A long while back I was fortunate enough to be sent a copy of Island 731, which is written by Jeremy Robinson, as a suggestion from the creator of a comic book I had reviewed by the same title.  I was immediately drawn to the premise of the comic and even commented in my review that it reminded me of the TV series LOST, which I was addicted to watching during its broadcasting and never missed an episode for all six seasons.  However, I found out that the comic book was no longer going to be produced and it was suggested by one of the creators that I read the novel instead.  This proved to be one of the most excellent book recommendations I have gotten since I began this website.
 
This was a novel that I was hooked on from early on.  The book practically starts with a bold taste of action and then builds up to something more and the cycle keeps repeating throughout the story, getting more and more intense the deeper in you get.  And you get into it pretty deep.  This is one of those stories that you totally immerse yourself in and, before you know it, it’s after three o’clock in the morning and you feel like you’re just getting started.  Every chapter has something fascinatingly creepy, gruesome, gory, or just downright terrifying.  
 
There are many layers to this story as well.  There are a number of characters that you get emotionally invested in, some you even sort of despise if not flat-out loathe or hate.  And I have to be honest, those particular characters are written exceptionally well.  The main character (in my opinion) is a man named Hawkins and he is no one to mess around with.  He’s a tough guy and yet still kind of a romantic deep down inside.  There’s a plethora of characters, each with their own distinct personalities and issues, making them very real, human, and easy to relate to.  That is something that is essential if the author wants to get the reader to really dive full-on into the story.  And I did, without hesitation.
 
Additionally, I would definitely call this a horror/psychological thriller.  As I said, there are many characters and sides to each one’s personality.  But there are many philosophical, psychological, and even a few theological layers to this plot as well.  I found myself horrified at times, disgusted at others, and yet sympathetic, even empathetic, at other points in the story.  I found myself asking “What would I do in that situation?” or “How would I handle that information?”.  The answers didn’t come as easily as one might think given the depth and gravity of the story as a whole and the people in it.
 
Another thing that I found exceptionally chilling is that this story isn’t one that is actually very farfetched at all.  In fact, there are things similar to numerous actions and concepts in this story that are not just real possibilities but have actually been documented in history.  It’s amazing what sound and stable funding, and determined, motivated people can accomplish even in the most uninhabitable type places.
 
This novel had me addicted to its content in the same way I was with the LOST series when it was airing.  The intrigue, the mystery, the uneasiness that something bad is just around the corner, the humanized characters that really come to life, the horrific behaviors and circumstances that are presented, and the action and suspense, all come together to create a novel that is truly one of the best fiction books I have read in over a year, maybe even two or more years.  I really am a fan of this novel and I do hope that you will check it out.
 
Below you can find the links to purchase the novel in a number of ways.  Take my word for it, you won’t regret it.
 
But, before you get all click-happy and jump to that information, I am going to give you a little rundown of the plot.  Only a small one though.  I can’t very well give you a review and not talk about the actual storyline of the novel.  But I don’t want to give too much away.
 
Here is what is in the summary on the back of the book cover:
 
“Mark Hawkins, a former park ranger and expert tracker, is on board a research vessel in the Pacific.  But his work is interrupted when the ship is plagued by a series of strange malfunctions and the crew is battered by a raging storm.
 
The next morning, the beaten crew awakens to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island—and no one knows how they got there.  The ship has been sabotaged, two crewmen are dead, and a third is missing.  Hawkins spots signs of the missing man onshore and leads a small team to bring them back.  But they soon discover the evidence of a brutal history left behind by the island’s former occupants: Unit 731, Japan’s ruthless World War II human experimentation program.  As more colleagues start to disappear, Hawkins begins to realize the horrible truth: that Island 731 was never decommissioned and the person preying on his crewmates might not be a person at all—not anymore…”
 
Now, the first thing to know is Unit 731 was very real.  It was, in fact, a Japanese unit during World War II that was based out of Pingfang, a district of Harbin, which was the largest city in a Japanese-controlled area at the time, in what was formerly called Manchuria, now simply generally referred to by its location, Northeast China.  This was a group similar in purpose to the Nazi doctors and their inhumane programs.  Their “work” involved lethal human experiments of all kinds, biochemical and biological weaponry and the effects on humans of such weapons, and experiments that challenged the boundaries of human imagination and destroyed the general innate sense of humanity that we assume all people possess.
 
