The Picture Frame by Iain Rob Wright

Blake and his over exuberant son are treasure hunting with a metal detector, when they come across the ancient and dirty picture frame, Ricky is overjoyed at the find/adventure, which is something  but from the moment they find it you can feel the vibe that something is wrong.

The inner dialogue and history of Blake is so akin to my own childhood I was instantly his “friend” and could have been a “fan” – hopefully not a crazed one though; like slasher Heinz who nearly broke his family, broke them to the point of having to move from his lush, millionaire lifestyle funded by his award winning books, to a secluded cottage at Redlake.

Both photo frame and cottage have a history, full of blood, death, demons and gods.

The first death broke my heart and really set the grief up within the family. IRW does well to portray the emotions and general bitter banter that often appears in family dynamics, this serves well to focus the reader in on the story. Furthermore IRW loves his trapped in themes and utilised it well to ratchet up the tension.

The second death was a shock and well-staged to bringing in the cursed frame, I loved the clichés of the Priest, misty glass and splashes of blood.

With alcoholic brothers, rabid foxes, strange accidents, thunder and lightning IRW delivers another fast read thriller that kept me engrossed, unable to put the book down until I had finished. 

The finale is rather sudden and I felt that IRW could have stretched this book out much further, maybe played on the local folk lore more, given some more flashbacks etc.

I always enjoy the British setting and IRW always manages to interject as much of it in to his writing as possible, it’s almost palate cleansing from all the American authors.

 (Spoilers) Niggles: 

How was the metal detector able to “find” the photo frame when it was made of glass and wood?

They can’t use their phones in the house but get internet, surely they could have emailed for help rather than google search!?

Bonus content - Reminiscing by Matt Shaw

Valerie didn’t want a birthday party, but she got one anyway and she got her bestest birthday present, Brian.

Brian currently has a pink Mohawk, but that’s ok it’s his “thing”; he is her life, her love, her Sparkle. 

Something has happened to Valerie but she can’t remember what, she remembers the family cinema trips, loving three cats, even the Taekwondo classes her son takes…… but what can’t she remember? And why is she on the floor.

A sad little story full of love, grief and pain.

The Picture Frame

Dying Days: Origins 2 by Armand Rosamilia

This chapter of the Dying Days world is about Cheryl and David and how they have prepped, it’s in a pretty awesome way but when the crunch comes not all goes to plan.

As they fight to stay alive and gather those that they love all that planning comes up short, which is a real shame as it was so meticulously done. I loved how AR spelled each element out, an apocalyptic daydreamer’s blue heaven (that’s me btw!)

The main characters are a really lovely couple and AR really breathes life into them. These are people I would like to have as friends, so I could hide in their bunker with them.

As they travel across the country trying to reach their intended destination they come across various people, some are so good natured you know they can’t possibly survive, but I could not help but route for them and then there were the groups of people that were so wrong in so many ways.

The “name dropping” of characters is really clever (hence the name Origins!) but it did make me smirk at the small worldyness of it all.

There are some really heart rending moments, especially early on in the book when the initial horror wave hits and fantasy becomes reality as people are lost and reality bites. The little sub plot stories along the way tie up so many loose ends and also start new stories.

The zombies feature only as a background in this book as the characters and their personal tragedies, heartbreaks and realisations are the real horror story.

The zig zag route that AR takes to tell all these stories means you can dip into any book in the series and not feel left out, the characters all link in to each other as do places and time lines. It’s a fun read with a serious undertone whichever book you choose, however I expect certain characters will become more prominent as AR gets more feedback on them.

Looking forward to no.3 already!!

Dying Days: Origins 2

French Fries and Flame throwers by Glen Johnson

Totally love the fact that GJ does NOT apologise for being an English author and uses all the correct spellings!

He is the master of short, sharp stories and excels at it in this set. Each of the stories are based around residents in a block of flats, GJ cleverly links them all but you can read each one individually, but I challenge you just to read one and not be drawn into finishing the entire set.

