Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Hello.  I hope you're having a great day.

The holidays often make me think of the people I've lost, like my grandparents.  I was blessed to have fantastic, loving grandparents on both my maternal and paternal side.  My maternal grandfather was a very pious man, he also was extremely outgoing. He was modest but he was also a politician.  He was mayor and actually secured the land that later became the town's only mall. My grandparents traveled around the world going everywhere but Russia, where they wanted to go but never got the chance.  Every year they went to Hawaii for my birthday...without me...and called me from the pool, while I was in cold New York.  Being the way he was, my granddad knew the name of half the population of Hawaii, and they knew him.  My poor demure grandmother went along with it all.  She surprised me when I got married by giving me the advice to "train him (meaning my husband) right from the beginning".  That makes me think she ran the show more than she let on. Sadly, hubby has proven untrainable.

One time my grandparents moved to the boonies near my hometown.  They were near a swampy area, by a State Park.  When there, they became avid bird watchers. They had a tiny little book, which my sisters and I always fought over, that identified all kinds of birds.  It was so prized, it not only survived decades but was given to my niece when she was little.  For a while, my whole family knew the names of many birds, now sadly they are just known as the mean blue one, or the gray one with the yellow tail.

I recently read Starling House by Alix E. Harrow.  This is the story of Opal, a down on her luck, hard life kind of girl.  She lives in the town of Eden where everyone seems cursed.  She keeps having dreams of Starling House, a local mansion.  Starling House was the home of Elizabeth Starling, who, in the 1800s, wrote a book called The Underland and then disappeared.  Drawn to the house, because of her dreams, Opal meets the rude and brash current owner, Authur.  Opal tries to find the reason for her odd dreams of the elusive house, and why in the dreams the mansion feels like home.  As she does secrets become unraveled, some not only dangerous but life-threatening.

This book was lots of fun.  It was a fast pleasant read.  It is an odd bird (get it...bird...Starling), as it's kind of a gothic horror without being scary, it has a bit of romance, lots of mystery and suspense and a fair amount of thriller thrown in for good measure.  One thing about the way this is written, I usually hate, but is done so effectively here, that I loved it.  I dislike when things are said over and over, I feel like the author is trying to increase book length and is wasting my time.  In this case, it is on purpose and very useful.  We hear the story of Starling House from several points of view, from people with experience with the building, land and family.  The closer we get to the end, the closer we get to the truth.  So entertaining.  I literally could not put this down, reading until my vision was blurring.

I've been on a roll lately.  The last several books I've read have been so creative and fantastic.  Christmas has come early! 

From Below by Darcy Coates

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

I am an odd bird. I can hear you telling me not to be so hard on myself, thanks that is nice of you.  Of note, if you are any member of my family the response to my saying I'm an odd bird would be "That's an understatement!"  Forget them, you read, you get me...although my statement has nothing to do with reading.  I am afraid of dark water, especially deep water.  The thought of being underneath a ship, freaks me out.  Yet, I am obsessed with several large ships, especially the old liner the SS United States.  I think being a naval architect would be interesting, I just don't want to know about the big dark dangerous ocean being around my creation. 

In addition to the water being spooky, there is that whole issue of not knowing what is underneath you.  How can that not scare the marbles out of you?  I keep watching those fishing shows where they pull tuna out of the ocean that are 100 inches long and 500 pounds (2.5 meters long, 227 kilograms...God bless Google). To think about those giants swimming around my feet, I just had a shiver go up my back and it is a bazillion degrees here. Then there is the story of the USS Indianapolis.  If you are a fan of history or the movie Jaws, you know what I mean.  If not just google it, okay I'll shorthand it.  Ship sinks, sailors in the water with sharks. It crushes me just thinking of them.  Terrible way to go.  By the way, did you know that they originally wanted to use a "trained" great white shark for the movie Jaws?  Can you imagine?  Anyway, dark water = no, deep water = no, rain = yes if it creates a rainbow especially if there is a leprechaun at the end with a pot of gold.