If you are aware of the atrocities committed by the Nazi doctors in WWII prison camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau, then you can get a fairly clear idea of what Unit 731 was doing during the same time period.  The experiments performed by Unit 731 were very similar.  If you are not familiar with the many vicious and savage acts of barbarism, those atrocities, in short, included acts such as cutting live prisoners open with no anesthetic with no valid medical reason or treatment and applying biochemical weaponry, such as mustard gas, directly into the open tissue of the wound to see how it affected the poor prisoner and to try to develop some sort of antidote or vaccine for the Axis military on the battlefield.  And that would be considered the lighter end of the horrors that were perpetrated upon these poor abused souls.  There were experiments that involved live human dissection (vivisection) with no anesthetic, various chemical and biological poisonings and infections within the prison and in the surrounding civilian populations, and experimental surgeries that were performed seemingly out of pure hate, horror, and morbid curiosity.  That is the short version.  The experiments were so horrific and so numerous that it would take a whole different article, perhaps even a series, to explore such violations of humanity, which I may end up covering at some point at a later date.
 
In the late 1930s through the early 1940s Unit 731 conducted many of the same types of experiments, adding some of their own along the way.  They used kidnapped victims and others from the surrounding populations including both men and women, and even children as their test subjects.  And these experiments covered the entire arc of scientific horror.  Unit 731 was shut down after the war and their facilities were demolished in about 1945.
 
Now, take that knowledge and apply it to the blurb summary of this novel I provided earlier.
 
Imagine that you are on a research vessel.  You are trying to determine the effects imposed on the ocean and marine life within its depths by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a many miles long and wide accumulation of trash and debris that has naturally gathered by ocean currents and huddled together in an area that is between the Western Coast of North America and Japan.  (Yes, it is a real thing and it is a very real threat to our ocean waters and the creatures that make those waters their home.)  A perhaps somewhat disgusting and at times probably depressing, and maybe even demoralizing, job, but typically no more dangerous than a job on any other marine research vessel.  
 
Then, all these little things start to happen to the ship and the crew, things that compromise the integrity of the ship and the confidence and ability of the crew.  Then a strong storm comes and whips the little vessel about like a ragdoll.  You lose consciousness.  When you wake, the ship is damaged and anchored off the coast of a tropical island, crewmates are missing and some are even dead.  Two things run through your mind: What the hell happened and where are my friends?  Next thought, how do I get everyone together and get the hell out of here?  Then the thoughts come in waves like a tsunami.  Where are we?  What’s going on?  Where is help?  Is there help?  Whom can I trust?  Are there people on this island?  Is there a radio or phone to call for help?  What the hell do we do now?
 
The novel Island 731 answers all those questions.  But, as with any good horror-suspense-thriller, answers lead to more questions.  As we get deeper into the story, we go deeper into the tropical jungle of the island.  And with that depth comes tragedy, sacrifice, emotional rollercoasters, horror, fear, and the realization that science can further corrupt the minds of those already infected with nefarious power and control.
 
The journey into depravity starts on page one.  It grips you in every way possible and takes you through the nightmare coupling of the jungle and science gone awry.  Terror awaits.  Time is short.  It’s up to Hawkins to save his friends, get off the island, and away from its coast in one piece and, most importantly, alive. 
 
RATINGS
 
5/5 Stars
 
 
 
 
Here are links to purchase Island 731:
 
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Island-731-Thriller-Jeremy-Robinson/dp/0312617879
 
Kindle:https://www.amazon.com/Island-731-Thriller-Jeremy-Robinson-ebook/dp/B0096QZ554
 
Barnes&Noble:https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/island-731-jeremy-robinson/1111298345
 
 
You can find further information and reviews of this novel at the link below on Goodreads.com:
 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15793106-island-731?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=UJZ4EvO6wk&rank=1