GJ has pulled a master stroke in managing to link every single story to each other, places, times, people, relevant news items.

Really enjoyed all the prologue “chats”

The Insomniac:

Oh dear, poor obese Trevor is so tired keeping up with demand in his chip shop that he makes a fatal error, and then his efforts to make good don’t go as planned.

GJ manages to do the inner dialogue perfectly giving a great “view” of the British chippy on a Friday night with all its bawdy customers and informs us of how Trevor feels about life, family, love and everything really!

Then his desire for late night french fries (chips) occurs, add in a little slip and an incident involving some cling film, mix in some mud and finally a twig!

I did not know whether to laugh or cry at the ending, it was so beautifully thought out and executed, this author just blows me away.

The Taxidermist:

Fred has a disturbingly disgusting desire to start practising on his neighbours cats. Thankfully they decide to not be cooperative.

I despise all animal cruelty, even in fictional stories, it was fairly obvious where this story was going but as I follow this author on FB I note that he too is an animal lover and trusted him with my emotions. I was not disappointed, although the story made me feel glad in one way it still irked my heart.

The horror is slow and painful to endure and made me squirm but ultimately it was the gore that made me cheer.

The Butcher:

GJ does cliché and stereo type so well its wonderfully kitsch!

Anton the Russian has been up to naughty things and tension is high in the preparation room but when Anton is given a promotion he refuses all bloody hell reigns down, how do you say no to a drug baron?

GJ does well to make you like what should be an unlikable man, then feel his pain at his demise, in a rather unique fashion.

The Florist:

Elena is just trying to make her orchids grow,  when it all goes a bit wrong.

GJ pays such attention to detail I could not help but be drawn into the story. The way he interconnects the characters is charmed, having learnt about Jimmy in The Insomniac and the “sister” we now meet her in all her weird glory.  

Elena and her son Jimmy have been busy installing a watering system but she has added a special fertilising ingredient she found in the Sky High shop.

As she gets a good dousing of the newly enhanced misting spray strangeness ensures – riveting reading all the way to the crescendo.

The Lovers:

Nalin and Isaac seem to have a perfect life until something random happens to change things for them.

Having already met the characters I felt like I slipped into their lives unwatched and with the brilliantly researched and factual back history of Nalin’s life I was engrossed, and sad at the world’s history.

During some amazingly erotic love making something awful (and funny) happens and I was left heartbroken at the ending.

The Animal Lover:

Gertrude can’t fit out her apartment door but her animals keep her company.

Whilst I love animals the description of the smell in her flat and what the various animals did was enough to make me gag! Over all her cruelty was far worse than Fred the Taxidermists. The ever so accurate portrayal of obesity was both sickening and fascinating.

As Gertrude teeters on the edge of a heart attack on her trek around her flat to find her inhaler I found myself breath holding and waiting for the inevitable.  Her final demise was very slap stick in what appears to be GJ signature way of killing people off, most amusing.

The Agoraphobic:

Gordon is the building manager with a nice money making side-line involving hidden cameras, so all the goings on are being watched, recorded and broadcast.

It is in fact his best night ever with all his regularly voyeurs logging on to watch the mayhem going on in the building, and the revolting Gordon is just watching it all with £ signs dancing in his eyes.

It was a brilliant way to catch up on what was happening in each flat from another perspective, the time line alone was magnificent in its perfection. In a few sentences GJ summed up the night of horror.

When he gets a knock on the door the person on the other side is not who he expected.

The Foreigner:

GJ launches from one dead body to another, and does it with superb style.

Samira is a covert spy and assassin, but she also has a complex and sad past, however now is the time she must make a quick escape as Gordon’s little internet business has alerted authorities to her.

GJ could easily write thrillers as he clearly has all the knowledge and skill to lead readers down a dark path of intrigue then set them on fire with the truth.

