Monday Murder: Preternatural Revenge

EXPOSED by Alex R Carver is an excellent short story about a gent who has his life ended abruptly by a couple of neighborhood thugs. Displeased with having to start over, Julian decides to exact some revenge before moving on. While the setup is deliberately slow, once Julian sets out on his hunt, the action is thrilling.

I would love to see Carver write a mini-series centered on Julian. I can't help but wonder if the youth trying to rob him is the son of the couple that Julian tried to protect.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monday Murder

On the stage of an abandoned theater, the Mixologist sits slouched in a red, velvet-lined chair. In his hand, he holds a glass filled with a viscous, red concoction. Countless scars mar the flesh of his arms, and his mouth and cheeks are splattered with the crimson liquid.


Behind him, a body dangles by its ankles, creaking as it sways above an ornate, glass decanter. The bottle’s narrow neck captures only a fraction of the mixture draining from the throat of the corpse.


The Mixologist takes a sip from his glass and grins, already thinking about mixing up his next drink.

The Mixologist by Neefu is a flash fiction piece centered around a man who likes to drink a specific mixture of blood, but he's not as discerning as he believes himself to be. While the character, Cummings, transcends both vampire and serial killer in a creative way, the writing style is sloppy.

The POV switches between Cummings, Jonathan and Meagan, which is fine, but towards the end, the POV switches yet again and it simply doesn't fit with the previous POVs. I think it would have flowed more smoothly if all of The Mixologist had been told strictly in third-person narration.

Last, but not least, I tried to google Hyra for a proper sense of the name, but couldn't find any reference to the way it's used in the story. I think Neefu needs to include an author's note at the end. I feel the name would've had more of an impact, if I was familiar with the source.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monday Murder: Morbid Tales Returns

Tonight, little Amy lays in bed, hurt and sad at how unfair life has been toward her. From a dark corner, the darkest place in her dimly lit room, a silhouette watches, listens, and speaks.


Fearful and distraught, and nowhere to run, she has no choice but to stay. But who is this thing, this creature, this…it? It asks a question, Amy answers, and with her words many will die tonight.

The Silhouette by Zachery Miller is the fourth addition to his Morbid Tales. I love everything about this story. Amy is a very relatable character...I'm sure most readers probably have known someone like her, maybe they were her. I found the demon, Many, intriguing and intimidating at the same time. The deaths are heavily influenced by modern culture, a detail which gives this tale the appearance of an urban legend to be passed around. Miller doesn't show his characters any mercy...he is the silhouette.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monday Murder: Counting Chickens

Counting Chickens by R. H. Dixon is a tease of a story...the scarecrows had me hooked, with mounting suspense, until the shocking reveal...and then, the end. ARRRGGH! What an abrupt ending. Dixon should pick this story up again and continue with the mystery of Stonybridge. There's so much material to work with, within these few pages.

Nothing quite like a good ol' fashioned suspense story to begin the week...

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monday Murder: Mirror

Mirror by Laurisa White Reyes is full of suspense and terror. Even though I was fairly certain what would happen, as the nightmare unfolded, I freaked out. Although I told myself, "I wouldn't do that...I'd just run," I'd probably be torn between my instincts and my logic. Leaving everything behind, abruptly, is easier said than done.

A lot of stories features evil mirrors, but this one stands out...in more ways than one.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monday Murder [review]

Broken Lie by Melody Jade Allen is a roughly written short story resembling a mix of Twilight Zone and Fight Club. Readers are introduced to a man named Aron, who has witnessed multiple murders. However, the local police never find any evidence of foul play. When FBI Agent Valverde takes an interest in Aron, a sinister secret is finally unraveled.

Broken Lie is more of a crime drama than a horror tale, but the suspense is pretty good. I think the author should consider turning this into a novella and getting an editor to help polish it up.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monday Murder: Killing The Written Word [review]

An Anthology of Short Stories and Poems by Colby Lane, Mason Casey, Patrick Murphy, and Jayson Bradshaw seems like it was written by a bunch of middleschoolers.

Reading this "anthology" was more like finding someone's notebook filled with random story ideas...mostly flash fiction, with a few short stories and scattered poems. The poetry is the best part. The flash fiction is pointless, and the short stories are not only poorly written, but some of them appeared to be ripoffs of other people's work.

There is one story in particular that could land the authors in a lawsuit. I strongly suggest pulling this off Amazon, before that happens.

The authors should focus on a collection of poetry instead.

As always,
AstraDaemon