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Book Review: Sacrilege by Barbara Avon

Sacrilege by Barbara Avon

Self published, 2020

ISBN: 9798690309411

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:    Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

Sacrilege is a depressing psychological drama that takes you down, down, and further down.  There are no monsters or boogeymen in this one, just the mental demons that inhabit the characters.  It’s a pretty good read for those who prefer human interest/interaction stories.

 

Almost the entire story focuses on the two leads: wayward priest Cris Corelli, and Jules, the lady who owns the boarding house he stumbles into.  The author sets the tone right out of the gate: mentally, these two are trainwrecks, for various reasons.  As the story progresses, the death of someone close to both of them pushes Cris and Jules further down into depression.  They start drinking and drugging to numb the pain, only finding minimal comfort in each other.  However, it’s the best either of them can hope for, unless they somehow are able to use each other to pull out of their respective tailspins.

 

The stark manner in which the dialogue between Corelli and Jules is written is an unusual choice.  Often, books like this rely on fairly long and in-depth conversations, as a way to explain how the characters became, and where they are heading.  The author goes against the grain here, as most talks are fairly quick and clipped, not really revealing a lot about the characters.  Then again, maybe they don’t need to, the characters’ actions may speak louder than any lengthy dialogue in this case.  It’s an interesting choice for this type of book, and works reasonably well for the narrative, giving it a unique flavor.

 

I felt the “big reveal” at the end of the story was anticlimactic. You could tell it was supposed to be fairly important, due to Corelli’s actions after he discovered it, but it just didn’t seem like anything that should alter the story’s trajectory, or what the characters do for the rest of the book.

 

The bottom line is…this will appeal to a certain segment of readers.  If you enjoy depressing psychological dramas, this might work for you.  If your idea of horror is fast-paced, with monsters and supernatural craziness, then this probably isn’t your cup of black ichor.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on February 3, 2025 by , Reply

Book Review: 12 Hours (Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena #2) by L. Marie Wood

Cover art for 12 Hours by L. Marie Wood

12 Hours (Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena #2) by L. Marie Wood

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2024

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1947879652

Available:  Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

Series editor RJ Joseph prefaces 12 Hours by explaining that the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena publishes its Selected Papers when it finds evidence that something  “unattainable or previously disbelieved” has become reality, and introducing L. Marie Wood as an established academic and creative writer.

 

Wood’s creativity and mastery of the uncanny are evident in this stream-of-consciousness narrative of thoughts and observations by a foulmouthed cabbie attacked late at night by addicts in ski masks, and the aftermath. This is horror of the ordinary: events like this happen every day, although not from this particular point of view. Wood gives us clues to what is happening while revealing the cabbie to the reader as a complex and nuanced character with strong emotions, and using minute details to describe his state of being and the world he experiences. The novella length is perfect for this story focused on one character and what he goes through in a very short length of time, although the very end may frustrate some readers. It’s’ difficult to say more without spoiling the story and much of what makes it a fascinating read, so you’ll have to read it yourself to discover that.  Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on August 3, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Hares in the Hedgerow (The Gardening Guidebooks Trilogy #2) by Jessica McHugh

Hares in the Hedgerow (The Gardening Guidebooks Trilogy #2) by Jessica McHugh

Ghoulish Books, 2022

ISBN: 9781943720767

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Bookshop.org

 

Little did readers of Rabbits in the Garden, the first book to introduce Avery and her crazy mother Faye in The Gardening Guidebooks Trilogy, realize the full extent of the horror to come. As Avery tries to face her demons in the next book, Rabbits in the Hedgerow, by beating them out of her willing counselor while raising her sister’s daughter (Sophie), she slowly learns her mother Faye’s backstory as leader of a demented cult devoted to St. Agnes.

 

The central character in the new narrative, Sophie, is in terrible danger because she has been the victim of her boyfriend Liam’s machinations to bring her into the cult as its central figure. Sophie is blinded by her love for Liam as well as what she believes are her mother’s past crimes. Luckily, however, Sophie is smart enough to sort fact from fiction in time to make important decisions before Faye, her grandmother, leads everyone to their doom. 

 

In Hares in the Hedgerow, McHugh drives us full force into the psychological twists and turns of a cult’s sickness and the damaged minds of its victims. There is no shortage of physical violence in this book. We see the devastation of human lives up close, and it is unrelenting. The plot is a carefully layered history of three generations of women who have been their own worst enemies as well as destroyers of the people around them. Anything can happen, but none of it is going to be good.

 

Just as in the first book in the trilogy, the second is fast-paced with past and present events illuminating our understanding of the characters and leading to yet another explosive ending. But, just as compelling as the momentum is the way McHugh makes us believe we are looking into the minds of real people, the type that would have followed someone like Charles Manson. There is the fear we feel for the characters but also the fear we feel for ourselves knowing that fanaticism and a skewed perception can, in fact, exist side by side in the real world and that everyday people sometimes create horror and then willingly enter into it in senselessly appalling ways. 

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

Posted on October 18, 2023 by , Reply
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