Another amazing little snippet of the bigger story, another sad ending but with that little hint of a giggle.

The Geek:

Poor schoolboy Benedict is often bullied and left alone by his hard working (and playing) mother, but he has been working hard on his school project and he has a dream.

I loved the way GJ interjects all these little comments that just speed you make to other scenes, this would make a brilliant Tarantino style film.

In the epilogue GJ really rounded up the horror and giggles, tying up every loose end and giving an incredible to ride to his readers. 

French Fries & Flamethrowers

Eyes Deep: A Clandestine Daze novella by Tim Marquitz

When the first few lines include a gross out murder followed by some sort of eyeball eating ritual I could not help but be hooked. But this is no out and out horror novel, more a supernatural, dark urban thriller.

Our main “man” is simply named Z but goes by so many other personas and skins!

After he has consumed said eyeball he is now able to become that person, a doppelganger, this allows him to do his day job of finding a piece of stolen equipment and ascertaining why it was even being built as this seems to be a machine designed to pull energy from another plane/world/dimension, and so the fun begins.

I wasn’t too fussed with Jace the other main character simply because her personality was kept so closed and in the dark, although she clearly has “something” for our main man Z to be so enthralled. I really enjoyed the sexual undercurrent, even if it was all one sided!  Maybe TM will expand her character in the next book, she obviously has a “history” to be the cold, feisty, uber killer that she is.

The pace is edgy and face and I really enjoyed the new world that TM is building done, which is leaked out slowly  as the story progresses, you can’t afford to take your eye of the page for a second or you will miss something. 

There was a great fight scene early on before Z and Jace resort to guns and all the chatter that goes along with that! But there were some very visual shape shifting moments too that really cheered me up.

I found less humour in this novella than what I used to from TM, his other major characters all have a sharp, sarcastic wit to them, Z not so much more of a sad underlying story to him, but then this was an intense story line and apart from the odd one liner there was not much room for humour.

I am really looking forward to seeing how this world/plane/dimension and the characters develop, judging by TMs other “worlds” this should prove to be brilliant!

Eyes Deep

The Misadventures of Bob the Zombie by Jaime Johnesse

What you get here is the three previously released Bob novellas, a new never-before-seen novella, and a BONUS short (actually its quite long!) story.

Love, Love, LOOOOVE these covers! They really show the fun that is all Bob.

Bob the Zombie (book 1):

From his unfortunate demise to his eternal rising, issues with rejection, bits dropping off, some exceptional dance moves and an ongoing need for staples we are introduced to Bob!

The humour ranges from smirking to a few Pepsi nose snorts, yes parts of it are pretty gruesome too! (hello! its a zombie novel) but Ms Johnesses writing is so clever, she uses nearly zero profanity, a feat that seems darn near impossible in the horror genre (I would go so far to say that it is suitable for the YA market).

Lots of introduction to a variety of creatures of the Super Natural kind - which bodes well for many, many more books to come! Yippee!
Plus you get a little glimpse of Holly Andrews (which is going to be an AWESOME story!)

A great start to a brilliant new series.... looking forward to the next body part flinging, dance extravaganza adventure!

Bob the Spy (book 2):

Another brilliant (and well written) chapter in the life of Bob the dancing Zombie!

He is such a well fleshed out character, pun intended! With his back story and friends you can't dispute that he is real! In fact he is on facebook, so he must be.

JJ manages to think of every little loop-hole that might be for his strange existence. With the aid of staples and Super-super glue he is able to go on adventures and dance the night away!

This story is of the Warlock/Witch plot to overthrow the human world. It's fast paced with loads of humour along the way, but also some great tension moments.

Yes, as is Bob's way there are some sentimental moments too, but not enough to be sickly.

So make sure you follow Bob in real life on his FB page; Bob the Zombie.

I loved the idea of a Dorothy door and there are some really clever pop-culture nods.

