Book Review – Embrace The Darkness

Peter lives with his wife and four children in a small town in Sussex, England. As well as being a keen cook and wine enthusiast, Peter has been writing poetry and short stories for almost twenty years. It had always been an ambition to complete a novel and, after the success of his debut, The Broken Doll, it has been fantastic to have the opportunity to turn a hobby into a new career. Since the release of The Broken Doll in February 2017, Peter has released the follow-up novel, Shattered Pieces, as well as three collections of short horror stories, and a children’s book. Peter has had work published in a number of anthologies, is the Editor-in-Chief of Indie Writers Review, and is the co-founder of Red Cape Publishing.

***

Embrace The Darkness

Dark, full of suspense, and highly original … a great collection of little horrors!

 

I’d seen a few reviews of this author’s work, and a couple of mentions on the social media horror circuit so thought I’d give him a try. From the very first story, I knew I was in for a dark treat with the other five stories. Most follow the traditional ‘twist in the tale’ format, but really, they’re more like deadly stings from a scorpion tail … don’t be expecting any nice ‘happy ever after’ endings here!

I loved the dark originality and diversity of all these stories; they do draw on some traditional horror themes such as witchcraft, medical horror, and dreamlike states for their subject matter but were nonetheless, unlike most others I’ve ever read. Although quite brutal and horrific at times, the author manages to create such horror without the need to resort to excessive blood and gore, relying more on suspense and atmosphere. Will definitely be reading/reviewing more of this author’s work in the future … a well-deserved 5-stars!

***

P.J. Blakey-Novis’s social media … 

Website: www.redcapepublishing.com

Twitter:  @pjbn_author

Facebook: @pjbnauthor

Email:   –   pjblakey-novis@outlook.com

&

Click HERE for the author’s full catalogue of work & Amazon author page …

One Night in the Hill Country – Book Review

Felipe Adan Lerma is a prolific author, having written numerous books in a number of genres ranging from short thrillers, as reviewed here, to poetry, photography, travel, and many more. He is also a prolific book reviewer, contributing to a number of online Indie author review and writing groups as well as offering help and advice whenever and wherever he can. On a personal note he has also proved to be an invaluable and valued member of my own Indie Author Review Exchange Fb group.

 

Further links to the authors numerous novels and poetry collections can be found at:

www.felipeadanlerma.com & the author’s Amazon Author page

.

 

One Night in the Hill Country

(Adan’s Thriller Mystery Suspense Books)

By Felipe Adan Lerma

(Available as an eBook from Amazon)

.

 

At thirty thousand words this is a short story just a tad short of novella length, but one that punches well above it weight, holding its own against the depth and intricacy of longer works. It tackles the controversial issue of child trafficking and abuse as the vessel for the main story, namely that of the misguided but presumably well-meaning efforts of a brother and sister, Rolf and Tara, in using illegal immigrant children they have abducted in order to lure the same sort of men who once hurt they themselves in order to exact some sort of revenge. There are subtle references as to what may have happened to Rolf and Tara in the past and led them to the circumstances of the story, but the author deliberately doesn’t go into detail here, instead leaving it to the reader’s imagination. As in all good thrillers though, things don’t go to plan, cue the arrival of former policewoman, Samantha, along with four young children in her care as they happen to stop by where Rolf and Tara are holding several other children. What follows is a desperate struggle for survival by children and adults alike whilst the outside authorities also seek to discover the truth of what’s happened.

The writing is crisp and to the point, avoiding unnecessary description and elaboration, employing an economy of words much in the style of the likes of Hemmingway. Just as the story is divided into nearly eighty short chapters, so too are the sentences and paragraphs short and sharp, giving the feeling of a fast paced thriller, constantly driving the story forward; likewise with the dialogue, crisp and sharp, and well interspaced into the narrative.

This isn’t a book with the same depth and characterisation of say a John Grisham or Jon Kellerman thriller, but at thirty thousand words it isn’t intended to be. What it is though is a fast paced story, with enough length and substance to it to still engage the reader throughout. Anyone who enjoys the short story genre might well enjoy this novella too; although longer than the traditional short story, the structure and style of writing makes it read as such, while still packing in way more content than the word count would suggest. It’s also worth noting that some of the characters also appear in other stories by the author thus providing a sense of familiarity and continuity should the reader read further stories in this genre by the same author. Overall, an engaging and enjoyable book easily read in one or at most, two sittings…

.

A few other works by the the author: click on thumbnails for further details...

  

 

Twilight – Book Review

Twilight: Short Stories

by Maurice Northmore

A great variety of stories here, many treading a fine line between the mainstream and the surreal. Loved it!

This anthology is aptly named; the stories tread a fine line between the mainstream and the surreal. The variety of settings and scenarios never fail to hold the reader’s attention and take them somewhere new with each story, whether it be during a storm aboard a transport ship or the cells of a Bangkok jail. In each story the author skillfully manages to set the scene and atmosphere to such an extent the reader really does feel like a fly on the wall of what’s happening, which is quite apt as in one of the stories, a very clever and original idea, the narrator is indeed, ‘a fly on the wall.’

At nearly sixty thousand words, this is no throw-away effort of slightly elongated flash fiction, but a real collection of well written and thoughtfully developed stories that keep the reader thoroughly entertained, effortlessly combining elements of the adventure genre with that of the thriller and suspense.

Some of the stories follow the tried and trusted short story format of providing the reader with a clever and unexpected ending, whilst in others they simply draw to a logical and satisfying conclusion, thus keeping the reader guessing and intrigued right to the end.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of the short story and novella genre, and indeed anyone who enjoys reading well-written stories of any length.

***

See HERE for Amazon links to all the author’s works …