I recently read From Below by Darcy Coates.  I have read several Darcy Coates books before and have liked them all.  If you are unfamiliar with her, she writes haunted house books.  Yep, how is that for a niche...just haunted house books.  You would think that it is impossible to make a writing career from such a narrowed genre, but she does a remarkable job.  In fact, she is often nominated as horror writer of the year on Goodreads.  This book is different, and I had to know how the heck she was going to accomplish her spooky norm when the "haunted house" was an old transatlantic liner, sitting at the bottom of the ocean.  Intriguing huh?  The gist of the story is that there are a group of people in modern day that are making a documentary about the ship.  There is much interest in the ship Arcadia because it suddenly vanished while on a routine voyage. At the time, ships close by had received a garbled message about some kind of emergency, not an SOS or Mayday, but something else was happening.  Then the ship disappeared.  Now that the Arcadia has been discovered one team gets permission to dive the wreck and film it for all to see.  The ship is sitting, basically whole, on the bottom in a state of remarkable preservation.  Despite this advantage for exploration odd things start happening.  Are the divers getting too little oxygen or is something more sinister at work?  At the same time the story follows the Arcadia, days before her sinking in 1928, counting down the events that lead to the end of the once great liner. 

I'll start with my only criticism; it is 469 pages and could have been a bit shorter.  That being said, I was "on board" for every single page! The book is moody and atmospheric.  It does exactly what Coates always does so well, hold the suspense.  She is going to make you wait to find out specifically what is going on, but she will give you hints, views out of the corner of your eye, all the while building your interest.  She delivers, so don't worry that you'll be left unsatisfied, won't happen.  Coates will artfully guide you through the story, slowly unraveling things little by little, with finesse and little gore.  Once again, Darcy Coates proves herself the master of the haunted house book, no matter the location or size of the house. 

You take your cruise vacation, I'll be home...on dry land!

Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.  

Did you ever watch scary movies when you were a kid?  I've already told you I snuck into the family room to see a minute of The Exorcist, which was way too frightening for me.  We would often watch less vomit-is (I'm certain that is a real word) movies. We'd be on the floor, on our stomachs, chins propped on hands, elbows on the floor. Now, even if I could get in that position, which I can't, I'd fall asleep in two seconds. As a kid, it was a favorite way to watch TV.  Two For a Guillotine and The Legend of Hell House (a great book) were two of our favorites.  As adults, the latest thing is ghost hunting shows. In fact, an episode of the TV show A Haunting was filmed in our Victorian house.  People go through houses looking for things to move or voices, hoping to see an entire ghost. Frankly, I thought it was all baloney, until things started happening in our house.  When you hear hard-soled shoes coming up your long wooden staircase repeatedly, but there is never anyone there, you don't dismiss the paranormal as easily.

I recently read Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie.  This is the story of a ghost hunting TV show called Fade to Black, filming their thirteenth episode.  The show stars a married couple, Matt and Claire, who are very excited to be able to explore Foundation House in Virginia.  This house was previously owned by the Paranormal Research Foundation whose members conducted odd experiments in the house before they all went missing. As we learn about the filming crew and the previous owners, the house begins to come alive in a terrifying way.

This book was long. 433 pages.  It really didn't need to be so long.  Considering the length, the character development was minimal, and I just didn't care about them as you would expect with so much page real estate. In the writer's defense, this story is told through texts, journals, film clips, etc. So, making the characters endearing may have proven difficult.  In addition, because of the style the book reads very quickly.  Do not find the length intimidating. I think most will find the plot unique and imaginative.  I wonder, though, if the author has watched many of these types of shows.  He has the group getting an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) where you can hear ghosts talking on a tape recorder.  I've heard hundreds, sometimes it's singing or whistling, sometimes it's talking but it is always short, rarely more than a single sentence and often very difficult to hear.  In this book, the author has the team getting a clear EVP of 399 words!  Please, figure out some other way to get the info into the storyline, this broke the mood. Despite my criticism, which I really don't mean that way, the book was fun.  If you like ghost hunting shows, horror books, imaginative stories, you'll likely find this very enjoyable.

Despite my thinking of Casper as the ghost gold standard and the most sperm shaped cartoon, I think what was in our house was female, protective and kind...thankfully.

Wait...what was that noise?

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Hello everyone. I hope you are having a great day.