Bob the Valentine  (book 3):

So the wonderfully cheerie Bob (the Zombie) is off on a date with the potential love of his un-dead life. Careful tactics and few body part staplings have brought him to the moments before she walks in looking as stunning as any zombie girl can – JJ does a fabulous job of making the death pallor sound intoxicating.

At the “posh” restaurant our love birds choose their dishes, suitably with a brain tasting theme. However, no date-night is complete without a bit of drama, as Hunters burst in the door and Bob manages to give his usual accurate view on human nature and some kind advice for us all.

There is a plot twist with a smiling ending that had my own heart in my mouth, thankfully I don’t need to Kachunk it back into place!
If you want a good giggle and snort for Valentine's Day, this lovely little short story is for you!

Fall in love with Bob.

Bob the Hero (book 4):

Lilly is still very much in the picture and Bob is still totally smitten. The way JJ describes her does have a certain appeal.

The little social media and pop culture references are rife and fun.  The thought of Z-Harmony or Z-Match.com hahaha!

Every nuance of Bob’s undead life is thought out by JJ and she gives such a rounded picture you can’t help but believe it’s all real.

In this chapter of Bob’s life he manages to avert a hold up at the local Laundromat; funny how he still feels he is not a hero.

He might be dead but Bob is still a brave and morally correct guy.

Bob the Mentor (bonus feature):

The story of how he met Holly Andrews – a girl I really want to read more about. This is such a huge part of the book it’s hard to call it a bonus feature – its more like the main attraction.

A Vampire, Troll and Zombie all gathered around a prone body…. Sounds like the start of a joke! But that’s how this new group of friends all meet and go on this new adventure.

Bob and his new friends, Victor & Flea (yes, Flea!)  guide and teach Holly how to use her new and often overwhelming gifts. He does find himself in some weird pickle situations – as only Bob can.

I was so enchanted to read that he had met Jane (the vampire – a Lisa Lane creation).

JJ introduces the reader to whole supernatural world and its glory!  Can’t wait to see what she comes up with in the next instalment.

I love the way JJ writes the humour in, I am always reading about Bob with a smile on my face and the occasional snort. 

The Misadventures of Bob

Into the Velvet Darkness: An Eclectic Collection of Shorts by Kat Yares

What a brilliant and generous set of stories all wrapped up in this one book. Such great value for money.

Kat Yares has excelled herself with this collection.

A Child is born:

What a fantastic way to start this book of short stories. Perfection turns to destruction in this tale of a perfect child. So well written I really felt as if I had read a whole novel, I had emotions for the family and even some insight to the “child”. Great final line.

A Matter of will:

Cal is immortal but he has a mentor, Alex, to guide him and he warned about this type of women. Lucy, total perfection and a possible killer. Who will win out? Felt there could have been more to this story, so was a little disappointed for it to end so soon.

Anywhere by here:

Picking up a hitchhiker never seems to be a good idea! But this one comes with a story, are you sure you want to read about it? Because after I had I wished I hadn’t, talk about give you the chills.

Bed Rocks:

New warming rocks for the bed, that’s all his loving wife asked for that morning, his last day on the job before retirement and such pretty ones he found her too.

Another fantastic ending to this story, I was so enamoured with this perfect family that I was horrified at the outcome – great emotion wrangling Ms Yares.

Murder by modem:

Chat rooms apparently are the new singles bars, but with the same desperate people and same predators hunting them.

Totally loved all the build up and the fabulous ending. Another brilliant dust biter!

Country Plumbing:

Poor Myrtle (I love that name!) she has such a useless son, he cant manage to fix one problematic blocked sink, although with her moaning I was surprised he had not stuffed her down the sink hole.

Although I suppose the moral of story is be careful what you DO stuff down there!

Not sure this was supposed to make me giggle but it did 

The Crystal:

Well this story just left me staggered, what is real and what is imagined. I really enjoyed reading it though and was totally engrossed in Dragons and Knights.

