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Book Review: These Familiar Walls by CJ Dotson

 

These Familiar Walls by CJ Dotson

St. Martin’s Press, 2026

ISBN: 9781250336583

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

These Familiar Walls is a taut thriller, a major improvement over CJ Dotson’s debut novel, The Cut : it avoids all the problems that plagued that novel. It is a tightly written story that sticks to its premise, and does an outstanding job of throwing the reader off-base in terms of guessing the ending.  No sophomore jinx with this book: it’s certainly worth the read.

 

The book starts with a prologue, where thirty-something protagonist Amber Hughes’s parents are brutally murdered in a home invasion, and one of the killers(killed in the attack) turns out to have been Amber’s disturbed childhood friend, Nathan.  Amber inherits the house, and she and her husband Ben, and their two kids move in. Strange things start happening, and the author does a good job slowly building up the level of tension over the course of the book.  Dotson uses fairly basic items like sounds and images, but does it well, especially when using mirrors.  With a number of the incidents, it’s almost more psychological, as it seems like some of the characters go into a sort of fugue state, as they find themselves doing things, and being there, but not mentally in the moment.  It adds a nice touch, and will make the reader wonder: is the house really haunted, or are the characters mentally unstable, and dealing with the results?  The scene with the multiple candles, and the barbeque scene are good examples: they keep the story riveting while providing for some uncertainty for the reader.

 

The narrative is a split narrative, with parts taking place in the present, and sections in the past that document Amber’s time growing up as a teen with Nathan, who is every concerned parent’s worst nightmare.  Worth noting: there is a bit of animal cruelty associated with Nathan, and some people might want to skip those two sections.  It makes sense in terms of the plot, but can still be difficult to deal with.  The timelines tie together in the end, as the mystery of the house, as well as the mystery of the killer who escaped the night Amber’s parents were slain, are all resolved.

 

As good as the book is, it’s the last third of the book that’s a real gut punch, as all the answers are truly stunning and will completely throw the reader off.  As much as this is a thriller about a haunted house, it’s also a prime example of how the worst things in the world aren’t always supernatural: they can be contained within ourselves.

 

In closing, These Familiar Walls is a vast improvement over Dotson’s debut novel: let’s hope the author can keep it going in the future. Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on June 1, 2026 by , Reply

Book Review: The Rack II: More Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks, edited by Tom Deady

The Rack II: More Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks

The Rack II: More Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks, edited by Tom Deady, introduction by Sadie Hartmann

Greymore Publishing, 2025

ISBN: 9788998958915

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com | Bookshop.org

 

 

With 23 stories packed into 450 pages, The Rack II certainly delivers enough quantity for the dollar. But what about quality, you say? This installment in the series is actually better than the last one. As with the previous volume, the stories are of mixed quality,  The difference is, the good stories are better than last time, and there are more of them, while before, most were just ok. This time, the majority are good, so it’s easier to justify the purchase.

 

First off, note that the book says “stories INSPIRED by vintage horror paperbacks,” not “stories written in the style of vintage horror paperbacks.” These stories bear very little resemblance to any of the “thrash-n-trash” style pulp thrillers that ruled the 1980’s. That certainly doesn’t make the stories bad, but don’t buy this and expect reruns of Guy N. Smith or Graham Masterton. The authors of the short stories in this volume may have been inspired by that time period, but they certainly don’t write in that style. That’s perfectly fine, but readers should know what they are getting with a purchase of the book.

 

As for the stories…again, the overall quality level is better this time, with most of the stories grading in at about a solid B, and a lot of stylistic variety. A number of the middle-of-the-road stories are ones you could even go back and read again. We’ll look at the real bangers.

 

“Beepbeepbeep”: a tale of virtual pets, with a path into reality. This story makes good use of kids’ obsession with electronics, and does a great job of twisting it into real-world consequences with human life. Great fun!

 

“We Have (Never) Been Here Before”: even if this wasn’t entertaining as hell, it would get mentioned for the excellent writing. It’s just someone watching a horror film and calling out the standard tropes, but eventually it crosses over, and you don’t know what is film and what is real in the story. I felt this must have been a difficult one to write, but Jonathan Lees does an outstanding job on this one.

 

“Midnight Rider”: no, this isn’t about the Allman Brothers Band, but it sure has some of the melancholy they built into the lyrics of that song. It involves a Ferris Wheel and a grieving husband whose wife passed away too soon, and his attempts to see her again. It’s actually a pretty sad and dramatic story. I would not call it a horror story at all, but it is a damn good story. It was enough to (almost) give me a case of the sniffles. If author Mike Deady chose to write a drama novel, I would definitely read it.

 

“The Comeback Kid”: this is as close to a vintage 1980’s blast as you will get in the book, and it’s a disgusting mess of fun. It takes the idea of excellence in gymnastics at any cost to a whole new level, with plenty of body parts involved. Gross, and impossible not to enjoy.

 

“The Cartographer”: a thrilling tale of revenge, with four kids managing to track down a serial killer, and deciding to take justice into their own hands. The problem is, how to do it when you are kids, and don’t have access to guns? Credit to the kids for their solution: it’s a clever one. The story does take a bend into the realm of the otherworldly at one point, which adds a new dimension to the story. It might be the longest story in the book, but it sure holds its own against the quicker thrillers.

 

Bottom line is:  this is better than the original, and you can’t say that about sequels very often. Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on May 11, 2026 by , Reply

Book Review: Estate Sale by Mia Dalia

Estate Sale by Mia Dalia cover art

Estate Sale by Mia Dalia

Lethe Press, 2025

ISBN-13: 9781590215579

Available: Paperback, Kindle ebook

 

After the passing of Lady Koshmaroff, an estate sale draws the attention of the community, who knew very little about her and her late husband. Once the locals start buying the everyday objects from the house, strange things start happening to the new owners of these possessions. A writer buys a rocking chair and, after a long stint of writer’s block, he begins to write…and write…and write. A teenager, aspiring to be a comic artist, finds the quill her grandfather bought at an estate sale before he died holds an amazing secret that frees her from the confines of an uncaring mother and a stepfather whose recent medical condition she feels guilty about… maybe. A man returns to his hometown after an adventurous life, and caters the wedding of the man who was his first kiss, leading to rekindled, conflicting feelings, that end with a dark secret revealed and a mysterious engraved cup. A wife purchases a magnifying glass for her discredited investigator husband in the hopes it will give him some confidence, which leads to obsession over his most recent case. These are only a fraction of the objects purchased from the estate.

 

Between tales of the objects and their buyers is the strange history of Russian couple Ana and Pavel Koshmaroff, who managed to escape numerous atrocities in Europe in the early 20th century, finally settling in the United States. Throughout their story, Pavel introduces Ana to friends made across the world, including the infamous Aleister Crowley and other practitioners of magick. He also collects a seemingly eclectic assortment of objects, which she inherits at Pavel’s death.

 

Dalia expertly weaves the couple’s travels through history with the stories of the buyers of objects from the estate sale. Her ability to turn what seems like an everyday object into something sinister, or a strange comfort, added to the suspense and mystery of the Koshmaroff line. Although there is a large cast of characters, Dalia provides each of them a distinct voice and personality, and sometimes they cross paths with each other. This effect makes the setting feel small, despite the fact that some characters have moved out the of community, only to be pulled back for various reasons, to come across the estate sale at the center of the book.

 

Estate Sale would be a great recommendation for readers who like historical horror, gothic horror, short story collections, and intricate yet simple world building. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on May 10, 2026 by , Reply
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