Five on Friday

Five New Releases

The following five new releases have caught my eye this month, and are going on my to-read list

Hidden Danger
by Kathleen Harryman

Release Date: January 11, 2020

 

Death is coming for you…
And it’s wearing a familiar face.

Meet Rita Jackson, a child serial killer who loves to deprive her victims of oxygen. Hidden behind her youth and innocence is a monstrous killer who cannot be satiated.

At a very young age, her murderous tendencies were known to her father, who’s as addicted to death as she is. He fed it and encouraged the monster to grow.

She will steal your last breath and watch you die with a smile on her face in this chilling and captivating story.

Their house in Crossroads Farm will echo with the cry of her victims. Forty people will be held captive. Thirty-seven will die.

When the police arrive at Crossroads Farm, will Rita be amongst the living?
Or will she lose her life to her own madness?

Amazon

Lullabies For Suffering
by Caroline Kepnes, Kealan Patrick Burke, Gabino Iglesias, John FD Taff, Mercedes M Yardley, Mark Matthews

Release Date: January 14, 2020

 

Addiction starts like a sweet lullaby sung by a trusted loved one. It washes away the pains of the day and wraps you in the warmness of the womb where nothing hurts and every dream is possible. Yet soon enough, this warm state of bliss becomes a cold shiver, the ecstasy and dreams become nightmares, yet we can’t stop listening to the lullaby. We crave to hear the siren song as it rips us apart.

Six stories: three novellas, three novelettes, written by a powerful list of talent, all featuring the insidious nature of addiction–damaged humans craving for highs and wholeness but finding something more tragic and horrific on the other side.

Amazon

133 Hours
by Zach Abrams

Release Date: January 20, 2020

Arriving at work to find she’s lost more than five and a half days of her life, Briony has no recollection of where she’s been, or what has happened. Has she been ill or had a breakdown – or could she have been drugged and abducted?

Doubting her own sanity, Briony is fearful of what lies beyond the surface, yet driven to discover the truth. Going through her scarce memories, she realizes that something terrible might have happened to her during the time she has no recollection of.

Assisted by her friends Alesha and Jenny, they team up with a retired detective to uncover the truth. But where was she for 133 hours… and why?

Amazon

Damaged
by Dan Scottow

Release Date: January 20, 2020

Do you believe everything you’re told?

Journalist Emily Blake is sent back to her hometown to investigate the disappearance of a young girl called Becky Clarke. Emily takes the assignment willingly as the case echoes the disappearance of her childhood friend, Alice Abbott, twenty-five years earlier.

Returning to the village, Emily renews old acquaintances and rivalries. She reconnects with her estranged brother Adam, who has never quite recovered from tragic events from their past.

While she looks into the disappearance of Becky Clarke, Emily revisits Alice’s case but not everyone welcomes her investigation.

As lies that have been told for twenty-five years surrounding Alice’s disappearance begin to unravel, Emily is drawn deeper into the mystery.

What happened to Alice?

Will Becky ever be found?

And do the answers lie closer to home than anyone ever imagined?

Amazon

The Doctor
by Erica R. Stinson

Release Date: January 21, 2020

A night out turns to terror for Avery Hansen when she wakes up in a locked hospital room with no recollection of how she got there.

A nurse arrives and informs Avery that the doctor will see her shortly, and that is all the woman will say.

Nothing more.

Avery soon discovers, to her horror, that she is not alone.

Other women are being detained throughout the facility and she is further horrified to recognize one of the women, reported missing by the media in recent weeks.

Then Avery begins to notice that women disappear from the facility, never to be seen again, and new ones replace them.

The evasive director of the secured facility, known as Doctor Perritt, has plans for Avery and the other women also being held against their will.

But Avery has always gone against the grain and immediately proves to The Doctor that she is nothing like his other patients.

What is going on in this sterile, medical institution and what could they possibly want with Avery, a complete and unwilling stranger?

Please have a read…..The Doctor will see you shortly.

