Sarah Killian: Serial Killer (for Hire!) - by Mark Sheldon - I had high hopes for this novel, but they remain unfulfilled

3 of 5 Stars     Review copy

I want to love every book I read, I really do. Regrettably, it's just not possible and there are times when you pick up a title that grabs your interest, but doesn't quite live up to your expectations. Sarah Killian: Serial Killer (for Hire!) is such a tome.

Here's the synopsis from the book's Amazon page...

"Sarah Killian is not your average thirty year-old single woman. Foul-mouthed, mean-spirited, and a text-book-case loner. Also, she is a Professional Serial Killer. Sarah works for T.H.E.M. (Trusted Hierarchy of Everyday Murderers), a secret organization of murderers for hire headed up by the mysterious Zeke. But a wrench is thrown into the clockwork of Sarah's comfortable lifestyle when, on her latest assignment, she is forced to take on an apprentice, Bethany--a bubbly, perky, blonde with a severe case of verbal-vomit. In short, Bethany is everything Sarah is not. Will Sarah be able to adjust and work with her new apprentice, or will she break her contract with T.H.E.M. and murder the buxom bimbo?"

I loved the idea of a foul-mouthed, mean-spirited, loner being forced to train a bubbly, perky, blonde. And there was some genuine tension there, but it wasn't enough to overcome my disappointment with some key elements of the story.

T.H.E.M. (Trusted Hierarchy of Everyday Murderers) recruits actual serial killers and uses them to fulfill client requests. In doing so, the serial killers are authorized to not only kill the target, but to eliminate innocents, as necessary, in order to create the illusion of a serial killer being responsible.

There were a couple of twists, but they seemed a bit forced. And then there was the one thing that bothered me more than any other. The lead character would substitute the word porcupine for God over and over again. Things like, "For porcupine's sake." or "porcupine-forsaken." Her reasons for doing so are never explained. I assume she didn't like God and that's OK, after all she's a serial killer, but keeping those idioms and replacing "God" with "porcupine" drove me to distraction.

There were some very imaginative bits, some clever word play with acronyms which I can't share and keep this review to a PG rating.

Unfortunately, although there is nothing in the story that couldn't happen, I found the overall narrative to be less than believable.

Sarah Killian: Serial Killer (for Hire!) is not great literature, but it's not meant to be. For me it's just an OK story.

Published by Crystal Lake Publications, Sarah Killian: Serial Killer (for Hire!) is available in both paperback and e-book formats. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read it at no additional charge and if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.


Mark Sheldon is the author of the twelve-part book series, The Noricin Chronicles. Mr. Sheldon lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Betsy.

I Am Providence - by Nick Mamatas - Murder at a Lovecraft convention

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

I can't say I read a lot of Nick Mamatas, but what I have read, I've certainly enjoyed.

Nick's most recent work is dissimilar from anything I've read before. Set at the fictional, annual Summer Tentacular, "Providence's premiere literary conference about pulp-writer, racist, and weirdo Howard Philips Lovecraft," the book is an inside look at the craziness such an event would give rise to.

The attendees at said conference seem to be based on a combination of real writers and an amalgamation of the writers and fans who frequent such a happening.

The story is told from two separate points of view, that of first-time attendee and recently published Lovecraftian writer, Colleen Danzig and the other, her roommate, a writer know as Panossian who spends most of the book in the morgue, lying on a slab.

The goings on in I Am Providence  may seem strange to the average reader, unless you've ever been to a social occasion like this, then it reads more like a documentary.

Overall, I enjoyed this tome from Mamatas, and the scene where several of the characters are digging in the woods in hopes of finding the remains of Lovecraft's cat was hysterical.

There were some great lines, too, one of my favorites, "Like Richard Matheson told me, 'Nobody likes a name dropper.'"

Ultimately, however, I Am Providence is little more than a murder mystery and I found myself wanting something more.

Published by Night Shade Books, I Am Providence is available in both paperback and e-book formats.

From the author's bio - Nick Mamatas is the author of six and a half novels and several collections. He is also an anthologist and editor of short fiction. His fiction and editorial work has been nominated for the Bram Stoker award five times, the Hugo Award twice, the World Fantasy Award twice, an the Shirley Jackson, International Horror Guild, an Locus Awards.

The Reach of Children - by Tim Lebbon - A British Fantasy Award winning novella, now available for the Kindle.

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

This brilliantly written novella was originally published as a signed, limited edition, hardcover in 2008.  The publisher subsequently went out of business and it is now available from Venture Press for the Kindle.  Yay!

I love it when great works that would cost a small fortune on the secondary market find a new home where everyone can enjoy them.

The story begins with the death of Daniel's mother.  "Dan, I'm sorry son, but she's gone."  "Mummy?" Daniel said.  And he turned to his father, and they hugged each other as the world grew cruel around them.

There is an element of horror to the story, but mostly The Reach of Children is about grief and the ways both Daniel and his father deal with their loss.

The reveal for the reason behind the title is touching and struck a cord with me. You'll know it when you read it.

This is a story I highly recommend.

Published by Venture Press, The Reach of Children is now available for the Kindle.  If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you may read it at no additional charge and if you're an Amazon Prime member you can read The Reach of Children for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

From the author's bio - Tim Lebbon is a New York Times-bestselling writer from South Wales. He’s had over thirty novels published to date, as well as hundreds of novellas and short stories.  He has won four British Fantasy Awards (including one for this very novella), a Bram Stoker Award, and a Scribe Award, and has been a finalist for World Fantasy, International Horror Guild and Shirley Jackson Awards.

The Con Season - by Adam Cesare - A new kind of immersive horror con

4 of 5 Stars  

Keith Lumbra is a filmmaker, if you can call titles like Teenage Cumsluts in Torturland film.  He's on his way back from a horror con where he was selling his wares when he gets pulled over by the cops, or at least he thinks they're cops.

