exact symbol of the people that are hunting her. What she discovers at the cemetery is more disturbing than she could have ever imagined. She also begins to discover part of her past and some of her amnesia is clearing. She does however gather enough energy from the cemetery to defeat the ghosts at Dane house.

I think that is all I am going to reveal for this review. Suffice it to say, this series is a must read if you love a good paranormal mystery. I really like the slow reveal of why Keira has amnesia, why she's being hunted and why she has this gift. This book does not wrap up all the questions, but it does a good job of starting to. The characters continue to develop and I'm happy to see Harry continuing to make an appearance and hopefully Dane will now that Keira has helped him with his ghost problem. Overall, this is one book that I literally could not put down, a real page turner with a lot of suspense mixed in, I received this book free from Netgalley for an honest review. 

The Ravenous Dead-Gravekeeper #2

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have not read anything by Darcy Coates that I haven't absolutely enjoyed. This book was no exception. This is the second book in the series, and I cannot wait to read the next one!

Keira is back with her friends, Mason the local sort of doctor, and Zoe the conspiracy theorist. Shes living on the premises of the church, near the graveyard in a little cottage where she can use her ghost seeing abilities to help the spirits cross over. Keira is at home one night when she hears what she thinks is a spirit crying out for her to help. When she gets to the gravesite, she is very wrong. Instead, she is met with a shade instead. A malevolent spirit who ends up hurting her and she is left with trying to figure out just what is keeping him here. 

In the first book we learn that Keira has no idea who she is. She ended up in the tiny town of Blighty and cannot remember her past. All she knows is that she was being chased by someone and managed to escape and that's how she ended up at the church where Adage hid her. In this book, she is spotted by the very people who are hunting her and although she manages to escape again, she is definitely on borrowed time. 

Keira is focused on this shade and what exactly this spirit wants. She manages to solve the mystery but not without consequences. The last 5 or so chapters were so action packed, I literally could not put it down. I had to find out what was going to happen to Kiera, Mason and Zoe as well as Adage. I really love the characters of these books and have grown attached to them and I am fully invested in what is going to happen to them. Especially the secret Keira has but doesn't know she has. 

Murder In Times Square-The Deirdre Mystery Novels Book One

This is the first book I am reading by this author. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to more from not only this author, but this series.

The story centers around Deirdre Flanagan. She is 19 years old, a model and amateur detective who lives in New York. Her mother, having passes when she was a baby, was raised by her father and uncle. Her father was a famous boxer who now owns his own boxing gym.

The beginning of the book opens with a bang. A young, attractive woman falls to her death from the top of Times Square One, wearing a designer dress. Deirdre immediately notices the dress as one she had previously worn and even things, she recognizes the woman yet can't place her. Using her connections with the police department through her uncle the Captain at NYPD Midtown South, she's able to start investigating what might have happened to this young woman.

I don't want to say much more of the story as it would give too many spoilers. I will say that there are many twists and turns, a major secret from her father will be exposed and she will be able to help solve the death of this young woman. I can tell the author is well versed in New York and either did a lot of research into the modeling world or has connections to it. The author uses real world locations, events and people to make the story more real.

I really liked the character of Deirdre. Shes a strong, independent woman, who knows what she wants and doesn't apologize for it. I love that she's a near expert shooter and that she likes to eat her M&Ms in color order. Overall, this is a great book and I very much look forward to more from this series. I received this book free from Booksirens for an honest review.