​In this particular tale, we have a group of friends who are getting together for Thanksgiving dinner.  Friends and family gather to form a social circle as dysfunctional as any other average familial group.  There’s a somewhat overbearing wife Char, whose husband, Doug, is a disappointment to her parents, Judy and Owen.  Doug and Char have two children, Charlotte (a teenager) and Tommy (a school ager).  They are present for the holiday gathering as well.  A couple, Mike and Marleen, are friends of Char’s and invited to the festivities, but Doug isn’t a fan of these people.  Or Char’s parents, for that matter.  Friends Craig and Amy are also invited and supposed to make an appearance but they end up running late, which they are notorious for doing.  Then we have Dan.  Dan is Doug’s brother and has recently been released from prison.  Doug and Dan’s parents, Fred and Mable, also attend this dinner.  Doug also asked his best friend, Randy, to come to dinner for Thanksgiving.  So, a typical holiday get-together with everyone there being unhappy that someone else in the group is there.  Doug doesn’t like Marleen and Mike.  Char doesn’t like Dan and Randy.  Owen and Judy don’t like Doug.  There are voiced complaints about Craig and Amy.  And of course, the kids would rather be doing something on a digital device than interact with family and their parents’ friends.

​The Poet
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Length: 385 pages
 
            
            Before I start, here is the summary of this novel that grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go:
 
“A detective with a dark secret...

Samantha Jazz used to be one of the top profilers in the Austin PD, living for the chase of hunting down a killer and bringing him to justice. That is, until one bad case nearly destroyed her.

A killer with a hidden agenda...

There’s a new kind of serial killer on the loose––and people are turning up dead. The only clues to their murders lie in the riddles the killer leaves behind. A mystery with more questions than answers, and a suspicion that he’s taunting Samantha.

A dead body wrapped in a riddle...

Samantha will have to use all her wits to solve each new puzzle before the killer can strike again. But the closer she gets to the killer, the more she draws him to her as well. And in this thrilling game of cat and mouse––only one of them will survive.”
 
            This was a very entertaining novel to read and I don’t usually go for fiction so much.  Here we have a story about a very dedicated law enforcement officer, Detective Samantha Jazz, and her intense and persistent pursuit of one of the most dangerous serial killers she’s ever encountered.  And in this particular detective, we not only have a workaholic with an intense, but calm, personality, but we also have a woman with a profound and somewhat dark past.
 
            Detective Jazz’s life is her job.  And her job is her career, not just a job.  Like a lot of other law enforcement personnel, she eats, sleeps, and breathes being a cop.  Her profession permeates every aspect of her life, every aspect of her existence.  She has a partner named Lang, who is somewhat the stereotypical male lifer in the department.  He’s seen more than his share of horrors, he’s very blunt, perhaps a little bitter, and he’s definitely a pain in the ass.  He's full of smartass remarks and witty comments, a lot of each said at many inopportune times.  However, Detective Jazz can most assuredly hold her own against any member of the good ol’ boys club and she can fire back at Lang, or anyone else, with just as much wit, vim, and vigor as they throw at her.  Sometimes she adds a little sauciness just for fun.
 
            Her adversary in this dramatic tale is a serial killer she has dubbed, The Poet.  She chose this moniker because of the unique signature he displays in his killings.  At first, this presents as a relatively normal investigation.  However, Jazz soon realizes that The Poet is somehow very familiar with her and her personal life, and the people in her life.  This of course intensifies the entire situation, raising both the danger level and the need to catch this perpetrator.
 
            In the course of her pursuit of this murderous deviant, she finds that, like many serial killers, this particular offender is of high intelligence, challenging her intellectual capabilities as well as her detective skills.  During the investigation, we also find out more and more about Detective Jazz, her past, and her way of thinking, her personality.  All of this combines to create a thrilling and suspenseful chase of a brazen and daring killer on the loose.  And it’s up to Detective Jazz to stop him.
 
THE END
 
            I was intrigued by the summary of this book, but after the first two pages, I was hooked.  I had had this novel on my reading list for a very long time.  I finally got to this book’s turn on my list and was super excited to read it at last.
​

Opinion Dominion:

This author is a great writer.  The amount of detail expressed in this piece of work is crucial to the suspense and anticipation the content invokes.  From the very beginning, I was on the edge of my seat anxious to read the next chapter.  This was one of those stories that, as the reader, you are constantly trying to solve the case along with the detectives.  With each new victim, we get new clues.  We are presented with an array of people that are involved in this case.  Some are obviously harmless and not the killer.  Some characters are a little on the creepy side and somewhat suspicious but don’t have the serial killer vibe.  Others are the kind of characters you just know have to be dirty in some way, but are they the killer?  
 
