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Book Review: Say Anything But Your Prayers by Alan M. Clark

Say Anything But Your Prayers by Alan M. Clark

Lazy Fascist Press, 2014

ISBN-13: 9781621051572

Availability: paperback

 

Alan M. Clark is best known for his beautiful, award winning covers and illustrations that have graced bestselling works from authors such as Stephen King and Cody Goodfellow. His art is amazing, but many forget that he was also nominated for a Bram Stoker award for co-writing Siren Promised with Jeremy Robert Johnson. Alan, along with his artist’s eye for detail has also written historical horror.

 

This book is the second in a groundbreaking series that explores the Jack the Ripper legend, from an angle never before seen, in over a century of non-fiction and fiction inspired by the serial killer. Each book in the series follows the life of one of the killer’s victims. This second book follows the life and demise of Elizabeth Stride, the fourth victim.

 

While this novel could be considered horror, the historical elements are what make it so interesting. I admit, I knew very little about Elizabeth Stride before reading this book. Anyone looking for a cover-to-cover horror experience needs to look elsewhere. However, you can’t escape the main character’s fate as you go through her life, and tension builds because the reader knows how she will meet her gruesome end.

 

Clark includes a few key illustrations, but the real strength comes from his attention to detail, and the humanizing of Elizabeth Stride, which builds sympathy for a doomed character. This book is a must for people with an interest in the Ripper and I hope that libraries will carry it. Recommended

 

Contains: gore, adult situations.

Reviewed by David Agranoff

Posted on April 11, 2015 by , Reply

Book Review: Break My Heart 1,000 Times by Daniel Waters

Break My Heart 1,000 Times by Daniel Waters
Hyperion 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4231-2198-5
Available: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle

The sight of ghosts has become commonplace to Veronica and her friends since the “Event”. Ghosts are everywhere–walking about in classrooms, standing on street corners, going to the mailbox, and even reading books in the local library. Veronica also sees the ghost of her father sitting at the table reading the newspaper every morning, while the ghost of a teenage boy named Brian hangs out in her bathroom. These days though, it seems the ghosts are gaining power.

It’s not long before Veronica realizes maybe it’s not the ghosts she should be quick to step around, but the living instead, as Mr. Bittner, one of her teachers at Montcreif High, begins to stalk her in the creepiest of ways, like popping up at the coffee shop when she stops in for a quick cup of tea, and staring at her a little too long in class. Why is he following her?  What does he want?  And why does the ghost of Mary Greer appear on his front steps every morning?

Fans of author Daniel Waters, who also wrote the Generation Dead series, will likely sink their teeth into this stand-alone supernatural story filled with paranormal suspense, ghostly chills and fast-paced action.

Recommended: YA Ages 12 to 18

Contains: Minor Violence

Reviewed by Tina Mockmore

 

Posted on July 9, 2014 by , Reply

Book Review: Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013

ISBN-13: 978-1491046883

Available: Paperback, Kindle, Audible Book, Digital Lending

 

For those fans of Alexandra Sokoloff’s supernatural gems, such as The Harrowing, The Price, or The Unseen, this thriller (book 1 of The Huntress/FBI Thrillers) will illuminate another facet of this talented author’s skills. For those who are tired of the serial killer novel,  give this one a shot and be prepared to shed preconceptions of the subgenre.  The concept of a female serial killer is relatively untouched territory, with only a couple of other quality entries in modern literature. Sokoloff creates a killer who is complex enough to be real, rising above any tropes, but is stone cold in her methods. Peeling away the layers of this character is worth the price of the book itself, but like any of her novels, Sokoloff presents quite an enjoyable story, as well.

With her background in screenwriting, one might be quick to worry that her books might be static, or lack the three-dimensional quality necessary for a knockout novel. Sokoloff, however, also has a background in theater, and her ability to emote from the point of view of  any of her characters is uncanny. She truly is ‘inside their heads’. To live within the killer’s head is chilling, yet, at times, touching and thought provoking.

The story itself? FBI Agent Matthew Roarke watches a fellow agent become a hood ornament for a passing bus– just a moment after he appears to hear a woman say something to him. The woman disappears into the crowd, leaving readers with the feeling she is somehow familiar. The hunt is on, and it’s far from cliché.

We find the “Huntress” wandering on a beach, where she meets a recently divorced man and his young child. What ensues is unexpected, and ratchets up the suspense to that intense level readers expect of Sokoloff’s horror. While Huntress Moon is not, strictly speaking, a horror novel, terror like this should be found in any psychological thriller worth its salt. The cat and mouse game is nothing new, but Sokoloff’s lean writing mesmerizes the reader; her style quickly captivates and intrigues. Her settings are vividly painted in a manner usually reserved for books that spend many more pages on scenery development. If  a reader’s tastes run towards dark thrillers with fully fleshed-out characters, and stories that keep the neurons firing long after the covers have shut, then this series is for you.

Highly recommended for high school to adults

Reviewed by David Simms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on July 3, 2014 by , Reply
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