Amazon

Aki’s Gift by Howard Scarrow

 

 
Clarence Stodden will never forget the day he received that package. Aki’s Gift follows Clarence and his oldest friend, Maggie Bauer, as they attempt to rid Clarence of Aki’s terrible curse before it takes him over completely.

Inspired by classic horror, Aki’s Gift takes place in a small Southern Ontario town where things like this aren’t supposed to happen. Clarence must learn to finish something for the first time in his life before he is consumed by Aki’s curse.

Amazon • B&N • Kobo • iBooks • Smashwords

 

 

My Review:

Aki’s Gift was an entertaining read.

Clarence Stodden’s life has stalled. He has no job, nothing to do, and nowhere to go, until a mysterious parcel is left at his door. The contradictory message within leaves him with a dilemma… to open the box or not?

Once the box is open, and the gift revealed, the story takes a violent and brutal turn. Clarence and his friend, Maggie, attempt to break the curse that the gift has bestowed on him. At the same time, they try to avoid being killed by someone who wants what Clarence has, and will stop at nothing to get his hands on it.

A good gory horror that kept me turning the pages.

( I received a complimentary copy of the book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.)

 

Meet The Author:

 
In 2018, I finished and released my first novel, Black Moon: Book of the Traveler. I have wanted to be a creator for as long as I can remember, and after so long I have finally found something that I am happy doing, and am pretty alright at, to boot.

I’m far from finished telling stories.

Facebook • Twitter

 

 

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. It’s very easy to play along, as easy as 1, 2, 3!

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

 

• -BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

It wasn’t that he was afraid of what would happen to him; Clarence was more worried about what he might do to the intruder, whoever it was, should they find him and corner him. Whatever was taking him over, inch by inch… it was an animal, just waiting to be let out of it’s cage.

~Aki’s Gift by Howard Scarrow

Saturday Spotlight

Kurtain Motel by A.I. Nasser

“Confess!”

Patrick Lahm is down on his luck. Late for his book signing, out of gas and stuck in a storm. He hitches a ride to the Kurtain Motel where he is forced to spend the night. The small motel seems harmless enough at first, but as the night drags on, Patrick and the other guests slowly begin to realize there is a lot more to their temporary lodging than meets the eye.

Something evil is at work at the Kurtain Motel; something that creeps into the deepest, darkest corners of your mind and tugs at the chords of sanity until they finally break. On the longest night of his life, Patrick soon finds out that there is a reason why skeletons are kept in closets. He realizes that your sins always find a way to catch up with you, no matter how hard you try to run.

Welcome to the Kurtain Motel, where all your nightmares come true.

Amazon • B&N • Kobo • GooglePlay

 

My Review:

A rundown motel, a storm and a group of stranded strangers… a good setting for a fairly creepy story.

Hitchhiking after running out of gas, Author, Patrick Lahm, is picked up and taken to the motel by a priest. The storm prevents him from making any phone calls and leaves them both stranded at the motel with several other travellers.
As it turns out, most of the guests have something in common, they have all ‘sinned’, and something at the motel wants them to confess. The guests hear and see things connected to their sins, and no-one is able to leave.

Some characters had good background stories and were fleshed out, however not all of them. I would have liked to know more about the people and their sins. That, and the fact that some characters were killed ‘off-screen’, along with an ending that left me with more questions than answers, let the book down.

 

The Author:

At the age of four, Ahmed I. Nasser’s parents decided that the best way to keep a hyperactive child occupied was to teach him how to read and constantly bombard him with books. Since then, the world of imagination has constantly consumed him. He quickly decided that the only way to feel fulfilled was to spend his time writing one story after the other, even opting out of a career as a pediatrician, despite ten years of struggling through med-school.

Influenced by Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, he has been writing since the age of 12 while travelling the world with his family. Now, finally settled in Egypt, he divides his time between teaching Middle School English Literature and finding the best ways to scare his family and friends.