The way this author reveals tiny pieces of the story at a time reflects the path detectives and other law enforcement officials must take to solve each crime.  While sometimes it may seem tedious, each little clue is another piece of the giant jigsaw puzzle one has to complete to solve and close a case.  In my opinion, the flow of the case in this novel is fairly realistic.  Without having worked in law enforcement, I can only form that opinion based on my experience being raised by a police officer and growing up directly associating with all kinds of law enforcement personnel from patrol officers to judges.  This case in this novel moved much like a real investigation.  The author was very careful to make sure that the details of the case and the investigation were realistic and believable.  Again, in my opinion, she did an excellent job.
 
I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes crime fiction, detective stories, or anything full of suspense, keeps you on pins and needles and keeps you guessing, just like the rollercoaster the police go through when trying to work a case.  After reading this book, this is an author I am going to follow on Goodreads.com and see what other works she has available.
 
 
RATINGS
5/5 Stars
 
            

Pain and Gain
The Untold True Story
Book authored by Marc Schiller
 
            I sat down to start this book and I didn’t put it down until I was at the end.  I read the whole book in one day.  It was truly gripping and I could not help but finish it.  It was an incredible story to read.  Not because it was unbelievable.  Oh no.  Far from it in fact.  Unfortunately, when this author first tried to tell his story to law enforcement and even doctors, they assumed he was not being truthful.  The truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction.  Indeed, that is the situation in this case.  And while some of what this author tells about his experience may seem outrageous or like something you just can’t believe, I assure you, this story is possible.  In my experience as a true crime researcher, the one thing that is constant in crime is that there are no limits to human depravity.  There are no limits to how dark or demented a person can be, no limits to the arrays of pain, degradation, humiliation, and suffering that some people are willing to inflict upon others.  There’s no real limit to the lengths some people go to and no real limit to whatever their reason is for such abhorrent behavior.  Crime happens on all levels, in all areas, and it’s committed by people from all backgrounds and situations.  
            
            In this particular case, we have one victim and multiple perpetrators.  And it’s not just the four people that kept this man prisoner but also people outside of the kidnapping and torture that helped victimize this gentleman further by helping strip him and his family of everything they had in the world.  All their property, all their money, their business, their home.  These monsters even took the kids' toys.  They cleaned him out.  The greed was endless and they had no qualms about how they got their hands on what they wanted.  
 
            Now, I’m sure many people think this kind of thing could never happen to them.  That they would never be coerced into signing over everything they owned.  However, you can’t say what you would do unless you’ve been in his position.  And his position was very grave.  He was chained to a wall.  He was tortured physically, emotionally, and psychologically.  He was degraded and humiliated.  His family was in danger.  At a certain point, one has to reach the conclusion that material possessions can be replaced but human lives cannot be.  It got down to the most basic of factors---survival.  Everything beyond survival could be addressed once he was free.
 
            This story was not just about a kidnapping either.  It was about betrayal and loss.  It was about fear and pain.  And it was largely about the concept of pure faith in general (not religion) and perseverance.  No person or animal should have to endure the things this man endured.  The trauma and torture inflicted on this man were nothing but sadistic.  The leader of this whole vicious circus was violently mentally ill, in my opinion.  I saw signs of a severe malignant narcissistic personality.  Plus, a horrific anti-social personality coupled with what seemed to possibly be a kind of bipolar disorder.  Please know, with confidence, that not everybody that has any kind of mental illness is dangerous.  Nobody is dangerous automatically just because they have a mental illness.  There are a few that do end up dangerous and their mental illness may exacerbate that.  But just being bipolar or just being even a malignant narcissist doesn't automatically mean that you want to hurt people.  Still, in this case, this perpetrator's mental illness was not a positive factor in this experience on the whole.  I can’t and won’t say that his mental illness caused him to do what he did, because I do not believe that to be the case and because I am not a licensed professional in the field to make such a determination.  I will say that an already violent and unpredictable personality was made worse at times by varying factors of his illnesses.  All of this becomes crystal clear as you read about what actually happened, how it all came about and transpired, and the explanation of the people involved. 
 
