A Broken Clock Never Boils

This is a great psychological thriller with a very interesting twist at the end. Psychological, paranormal thriller.

The book centers around Dr. Claire Rossi. She has her own psychiatry practice where she has been treating 5 women who all believe that they are seeing hallucinations in the manifestation of a man that talks to them. Dr. Rossi diagnoses them all as possibly schizophrenic. 

As the story goes on, we see that Dr. Rossi is also beginning to think that she is also beginning to exhibit these symptoms. Her hallucination taking on the form of a man named Ryan who over time begins harming her. Her patients are also being attacked by their "hallucinations".

After talking to her co-worker, Eric, another psychiatrist, he suggests that what may be happening to these women might not be all in their heads (as Dr. Rossi did not tell him that she was seeing the same things as her patients). He tells her about a priest he knows that is also a demonologist, Father Ingetti. After speaking with him, he suggests that it might actually be a curse that these women are under and maybe someone is taking vengeance out on them. 

Dr. Rossi eventually tells her friends, Robert and Jess what's been going on and they start to believe her once they see that she's being attacked, thrown around the room, by something they cannot see. Together with Eric, they help her seek the truth as to who has it out for her and these other women. Can Dr. Rossi find the one who has cursed them end it before anyone else dies, including her?

I really enjoyed this story. The writing is fast paced, and you will definitely not be bored while reading it. I felt the characters were well written as well and overall; the story made sense. Throughout the beginning of the book and even into some of the middle, I felt the author did a good job of keeping me guessing about whether or not, Dr. Rossi was actually going insane or if she was actually cursed. I liked the characters well enough. Claire could be a tad hoity toity, but I feel like that's par for the course with doctor types. The villain was really scary, and I felt the author really conveyed that well. I received this book free from the author for an honest review. 

Core Ruleset

I have read all of the books Timothy Bryan has written and have enjoyed all of them and this one is no exception. The author requested that I read and review this book and I was not only happy to do it, but I was also excited to read another one of his books.

This particular book was of interest to me, as my husband is a Dungeon Master and has been for years. So, RPGs have been a big part of our family. I also play RPGs myself, but in video game form.

Core Ruleset is a creepy, eerie, and downright thrilling book. The story takes place in Elk Grove where the small city of suddenly inundated with several cold-blooded murders. The main character is Terry Brandt. He works as a security guard for his day job but moonlights as a DM for some very rich locals. His personal life is very depressing. His job is boring and going nowhere and he lives with his abusive father and has no relationship prospects. There are two other main characters, Dani and Hideo, detectives investigating the strange number of weird murders plaguing the area. Can they figure out who the murder is and stop them before they become victims themselves?

I don't want to say much more as I don't want to give any spoilers. There is a twist near the end that I never saw coming. I love the premise of the book. The characters are well written and the details surrounding the role-playing were spot on. Either the author is a D&D player, or he did some deep research. The story was descriptive, and I could easily visualize the events that took place. Overall, this is another great book from this author. If you love a good horror thriller, then this book is for you.

South by Southwest Wales Book 1

I love a good mystery, even better a crime novel with a noir vibe. I was sucked in from the first chapter.

Samson Valentine is an ex-cop turned private investigator who has been out of work for a while. Seems no one is interested in hiring an alcohol addled, cigarillo smoking has been. Hes also kind of delusional, believing to be an old noir crime detective from 1940's Chicago, all the while living in Cardiff.

When his upstairs neighbor is murdered along with a local prostitute, he begins a journey embroiled with a local crime boss and his syndicates. What happens next is one crazy incident after another. Hes hired by a rich woman because she believes her husband has put a hit out on her. His good friend, Steve, who owns the bar he frequents, is beaten within an inch of his life so they can get to Valentine. Can he discover who is behind all the crime within the city, save his friends and get justice for his dead friend before they take him out?

I really enjoyed this story. The characters are well written. I liked Valentine as a main character and found him to be solid throughout the book. I was able to read it over the course of two days. An action-packed page turner with several plot twists that I never saw coming. Seeing that this is a series, I am looking forward to the next two books for sure. If you love a good crime drama with action, then this is the book for you!

The Girl with the Dragonfruit Tattoo-Trouble in Paradise #3

Plum Lockheart is back and at it again. This time helping to solve the mystery of the death of a server girl on one of the yachts docked off the coast of Paraiso. Her life is going well. Having just opened her own mansion rental company, Plum Lockheart Luxury Retreats, together with her friend, Lucia. Even her love life is going well as things are heating up with Juan Kevin, a local detective. One night she is invited by an old friend, Ellen out to the yacht her and her husband are on that is owned by a famous music executive. 

