October 27, 2014

Asbury Dark: Haunting Tales From the Jersey Shore by Lori Bonfitto

Synopsis:
A telekinetic teenager. A doomed ocean liner. A haunted bed & breakfast. A zombie-fighting real estate developer. These are but a few of the eerie people, places and things that go bump in the pages of Asbury Dark: Haunting Tales from the Jersey Shore.

Spanning six decades, Asbury Dark will thrill and delight anyone who’s ever ridden the rides on the fabled boardwalk, searched for Bruce at The Stone Pony, or shambled along in the Zombie March.

Mystery and suspense author Lori Bonfitto delivers seven unforgettable tales of fright and fantasy, transforming Asbury Park from a nostalgic playland into a world fraught with obsession, reincarnation, and the paranormal.
This was a very, very entertaining read with eerie twists and turns woven into each story.
What made this collection unique to me was that every story was centered around the same town and most of them took place there. It was easy to imagine that somehow all of the different stories were woven together. It was like meeting a bunch of different neighbors that live on the same street and hearing their stories. That made it super cool for me.

There was also never a time where I felt like I had to skip a story. When I am reading a collection, I sometimes find that a story in the middle of it is less interesting than the rest, and I will skip it to get to the better ones. That wasn’t the case here. I genuinely enjoyed all of the stories that were a part of this collection in their own way.
They were all different, but as I stated before, they all seemed wove together, and they fit together well.

For short story lovers who want a hint of creepy, spine-tingling fun, I would definitely suggest you grab a copy.

4/5 Stars

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October 26, 2014

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Synopsis:
Can Alex Cross survive his most chilling - and personal - case ever? Pulled out of a family celebration, Detective Alex Cross gets awful news: A beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Vowing to catch the killer, he quickly learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington, D.C.'s wildest scenes. And she was not this killer's only victim . . .

The hunt for the murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to a place where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in. Soon they confront some very important, very protected, and very dangerous people who will do anything to keep their secrets safe. As Alex closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable - a revelation that could rock the entire world.
This book was refreshing after the last Cross book that I wasn’t a huge fan of. I was hooked from the first page.

The story was really interesting and it kept me guessing until the very end. I didn’t even guess who the murderer was until it was revealed. I loved that it kept me guessing and didn’t give it away early in the book. It kept the suspense up and kept me turning the page.

It was also nice to see a bit more of Alex and Bree’s relationship dynamic. I hope that Bree is around longer than Alex’s past love interests. I really enjoy her character and think she complements the other main character very well.

This was a very family-centric book. Most of the Cross books have some sort of family story-line. But this one had more than usual. It began with one of Alex’s relatives dying and carried on into other occurrences. It is always nice to read about how close his family is. It is refreshing.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It has been a positive in the series.

4/5 Stars

Memorable Quote: “Will I ever learn? Probably not in this lifetime.”

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October 10, 2014

Writings on the Wall by D.G. Sutter

Synopsis:
Somewhere deep within, cradled in flesh and blood, our demons dwell. They feed on our darkest secrets and desires in an ill-fated world, craving only freedom. They tear through and reign upon us. Writings On the Wall features twenty gruesome, transgressive tales of loneliness, heartbreak, and self-destruction. Where the real horrors surrounding us are each other.
This is a perfect collection to pick up for the season. Just the right combination of creepy and messed up for Halloween coming up.

You can tell short stories are good when you feel like you have read a whole novel in only a small number of pages. That is what this collection provided.  Instead of the stories feeling like they ended abruptly or that something was missing, these provide a full and engaging story. They surely keep you turning the page.

Some of them were a little out there and weird, others dealt with demons that people face everyday.

These stories were marked with insanity, horror, and disturbing images. The writing throughout was really solid. Despite having all different authors, the stories didn’t seem to have many different feels to them. They flowed together well as a collection and kept you waiting to see what you would get to read next. With any collection, some stories were better than others, but as a whole they were all good.

I really enjoyed reading this. Anyone who enjoys horror or books that are a bit off (think Chuck Palahniuk-esque) will enjoy this.

The last story in the collection had me gagging as I was reading it. It was so descriptive and disturbing.

4/5 stars

Memorable Quote: It’s no longer cool and dangerous, because you realize you’ve never seen he world through anyone else’s eyes, and soon those eyes will disappear. You begin to doubt the reality of the world around you, begin to feel the moment you go, the world goes, but that’s not true. It will exist without you and you will be what you once were: nothing.  –First Assisted Suicide, Leonora Stein

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