Rory and Teeks are putting together a completely new form of con.  Where, instead of having fans line up to get their pictures taken with their favorite horror actors, a limited number of fans, who pay top dollar, would get to interact with a select group of B through D list celebrities at a camp where a slasher is taking them out one by one.

On the surface, it sounds like a really cool idea, but believe me, the talent has no idea what they're in for.

It was tough writing that synopsis without dropping spoilers left and right.  I've probably said to much as it is.

The writing in The Con Season is crisp and the pacing is excellent.  There was a brief disconnect for me between the story's opening and where things come together with the setting up of this new interactive, high-end, horror con, but in the end Adam Cesare delivers a uniquely original tale.

The Con Season is currently available for the Kindle.  If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read it at no additional charge.  Or, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can borrow it for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

From his bio - Adam Cesare is a New Yorker who lives in Philadelphia.  His work has been featured in numerous magazines and anthologies.  He writes a monthly column about the intersection of horror fiction and film, called PAPER CUTS, for Cemetery Dance Online.  His previous books include Mercy House, Video Night, The Summer Job, and Tribesmen.

Stay Crazy - by Erica Satifka - A paranoid schizophrenic with depressive tendencies tries to save the world from an interdimensional being

4 of 5 Stars     Review Copy

I really didn't know what to expect with Stay Crazy.  An unfamiliar author and a story which didn't drop neatly into one of my preferred genres, but I'm very happy that I took a chance on this one.

Em is a paranoid schizophrenic with depressive tendencies. She is being treated for her illness, but like many people she struggles with staying on her meds.  When she starts working part-time at a local big box store, she is contacted by a being from another dimension who attempts to recruit her to fight an entity intent on destroying everything.

I know what you're thinking.  She's crazy.  But what if the threat were real, who would believe her. When suicides among her co-workers at Savertown USA become a regular occurrence, Em begins to wonder if the voice in her head is something more than her particular brand of crazy.

It's tough to categorize this story, "weird" would probably be the best one word description. Just the right amount of crazy, with a touch of quirky.

I did laugh-out-loud more than once while reading Stay Crazy.  For a debut novel its really a well-written and fun story.

Published by Apex Book Company, Stay Crazy is available in both paperback and e-book formats.

From the author's bio - Erica Satifka is a writer who enjoys rainy days, questioning reality, ignoring her to-do list, and adding to her collection of tattoos. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarksworld, Shimmer, Lightspeed, and Intergalactic Medicine Show.  Erica is originally from Pittsburgh.  She now lives in Portland, Oregon with her spouse Rob and an indeterminate number of cats. 

In Perpetuity - by Tim Lebbon - "Find me the proof of love," the keeper said

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

Have you ever had a child go missing?  Even for a moment, it's a terrible feeling.  For me, it was right after Fourth-of-July fireworks on the beach in Ocean City, NJ.  Looked away for a split second and my then eight-year-old grandson was gone. The things that go through your mind.  Very scary. Fortunately, my story had a happy ending, we found him sitting outside of our Motel room some thirty minutes later.

Four-year old Sammy's father wasn't so lucky.  Enter a man known only as The Keeper, he'll gladly return Sammy to his father, on one condition. "Find me proof of love."

What follows is a rather surreal tale of the father's quest to find the very thing that will return his precious child.  He's not alone, along the way he meets other on their own quests, like the man with a sack full of heads, seemingly still alive.

Tim Lebbon manages to pack a novella length story with a wondrous world filled with sundry characters.  There are no wasted words here and the visions which show Sammy at various stages of his life, if his father can complete his mission, are profound.

In Perpetuity is a quick read and I found it to be equal messures of disturbing and enjoyable.

Published by Venture Press, In Perpetuity is currently available only for the Kindle.  If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read this novella at no additional charge and if you are An Amazon Prime member you can borrow it for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

From his bio - Tim Lebbon Tim loves writing, reading, triathlon, real ale, chocolate, good movies, occasional bad movies, and cake. He was born in London in 1969, Tim now lives with his family and their dog, Blu, who is the size of a donkey. In other news, a movie's just been made of Tim's short story Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies. There are other projects in development, too.

Floaters - by Kelli Owen - The best stories have a element of truth, Floaters is such a story

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

Two quotes at the start of Floaters set the tone perfectly for the story which follows.

America is not a young land: it is old and dirty and evil.  Before the settlers, before the Indians...The evil was there...Waiting — William S. Burroughs

Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful. — Mary Shelly, Frankenstein

Kelli Owen's new book starts out looking like a police procedural involving flood-waters causing a river-side graveyard to lose a number of its residents, including several Native-Americans.  It's all fairly straight-forward, until BAM...tentacles.

In the words of Detective, Carly Greene, "Old Indian legends and myths and monsters and — oh my god, I need a drink."

They say, the devil is in the details and Kelli has provided plenty to chew on in Floaters.

There's the strained relationship between Detective Greene and Parker, a reporter for the Evening Telegraph, masterfully addressed, not forced, but allowed to come through naturally in Kelli's writing.

Another gem of a character in the story is Granny Two Fingers, the matriarchal leader Detective Greene is working with to decide what to do with the bodies belonging to the tribe.

In her post-story notes, Kelli Owen mentions that much of Floaters is based on facts. Floaters are real, as is the story of the graveyard releasing a number of bodies when flood-waters rose, but the rest is the work of an overactive imagination.

Floaters is available in both paperback and e-book formats.

Recommended.

Kelli Owen was born and raised in Wisconsin and now lives in Pennsylvania. Kelli has attended countless writing conventions, participated on dozens of panels, and spoken at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA.