Caroline

I read The Monkey's Paw many years ago when it was featured in a horror omnibus. I didn't know then that its author, W.W. Jacobs, had written a lot of short stories of the horror and mystery sort. I stumbled across this anthology by accident, and decided to buy it. I'm glad I did, because this gave me many hours of reading pleasure. 🕸️

As the title suggests, this anthology contains tales of mystery and the macabre, the first of which, The Monkey's Paw, needs no introduction to horror aficionados. 🕸️

My particular favourites, alongside the above, are The Well, In the Library, The Vigil, and The Castaway. 🕸️

Tales of mystery and the macabre they may be, but there is some humour running through them too. Indeed, the events in The Vigil are somewhat farcical. 🕸️

All in all, this was a fun, enjoyable read and I highly recommend it. 🕸️

There's nothing I like more, especially in the run-up to Hallowe'en, than to settle down with a really good horror story. Your Own Dark Shadow has been on my TBR ever since I saw that another author had recommended it on social media. Could there be any better time to read it than now? 🎃

This isn't just a good collection of short horror fiction, this is a really great collection. All of the stories were penned by Irish authors, stories that were first published before the advent of social media, before slasher movies featuring killers in hockey masks, or with a glove full of razor blades. These stories feature ghosts and wraiths, demons and curses.They don't need a knife wielding maniac to make them scary, the atmospheric settings of the stories does that. 🎃

Two of my favourite stories in this collection are The House of Horror by Mildred Darby (1908), set in Ireland's most haunted location, Leap Castle, and Angus Ó Cruadhlaoich by Micheál Mac Liammóir (1923), the characters name being a nod to Aleister Crowley. 🎃

These two are the standouts for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole collection. They made my spine tingle in a way Michael Myers and Freddie Kruger never could. 🎃

This was a very atmospheric tale, set in the Scottish Borders. It spans two timelines, the first (then) beginning in 1959, the second (now) 1965, and is told from the POVs of Mabel (then), and Pearl (now.) Both reside at Lichen Hall, home of the Whitlocks, who take in unmarried girls who find themselves pregnant. 🍄

This is quite a creepy book, and not just because of the witch, Nicnevin. It becomes obvious early on that all is not right at Lichen Hall. 🍄

The themes, which include rape, illegal abortion, illegal adoption and forced incarceration, may well make for difficult reading. Mrs. Whitlock is not someone I would care to live with. The plight of the girls who have resided at Lichen Hall is harrowing at times. 🍄 From a historical point of view, The Ghost Woods gives us an insight into life in 1950s/60s Scotland. 🍄

There you have it. Difficult subject matter, some questionable practices and a few creepy characters. Taken as a whole though, The Ghost Woods is an interesting, eerie read. 🍄

It's here at last, my favourite month of the year: October. That can mean only one thing.... Spooky Season is here. 🕸️

What better way to kick things off than reading an anthology of ghost stories. 👻

The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories does exactly what it says on the dust jacket. It contains a collection of classic ghost stories, from authors such as Charles Dickens, Henry James, M.R. James and Ambrose Bierce, to name but a few. 👻

There are some gems here. The Monkey's Paw automatically springs to mind, as does M.R. James' Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You. 👻

Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology, and I will readily admit to feeling nervous after reading some of them. That, for me, was the icing on the cake. Perfect reading for spooky season. 👻🖤

Yikes!! Where to begin with this one. Okay, let me just tell you good people that I enjoyed it immensely, even though it was driving me crazy at times. I bet you want to know why it was driving me crazy, don't you? Right, pay attention you lot.