Do you like scary movies and books?  I remember being a kid when The Exorcist came out.  My parents wouldn't let me watch it.  Of course, I snuck to the family room and stood behind the door to try and see what the hub bub was about.  The pea soup vomit was all it took to turn me away.  The movie Poltergeist reinforced my fear of dark water, which is odd since I had a lifeguard certification as a teen. Books don't seem to bother me as much, The Shining, I loved.  I disliked the end of King's It.  The Heart Shaped Box, now that was a frightening book that I had to keep putting down, it was so good.  Darcey Coates, now she writes great haunted house books.  I guess horror is difficult to write, but when done well those stories are hard to forget.

I recently read How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix.  This is the story of a brother, Mark, and sister, Louise, who have lost both their parents in a terrible car accident.  They have to clean out their childhood home in order to put it on the market.  The book's jacket says the house doesn't want to be sold.  I don't want to say any more about the story itself or I'll give everything away.  Please be cautious about reading Amazon reviews, they contain lots of spoilers.  

The story moves quickly, I read the 400+ page book comfortably in just two days (a record for me). For more than 200 pages, I was completely onboard.  Although some suspension of disbelief is necessary, the story was enjoyable and very spooky.  Then it seemed like the author gave up and just threw in loads and loads of gore.  I was starting to not be as enthusiastic about the story.  Just when you think it's wrapped up, nope still 100 more pages of increasingly bizarre and improbable things happen.  On top of it all, for me the ending was a complete disappointment.  Uuggh, I've had this on my tbr for six months and was so looking to reading it.  Maybe this is Grady Hendrix's style, and he is just not for me.  I don't know as this is my first of his books. You may love this book.  It is very creative, scary and the characters of Lousie and Mark are well developed.  If you read this crazy, spooky tale, I hope you love it.

Our Trespasses by Michael Cordell

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

I often mention my sisters, I can't help it, they have been and are a huge part of my life.  But, no matter what I do, the relationship I have with them will never be what they have with each other.  They are triplets.  They have the normal sibling attachment, but there is something else...something different.  I would say it's abnormal, they would say "abbie-normal" from Young Frankenstein and then tell me I was full of bunk.  Seriously, there is a connection between them that I will never share.  Every once in a while I'll get a phone call saying they had an uneasy feeling about the other, as if someone was in trouble, and after clearing each other they check on me (gee thanks). One time my husband decided to buy a lottery ticket for the whole family, having each person give a number.  Despite living up to five hundred miles apart, they gave the same number. I've always thought this unusual link between them was a gift, now I'm not so sure.

I recently read Our Trespasses by Michael Cordell.  This is the story of two adult male twins who have shared a special connection and what happens when one of the twins dies yet the connection remains.  Such an interesting question and given my family history, I was intrigued.  This book is fiction but I'm telling you that while not to the extent portrayed in this book, the link is real.  Our Trespasses is being sold as a paranormal thriller.  I would completely agree with that and add perhaps it has a toe dipping into horror

I loved this book.  Not only did I love it, but it might be one of my all time favorites.  While the story had me engrossed it was the least this book has to offer.  The writing is wonderful.  I hate when stories tell you instead of show you, or run on about a topic, or repeat something but Michael Cordell does none of that.  He has a story to tell and he blasts through it from beginning to end.  He doesn't waste one second of the readers time, very appreciated.  In addition, the descriptions are so rich that the author transports you into the story with ease, all without being too wordy.  What I've seen done occasionally in movies but never really done well in a book is when the tension and fear is kept below the surface.  You know it's there, lurking, waiting patiently to appear but the anticipation of what is to come is kept brilliantly at bay.  When "things" happen, the story remains controlled and not over the top, making it all the creepier and really driving the story.  Mr. Cordell has sold several screenplays and I can see why.  Anything he writes, in any form, I want to see.

This book is 193 pages, yet packs more into it than many 500 page bestsellers.  Michael Cordell is an expert storyteller and if you are a lover of books you certainly don't want to miss Our Trespasses.  This is a perfect example of how all books should be written!

To buy the book, learn more about the author and publisher:

Our Trespasses: A Paranormal Thriller - Kindle edition by Cordell, Michael. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Michael Cordell – Novelist/Screenwriter (michaeljcordell.com)

TCK Publishing - Independent Fiction and Nonfiction Book Publisher

Slash by Hunter Shea

Hello everyone.