The captain of the Paraiso police department asks Plum, who has helped solve a few other murders, to help in the case of the dead server, Lysette, who worked on the yacht owned by the music executive. She goes undercover on the boat to flush out who might be responsible for her death. Things really heat up once she's on the boat. Everyone is a suspect and yet no one is. There weren't very many clues to lead you to who it might be. Honestly, I liked this. I was surprised by the ending and definitely want more from this series. Especially between Juan Keving and Plum.

Overall, this is a great series. This book in particular has great characters even though none of them are likeable. None of them. Not one of the members of the yacht are likeable. From cheating husbands to one lying about his life, to a diva that no one can stand. However, that is to me, good writing. The author made the characters so unlikeable; you want them to be the murderers. Of the three in this series, this one was a little on the weak side, but I still enjoyed it and look forward to more. I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review. 

The Nightmare Man

The first book completed of 2023!

This book really had me captivated. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. A definite page turner that you will not want to put down.

The book goes back and forth between characters and perspectives and the present and the past. Ben Bookman is a horror writer, known as The Nightmare Man. He recently finished his latest book, The Scarecrow, He wrote it, in a drug induced fever weekend at his ancestral home, Blackwood Estate. 

The stories he writes begin to come true in real life. Detective Winchester Mills and his daughter Detective Samantha Blue have been called to a gruesome crime scene at a local farm in Crooked Tree. A family hasn't been seen in a while and they are found slaughtered in their barn. Each family member wrapped in a cocoon stitched from corn husks, then hung from the rafters of the barn. This scene is directly taken from the opening of Bookman's latest book. Not long after this discovery, another family is found in the same way. Mills and Blue quickly read through the book to try to figure out what might happen next. 

Ben Bookman, of course, is the main suspect in these horrific murders. The thing is, Ben can't remember writing the book. All he remembers is that he wrote it in what is called The Atrium of the Blackwood Estate. A room filled floor to ceiling with books. Thousands of books with no titles, just numbers and books with no words in them. 

Ben's brother went missing 13 years before all of this. As he digs into not only his past, but the past of the Blackwood Estate and the nearby Oswald Asylum, started by his Grandfather Dr. Robert Bookman, he will discover that dreams and sometimes nightmares, really do come true. 

I really liked this book. A fantastically horrific story with twists and turns and an ending I never saw coming. The characters are well written, and the settings are downright scary! The author's imagination is incredible, with unique names for each serial killer in this small town and the descriptions of each scene made it feel like you were there. I definitely look forward to more from this author. I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review. 

Paper Targets

The author of the book reached out to me and asked me to read this, and I am so glad that I accepted. This is an intriguing story, and you will not be disappointed. It took me way too long to get to this book and I really wish I had gotten to it sooner. 

The story revolves around Enzi. As a boy he struggled with dyslexia and stuttering. His parents were academics, yet he had a hard time in school. He realized young that math was his strongest subject. His mother passed away when he was young, and his father retreated into a bottle. He quickly ran away from home and job hopped from town to town, finally settling in Montana. There he would meet a friend, Nate O'Neill. He was a juggler and a computer coder. He taught Enzi that juggling, and computer coding were very similar, and they formed a partnership and eventually created a company that took off and was bought out by a huge conglomerate. Enzi ends up meeting a woman named Kaori and things take a turn when she is arrested for assaulting her ex-boyfriend. I don't want to spoil the rest of the story. You'll just have to read it. 

The whole book is written beautifully. It reads from a first-person view and feels like one big, long confession. The book is a mystery but it's also so much more than that. It's a story of a man who realizes, somewhat, too late that he's in too deep with the wrong people. He rights his wrong, but not before others are hurt in the process. It's a story of loneliness, longing and love. It's about finding yourself and being who you truly are. For a bit through the story, I really thought the book was going to end badly. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it has a happy ending. Montana is one of those places that I have always wanted to visit. The descriptions in this book make me want to visit even more. Hopefully someday I can.

The Clock in My Mother's House

The author sent me a copy of this collection of short stories. I have read several other books written by Annalisa Crawford. 

Annalisa Crawford is a fantastic writer, and her short stories were no exception. Out of the eleven stories, there really isn't a bad one in the batch. My favorites include: The Clock in My Mother's House Runs Backwards, Vera Says, A Thousand Pieces of You, The Fear of Ghosts and Adventures in My Own Back Garden. She has the ability to really make the ordinary life seem fantastical and this is a collection you will not be disappointed by. 

Bleak Midwinter-Volume 1: The Darkest Night

Another great anthology from Quill and Crow Publishing. I can honestly say that I am never disappointed, and they are quickly becoming my favorite independent publishing house. 

