Spine Thriller Book Blog

Shallow Waters: Special Halloween Edition by Crystal Lake Publishing My rating: 4 of 5 stars Solid collection of Halloween themed Flash Fiction stories. Most of the stories were pretty good, a few really good, and the rest just kind of average. Definitely recommended for a quick and fun seasonal read.

The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates   3.5/5 stars A generally enjoyable book that reads fairly quickly, if you can look past its shortcomings. If I was in a gumpy reviewer mood, I could have just as easily given it 2 stars and nitpicked it to death. With that said, allow me to proceed with the nitpicking. Let's start with the cover... The damn candle is in the attic... Why?! Why is a second floor window lit?! This just bugs the everliving shit out of me. So, this chick, Addy, right... She packs her suitcase and hops into a taxi to move into a house like she's going to the Holiday Inn for a weekend trip. A house she's never seen, inherited from an Aunt she didn't know existed, in a town she's never been to. Oh, and she has $20 to her name. This is the last person in the world who should own a house. It's debatable if this is even really a haunted house story. Tough to say much more without spoilers. The book is only mildly YA creep...

The Thicket by Noelle W. Ihli My rating: 3 of 5 stars Slashers don't need to have deep plots, but they do need to be entertaining. They also need suspense that pays off, creative kills, and some sense of motivation for the killer. I loved the premise and setting of "The Thicket" and the story started out great, but the potential just fell a bit flat. **SPOILERS** The two kills at the beginning were setup and executed perfectly! Unfortunately, this was the high point of the book. There is literally not another kill until like the last 15%, and despite being written from multiple perspectives - one of which being the killer - you never really get a sense of motivation. He wasn't retained as an employee of the haunted attraction at the heart of the story, and decided he liked killing people..? I guess. Ok, so the killer was a flat character with little depth and development (the old security guard with crappy orthotic shoes guarding a *sixty...

Noose by Brennan LaFaro My rating: 5 of 5 stars Noose is a horror western that was just plain fun to read. I actually might call it a bit more "action gore" than "horror", but that's probably just splitting hairs.  The story opens with a bang - actually a lot of bangs - and doesn't slow down relentlessly delivering intense scene, after intense scene. If I had to make a complaint, it's that being a novella the book ended far sooner than I wanted it to.  Noose is full of great characters, fun (and gory) action scenes, and a bit of a supernatural element. If you're looking for a quick read, and are horror-western-curious, Noose is a great place to start!