I'm going to assume you've all read the blurb but, if not, here's a short summary: the hosts of a true crime podcast set out to uncover who killed student Daisy Harrington twenty years ago. The person who was jailed for her murder had always maintained his innocence, and took his own life 6 months prior to the events which unfold. 🔨

The podcasters believe that Daisy's former housemates may know more than they have let on, and one of them may be the killer. 🔨

The story is told from the POVs of the former housemates, Georgie, Dan, Lauren, Maddie and Alex, alongside transcripts of interviews with Daisy's mother, and the wife and daughters of the man imprisoned for her murder. 🔨

There were many twists, and sneaky little reveals throughout. It was impossible to guess which one of the housemates was guilty, because they all had something to hide, and they all had a motive. They were a pretty despicable bunch, but the final revelation still took me by surprise. And then there was that ending. 🫢

I have a new favourite heroine peeps. Her name is Miss Decima Stockington. She may be an octogenarian, but boy is she sassy. With a keen interest in science, razor sharp wit, and a foul mouth, Miss Decima takes no prisoners. ☄️

Miss Decima is not just my personal heroine, she is one of the amateur sleuths in The Murder at World's End, the other being Stephen Pike, ex Borstal boy, now recently employed as second footman at Tithe House, home of the Viscount, Conrad Stockington Welt.

The year is 1910. Halley's Comet is passing close to Earth. Many believe that it will bring about a global disaster. It is against this backdrop that murder is committed at Tithe House. The victim is Conrad, Miss Decima's nephew. ☄️

There's no shortage of suspects, but when the Inspector from Scotland Yard proves to be inept, Miss Decima enlists Stephen's help to try to find the murderer. ☄️

This was a fun read, with some really likeable characters. I love a locked room mystery, and this one was perfectly executed, if you'll pardon the pun. ☄️

Our amateur sleuths, Stephen and Miss Decima, are an unlikely pairing, but they make a formidable team. I really hope we will more from them in the future. ☄️

Thanks to Viking Books UK and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

I've been meaning to read The Beresford for quite a while, so when I came across the audio book on BorrowBox, I knew what I wanted to listen to next. 🎧

I've only read one other book by Will Carver, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from The Beresford. Nothing, but nothing, could have prepared me for that building, or it's inhabitants. Peeps, I was definitely not disappointed with my choice of audio book. 🗡️

There's a line in Hotel California that goes "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." At The Beresford you can leave, just not voluntarily. 🗡️

I loved this book. Yes, it's a bit of a slow burn, but not so slow that I was losing the will to live. It's quirky, it's sinister, and it's devilishly good. 😈🗡️

If, like me, you saw the title of this book and thought "A ghost hunter solving a murder! Cool!", then allow me to disabuse of that notion. Said title is a little misleading, I'm afraid. There is no ghost hunter, and while there is a murder, there's not much mystery, for the reader, as to whodunnit. 👻

Don't be put off though, for I bring glad tidings. There are spiritualists, and there are séances. There is a spiritualist hotel, where members of the upper class come to attend said séances, in the hopes of communing with their loved ones. 👻

In the midst of all this lurks a German spy, for this book is set during the time of the Great War. 🪖💣

Despite it not being the cosy mystery I had anticipated, I quite enjoyed this book. The characters were likeable; even our traitorous spy, Excalibur, was charming. Spiritualism and espionage make for an entertaining combination. 👻🪖

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for the digital ARC.

Konrad is contacted by a woman named Valborg, who hoped that he would help her find the child she had given up for fostering some time in the early 1970's. Konrad declined, as there was very little information for him to work from, and he didn't feel that he could help. Some weeks later, Valborg is found dead in her apartment. She had been murdered. Feeling bad about how he left things with her, Konrad vows to do all he can to find Valborg's child.

The Quiet Mother, book 3 in the Konrad series, is a bit of a slow burn, but it is worth sticking with it. As is often the case, the story of Valborg's child has links to that of Konrad's friend Eygló, and her psychic gifts.

Konrad's investigation into his father's murder continues, though he is no closer to an answer. Eygló too, continues to seek answers, and does not always like what she inevitably learns about her father.

Although quite dark, this was an engaging and enjoyable read.

It doesn't seem all that long ago, I picked up the first Joona Linna book. Now, here I am, having just finished book 10. And let me tell you folks, this series just gets more twisted and disturbing with each installment. 🪓

Take the baddie in this one, for instance. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Widow, an axe wielding serial killer, who targets men who cheat. 🪓

But this is a Joona Linna investigation, so we know that it's not going to be straightforward. Oh, hell no. Twist follows twist, as the body count rises, and just when you (and Joona) think you've figured it out, bam! Think again! 🪓

I loved it, boys and girls. I loved the thrills. I loved the scares. I loved the fact that it gave me goosebumps. I loved that it kept me guessing. I loved that I figured it out at the same time as Joona. I'm just sorry that it came to an end, and now I have to wait for the next instalment. 🪓

Yikes! That was dark. And a little disturbing. 😱 But I think we all know by now that I like dark and disturbing in my fiction.