Not only do I hope you are having a great day, but I hope you have a full cup of coffee, this may take a moment.  Have you ever heard about the hotels in the Catskills? Okay, even if you think you haven't, you have. Does the movie Dirty Dancing ring a bell? That was supposed to be a resort in the Catskills, although it was filmed in North Carolina and the famous "learning the lift lake" has disappeared. Honestly, google it. Anyway, the Catskills are mountains in New York. They had resorts that offered everything to do. This area became very popular with Jewish people from New York City, trying to escape the summer heat. The most notable of the Catskill resort areas was The Borscht Belt, named after the Jewish soup. The Borscht Belt was generally considered to be Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties. These vacation spots started as small bungalows, in the case of the famous hotel Grossingers, it actually started as a farm house that rented rooms. As word spread of this beautiful area of New York more people attended. Activities grew to include golf, tennis, horseback riding, swimming, boating, diving, dancing and skiing in the winter. Then the comedians came. Now if you are young I'm jealous but I have an advantage over you....I grew up with great comedians. You think you know people that tell great jokes?  You know nothing. I'm sorry but it is true. These wonderful people that made the world laugh had a secret, they perfected each of their new acts on stages in the Borscht Belt resorts. As this happened, the area exploded and the hotels grew into huge resorts. You could see: Woody Allen, Buddy Hackett, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Sid Caesar, Rodney Dangerfield, Don Rickles, Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Henny Youngman, Jackie Mason, Mel Brooks, Alan King, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Stiller, Pat Cooper, Milton Berle, Phyllis Diller, Joey Bishop, Carl Reiner, Lenny Bruce, Danny Kaye, Totie Fields, Red Buttons, Gene Wilder, George Burns, Phil Silvers, Morey Amsterdam, Jay Leno even Groucho Marx...and that is just some of the comedians. They also featured singers like Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Willie Nelson, Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett and Judy Garland. The theaters where they held these acts were not huge stadiums, but tiered levels with tables. You enjoyed a drink and your favorite performer up close and personal. Comedians and singers weren't the only people working at these hotels, but there were things like prize fights, even Wilt Chamberlain worked as a Bell Man carrying people's luggage at Kutcher's. It was a time that cannot be duplicated. Sadly, most of these resorts are gone. As people decided they preferred the beach, Disney World or a cruise, the family vacation of a more simple variety declined.

Years ago, when I was a child, I got to go to the biggest, best resort in the Borscht Belt, The Concord. My school band went and actually performed on that stage that all those comedians did their acts. I got to look out and see the tiers of tables in a semi-circle facing the stage. I saw what they saw, stood where they stood. As I said last time, my dad wanted us to be moved by us standing where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address. Now that I'm an adult, I get it. I understand, though dislike, the passing of time and the act of remembrance. It doesn't just happen at battlefields or Presidential sites, sometimes it's in a hotel...on a stage...with classmates. It was a unique experience. I can't remember exactly why we were there, perhaps some kind of competition? A record was made of us playing (vinyl for you youngsters), I still have it and we sound really good, like a professional band not a school group. The rest of our time at The Concord, we were allowed to explore. I wish I could adequately convey what it was like. The shining white hotel had a huge pool outside with separate diving pool, large indoor pool, many tennis courts inside and out, huge indoor and outdoor ice rinks, the dining room sat 3,000 people at one time, golf course, the activities and services never ended. The place was a maze with halls that had glass walls some with marble floors in huge slabs of black and white. Eventually business slowed and the hotel closed. It fell into disrepair and became the draw of many urban explorers. After several attempts to revive and redevelop The Concord, sadly it was torn down.

I recently read Slash by Hunter Shea. This book is part horror and part thriller. It follows the story of a girl, Ashley, who goes with a group to explore a closed, crumbling old Catskills resort. While exploring, someone or something attacks the group and everyone is killed and mutilated except Ashley. As time goes by, Ashley, with the help of her loving boyfriend Todd,  tries to recover from her experience, her mind blocking out most of the memories. Without giving any spoilers, Todd ends up back at the same rundown hotel, with a new group of friends, hunting for memories and wondering if they will come in contact with the same evil that Ashley experienced. This book grabs you from the beginning, building the suspense. The plot is clear but there is still a big mystery to uncover. The writing is smart and concise yet still descriptive enough. The writer obviously either was familiar with Catskill resorts or did his research, in any case this book while discussing the location does not read like a term paper, rather a fast paced thriller. There is plenty of action, some gore. I was fine reading but when I told hubby about a particular scene, while I was nauseous after having too much coffee, I laughed at myself trying not to gag. Believe me you likely won't need any caffeine with this book. I enjoyed everything about this story, from general idea, plot, pacing and writing especially the dialog and learning what can be done with a stripper pole (read it to find out).