Facebook • Twitter

 

Saturday Spotlight

 

All the Darkness is Alive by Robert Scott-Norton​​

 
The shadowmen are back, and this time they’ve brought a deadly friend

Falling to certain death should have deterred Seth from more paranormal investigations, but when his uncle gets in touch and makes him an offer he can’t refuse, Seth finds himself a target once again.

A disturbed artist has created a masterful painting and a dangerous cult is prepared to kill to acquire it.

Can Seth find the painting and stop the cult unleashing their hell on Earth before an old enemy shows him eternal darkness?

All the Darkness is Alive is the second book of the Dark Corners series-paranormal horror novels that will make you reach for the light.

Buy All the Darkness is Alive and join Seth on his mission to fight the shadows.

Amazon

 

My Review:

A creepy cover and a creepy story.

Although this is the second book of a series it worked well as a standalone book.

The main character, Seth Loomis, is obviously traumatised by the events in the first book, which seem to have culminated in him somehow surviving a fall from the roof of Ravenmeols Mental Hospital.

In this book Seth is staying with Malc, a longtime friend, and his family. Malc’s wife, Georgia, wants himm to leave, so when his uncle is murdered and leaves him a house, with the condition that he looks after the collection of occult artefacts, it’s not a hard decision for Seth to make.

One item in the collection, a painting, is what got his uncle killed and puts Seth and his friends in danger, as members of a formidable cult will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.

I enjoyed this dark and thrilling tale, in which it seemed no character was safe from harm or death. I will be adding the first book to my to-read lead, and keeping a look out for further books in this series.

 

The Author:

 
Robert Scott-Norton writes to thrill, entertain, and keep people reading until the last page. Raised in Southport, he’s lived there most of his life and has concluded that this ordinary seaside town is the perfect setting for all the horrors he can throw at it.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

 

4 Shots of Horror by John Hunt

 

 

 

A boy who makes friends with spiders, a missing mother and drunken father, a convenience store robbery gone wrong, and a deadly game with the undead. Enjoy these twisted four tales of terror from noted horror author John Hunt.

Amazon

 

 

 

My Review:

As the title suggests, 4 Shots of Horror comprises of 4 short horror stories. I usually prefer a longer horror story that I can get my teeth into, but these tales were the perfect length to keep up the suspense and tell the story.

My two favourite stories, Itsy-Bitsy Betty and The Farmer and the Well, had young boys as the main characters, both underdogs and both being bullied. Even though I have a great fear of spiders I liked the ones in Itsy-Bitsy Betty.

House Flipping was a fun read. Both this story and Tweaker had a sense of well deserved comeuppance.

As a fan of horror, I will be looking for more books by John Hunt.

(I received a complimentary copy of the book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.)

 

 

Author Bio:

A busy father of four with a dog and cat, John Hunt lives and works in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He has had nine short stories published in various anthologies and is a member of the Horror Writers Association. He is the author of Doll House, The Tracker, the apocalyptic novella, Balance, and Off The Grid. He is also a co-host on the Movies of the Damned!! podcast.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

 

Saturday Spotlight

 

The Glade by Harmony Kent​

 
This gripping, edge-of-your-seat mystery/thriller will have you thinking twice about booking that idyllic cottage in the country. Nothing in this woodland paradise within the Forest of Dean is what it seems.

The Wenstrops have it all: health, wealth, and happiness. Until everything falls apart. Helen gets arrested for murder, and yet is either unable or unwilling to give a defence. During her detention, vital evidence goes missing and tensions run high.

Meanwhile, in the woods, malignant forces gather power.

This sensational second novel by acclaimed author Harmony Kent will have you alternately laughing, crying, and gripping the edge of your seat as this roller-coaster ride of a plot unfolds. It will keep you guessing through its many twists and turns, and hijack your attention right up until you turn the final page. This book has it all: murder, intrigue, the supernatural, a broken marriage, a love affair, courage against impossible odds, suspense, and high drama.

Amazon

 

My Review:

A captivating and creepy story from Harmony Kent .