Obviously, How To Read a Killers Mind won't be to everyone's taste, given that it's protagonist, Emy Rose, is tasked with finding out where the bodies are buried. Literally. To do this, psychologist Emy conducts a series of interviews with three very unsavoury characters: Frank Elkins, Joe Okorie, and Tim Shenton. Fair warning, some may find their interviews, and the details of their crimes distressing.

The story is mostly told from Emy's POV, with an occasional chapter told from Joe Okorie's POV.

The pace is slow and steady, but don't be fooled peeps. This is a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, so buckle up, and enjoy.

Seven strangers receive an invitation to a dinner party. They have nothing in common, apart from the invitation. They have no idea who invited them, or why. Waiters keep them supplied with good food and fine wine, but their host remains elusive. And then each guest discovers a black envelope next to their wineglass. Inside is a message, telling them at what age they will die. 🍷

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a unique spin on the Agatha Christie classic, And Then There Were None. The story is told from the POVs of the seven dinner guests: Vivienne, Tristan, Matthew, Stella, Gordon, Janet and Melvin. All of them have secrets, and someone wants all of them dead. 🍷

I have to admit I worked out the who early on in the narrative, though I did doubt myself, because it took me a little longer to figure out the why. The ending surprised me though. 🍷

Pacy, with twists and well placed red herrings, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a wonderful homage to Agatha Christie. 🍷

Thanks to Harper North and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

Having read William, (also by Mason Coile), last year, and been suitably creeped out by it (robot doll on a tricycle, anyone?), I was hoping for more of the same with Exiles. Reader, I was not disappointed. 🤖

The year is 2030. Mission Commander Blake and his crew of two, engineer Kang and medic Gold, are en route to Mars. This is not an exploration, these three will be the first settlers on the colony.

Three bots have been sent ahead of them, to ready the base for human inhabitation. 🤖

You can take it as a given that all is not well on the red planet. There's a sinister threat at the base, but what exactly is the threat? Is it alien 👾, or is it a rogue bot? 🤖 Well, you're just going to have to read the book for yourself to find out, aren't you?

Well paced and twisty, Exiles is akin to a sci-fi locked room mystery. A very claustrophobic room, on Mars.

Thanks to John Murray Press and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

I started off liking this, I really did, but that gradually started to wear off, especially when it became apparent that this was leaning more towards mystery than horror. Don't get me wrong, I love a good mystery, but I was in the mood for horror, ghosts and ghouls as opposed to horrific murder. 👻 Save for a sense of eeriness in chapter 1, that was it for horror of the supernatural kind.

As for the rest of the book, I found it quite repetitive, particularly in chapter 3. Why did we have to keep going over old ground multiple times? Given the shortness of the book, it's not as though I was going to forget what was going on. 🤔

The characters were unremarkable, and I found that, with the possible exception of Iwata, I didn't care for them or what happened to them. For some reason, it was Iwata's fate, and his alone, that moved me. 😔

This had the makings of a great book, but it just seemed to lose momentum right around chapter 3. It's a decent enough read, but it doesn't live up to its hype.

I really have to circle back and read the earlier books in this series, because if they are as good as this one, then I have been missing out big time.

Eddie "The Fly" Flynn is back, and this time he's tasked with defending a social media influencer accused of double murder. 💉

A deadly game of cat and mouse follows, and the safety of Eddie's family is threatened. 💉

Once again the story is told from several POVs, with Eddie's being the only one told in the first person. The twists are many, but it's the one at the end that blindsided me. 👀

The pace is swift, and though it may be a little light on the courtroom drama, there's plenty of action to make up for it. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read. 💉

Thanks to Headline Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

Johana Gustawsson and Thomas Enger are sterling authors in their own right, so when I saw that they had teamed up to write Son, I knew that I was in for a treat. I wasn't wrong.

