For Rose Dubois, and many other retirees, Autumn Springs is home. Nestled in Upstate New York, the residents are living out their golden years in comfFor Rose Dubois, and many other retirees, Autumn Springs is home. Nestled in Upstate New York, the residents are living out their golden years in comfort. That is until Rose’s close friend is found dead in her unit, believed to be felled by a slip and fall. However, the severity of the injuries leave many questions unanswered for Rose and her neighbors. As more “accidents” occur resulting in an increasing number of residents leaving Autumn Springs in body bags, it’s clear there is a killer on the loose. Can Rose and a handful of her friends find out who is behind the grizzly murders before they end up six feet under?
Look, this is inevitably going to be compared to Thursday Murder Club, and I can’t say I’m surprised. Richard Osman’s books are hugely popular and with a movie adaptation due to be released shortly before this novel hits store shelves, Philip Fracassi’s AUTUMN SPRINGS RETIREMENT HOME MASSACRE is going to either gain from the association or suffer when people juxtapose the two books. And honestly, that’s what initially drove me to request an advanced copy. However, this is a horror novel, and Osman’s books are mystery novels, so it’s possible they may not have much crossover, with the comparison’s left for only folks like me.
The first half of the book, man, this felt like a knockoff of Osman’s books. But boy, oh, boy, that second half? It became a VERY different novel. It’s a shame because I struggled so much in the beginning, to the point where I really wasn’t looking forward to picking the book up at all. I understand the need to lay the groundwork so that the finale works the way that it does, but it really felt like such a slog to get to where the story needed to be. The characters were not as charming nor as interesting (aside from Rose) as I felt they could have been. That said, once Fracassi pushed the pedal to the floor, this became straight-up unputdownable. The tamer killings in the beginning felt like child’s play once the stakes were raised. I really thought I had the killer’s identity figured out, but the rug was pulled out from under me at the reveal. And that climax? Great stuff.
THE AUTUMN SPRINGS RETIREMENT HOME MASSACRE is set for release on September 30, 2025....more
A far-right cable news network is slowly taking control of the minds of half of Americans. As the brain rot spreads to social media and various websitA far-right cable news network is slowly taking control of the minds of half of Americans. As the brain rot spreads to social media and various websites, things start taking a turn for the worse when anchors and influencers begin warning of a “Great Reawakening”. New Yorker Noah Fairchild begins receiving unhinged voicemails from his Virginian mother warning that he must leave his Liberal city and return home before the chaos begins. Concerned, Noah makes the drive to Richmond to check on his parents. What he finds when he arrives is worse than anything he could imagine.
Over the past few years, I’ve been getting more and more into horror lit. When I saw this pop up on Goodreads, it was labeled as extreme horror and given my past experience with some of Nick Cutter’s more graphic work, I assumed I could handle it. That said, there were moments in WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES where I wanted to close my eyes and walk away. There are certainly scenes here that were a lot for me and absolutely not for someone with a weak stomach. There is a scene about perhaps two-thirds of the way through that had me reading with my hands on my head, audibly saying “no” while sitting alone in a coffee shop.
I really liked the devices which McLeod Chapman uses to administer the mind control process. It certainly speaks a lot to how media outlets and influencers prey on our emotions to sway our opinions strongly in one direction or another. The thinly-veiled “Fax News” network seemed to be a conglomeration of Fox and NewsMax, both of which share the blame in stoking anger amongst its bases. McLeod Chapman just turns the dial up to 11 and imagines a world where people will act upon their most horrific impulses.
While I enjoyed this book for the most part, I felt like it lost some steam in the third part, but given how intense and over-the-top everything was that led up to it, it helped to sort of level out the insanity. I’m not sure who I would ever recommend this to as I do not want the blow-back from people thinking I’m out of my mind for reading some of these scenes and then continuing to go about my day....more
Following a group of friends in alternating timelines, Chuck Wendig’s THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS focuses upon, you guessed it, a staircase in the woodFollowing a group of friends in alternating timelines, Chuck Wendig’s THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS focuses upon, you guessed it, a staircase in the woods. When the gang were only teenagers, they happened upon the aforementioned staircase with one of them traversing to the top and promptly disappearing. Although a body was never found, public opinion saddled the surviving members with the blame for the death of their friend. Years would pass, and although the group would grow apart, they all remained together haunted by what happened that day.
Now in their forties, they’re brought together once again as one of the group has received a terminal cancer diagnosis; or so they’re led to believe. When they arrive in New Hampshire to meet their supposedly doomed friend, they’re once again greeted by an unwelcome sight: another staircase in the woods.
If you think the above takes a lot from the plot of King’s IT, you’re not alone. I’ve seen folks draw that comparison across many of the early reviews posted online. However, I think that’s about as fair as saying that an author who wrote a story about a detective finding a dead body had ripped off Dashiell Hammett.
Wendig spends a good amount of time building up these characters as complicated individuals with complex relationships that when the stakes are raised and the true horror of the novel begins to take shape, it becomes an increasingly difficult book to put down. I hope I’m not spoiling too much by saying that the characters ultimately decide to follow this second staircase to its destination. When that happens, it’s easy to see just how much fun Wendig had playing with the terror and dread of it all.