My poor dad would be shaking his head. He was moved by standing where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address and I was moved by standing where Henny Youngman said "Take my wife, please. "

One by One by D.W. Gillespie

Hello everyone.

I've mentioned our old houses in the past. We currently are working on an American Four Square that is over one hundred years old. We have restored a 1907 Victorian that had been divided into apartments, we returned it to single family. One of the things we did during the Victorian renovation, which took almost ten years in total, was to remove the walls on the third floor. We put heating and air conditioning ducts behind knee walls and installed insulation. While removing the walls, we found so many things; photos, paintings, corset, letters, button-up shoes and more. One thing we found was the corner of an envelope with a company as a return address. We also found writing on the low roofing boards that held the metal roof. There were spots where children had written their names in colorful chalk. We were able to track down the family that had lived there right after the house was built through the company name on that envelope scrap. It was amazing to learn that the 70+ year old man we were talking to was only seven years old when he lived in our house and those names in chalk were his sisters. We were able to talk to them too. It was so fun and made the hard work worth it and the house feel so much more personal.

I recently read One by One written by D.W. Gillespie. This is the story of the Easton family of four, mom, dad, older boy, and a young girl. Most of the story is told from the young girl, Alice Easton's, prospective. This family finds a great old house that needs lots of work. Not only is there a rambling, creepy old house but a large lot complete with dark woods featuring an old locked shed. In addition, next to the house is a pool that is only half filled with sewage like, black, putrid water. My nightmare come true!  As the family moves in and starts to work on their new home, the dad becomes rage filled. Immediately my mind went to The Amityville Horror, and I prepared myself for a B movie-ish retelling. Boy was I wrong. Little Alice tears off a piece of wall paper and behind it finds a drawing of a family that looks remarkably like the Eastons. While the kids are blamed for the artwork, Alice knows the truth, it was underneath the wall paper that had been hung years ago.  Things start to spiral out of control when family members go missing, as an X appears over the representation of them in the drawing.

This story is spooky, hitting many of the horror story highs including that smelly dark pool, the locked shed, odd woods, huge house, angry adults, a possibly evil diary, and a snow storm that isolates this family from the outside world including help from the police. The story moves quickly, leading the reader from the innocent beginning to terrifying end. A very fun read, perfect for this time of year.

Back to some housewife stuff, we finally have someone hired to fix the damage from hurricane Dorian. I sincerely hope he doesn't find anything drawn under the siding.

Darkness and Bloodshed by Lennie Grace

Hello everyone.

Last time I was talking about my sisters being triplets. As we got older, my parents ruled on disputes mostly by majority rule, they wanted to keep the peace. So when I wanted to watch a television show with a teen idol on it, I was quickly over-ruled in favor of a kiddie show. One thing we could always agree on, especially as they got a bit older was a great movie. There were a couple of really spooky films we loved, like the movie Two on a Guillotine. I had some wild idea years ago that it would make a great surprise gift for the trips. I spent ages waiting for it to be released, stalking every movie seller. Finally Warner Brothers ended my search, putting it out on dvd.  It is the story of a daughter, Connie Stevens, who has just buried her father, a world renowned magician. She is about to inherit his not so magical mansion but she must live there first. To help her is a newspaper man, Dean Jones, yes of Disney fame. It is a great movie. I think you can see it on Amazon Prime and Turner Classic Movies runs it every once in a while.

I was in the second grade when I first saw Two on a Guillotine. How do I know?  Because we were asked to write a story, and I wrote about a haunted house after seeing this movie. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Schwartz, said my story was so creative I should think about becoming a writer. Producing a creepy book never happened for me, but it has for some. One of those people is Lennie Grace. Lennie wrote the book Darkness and Bloodshed, which I recently read. This is a collection of three short stories. The book itself is not very long at 170+ pages, double spaced.