Son is the first book in a new series featuring Kari Voss. Kari is a psychologist, and is nicknamed the Human Lie Detector because she can read people's body language and call out their lies. She is rarely wrong.

Without giving too much of the plot away, all I will say is that Kari inevitably becomes involved in the investigation into the murder of two teenagers. Another teenager is arrested on suspicion of the murder, and subsequently confesses, but Kari is not convinced. 🗡

While a lot of the story is told from Kari's POV, we see events unfold through the eyes of other characters. 🗡

As for the other characters, all is not as it seems with those connected to the victims. Secrets and lies abound. 🗡

Son is a gripping, sinister read which I thoroughly enjoyed. And that ending! What a cliffhanger! 🗡

Thanks to Trafalgar Square Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

If you like cosy mysteries, then this is definitely NOT the book for you. It is about as far from cosy as you can possibly get. I struggle to describe it, best I can tell you is it's meta detective fiction. 🔎

"Well what's it about?" I hear you cry. That folks, is a bit of a head scratcher. The blurb will tell you that this is an immersive book, putting you, the reader, in the hot seat as the Great Detective, giving you the chance to solve what is basically a cold case. Sounds good, doesn't it? Yeah, until the author moves the goal posts. All is not as it seems in this book, believe me. 🔎

It's a long-ish book, it's a tad repetitive, and there's a lot going on, some of which nearly reduced me to tears of sheer frustration. But my parents did not raise a quitter, no siree. I persevered, and I actually....drumroll please 🥁....I solved the mystery before the dude in the book did. Now I think about it, I was supposed to be the dude in the book. 🔎

Those of a certain age will notice parallels with a real life mystery from the 1970's. Fans of crime fiction will also notice that some of the characters bear the names of crime fiction authors. 🔎

To sum up The Game is Murder is different. It's quirky, it's interesting, it's borderline bonkers and, for me anyway, it was fun. 🔎

Thanks to Michael Joseph Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

Oh how I loved this book. Eerie, creepy, disturbing, but wonderfully enjoyable. This is gothic folk horror at its best. 🔥

Meet Della and Lily Pedley. They are pariahs in their home, near Penzance in Cornwall, so they travel to Scotland. There, against the advice of others, they move to an unnamed island where the Devil is alleged to have fallen from the sky. This is the home of the Folk, who live in fear of the Warden. 🔥

Vaguely reminiscent of The Wickerman, Small Fires thrums with tension and unease. And then comes that superb ending. Brilliant. If any book deserves to be a best seller, this one does. 🔥

Many thanks to Trafalgar Square Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

Well now, that was a little bit different. I started reading Kill Your Darlings expecting a good old fashioned murder mystery. I got the murder, but it was far from old fashioned, and there was no mystery about whodunnit. 🔎

Allow me to introduce Thom and Wendy Graves, high school sweethearts who broke up when Wendy's family moved to a different state, but meet up again a few years later and eventually marry, until one of them decides to murder the other. 💔

The story begins in 2023, with events leading up to, and including, the murder. From there the timeline moves backwards, slowly revealing various the secrets held by the couple. We are taken all the way back to their first meeting, on a school trip when they were in 8th grade. 🔎

Thom and Wendy are not particularly likeable people, and it's hard to feel any empathy, or indeed sympathy, for either of them. 😈

This is a very slow burn, but it's worth it for that reveal at the very end. 🔎

Thanks to Faber and Faber, and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

The Compound has been likened to a cross between Love Island and Lord of the Flies. Now, I (happily) haven't watched a single episode of Love Island, so I can't possibly comment, but I did read Lord of the Flies not so long ago, and I'm failing to find a common denominator. If The Compound can be compared with anything, it would be Big Brother, with sinister undertones.