            But the main takeaway from this case is hope, perseverance, self-respect in all circumstances, and the importance of family.  Marc Schiller is an absolute example of a good human being.  He is an example of fortitude and stability.  His harrowing account takes you deep into his experience as a prisoner of these demented tormentors.  He tells about things he could have easily left out because they were embarrassing. He wants people to understand, as close as they can, exactly what he went through.  And the only way to do that is by being completely open and honest about the entire experience.  And I can imagine it took quite a bit of emotional and psychological strength and resolve to put all of this down on paper into a book.  This must have been painful to write and yet, at the same time, somewhat cathartic.  
 
            This was just an average man.  A family man that worked a typical accounting job, provided for his wife and kids and tried to be a good person and help others when he could.  He lived in a normal house and had a normal, fairly uneventful life as an adult.  His childhood was rough but it didn’t hold him back from anything.  If anything the struggles he endured growing up would mold him into the man that was able to survive this ordeal.  This written account takes you through every event of this case, almost day by day.  The detail expressed in this book creates a very clear, very vivid, and very horrifying picture.  And it is one survivor’s story you can’t ignore.  Marc is very relatable and he tells his story with emotion and transparency.
 
            This was an excellent book.  As a frequent reader and researcher of true crime, I had heard about this case before and knew the general story.  But I did not know all the details, big or small.  Also as a frequent true crime reader, I can say that this is one of the more horrifying kidnapping cases I have read about.  It was not only an incredible story but it was an inspirational one as well.  Learning about something like this makes you think about things like priorities and how spoiled we can get with all the advances in life now.  It makes you think about the difference between what you want to endure and what you can endure.  The two are very different.  While he didn’t want to go through any of this, Marc endured his captivity day in and day out, vowing not to be broken.  And he wasn’t.
 
            Any true crime reader should like this book.  It was well worth the read.
 
RATINGS
5/5 Stars

This was an interesting collection.  I chose this from the Blackthorn Book Tour group's June Quick Bite selections.  It’s a small assembly of four short stories.  Although I did not fall in love with this collection, it certainly wasn’t a struggle to read.  Still, it is more on the eerie side rather than the traditional horror with gore and such.
 
The first story is Family Roots.  This is the longest story of the four at just a little over five pages.  This was also my favorite tale in the book.  It’s a fantastic fearful little tangled tale of love, revenge, and unseen mystical forces.  The second story is a tiny two-page tidbit relating the fallout of certain wounds and illnesses partnered with the inner workings of the world of a trapped mind full of fear and confusion.  The next story is Affirmations running at just over three pages.  This is the tragic relation of abuse, fear, curious happenings, and powers unseen and unknown.  The final story is just a bite.  It is one paragraph long bearing the title Warm.  This compactly served story gnaws at the heart with death, longing, mystery, and sadness.
 
I did enjoy this small collection of stories for the most part.  The author seems to want to reach the reader on a more emotional and psychological level.  There is a clear style to the writing being that each story has a kind of implied meaning, action, behavior, or circumstance.  I assume this is intended to make the reader think, filling in open parts of the tale and deciding meanings with their interpretation rather than the author just putting it out there.  For me, this was a good attempt and I see what the author was trying to accomplish.  It was effective in a basic sense for me but did fall just a little short in having the kind of fervent effect that I believe was originally intended.  I also wasn’t thrilled about the stories getting so much shorter as the book went on.  This was especially true for me when I got to the last story.  Personally, it is difficult for me to call such a paragraph an actual story.  It read to me as the opening paragraph of a very creepy, spooky story, and then it just stops, sort of falling flat in my opinion.  Especially since it’s clear that the plot idea has real potential to be expanded.
 
Nevertheless, overall I did enjoy reading this book.  I only wish it had a little more substance to it.  I am certain this particular author is capable of it as what was presented in this book could serve as a teaser to a full-length anthology of short horror stories.  
 
RATINGS
3/5 Stars

​

Book Information: 
Echoes in the Dark by P.L. McMillan 

Purchase link:
http://mybook.to/EchoesInTheDarkPLMcM
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61145170-echoes-in-the-dark
Genre:  Horror
Print length: 13 pages
Age range: This is an adult collection
Trigger warnings: death, murder, domestic abuse
Amazon Rating: New collection not yet rated.
 