The first of the stories is called Blood Moon. It is about a woman who gets attacked by a large dog, she survives and makes it home only to later start behaving strangely. Let me stop here. This book is self published. Some of my favorite books have been self published, so don't shy away from this alternative source of reading joy. What self publishing usually doesn't benefit from is professional proofreaders. (I could use one myself!) Darkness and Bloodshed has several typos, which the author says she is working to have fixed. Honestly, I really had to search for them. They did not distract from the stories at all. I think the opening scene of the book, where the woman is attacked by the dog is the roughest part of the whole thing. I really don't mean "rough" I just can't think of any way to describe it. The author is showing us an attack, naturally it doesn't flow like conversations or everyday life, and it shouldn't. So if you buy this collection, and I'd suggest you give it a whirl, don't stop there. Lennie Grace really excels at her reaction between people. In addition, there are little things that she notices and includes that really make the stories come alive. For example, kids trying to hear what their parents are saying, kneeling on the couch leaning over the back, that was so easy to picture and brought back many memories. Silly details like putting on shark slippers. These little observations may seem like nothing, but really add to the world this author is building.

As far as the three stories go, the first was plenty entertaining but not my favorite. I also really liked the third story, called They Came From The Sky. It is about weather gone amok and then odd beings descending from the sky, absolutely terrifying. I was reading this alone at two am and I literally started hearing all kinds of noises around the house.  I went and woke up hubby to go down and "check" the first floor.  I told him to blame the author! But, my hands down favorite was the second story called All That Glitters.  This tale really reminded me of The Heart Shaped Box, by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son. Only this is different. All That Glitters could so easily be expanded into a full 300 page novel and hold my attention the entire time. I loved it. I don't want to give it away but the plot idea is so good.  Overall, the writing is strong, all shorts feature interesting plots. The stories stay on topic and are well paced, making for very pleasant reading.

If you have a chance and you don't mind hearing every creek and groan in your house, give this book a go. If Lennie Grace ever turns the second story, All That Glitters, into a full book, I'll be one of her happy customers.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Hello, hope you are well....blah, blah, blah, niceties over, time to move on! Forget chicken cooking, housework, etc. We must talk! I purchased a book called Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Do you know who Joe Hill is? Huh? Do you? Go on, guess, I'll wait. NO don't google! Unfair! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boy and girls...Joe Hill is Stephen King's son. You've heard of legacy acceptance into ivy league schools, multi-generational presidents, now we have father and son writers. No, no, not just any writers, horror writers!  Would he write like his dad? Was his dad actually writing for him and slapping sonny's name on it, kinda like a nice inheritance? Would the writing be juvenile? Would it be big words sending me repeatedly to the dictionary like he had something to prove? You know I have a love/hate relationship with Stephen King. Okay, mostly love, I highly doubt you can have had the longevity he has as an author without a whole lotta love. But, his wordiness and tangents totally get on my every last nerve. What about the offspring?!?! Sit down, yes, I know you have far more interesting things to investigate in your life, congratulations Nancy Drew. I had to know if the son was like the father. Had to!

Do you want me to tell you? Draw it out longer? Build the suspense? I'll spill. Joe Hill is amazing! Yes, amazing! No tangents at all (picture me looking up to the heavens mouthing "thank you"). No wordiness. What is left? I'll tell you, a super strong plot. A great ghost story where you see the ghost several times but it is the tension...ah the tension of what is about to happen that spurs you faster and faster through the book. The plot unfolds in such a way that takes some kind of unlikable characters and slowly evokes your compassion and eventually you're rooting for them. The story twists and turns, when you think it might slow down it doesn't and the whole time it is scary. At some points, I couldn't read this book at night. Honestly. Then, I couldn't help but read it anytime I could fit in a page or two. It was so good. It reminds me of everything I love about Stephen King and eliminates the things I don't like. Reading this took me back to reading The Shining, and that is a huge compliment as it started my interest in pleasure reading.

Yep, Joe Hill has talent, bred or learned I don't care, long as it keeps coming. Long live the King and Crown Prince. I'll start practicing my curtsy.