When Helen and Geoff Wenstrop find a peaceful plot of land while on holiday in the small village of Parkdean, they decide to buy it and build a house.  Helen is terminally ill and wants to die in their new home, once there she miraculously recovers, however, there is a price to pay.

The book begins with Helen being arrested for her husband’s murder. From there we switch between the past and present discovering the circumstances leading to the arrest, and beyond, until they merge at the end.

The characters were all well-written, although there was one character, Helen’s ex, who seemed superfluous to the story. I lost some of my empathy for Helen around the middle of the book as I couldn’t relate to some of her actions and decisions, although she redeemed herself towards the end.

The author kept me gripped with the great storyline, the vivid descriptions and the ominous presence of the forest surrounding the glade. The story kept up a good pace through most of the book, and the various twists and turns kept me guessing right up to the final pages.

 

The Author:

Indie Author Harmony Kent is an award winning multi-genre author. Her publications include:

The Battle for Brisingamen (Fantasy Fiction) AIA approved
The Glade (Mystery/Thriller) AIA Approved/BRAG Medallion Honouree/New Apple Literary Awards Official Selection Honours 2015
Elemental Earth (YA Fantasy Fiction)
Polish Your Prose: Essential Editing Tips for Authors (Writing/Editing) New Apple Literary Awards Top Medallist Honours 2015
Finding Katie (Women’s Fiction)
Slices of Soul (Contemporary Poetry)
Interludes (Erotic Short Stories)
Moments (Short Stories and Poetry)
Jewel in the Mud (Zen Musings)
Backstage (Erotic Romance)

As well as being an avid reader and writer, Harmony also offers reviews and supports her fellow indie authors, Harmony works hard to promote and protect high standards within the indie publishing arena. She is always on the look out for talent and excellence, and will freely promote any authors or books who she feels have these attributes. Harmony lives in Cornwall, England.

Website • Twitter • Goodreads

 

A Flash of Horror by Karina Kantas

 

A Flash of Horror is a collection of short and flash fiction in the horror genre taken from Karina Kantas’s two collections, Heads & Tales & Undressed.

12 chilling and thought-provoking tales that will stay with you for nights to come.

Are you ready to delve into the dark side?

Amazon

 

Excerpt:

VIRUS

 

“Well, that’s it. Now we wait again,” Maria announced.

Phil watched her sit at a cluttered desk to scribble yet more failure notes. But his eyes did not linger. He scanned the laboratory. It might be the last time he’d see it. Beds lined the walls of the spacious room, all but hiding its sterile, white-tiled floor. “How long until we see results this time — if any?” he asked.

“Same as the others. Twelve hours.”

“That doesn’t give us much time to administer a vaccine.”

“No. And — yes, before you say it, you’re right — there’s no guarantee we’ll ever find an acceptable vaccine.”

On each bed lay a test subject. Even those that had succumbed remained, since the examination of their rotting bodies still offered the faint hope of a cure.

But Phil knew that the virus had won this war. There was no hope. Eight months of this, and nothing but 665. The committee was right.
Phil turned his face away from the rotting, deformed victims, and stared at his co-worker. It was time to tell her, although he knew how she’d react. Maria was obstinate — so certain she’d find a cure.

Phil walked to his colleague’s desk. Each step weighed heavily on him, like the weight they’d shouldered as a team these past few months. He rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Maria?” he whispered.

Her eyes shimmered. “Yes?”

Phil blinked and spoke. “The committee decided if this last trial is unsuccessful, they’ll go with 665. They’ve already begun to manufacture.”

“What? You’re joking?”

“They say there’s no more time to be choosey. It’s 665 or total annihilation.”

“Choosey! Don’t they realise what will happen? 665 has such awful side effects.”

“Sorry. Maybe choosey was the wrong word, and yes, they know the peril. I agree with them. What other choice do we have?”

“I’d rather die.”

Phil turned and looked at the bed beside him. Clear plastic sheeting did nothing to hide its demonic deformities. IT was the only way to describe this once-person. Its new facial appearance removed any identification of what sex, race or age test subject 665 once had.