About Echoes in the Dark

​Four short tales of suspense, horror, loss, and the macabre.
Perfect for a quick read. But be careful, this fiction comes with a bite! (A quick bite – get it? It’s a quick read!)
Family Roots: An orchard whose trees listen
Unseen Cost: A man gets his sight back.
Affirmations: Live, laugh, kill.
Warm: A haunting scent, a memory.
 

About the Author

P.L. McMillan is a Canadian ex-pat living in the States, after having taught English for three years in Asia. She is a victim of a deep infatuation with the works of Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, and H.P. Lovecraft.
To her, every shadow is an entryway to a deeper look into the black heart of the world, and every night she rides with the mocking and friendly ghouls on the night wind, bringing back dark stories to share with those brave enough to read them.
You can check out more on her website at https://plmcmillan.com or follow her on Twitter at @AuthorPLM.
​

This was one of the most interesting and captivating collections I have read in a very long time.  I chose this from the Blackthorn Book Tour folks and once again, our tastes in literature come together in perfect unison.  
 
This anthology is a mysterious kind of collection all in itself.  There are stories of all types of dark and sinister themes.  While the entire collection would not really be considered horror, a great number of these tales bring the darker and less palatable horrors of actual reality out in the open.  I would personally classify this collection as more of a dramatic thriller anthology than horror.

What we read for entertainment is an entirely personal choice.  I happen to enjoy reading work that stimulates my brain.  Just like any other muscle, the brain needs to be exercised to stay strong and healthy.  Use it or lose it, as they always say.  This group of stories is by far one of the most thought-provoking anthologies I have ever come across.  Typically we apply personal experience and knowledge to what we read, watch, hear, etc.  The most unique characteristic of this author’s writing is that it often takes on a point of view that is not what the average reader might have originally thought of or might have never experienced for themselves.  This is a clever and intriguing way of really getting into the heart and mind of the reader.  If the story is being told from a point of view we are not used to seeing or hearing it gives the reader an opportunity to open their minds and expand their capacity for empathy and understanding.  We often only see things from our own side and it’s beneficial and valuable that we get the chance to learn about a different view.  

​Still, there are a few stories in this collection that weeks after reading are still in my mind.  So this writing absolutely has an impact on the reader.  This will be a collection I remember for quite some time.  
 
RATINGS
5/5 Stars

Book Information

• Purchase link: http://mybook.to/Amazon_DevilsUKnow
• Genre:  Short story collection: horror, dark fiction, more…
• Print length: 182 pages
• Age range: These are adult stories but suitable for mature teens age 16+
• Trigger warnings: Some gore, deaths, horror components
• Amazon Rating: 5

 
About the Author
 
Miles Watson has won more awards and accolades than almost any independent writer of his generation. His various works have won the following:

• CAGE LIFE – Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Runner Up (2016): Zealot Script Magazine “Book of the Year” (2017); Best Indie Book Award – Mystery & Suspense (2018)
• KNUCKLE DOWN – Writer’s Digest S.P.B.A. Honorable Mention (2019); Best Indie Book Award – Suspense (2019)
• DEVILS YOU KNOW – Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing Finalist (2019)
• THE NUMBERS GAME – Pinnacle Book Achievement Award – Novella – (2019)
• NOSFERATU – Pinnacle Book Achievement Award – Novella – (2020)
• SINNER’S CROSS – Best Indie Book Award – Historical Fiction – (2019); Book Excellence Award – Action (2020); Literary Titan Book Award – Gold Medal (2020); Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards – Finalist (2020)

He holds undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice and History and a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction. He served in law enforcement for nearly ten years before moving to Los Angeles, where he has worked on over 200 episodes and half a dozen feature films. But his first and last passion is writing.
 
 

​The Cabin Sessions
Author: Isobel Blackthorn
Length-Approx. 300pgs
 
Here we have a definite must-read for those that love psychological and suspense thrillers from Blackthorn Book Tours.  While I wouldn’t necessarily call this a horror novel it certainly is a wonderful cerebral tug of war.  With the steady and consistent build-up of tension and suspense, the author leads the reader through the lives and happenings of a select group of people gathered on a stormy night at a local cabin where they play music and gossip about each other.

