Fight Fire With Fire | Horror Review | AstraDaemon

WHAT DID NOT DIE by Ruth Anna Evans is told through the POV of a reporter covering a house fire. While on the scene, Jordan sees a little girl in the fire, only to be told no one was left in the house. From that moment on, people connected to the reporter found themselves victims of fires.

Jordan discovers the little girl had died in the hospital, but she deliberately started thehouse fire. Soon the reporter realizes the spirit has latched onto her, but doesn't understand why. The ending is an asbolute roller-coaster of action and emotion.

The assortment of characters keeps the story interesting, although I wish there had been more dialogue. I also would have preferred more detailed flashbacks to Jordan's past.

If you enjoy movies such as The Grudge and The Ring, you should read this novella.

As always,

AstraDaemon 

In the Shadow of Death

THE HAUNTING OF THE HATHAWAY HOUSE by Amy Cross is extremely frightening, especially if you're a parent. A malevolent spirit drives Michael's parents to their deaths: his dad dies by hanging, and his mother suffers a heart attack. His uncle, Stephen, finds him three days later, but how the infant survived is a mystery.

As an adult, Michael returns to his family home with his pregnant wife Jen, but the womanly apparition is still there, and she has a sinister agenda. As Michael becomes obsessed with the shed in the backyard, Jen is forced to confront the evil spirit without her husband. Mistakes are made, the history of the house is revealed, and newborn Lucas is soon in great danger with no one to protect him.

Told in the POVs of Michael and Jen, with occasional flashbacks, the building suspense is terrifying. As the specter feeds on the fears of the new parents, the loss of hope during the battle against such an overwhelming threat to the family is agonizing. Highly recommend!

As always,
AstraDaemon

Scorned Fury

MARY by Amy Cross is not just a ghost story set in 1962, but rather a mystery-thriller about a woman trapped in a cottage by a malevolent spirit, and a young police officer determined to help Mary Moore. Unfortunately, Sergeant Ben Warner finds himself in the middle of a supernatural battle.

The author uses suspense to grab readers with a death grip, and drags them through the hell which has left Mary's memory fractured. This haunted tale is full of twists, with an ending which leaves me wanting a sequel.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Supernatural Mystery-Thriller

THE GHOSTS OF DAVID BROOK by Amy Cross is a fantastic ghost story. First of all, you have the urban legend of Catherine Bannister who takes one victim, every year on the same date. Then the author mixes it up with stories of the poor souls murdered by the hate-filled ghost. The switching POV makes it difficult to tell who is alive and who is dead, but this serves to increase the suspense.

Last but not least, you have the backstory of Catherine and the revelations made by two of her victims. I never knew what to expect, and the ending is completely awesome. Even though David is at the center of everything, Kaylee is my favorite character.

This would make a great horror film.

As always,
AstraDaemon

The Briarwych Trilogy: Book 3

THE GHOST OF BRIARWYCH CHURCH by Amy Cross is a prequel to the events of the first two books, finally explaining how the trouble with Judith Prendergast first began. Unfortunately, this book is not as interesting as I'd hoped it would be. The entire trilogy is just as much Judith's story as it is Briarwych's history, but there is not much detail about the life of the woman before becoming a ghost.

I wish more time had been spent on her relationship with Elizabeth's father -- even a small flashback would've been better than mere mention. I also think more pages could've been devoted to the years Judith raised Elizabeth as a single mother. Without a substantial backstory, the mother-daughter relationship seems superficial.

For someone who has been connected to the village for so many generations, I expected more personal interactions with the other characters. Cross would've been better off just writing a short story to explain Judith's connection to the church and village.

As always,
AstraDaemon

The Briarwych Trilogy: Book 2

THE HORROR OF BRIARWYCH CHURCH by Amy Cross takes place several decades after the events in the first book. I had no idea the author planned to write a trilogy, but I love the sequel to The Haunting of Briarwych Church. The characters are much more interesting, particularly because of the interaction between the newcomers and the villagers.

Again, Cross has written something more than just another haunted building story. The personal drama Mark goes through is gut-wrenching...I'm thoroughly disgusted with his trial foster parents. The references to the RAF airfield are fantastic moments, and add an extra layer to the story I didn't expect. Needless to say, this book stirred up all kinds of emotions.

Again and again, the question remains: what exactly happened to Judith Prendergast in the first place?! The third book should tie up all the loose ends. If you haven't read Amy Cross before, this trilogy is a great place to start, especially if you enjoy paranormal/supernatural horror stories.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Secrets Within Secrets

THE WEDDING OF RACHEL BLAINE by Amy Cross has such a wicked twist, I've been sitting at my laptop for more than a few minutes, trying to figure out how to write this review. When I first saw this novel, I thought, "Here we go with another jilted bride-ghost story," but this focuses more on a woman with a dark secret...marrying a man with a dark secret.

I felt so damn sorry for Rachel, once her past is revealed, and her mother's flippant attitude made me sick. Rachel is about to get married, surrounded by friends and family, and not a single person has her back. Even though this story has a paranormal element, the underlying theme of distrust and abandonment is just too realistic.