More to come…

 

Author Bio:

Karina Kantas is the author of the popular MC thriller series, Outlaw, and the loved romantic fantasy duology, Illusional Reality.

She also writes short stories and when her imagination is working overtime, she writes thought-provoking dark flash fiction.

When Karina isn’t busy working on her next bestseller, she’s a publicist, author manager and VA. She’s also the host of the popular radio show, Author Assist on the Artist First Radio Network.

Karina writes in the genres of fantasy, MC romance, Young Adult. sci-fi, horror, thrillers and comedy, romance, PNR, dystopian and erotica.

Her inspirations are the author S.E.Hinton and the rock band, Iron Maiden.

You can find her on Facebook and Twitter, where she loves hanging out with her readers.

Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Goodreads

Get samples from Book 1 and Book 2 of Illusional Reality duology when you sign up to Karina’s mailing list.

 

Why I wrote this book?

I never thought of myself a someone with a dark side. I always thought of my flash fictions as scifi, thriller maybe a little creepy. But then I was a guest on a podcast and the host made me realise that, a lot of what I do write does fall into the horror genre. And so I decided to take out some of the best horror flash from my two collections Heads & Tales and Undressed and make this small collection for those that don’t mind sleeping at night.
Enjoy.

 

Other Books by Karina Kantas:

Electric Eclectic book

• Toxic (Dystopian Erotica)

 
The OUTLAW series

• In Times of Violence
• Huntress
• Lawless Justice
• Road Rage

 
Collections

• Heads & Tales
• UNDRESSED

• In Times of Violence Young Adult Edition (MC romance)
• Stone Cold (YA supernatural thriller)

 
Illusional Reality duology

• Illusional Reality (YA romantic fantasy)
• The Quest (Fantasy paranormal romance)

 
Coming soon

• Broken Chains (MI5/mafia romance)
• Predator (Erotic horror)

 

Please like the Electric Eclectic Facebook Page, and join our Electric Eclectic & Friends Group.

See all Electric Eclectic books on our website

Electric Eclectic

Five on Friday

Five new releases that I’ve added to my to-read list!

 

A Means to an End

Lissa Marie Redmond

September 8, 2019

Buffalo police detective Lauren Riley risks her life to close the book for good on a killer who’s never paid for his crimes.

When cold case detective Lauren Riley returns to work months after being stabbed by a fellow police officer, it’s clear that her troubles are far from over. The body of a young woman has been found in the same woods as a murder victim from one of Lauren’s most horrifying cases. It doesn’t take long for Lauren to be back at square one confronting David Spencer, the quietly deranged man she could never prove was a killer. Lauren convinces the police chief to put together a task force to uncover the connections between the brutal slaying of both women and the murder of two cops. But things go south quickly, forcing Lauren into a deadly game that she can’t afford to lose.

Amazon • B&N • Kobo • GooglePlay

 

 

 

The Hag

Erik Henry Vick

September 6, 2019

War is hell and a war with hell even more so…

Broken by terror, separated by time and circumstance, drawn back together again by insufferable evil, friends stood against the maleficent horror and survived once. But the demons have a new leader, and Toby, Benny, Shannon, Mike, and Scott now face the collected might of the demons inhabiting Oneka Falls.

They hunted the Demon King in the forest around the town and sparked a war with an enemy they barely understood. Worse yet, by attacking Herlequin and disrupting his plans, they painted a bright target on their own backs for the rest of the demons in the town. Led by Chaz Welsh and Lee LaBouche, the demons strike back, forcing the demon hunters to run for their lives.

How can Toby, Benny, Shannon, Mike, and Scott hope to win a war against the demons entrenched in Oneka Falls? How can they even hope to survive?

Amazon • B&N • Kobo • iBooks • GooglePlay

 

The Extinction Agenda

Michael Laurence

September 3, 2019

An FBI agent fights to stop a conspiracy to unleash a deadly virus on the world in this propulsive, exhilarating new thriller.