Additionally, this particular author has an extensive vocabulary coupled with poetic wit and tempered patience.  This means there are no “dead” spots or filler text.  The story keeps moving, characters keep building and in doing so, they become more realistic and relatable with every event in the plot, no matter how minute or significant each experience or event may be.  All of these skills are melded together to create a fantastic story to curl up with next to a fire and completely submerge yourself in the twisted minds of normal individuals.  
 
There is nothing outwardly special about each character.  No obvious hero types or high-moral preachers.  No clear-cut villains or physical wars are being waged.  Instead, we get to know these people almost as we would in real life.  Slowly, carefully, little details here and there combined with behavior and thoughts.  These characters develop and mold into true people with thoughts, issues, and solutions.

A lot happens in these few hundred pages.  Many lives are unveiled and a lot of truly personal and intimate details are revealed.  Just like in real life, the characters are all different.  And yet equally as realistic, these people we meet are no different from many others, each having their qualities and personalities, flaws and issues, dreams and failures, losses and successes.
 
RATINGS
5/5 Stars

​Today we have a short review of what my book tour group calls a “Quick Bite”.  These are short stories that take little time to read but still fit in the horror/suspense/thriller genre.  Once a month we get the option of asking for that month’s “Quick Bite” and the opportunity to review it.  This month we had a very intriguing tale that is only about eight pages long.

​At first, I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with our character.  Our main character has no name.  There is no solid description of them to form that image in the mind of the reader.  You get little tidbits here and there, but nothing to form a complete image of a real person.  And yet, we quickly realize that this main character is also the narrator.  Written in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner, the author takes us inside the head of this character and the prison cell they are in.  And then it just kind of takes off on its own.
 
I found the story to be quite entertaining and it had a constant grasp on me.  I liked the kind of anonymity that the character has while still being someone absolutely relatable.  I can typically read about a page per minute on average.  I got through this eight-page story in just about five minutes.  
 
There are so many seemingly random oddities in the dialogue but I assure you, these comments for a very clear picture when put together and put with the context.  I must admit, while it takes a lot to shock me and I wasn’t really “shocked”, some of the comments and dialogue in this story caught me a little of guard.  Now, for me, that just adds to the fun of the story and the whole feeling of suspense, and that need to know what happens next and where all of it is going.

​This was all that is in the summary I got:
 
“Prison time hangs heavy. Prison life is not kind. There is a [sic] corruption in it. There is no redemption.
But everyone needs a break. Everyone needs a friend.”
 
But, that was enough for my interest to be genuinely piqued.  And it is a unique writing style that doesn’t show up very often.  That makes for a new kind of fresh type of reading experience.

​My only struggle was that there were no quotation marks around the lines of dialogue.  It was a little confusing to follow but not difficult and certainly not impossible.  But the actual formatting of the piece which was all left justified and did not always have those few “return” lines between paragraphs to space them out coupled with the missing quotation marks for dialogue did sometimes make me stumble a little here and there through the story.  Meaning that I would have to go back and re-read certain parts to make sure I was fully understanding who was saying what to whom and from where and at what time.  But that is my only criticism.
 
I like the content of the story and the way the character was written.  I think on that front, which is the most important of all, did a fantastic job.  This is even a short story that I will be reading more than once.  I enjoyed it that much.  It gave that perfect combination of a chill crawling up your spine and a devious smile of satisfaction at the same time.
 
This would be a fabulous quick read for any fan of any aspect of the horror genre.
 
RATINGS
4/5 Stars

​​About The Author
 
Carly Rheilan was born in Malta and lives in the UK. She was educated at Oxford University (which she hated and left) and then at Brunel (a small-town technological university where she stayed for a Ph.D.). She is a psychiatric nurse. She has done research into criminal justice and taught in universities. She has children of her own and has also fostered children with mental health problems. She has worked many years in the NHS, in secure units and prisons.