The premise is simple; twenty people (10 guys, 10 girls) share a house in a compound in the desert. They must complete tasks, some communal, some personal, to earn rewards and avoid banishment. They must couple up each night to avoid banishment. They must abide by certain rules to avoid banishment. All the while their action and interactions are filmed for the viewing pleasure of those back home. 🏡

As I already mentioned, there is a sinister undertone to the book. A lot of the tasks are engineered to either humiliate the contestants, or cause dissent. There's violence, and minor torture. 🏡

The Compound moves at a (very) slow pace, yet despite this, and the dark, disturbing events that unfold, it's hard to put down. 🏡

Thanks to HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

Sometimes, along comes a book that leaves you scratching your head, and asking yourself "what the hell did I just read?" This is one such book. For this is no ordinary haunted house book peeps, oh no, this is bizarre on a grand scale. 🏚

Allow me to set the scene. Eve and Charlie have bought a house, with the intention of doing it up/rebuilding, and selling. Eve is home alone one evening, when there's a knock at the door. On answering it she finds a family of five: 2 adults and 3 children. The man introduces himself as Thomas. He explains that he grew up in that house, and asks Eve if he might come in and show his family around. It is from this point that things take a turn for the sinister. 🏚

If you're not a fan of horror, I would give this book a swerve. Seriously. This is a deeply unsettling book, where nothing is as it seems, and the sense of unease lingers beyond the last page. For all its creepiness though, it is a gripping read. I would however, advise reading with the light on. 🏚

The Waiting has been sitting in my kindle for the past six months, patiently um, waiting, to be read. I have finally remedied that, and crikey, what a page turner. 🌊

Ballard, our surf loving detective, and her team of volunteers are back in the Open/Unsolved unit. There's a new addition to the team, none other than Maddie Bosch, Harry's daughter. 🌊

There's quite a lot going on in The Waiting, what with the unit trying to close two cases, (one from the 1990's, the other from the 1950's), and Ballard trying to hide the fact she made an error that may well cost her her job. Add in a couple of sub-plots, and there's plenty there to keep the little grey cells busy. 🌊

Harry Bosch had little more than a cameo role in this book. The fact that Maddie has now joined Ballard's team would seem to suggest that the end is nigh for Harry. 😔

Confession time: before I picked up this book I hadn't read anything by Elly Griffiths. And why not, I hear you cry. Well, because there are so many great books out there, and so little time to read them all.

This collection of short stories seemed like a good way to acquaint myself with the author's work, and it was a good choice.

The Man in Black and Other Stories contains 18 short stories. Some feature characters that fans of Griffiths will be familiar with, such as Ruth Galloway and Harbinder Kaur. Others are ghost stories, one of which, The Village Church, was my favourite.

I enjoyed all of the stories in this book, but a few stood out for me:

Justice Jones and the Etherphone

The Village Church

The Stranger

What I Saw From the Sky

Flint's Fireside Tale. 🐱

All in all an exceedingly good read.

Storm Publishing very kindly invited me to read an advance copy of Arsenic and Old Lies, and after reading the synopsis I was only too happy to accept. That was a good decision on my part, because I adored this book. With a title like that, how could I not? (I love the play on that old classic, Arsenic and Old Lace.)

The main characters in the book, and indeed the series, are friends Marius Quin and Lady Bella Montague, who are private detectives. Marius also happens to write murder mysteries. The book opens with Marius returning from a weekend away, to discover a body in his study. The deceased is none other than Gilbert Baines, Bella's fiancé. 🗡

Finding himself shut out of the investigation into Gilbert's death, Marius returns to his writing, and it is while seeking inspiration from old newspapers at the library, he stumbles upon what he deems to be a miscarriage of justice. 🗡

The subsequent investigation undertaken by Marius and Bella makes for interesting reading, not least because the trial Marius read about is based on a real life one. Sadly, the outcome of both differed.

Set in the late 1920's, Arsenic and Old Lies is a fast paced, thrilling read. There's quite the cast of characters, all of them interesting, and all harbouring secrets. There's also a dog, an adorable Basset Hound called Percy, who is Marius's faithful friend. 🐶

There are twists aplenty, and some welcome humour of the dark variety. 🗡

It has become a habit of mine when reading ARCs, to come into a series somewhere in the middle. Arsenic and Old Lies is book 5 in this series. I haven't read the four books which precede it, but I didn't feel like I was missing too much information. I will circle back to read them eventually. 🗡

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

The publishers offered me the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Body at the Vineyard (thank you Storm Publishing.) After reading the synopsis I was intrigued, and just had to accept, despite this being book 6 of a series and my not having read its predecessors.