The pace is a little slow...this could've been a novella, if not for the long setup...but the ending is worth the effort to stick with Rachel's plight. Too bad she didn't trust her own feelings.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Friday Feature: Gypsy Grudge

THE GREENWOOD CURSE by K.B. Knight is the first book in a series about a town with massive problems. Greenwood offers a different nightmare on every street, like a Universal Studios located in Hell, with an assortment of demonic entities to terrorize the characters. While most of the book is filled with drama and horror, Knight throws in some dark humor here and there, which only emphasizes the chaotic nature of the curse.

Knight takes the haunted house theme and twists it into something bigger and more frightening with sinister scenes reminiscent of an 80s cult horror movie experience, but in book form. As if that wasn't enough, the author whips up an ending which will leave readers feeling like they fell out of an upstairs window and straight into a new level of Hell.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Ashes to Ashes

The stones uncovered by a young couple in the back garden of their new home seem harmless, even useful--until the nightmares start. Now they must look to the past for answers before a malevolent entity drives them away...or worse.

The Girl in the Stones by Sherry D. Ramsey captivated me from the moment the cat freaked out. From Gillian's nightmares to her grandfather's dementia, the author does a great job of building suspense and creating suspicion. After the mystery of the fires is revealed, I wondered how peace could ever be attained.

As much as I enjoyed this short story, I'm left with so many questions, I wish the author would consider writing another story about Alice.

As always,
AstraDaemon

God Has Left The Building

The year is 1942. Britain is in the grip of the Second World War, bringing blackout conditions to much of the country.

For several years, Briarwych Church has remained locked and unused. Arriving to take up his new position, Father Lionel Loveford's first task is to open the great wooden door and get the church back into use. But something lurks in the shadows. A terrible tragedy once took place in Briarwych, and now the locals live in fear of a vengeful spirit that has sometimes been spotted looking out from the church's windows.

Although he doesn't believe in ghosts, Father Loveford soon discovers that the entire village of Blackwych lives in a perpetual state of guilt and terror. Does the ghost of Judith Prendergast really haunt the church and, if so, what does she want from the villagers? With the door now unlocked, does her spirit now roam the village? And can her anger really reach as far as the wartorn fields of mainland Europe?

The Haunting of Briarwych Church by Amy Cross is so much more than a mere ghost story. This novella is a mystery-thriller, revolving around a single decision by an entire village to turn their backs on a woman in need. Father Loveford appears to be in denial about everything around him, but his cynicism leads to his discovery of several tragic secrets, all tied together by the late Judith Prendergast.

Rather than lean heavily on the paranormal aspects of the story, Cross does a great job utilizing the wartime setting and the desperation of a community without hope. The conflicts of faith and reason highlight the horrors of human nature. Not once could I guess where the author would take this story. Definitely one of my favorite Amy Cross stories.

As always,
AstraDaemon

What's That Smell?

Rats in the Loft by Mark Lumby, author of Lord of the Harvest and Bag of Buttons, is such a descriptive story, I felt like I was in the attic with Peter...and I was terrified. The randoms sounds really creeped me out. When the mystery is finally unraveled, I was completely shocked. The final ending left me with mixed feelings. The entire story is a well-written tragedy.

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I'm very rarely frightened by horror movies of any kind, but there is something about written stories that crawl under my skin and infect my mind. Sometimes I find myself wishing I could back out of the story - make a retreat to safety, but I am unable to put down my Kindle. Obviously, the authors are responsible for such captivating nightmares, but I often wonder if the stories develop their own sinister energy, making it impossible for readers to look away.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Helicopter Mom From Hell

The Last Word by Michael J. Evans is a story about a mother who is so rotten, she torments her daughters, even after death. Ramona, the eldest daughter, refuses to mourn for her mother, which enrages her mother's spirit even more. If I witnessed even one of the events that take place, I would have immediately called in a professional to deal with it. I can't, for the life of me, understand why or how Ramona could be so flippant about everything. While the story is captivating, I couldn't stand the ending.

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I've already mentioned in a previous post I have vivid and detailed dreams, including night terrors, some of which I call serial dreams because they can span anywhere from a few nights to weeks, months and years...kind of like having my own television show in my head and I am the central character. Often these serial dreams have evil entities I couldn't get rid of right away, so I had to deal with them every time I slept, until I found their weaknesses.

There was one entity in particular I couldn't get rid of...I tried all kinds of tricks from the many dream books I had researched (this happened before Google existed). Out of desperation, I decided to try the fight-fire-with-a-bigger-fire approach. My dreamself conjured up another entity to fight the first one. (I don't mean conjure as in summon, just visual manifestation within the dream.) It worked, and, unlike most horror stories, my plan did not backfire on me and the conjured entity dissipated.

Having experienced this, I wonder why characters in horror stories don't try something similar when faced with a major supernatural threat. You'd think the characters would be more open to trying new things to help themselves. If I found myself in Ramona's situation, I'd call on help from another departed relative. It's a thought, anyway...

As always,
AstraDaemon