​Get your copy at the link below:

Purchase Link: http://mybook.to/SuspendedAnimation
​

This book was an interesting compilation of unsolved crimes that span over several years and include a variety of crimes.  These are real cold cases that have never been solved.  The purpose of this book is to give the reader all the available information and let them decide what they think happened.  I would have to say though this book was very interesting and informative, it is not for those who need conclusion when reading or watching films, stuff like that.  If not knowing what happened is going to bother you then you probably aren’t going to like this book.
 
However, if you don’t mind the absence of conclusion and you enjoy true crime then you would most likely find this book intriguing to read, just as I did.  
 
The author has gone to great lengths to present all the facts of each case in a well-written narrative format, telling the reader a story as they learn all about the case.  Just like with anything heavy with details and loads of information there are just a few small dry moments where the book gets just a tiny bit boring but they don’t last but a few paragraphs here and there.
 
Overall, I liked this book.  It was very captivating learning about all these new cases that remain unsolved.  We mostly just hear about the cases that get closed and the people that get arrested.  To me, this book was a nice mix between the flow of fiction and the truth of a textbook, melded together to make for one entrancing read.
 
RATINGS
4/5 Stars

The Best New True Crime Stories:
Partners in Crime
296 pages
Book 5 in series of 5
 
            
 
            As most of my readers know, I am very interested in true crime. Human behavior and their reasons for said behavior fascinate me. So far, this book makes the third that I have read of the five currently available in this series. So far, each installment in the series has been incredibly interesting, very thought-provoking, and fairly disturbing at times.

In this particular collection, we have a vast array of types of crimes. These crimes include acts such as murder, robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault, and more. The one thing all of the dastardly deeds described in these pages is that for each crime there was a pair of perpetrators, not a single person. This focus on various atrocities committed by people that not only partner together to commit these acts but also feed off of each other and thrive on being together and involved with each other in each crime. 

This book shows that some people while fairly harmless individually can become something dark and dangerous when paired with the right person. Somehow some people just have chemistry that drives them into the depths of depravity together as one solid unit. Apart from and without each, other these offenders probably wouldn't have ever ventured to hurt another. But together? Together they can combine to become a very lethal and formidable duo.

And still, some of the cases presented show us that when bad people pair up with other bad people they can behave worse than before. They can embolden each other, challenge each other, push and pull at egos and insecurities. Whatever it takes to get what they want. 

I once heard something to the effect of 'when two damaged people come together no matter how much they love each other you can expect more damage'. Now, I don't know if that is truly 100% correct but the cases laid out in this collection certainly show that the people who were already on a bad path seemed to only exacerbate that by joining together with another damaged person. (I'm not talking about normal dysfunctional kind of damage. I'm talking about people who already lack moral psychology, have a skewed measurement of right and wrong, and who have already forgone the basics of humanity.)

While perpetrating their violations upon innocent victims each of these pairs were willing participants with no regard for anyone or anything, nor did they have any real concern about any consequences that may arise from their criminality. They become very wrapped up in each other and almost seem to live through their crimes in a fantasy world where nothing bad can happen to them and there will be the fairytale ending where they live happily together forever and ever. But the reality is very different.

I found this book to be just as interesting as the other two that I have read. I like that each case is written by a different author. This gives the reader a variety of writing styles to keep the information stimulating and appealing. This is also a valuable way of letting the stories be told in different voices. Each person, especially authors and true storytellers, tells their account of the events in their own way. Some people are more fact-based. Others are more descriptive with vivid imagery created for the reader. Some are a combination of storyteller types. But we all have our own voice. 
Furthermore, the cases are from all over the world at different times in the past. It's not just current crimes or crimes committed in just one region. Again, this is a technique that is beneficial to the reader as it exposes them to events they may not have otherwise known about or even thought to research. There were several cases in this edition of this series that piqued my interest and I made notes to try to find even more information in addition to the large number of facts already presented to me.
​
For the true-crime buffs, this is one you will definitely want to read. It's not filled with horror and gore, although yes there are many appalling tragic events detailed. But it truly is more of a written documentary of people who, when they paired up, were nothing but bad news, detailing their crimes and histories, both personal histories and each couple's histories leading up to their crimes. I hope this series continues to grow. I'm very anxious to see what special subset of criminals Szereto chooses to educate us about next.
 
 
RATINGS
5/5 Stars

Click HERE to purchase your copy now!