Cleanliness is next to….:

I read this story awhile ago and loved it so much although it did make me jump out of bed and clean like a wild thing; Ms Yares has added to and updated and if possible, its even more brilliant.

Maddie hates to clean, one night after a violent storm certain bits of fluff start to appear.

This is has to be my favourite story as it makes me shudder and giggle every time.

Unrecalled Memories:

This story really upset me, it was so tragic but also terrifying. I cant really explain it without giving the story away and therefore spoiling it, but it does have a huge twist which left me feeling stunned at what people hide.

No more, Mama:

If the last story left me feeling stunned this had me feeling a whole host of emotions from the first to last line. Sadness mostly at what people chose to ignore.

However, the over ridding emotion was joy at the outcome. I am glad that Ms Yares wrote this story, its harrowing but it made me feel strong.

Paranoia:

That old saying “just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they are not out to get you” really rings home in this little horrific tale of a women terrorised by her fears.

This left me with goosebumps!

Practical Joke:

When the opening line is about a Chicken King taking a bath you have to giggle but that’s not what I was doing by the end of the story. My feet were off the floor by the end and I like furry things!

The Sinkhole:

Poor Tommy he has a life of Do’s and Don’ts. But then he falls down the sinkhole and his life is changed forever.

Short and sharp this left me a bit wide eyed and edgy. Fantastic reading!

Suddenly Sober:

Eeeeek and ooooh! Love how this is related to another story previously told! No spoilers here, brilliant!

The Changelings:

Teenagers or Demons? Hard to tell the difference sometimes; but this little tale should remind you!

The Fan:

It started with Carin getting little notes, stupid ones, nonsensical ones. Then…….

So short you can hold your breath whilst reading, which you will be.

The Tree People:

Oh my, so haunting and sad. A story told of horror, terror and murder.

The Ridge:

Hells Bells I hope this one never comes true!! It made me giggle at the possible source for this story. Wonderfully written, don’t we all dream of murdering our spouses at some point in married life!

Vanities:

A women trying to keep her youth, a man trying to keep his younger wife happy, a new magical face cream, untried, untested – what could go wrong!

The build up is brilliant and finale is expected by still scarymary.

Wishful Thinking:

Poor Mae wants to die, but everyway she can think of would be intentional suicide and whilst she wants out of this life she does not want eternal damnation either. In her dreams she fantasies of far off worlds and exploring them all. Then Zot happens….

I was expecting more from this story but as the book is far from over…..

Miss Amy’s ghost:

Oooh a murder, a bit of intrigue, a haunting and a fabulous little story. Ms Yares at her best.

The Church on the Hill:

A damned town, a damaged township; only Stella knows the truth. Hard to describe without giving the essence of the story away but I really enjoyed the telling and was left a little curious – think this would make a great novella if stretched and filled a little.

Answered Prayer:

Oh my good lordy – be careful what you pray and wish for. What a horrifying ending to a sad little tale.

Eat, Drink & Make:

Big Bertha has several appetites! Whilst I felt the ending coming on this one it was still with a wicked kind of giggle that I enjoyed it! Just beware what you are eating for lunch!

The Truth of Becoming:

Poor John, his life, family and friends wasted and taken by bugs, especially fat little ticks. Or was it?

As he recounts his story to a Dr in the local “nut house” I felt a sort of tension rising, the climax gave me another sinister grin. I love how Ms Yares winds her way into a story and then blasts you out the other side with a differing emotion.

Waiting for Winter:

Knowing how Ms Yares fears snakes I have a feeling this is one of her personal nightmares. It’s a sad and terrifying one on so many levels.

Lost Souls:

Amos has a plan to reunite with his lost love Laura, he just needs Timothy’s help.

What could have been an obvious ending was turned on its head with a little dig of fear in the last line.

Delicate Balance:

Jerry vs Deer. As each attempt to keep them from his garden crop fails his attempts become more and more elaborate and revolting.

