Deadwater And Other Weird Tales by David A. Sutton

Reviewer: JW Hicks

What we thought: This collection of tales, written in suitably eclectic styles, is oddly fascinating and at the same time extremely disturbing.

The stories, set in varied times and places, run the gamut of weirdness. Not only are readers transported to the past, projected into the future, but are also confronted by present day eeriness.

From spectral sightings in today’s Wales, the stories veer back and forth in time. Sent back to Caledonia we visit a dying mage, sent to the 19th century Gold Coast we see the result of a witch doctor’s curse, in the Caribbean we meet voodoo priests and zombies and in Victorian Britain we read a highly original interpretation of the Jack the Ripper legend.

Interspersed between these mysterious tales we read of alien abductions, a malevolent Father Christmas, and of a time when nature is regarded as ‘untidy’ and is routinely destroyed by android ‘ghosts’. Finally there is a story which tells of the first manned mission to Mars. As this haunting tale of loneliness and mental turmoil enfolds, the reader becomes laced in a web of doom; but beware, the powerful ending packs a mighty punch.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Spooky stories that keep you awake nights.

Avoid if you don’t like: Horrors that haunt your dreams.

Ideal accompaniments: A litre bottle of Courvoisier V.S. Cognac

Genre: Horror

Available from Amazon

Darkness Becomes You by M Cid D’Angelo

Reviewer: JW Hicks author of Rats

What we thought: This novel could be aptly summed up with this tagline taken from the text – It was time to place a haunted past to rest.

I came to this second offering from D’Angelo without having read his first, Dark Running. Thankfully it wasn’t necessary as D’Angelo insinuates the backstory with subtlety.

Artemus Dark, AKA the Big AD, is a metaphysician extraordinaire. In his world the paranormal is an accepted part of life, existing side by side with everyday normality. The Big AD is a psychic investigator par excellence – a self-proclaimed occult scientist who investigates crimes perpetrated by the shade community.

His latest case concerns two psychics being blasted with an identical blast of psychokinetic energy, resulting in mental meltdown. One of the psychics is his old pal Eddie de Winter, the other – Big AD himself. Turns out it’s no coincidence but the result of a direful happening they experienced in the past.

Add to the mix a dark-magic hit man hot on AD’s trail, plus the visions of a spectral zero-Fahrenheit ice-woman haunting his dreams, whispering ‘Come back to me...’ and you have the ingredients for a real terror ride.

Overall, Darkness Becomes You is a thrilling read, though in some places the pacing falters a tad, forcing a speed-read to catch up on the action. But despite this nit-pic D’Angelo’s novel spins the reader into a dark world-scape that both perturbs and fascinates. Darkness Becomes You is a gripping read and a supernatural TV hit in the making.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Paranormal thrillers akin to Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt vampire series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files.

Avoid if you don’t like: Ghouls, evil spirits and psychic phenomena.

Ideal accompaniments: Halloween treats – Dead Man’s fingers, Marshmallow Ghosts and a Bloody Mary.

Genre: Horror. Noir thriller.

Available from Amazon

The Flesh Market by Richard Wright

Reviewer: JJ Marsh

What We Thought:

1826 and the dead are rising. The Cadaver Riots horrify the Old Town of Edinburgh as rotting corpses emerge from their graves, ravenous. All agree this must never happen again. The people choose violence, the police favour law and the scientists opt for investigation. But investigating requires raw material.

Enter Bill and William, aka Burke and Hare.

In a brilliant twist on true crime, this book takes a grim reality and turns it several shades darker. The key players each have plausible motivations and the reader sides with each in turn, while constantly questioning the moral drive behind their reprehensible actions. Real imaginative skill goes into creating the individual justifications and personal delusions which push these characters to take those fatal steps.

The setting is absorbing and vivid, the period fascinating and the distant echoes of this factual case are compelling in themselves, but it is the characters who bring this story to life. For a tale so concerned with death, it’s bursting with human vitality. In fact, as soon as I’d finished, I researched the real body-snatchers. 

A scary story in the original, but this angle manages to create something both macabre and human. I wouldn’t normally read anything labelled horror, so suggest we call this ‘Intelligent Grim’.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: atmospheric period horror, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, James Herbert’s The Fog, Edinburgh

Avoid if: squeamish about blood, body parts and death

Ideal accompaniments: A quality malt with a touch of peat such as Laphroaig, or go totally terroir and drink Ethanol. With steak tartare.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror

The Survival of Thomas Ford by John A.A Logan

Reviewer : Gillian Hamer, author of The Charter (www.gillianhamer.com)

What we thought : I picked this up on a hunch after reading glowing praise about the book on Goodreads and I'm really glad I took a chance on it. There is some wonderful writing here that took me right back to my teenage horror phase when King, Herbert, Koontz and Hutson were all I would read. But there’s another edge here, that borders on black comedy, and a style of writing that puts me in mind of an early Cormac McCarthy.

A great hook at the start of the story with wonderful descriptions of a car crash that had catastrophic impact on the lives of every single person involved. Thomas Ford is an excellent lead character but equally the mad McCallum family and the devious Lorna play a big part in bringing this gruesome tale to life. I thought the dialogue was excellent throughout , the characters and their motivations real, and the action scenes were vivid and shocking and everything you could ask from this genre.

Negatives? And I’m being critical. Maybe pacing at some points dropped off for me. Some areas I felt were over padded and more than once I found myself skimming flashbacks and tangents about cats and cars to get back to the story and the action. It's a fine line and for me a lot of the tension in the climax scenes was lost due to extraneous detail.

But this is a cut above a lot of writers of this genre, and I’m amazed the author hasn’t bagged himself a traditional publishing deal, there is much to commend here and I enjoyed the journey into this dark world.

You’ll enjoy this if you like : Shaun Hutson, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King

Avoid if you don’t like : Dark themes and gore.

Ideal accompaniments : Vodka sours and Irish Stew.

Genre : Horror

 

Darkfall by Dean Koontz

Reviewer: Gillian Hamer, author of The Charter

What we thought: There’s something under the little girl’s bed, scuffling, tugging at the lamp lead. Eyes that glow silvery in the dark. Bodies found with hundreds of bite marks. Rats. But not rats. Someone – or something – is taking revenge on the drug dealing scum of New York City. Yes, we’re reading horror. But this time with a mix of American detective fiction. Does it work? You know I rather think it does. The cops are bumbling along as only US cops can do, missing leads and tripping over their own feet while worrying about voodoo and the like. But of course, there’s always one good cop who will save the day – especially when his own family are at risk. I can’t really discuss the denouement at all without spoiling the story, so I won’t, but trust me it’s worth the wait. I really enjoyed this book, and other than the occasional slip into horror cliché, it’s well worth a read for any fans of this genre.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Stephen King, Shaun Hutson, Catherine Cookson.

Avoid if you don’t like: Blood and gore. Rats that aren’t rats. American cops.

Ideal accompaniments: Shot of Jack Daniels and a cushion to hide behind.

Genre: Horror

Available from Amazon