The psychological horror at work here is exceptional. The story pounces on the trauma experienced by each individual character therefore making the novel go in some more than dark directions. I found myself rooting for them to make their way back to our world, even in the face of what often felt like unbeatable odds. Wendig seems to play with the fact that none of us is perfect, even those of us who have made some egregious errors in our lives deserve the ability to atone, or at the very least learn, from our actions.
THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS a solid standalone horror novel and a great follow-up to his tremendous BLACK RIVER ORCHARD (one of my top reads of 2023)....more
A diary, written by a Lutheran priest, is discovered within the walls of an old, broken down property. Contained within its pages is the story of GoodA diary, written by a Lutheran priest, is discovered within the walls of an old, broken down property. Contained within its pages is the story of Good Stab (great name), a Blackfeet vampire who traveled the plains of Montana at the turn of the 20th century seeking revenge against his oppressors.
I feel some readers are going to have a difficult time with parts of this novel. In unburdening himself of his past, Good Stab uses a lot of Pikani terminology that isn’t quite explained. I did have to look up certain names so I could follow where the story was going, but once I got a handle on that, I was more or less OK moving forward. However, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. I thought the novel did at times get quite bogged down in trying to present two main characters in that of Good Stab and Arthur Beaucarne (the aforementioned priest). I get how they are both integral to the story that Stephen Graham Jones is telling, but I think I would have rather eliminated Arthur and reworked it in such a way that it was just about Good Stab.
The author’s approach when it came to vampire mythology felt very fresh and interesting. Good Stab’s description of a “cat man” to describe what he became truly captured my imagination - especially with the depictions of hissing, pointed fangs and running at full speed on all fours; completely naked and covered in blood no less.
It should go without saying that this story is not for those who do not have an easy time with either animal death or just gore in general. However, if you’re picking up a book about a Indigenous vampire seeking revenge against those who murdered his people and also tried to exterminate their food source in all of the Buffalo, what did you expect? In fact, there is a specific scene at about the halfway mark that is without a doubt one of the most uncompromisingly brutal depictions of a vampire attack I have ever read. It completely blew me away to the point where I went back and read those pages multiple times.
As I get older, the more attracted I am to stories taking place during the “wild west” period of American history. The atrocities against the Indigenous population should never be forgotten and stories like these are important. Obviously there were no actual vampires dishing out their own brand of justice, but many of the events herein that formed the backdrop of the story actually did happen and they’re increasingly difficult to read. ...more
Ji-won’s family life is thrown for a loop when her father abruptly leaves her mother for another woman. Distraught and hopeless, Ji-won’s Umma longs fJi-won’s family life is thrown for a loop when her father abruptly leaves her mother for another woman. Distraught and hopeless, Ji-won’s Umma longs for companionship while holding out hope her husband eventually returns. This all changes when Ji-won’s mother meets George, a middle-aged white man with questionable motives. Ji-won, overwhelmed from both a stressful home life and the increasing demands of her university classes, begins to have intense dreams about eating eyeballs. This is somewhat manageable, that is until her ocular appetite reaches beyond her nightmares into reality.
I was looking to get my hands on as many horror novels as possible during the spooky season last month and Monika Kim’s serial killer novel shot right to the top of my list. After finishing the book, I wasn’t quite sure that what I had read was actually horror. Was this more of a thriller? Is it important to fit novels inside of a genre box? I can’t answer that. I can certainly say it was unnerving at parts; mostly when it came down to the graphic descriptions of Ji-won chowing down on eyeballs.
Ji-won is a cleverly crafted character who, despite her abhorrent actions, is hard to paint as a total villain. Her main adversary in George is a dumpster-fire of a human being, so it’s easy not to feel bad when Ji-won begins targeting him. No spoilers here, but the last quarter of the book is where things truly shine and even though I found the first half a bit of a slog to get through at times, Kim sticks the landing in the end....more
It’s hardly a guarded secret that I am a huge Grady Hendrix fan. With another book due on the horizon in January of next year and the fact that we’re It’s hardly a guarded secret that I am a huge Grady Hendrix fan. With another book due on the horizon in January of next year and the fact that we’re firmly in the spooky season, what better time to journey back to the beginning of Hendrix’s career and take a look at his first novel, SATAN LOVES YOU.
If you think your job is miserable, maybe you should be thankful that you’re not in the unenviable position of Satan as he tries to manage a workplace fraught with burnout and a nearly non-existent budget. Seeing their chance to strike, those upstairs in Heaven decide that it’s time to take over the realm below and run it with the efficiency of a machine.
But this is Satan’s domain, and he’ll be damned if anyone runs him out of town.
This is a very enjoyable read and fans of Hendrix will be shocked at just how well he had established his style from the get-go. I found myself laughing out loud and reading passages to my wife that were just too good to be left unsaid. In fact, there is a specific scene that takes place inside a Nevada courthouse that just may be the funniest thing I’ve ever read; no hyperbole! All the characters - both good and evil - were well drawn out and memorable. I love when religion is tackled and skewed to apply modern culture and views, which is probably why I’m such a huge fan of Kevin Smith’s DOGMA, a movie well worth watching if you enjoy this novel, and Terry Pratchett’s DEATH series.
Grady Hendrix clearly had a ton of fun writing this story and it shows. I wouldn’t be opposed to him revisiting it down the line if he felt the urge to dip his toe into The Netherworld once again. ...more