The climax was a complete surprise and I loved it!

The Well:

Eaily the longest story in this book. Ms Yares spends her time building the characters and laying down a really believable back history.

Sarah has a problem with her well; she appears to have been housing a rather mean water fairy down there. Strange things that you find down wells apparently!

Threats are made and a sacrifice promised, however Sarah is not sure she can pull it off but in the nick of time she is helped by a very handsome Professor called Jack; but then her son goes missing and crunch time comes for delivering the sacrifice that the water fairy has demanded.

The ending is all very tense and nail biting, what a story to leave until almost last!

I Wait:

Oh! What a way to end the book, with a quick slap to the face basically.

Velvet Darkness

DEAD: Reclamation (10) by TW Brown

Another smash hit from TWB, I have to pace myself with his books (including the Ava series) as when I pick them up I tend to read straight through. Which can be really irritating as I read it in one, maybe two days if I stop to eat, and then have to wait another six months!

I really enjoyed the opening paragraph. Little Thalia has been on the scene from the first chapter of this series and I have grown to love her. Now that she is growing up it’s such a shame to see her life so sad; although she does not see it this way, she is so upbeat and excited by everything around her. She is now mid-teens as TWB as advanced the book about 8-10yrs.

La Grande township has now made massive changes and is now Platypus Creek. As is usual with the DEAD series there are lots of new people too. I enjoyed Paula Zin the new kick ass chick, not to mention Jim and his bombs! And a new threat is coming to town.

Juan has never been a likeable character for me but even his story line broke my heart a little; but hope is on the horizon for him and the other families he has managed to meet up with, at least I hope so – you never know with the DEAD series, as no one is ever safe.

I have really missed Gemma but I was glad to see she has survived with Chaaya, a biologist she was thrown in a cage with! Yup another horrific story line from TWB and even worse we get to find out what happened to Harold. She eventually finds Vix though and has some closure to her traumatized young life. 

Chad and Ronnie have been settled, to a point, with new character Caroline, again they have all moved forward but we are soon left on a cliffhanger with them. 

Kevin is now with Catie, who has a little surprise in store, I felt sad that he is not with Aleah anymore but that kind of makes sense, his life just goes from conflict to clash!  I was surprised they wanted to settle down in such a fraught neighborhood! But when an old acquaintance shows up all things must change. He was starting to get on my nerves always thinking he could talk his way out of any dangerous situation and liaise with even the maddest of dictators.

One of the new characters, told in an interesting journal style, is the avenging chappie Adam V; so hope we get more of this guy in the final two books.

Immunes seem to be getting it in the neck from all over the place in this books as the zombies themselves have taken a back seat.  But what happened to the funky kid zombies?

I really enjoy how all the characters and places have grown, some have strange tangents to their lives and some have gone off the deep end but then that is “normal” in this new world.

I also enjoy the emotions, feelings etc that TWB gives his characters, not only does he put them through the wringer but you as a reader; if this book does not make you gasp and shake your head then you haven’t been following closely!

The rotating storylines kept me on my toes and wanting to read on as I was desperate to find out what happens next to each group. The catch up, then the story, then the cliffhangers started. Mixed in all the horror, tears and gruesomeness there are some very humorous moments. 

Yes, there are deaths in this book and apart from being spectacular I was more devastated by one in particular than even Steve, although maybe I have mourned him now and have moved on.

To get to no.10 in the series and still hold my interest is quite a feat, it’s still a full on ride of terror but no longer are the zombies the issue, just us normal humans. I used to think I wanted to survive an apocalyptic event – but not so sure now when reading these books, when you think of all the horrors of today’s society and then magnify them with no law or order…. No thanks. Not to mention the lack of hot water, chocolate and cheeseburgers!

I am keen to see how TWB ends this series but also sad to see it finish. Oh well, another six month wait for the next installment!

DEAD:Reclamation