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An Evil Premise by T. Marie Vandelly

From the author of Theme Music , An Evil Premise offers an intriguing blend of possession, madness, and meta-fiction. The premise hooked me immediately: when Jewel’s famous sister falls into a coma after a bizarre accident, she discovers her sister’s unfinished, deeply unsettling manuscript—and decides to finish it herself. But as she writes, reality and fiction blur, her body betrays her with a strange rash, and the manuscript itself seems to be… writing back. The plot had all the elements I love—creeping dread, psychological tension, and a story-within-a-story that promised to twist in unexpected ways. I even really enjoyed the characters. However, I ultimately had to set this one aside before finishing. The writing style was heavy with metaphors—so much so that it often felt like each paragraph was competing to see how many could be crammed in. For me, this overshadowed the tension and pacing, making it difficult to stay immersed in the story. That said, taste in prose is subjectiv...
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Jenny Cooper Has A Secret by Joy Fielding

  Joy Fielding, known for her skillful blend of suspense and emotional depth, returns with Jenny Cooper Has A Secret —a slow-burning psychological thriller that explores aging, memory, and the unsettling possibility that a dementia patient might be telling the truth about a lifetime of murders. The story follows 76-year-old Linda Davidson, a recent widow struggling to navigate life after loss. With her daughter and son-in-law living under the same roof and creating more stress than comfort, Linda seeks solace in visiting her friend at Legacy Place, a memory care facility. There, she meets 92-year-old Jenny Cooper, a woman with dementia who matter-of-factly claims she has killed people. Initially, Linda chalks it up to confusion or delusion—until another resident dies under suspicious circumstances. The premise is both chilling and unique, inviting readers to question what truth might lie beneath the haze of a failing mind. Fielding weaves themes of loneliness, trust, and justic...

Book Review: Requiem by John Palisano

John Palisano’s Requiem is a fast-paced, atmospheric blend of science fiction and cosmic horror that wastes no time plunging the reader into its chilling, otherworldly setting. Set aboard the Eden—a massive, moon-sized cemetery adrift in space—the novel explores grief, memory, and the thin veil between the living and the dead. From the first page, Requiem hits the ground running, making it a great pick for readers who prefer action over exposition. There’s very little hand-holding here, and the story unfolds with an eerie momentum that mirrors the unraveling sanity of the characters aboard the Eden. One of the most striking elements is the ship itself: a floating mausoleum that not only houses the bodies of the dead, but eventually their restless souls as well. At the heart of the story is Ava, a strong and emotionally complex protagonist wrestling with personal grief while confronting a rising, reality-warping entity. Her emotional arc becomes even more layered with the reappear...

Smile For the Cameras by Miranda Smith

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5) I went into Smile for the Cameras expecting a full-blown slasher/horror thrill ride—something bloody, tense, and in line with the genre’s classic "final girl" tropes. What I got was…not quite that. The premise is undeniably intriguing: Ella Winters, once a scream queen icon and the sole survivor of a cult classic slasher film, returns to the spotlight decades later for a reunion documentary. But secrets buried on the original set are unearthed when cast members begin dying in eerily familiar ways. Sounds like a recipe for a fast-paced, suspenseful slasher, right? Well, not exactly. The book is divided into three parts— then , now , and excerpts from the Grad Night script. While this structure is a cool concept in theory, it can be confusing in execution. You’ll definitely need to pay attention to chapter headings or risk getting lost. That said, it does add an atmospheric, meta vibe that fans of horror movie nostalgia might appreciate. The issue, for m...

Off Season by Jack Ketchum

Jack Ketchum’s Off Season is a visceral, unrelenting descent into primal horror, a novel that strips civilization down to its barest instincts. Set in the quiet beach town of Dead River, Maine, the story begins with an idyllic setup: a New York editor retreats to a secluded cabin, expecting a peaceful visit with her sister and friends. But peace is quickly replaced with terror as a feral, flesh-hungry family emerges from the surrounding woods, unleashing chaos, carnage, and survival-driven madness. This was my second Ketchum novel, and once again, I found myself impressed by his raw and unapologetic storytelling style. His prose is lean and direct, creating a steady undercurrent of dread that explodes into graphic brutality once the action begins. Ketchum doesn’t pull punches—he knows how to disturb, shock, and keep you flipping the pages even when you want to look away. That said, the pacing shifts drastically once the horror kicks in. While the build-up is effective and tense, the...

Another by Paul Tremblay

In Another , Paul Tremblay offers a gripping, unsettling tale that explores themes of alienation, identity, and the supernatural through the lens of middle-grade horror. The novel follows Casey Wilson, a young boy struggling with the aftermath of a traumatic event known only as the "Zoom Incident." With tics worsening and a strained relationship with his peers, Casey feels more isolated than ever—until a mysterious boy named Morel shows up for an extended sleepover that quickly takes a dark turn. Morel is unlike any friend Casey has known. His clay-like skin and silent demeanor set him apart, yet Casey's parents, once warm and supportive, begin to lavish attention on the strange newcomer, much to Casey's growing unease. As Morel's presence grows more dominant and unsettling, Casey begins to realize that his family is slipping further away, and he fears the boy might be replacing him altogether. The tension builds as Casey struggles to reclaim his place in a worl...

Whistle by Linwood Barclay

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Linwood Barclay ventures into supernatural horror with Whistle , delivering a chilling and gripping story that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. Known for his suspenseful thrillers, Barclay seamlessly blends eerie, otherworldly horror with his signature fast-paced storytelling, making this novel an instant standout. The story follows Annie Blunt, a children’s book author and illustrator who, after enduring a tragic year, moves to a quiet town in upstate New York with her son, Charlie. Their fresh start quickly takes a sinister turn when Charlie discovers an old train set in a locked shed on their property. At first, it seems like a harmless relic—until Annie starts hearing phantom train whistles in the dead of night, and strange occurrences begin to spiral around them. Worse, Annie finds herself uncontrollably drawing an unsettling figure that doesn’t belong in any children’s book. As the mystery deepens, it becomes clear that something far darker is at play, ti...