Bleak Midwinter: The Darkest Night is a fantastic anthology of bleak stories. Each story featuring common themes of forests, cold, death and darkness. Just like other anthologies, I had my favorite stories. While I enjoyed every story there were a few that stuck with me. 

All Her Little Bones- R.A. Busby

Relke of the Russet Hair-KB Willson

Arno-Mason McDonald

Overall, each story was written really well. Some of them ended abruptly while others wrapped up nicely. This is the perfect book to read as we are but a week away from the Winter Solstice. I can guarantee that if you love a good anthology then you will not be disappointed with this collection of bleak stories. I received this book free from Booksirens for an honest review.

You Kill Me

This is the third book by K. Lucas that I have read, and I have yet to be disappointed. The writing as usual is fantastic and the story is intriguing to say the least. 

The story opens with a man named Seth waking up to a thunderstorm, in bed next to his wife Kendra. Hes aware that she's moving in the bed. Shes on top of him and he's thinking it's time for fun when she suddenly plunges a knife into his chest over and over until he's dead. He wakes up again, in the same scenario, over and over again, not understanding why it is his wife wants him dead. Hes stuck in some kind of weird murder loop that he cannot get out of. Wake up, get murdered, die, wake up, and repeat. Knowing he cannot live in this loop; he decides to try to figure out just what is going on. 

After being killed several times and trying to figure out just what is going on, he manages to avoid her long enough to do some investigating. It doesn't take him too long to figure out just what has been going on and why she wants him dead. Once he figures it out, the story really picks up. I really love a good story with a twist and this one has a huge twist with one big reveal after another! 

I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this story. The characters, the setting and of course the "Groundhog Day" effect. This story will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat and has an ending you will never see coming. If you enjoy a good thriller, then this is the book for you! I received this book free from the author for an honest review.

Arachnophobia

I love a good horror story and this one does not disappoint. Its part insect horror, part body horror and all together creepy.

The town of Rock Creek is about to overrun with spiders. The book opens with a group of teens that are getting ready to explore a cave just outside the town. After entering, there is what feels like a slight earthquake. Soon they are surrounded by thousands of tiny spiders. One of the teens, Asia, manages to escape the cave but not before being bitten all over her body. By exiting the cave, she discovers that the spiders do not like light. They thrive in the dark. She starts running and doesn't stop until she reaches an RV with a family living in it. They take her in, and she soon realizes the spiders are living inside her. She is covered in bites and once she starts scratching, they start spilling out of her body, eating her from the inside out.

Unfortunately, she will not be the only victim to befall the spiders. The local exterminator Walter is beyond busy with call after call, which normally would be a good thing, but the calls are just a tad bit odd. People calling about sound within the walls, movement in the attic, spiders spotted all over the town and people mutilating their bodies. One resident even reports a spider bigger than him hiding in his attic. Now the town is facing being overrun with spiders and if they're not stopped, they may just take over another town, then another, etc. What will happen to the people of Rock Creek? Can the spiders be eradicated, or will they spread regardless?

This book was very creepy crawly. I have entomophobia: the fear of bugs. I hate all bugs, including spiders. If I even think I have a bug on me, I freak out. So, to think about hundreds of tiny spiders eating their way through my body is really scary and oh so gross. The character of Walter gave me really strong John Goodman vibes from the movie Arachnophobia. The story is broken up into parts, each one having a different take on what's going on within the town and who its affecting. All in all, it's a great story and if you love body horror with creepy crawlies, then this is the book for you.

Her Final Truth-Meg Dawson #3

This is the third book in the Meg Dawson series and Amy Waeschle did not disappoint. 

We start out meeting a woman named Allison Swiftwater. She runs a womans shelter on Spencer Island. Shes out helping one of the ladies that live in the shelter with some boat trouble on the water. She tells Brooklyn to take her boat back to shore and she will stay and fix the other boat. As soon as Brooklyn pulls off and Allison is working on the boat, she hears another engine and realizes that it's another boat coming straight for her. The next we hear about her they are recovering her body from the water. Meg is sent by her editor to do some investigating on her case. 

At the same time that this is going on, Meg has been informed that a body has been found and it is most likely the body of her long-lost best friend, Noah. Sure enough, she arrives at the crime scene just in time to see them excavating some bones from a large grave. Even worse, they discover he was not the only body in the grave. 

Now with two cases to investigate, Meg will not only be busy, but she will get herself, yet again, into some deep trouble with the chance of death on the line. This book is action packed and a true page turner. I love the character of Meg. Nosy, fierce and adventurous. I'm really hoping things work out for her and Rob, a cop she often turns to. The author teases two more books after this one and I have to admit that I am very excited and interested in finding out what happened to Noah. I received this book free from the author for an honest review.