The discovery of a deadly virus being smuggled across the border pits FBI Special Agent James Mason and his strike force against an unknown adversary hell-bent on humanity’s destruction. In a desperate effort to contain the pathogen, they launch a predawn raid, only to find that their enemy knows they’re coming…and it’s not about to be taken alive. An explosion rips through the building, killing the majority of Mason’s team, including his partner and mentor.

Tormented by guilt, Mason returns to his home division, but he can’t seem to let go of the tragedy. He remembers seeing something inside the building before it went up in flames, something that convinces him that not only is the virus still out there, it’s merely the first stage of an even more nefarious plan. Obsessed with unraveling the plot, he launches his own investigation and uncovers a shadow organization on the brink of enacting its genocidal agenda, one carried out by a sinister mass murderer who’s been photographed at the epicenter of seemingly every historical pandemic…without appearing to age. An evil man who attempts to derail Mason’s investigation by murdering his wife.

With the help of his longtime friends—Gunnar Backstrom, a corporate espionage gun-for-hire, and Ramses Donovan, a sin merchant of questionable morality—Mason’s hunt for his wife’s killer leads him from a dark union at the dawn of the twentieth century to a network of Nazi collaborators and a conspiracy against mankind more than a hundred years in the making. Fueled by anger and driven by the promise of vengeance, he must overcome a monster preparing to unleash his virulent wrath upon an unsuspecting world if he’s to have any hope of exposing a deep-state entity that’s rooted in every facet of our society, an entity known only as…The Thirteen.

Amazon • B&N • Kobo • iBooks • GooglePlay

 

Crossings

Ashley Capes

September 1, 2019

Deep in the Australian bush, something dark is stirring.

When wildlife ranger Lisa Thomas finds a pile of animal entrails on her doorstep she immediately suspects her abusive ex, but the sudden spate of deaths that follow seem beyond even Ben’s vindictiveness.

Worse, her father’s health is deteriorating fast and when the harassment and deaths continue, it only fuels her feelings of powerlessness. To add confusion to growing fear, Lisa must also investigate reports of a giant white kangaroo, reports that suggest the creature is no mere hoax.

Yet the mysterious kangaroo is impossible to track down and the more Lisa searches the more she’s sure an even greater threat lurks in the wilderness…

Amazon • B&N • Kobo

 

 

 

Shadows Among Us

Ellery A. Kane

August 31, 2019

Evil is closer than you think.

Psychologist, Mollie Roark, had it all. A hotshot husband, a beautiful daughter, a successful career, and a fancy house on the Napa hillside. She’d finally made it. Left her troubled past and her crazy father far behind her.

But two years ago, the unspeakable happened. Her daughter’s burned body turned up on the shores of Lake Berryessa just days after her fifteenth birthday. The police seem certain Dakota fell victim to the Shadow Man, the prolific serial killer who had terrorized the Napa Valley for two decades. Mollie’s normal life is now anything but. Childless, divorced, and unemployed, she’s barely staying afloat. She’s got one mission. To find the scumbag who killed her daughter and make him pay.

When a mysterious old man shows up at her door seeking absolution and promising answers, it’s impossible to resist. But the deeper she goes inside his mind, the shakier her sanity becomes. Everyone is a suspect. No one is innocent. Because Mollie knows evil may be as close as her own shadow.

Amazon

 

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. The weekly Meme wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading.

• Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  -BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

He should have a cloak and pointed teeth and be able to turn into a bat, but the reality was so much more mundane: he couldn’t fly or change into anything and had no superhuman powers, except much greater strength than someone of his age and build would normally be expected to have, plus, of course, an insatiable craving for fresh human blood and also, of course, he was immortal – but whether that was a good or bad thing depended very much on his frame of mind at any particular time. If someone had asked him last week he would probably have said it was a curse, but after last night he suddenly felt much more positive.

~Scouse Gothic: The Pool of Life… and Death by Ian McKinney