Welcome to the next edition of the semi-regular “Books to check out” posts. Here you’ll find links to some of the many books, in a variety of genres, that have recently crossed my Kindle and/or computer screen. Oh, and in case you’re wondering: no, I don’t get paid (or any other form of compensation) for posting these links and descriptions. Yes, I buy the books (or borrow them through Kindle Unlimited).
Happy reading!
Twisted: A Collection of Dark Tales by Daniel Willcocks. If horror and thriller stories are right up your alley, then here’s an early Halloween treat you won’t want to miss! You may or may not want to leave the lights on when you go to bed…
Desperate for a fresh injection of dark tales designed to make the mind bend, warp, and TWIST?
For the first time ever in one collection, ‘Twisted’ collates 28 of the best dark horror shorts featured on the chart-busting, award-nominated podcast, ‘The Other Stories’ (plus a few cheeky extras stories thrown in).
If you like short bursts of dark fiction designed to make your eyes pop and your sphincter tighten, well… this is a collection for you.
Stories including, but not limited to: Gas-fuelled nightmare chambers, parasitic crustaceans, bloody tribal rituals, serial-killing pensioners, and possessed theme parks.
Strange Is Her Life by Judith Berens, Martha Carr, and Michael Anderle. Book 6 in the School of Necessary Magic series, this urban fantasy tale is part of the Oriceran Universe and follows the adventures of teenager Alison Brownstone and her friends.
Dark magic has infiltrated the School of Necessary Magic.
Spies stalk the halls. Traitors whisper lies to impressionable freshmen.
And devious wizards distract with charming smiles.
If Alison and her friends can’t see past the friendly masks of their fellow students to the dark purpose they hide, it’s not just the school that will be destroyed.
But the forces of evil should have kept one thing in mind before targeting Alison Brownstone.
Hell hath no fury like a Drow princess defending her family.
Shocker by William Graves. Currently sitting at #20 in the Horror Suspense category on Amazon, this book has been getting fantastic reviews from readers for its skillfully written storyline and relatable, everyday characters. As one reviewer described it, “Complex, nerve-wracking, grabs your emotions and won’t let go till the very end.”
What happens when the demons of the past come back to play?
Mary Elizabeth carries a dark secret in her heart, one she keeps even from herself.
Her husband, Charlie, ignorant of the horror she’s buried deep, watches with sadness as indifference and apathy fracture their picture-perfect family.
Will the truth set you free or get you killed?
The body—a girl, barely fourteen, used then butchered—is found on the bluff high above main street.
Mary Elizabeth’s visceral reaction to the news—out of character for the stoic, almost cold woman he’s loved since high school—shakes Charlie out of his passivity.
But when he reaches to reconnect and fight for the life they once had, it only serves to drive her further away and him into the arms of another.
She’s the hero no one sees coming.
Another death, this one closer to home, brings to surface memories Mary Elizabeth has long denied exist.
As a killer—brutal, efficient, unstoppable—continues to terrorize their small town, she alone holds the power to stop him.
Because she knows him.
She survived him.
And he remembers her—in vivid, electrifying detail.
An emotionally gripping psychological thriller that “will make you laugh out loud and then want to lock your front door before you read another page.”
Masters of Fate by A.K. DuBoff. Book 3 in the Dark Stars trilogy is newly-released. New enough, in fact, that it’s sitting on my TBR list screaming “read me!” Lol. However, I expect it to be a fantastic read in the sci-fi/fantasy space opera genre; word on the street from those who’ve already devoured it agrees.
The final fight will change their perception forever.
Everything Elle Hartmut and her friends thought they knew about the alien menace—and the nature of their universe—is wrong.
With mounting evidence that the aliens behind the Darkness reside on a hyperdimensional plane above spacetime, Elle and the Dark Sentinels will need a new approach to win. However, preventing the impending alien invasion will test their team in ways they never imagined.
The ancient artifacts wielded by the Dark Sentinels may hold the key to victory. If they can understand and master their true abilities, they may still be able to save the Hegemony and their loved ones before the invasion’s final stage consumes them all.
The Dark Stars trilogy combines high-tech sci-fi with traditional fantasy magic, perfect for fans of Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, and Xenosaga. Join Elle in her final battle against the Darkness!
Superdreadnought 1 by CH Gideon and Tim Marquitz, Craig Martelle, and Michael Anderle. This military AI space opera is set in the greater Kurtherian Gambit Universe and is both the start of a new series and an exploration of what happens when an AI who’s been waiting in isolation, untasked, heads back out into the universe.
Alone and unafraid. Sometimes you prevent war by hunting down your enemies.
Integrated with a superdreadnought, the artificial intelligence known as Reynolds takes his ship across the universe in search of the elusive Kurtherians. He comes to a revelation. He’s better in the company of living creatures.
He needs a crew. He needs information. And he needs to continue his search and destroy mission.
Needing a crew and getting a crew are two completely different things. Reynolds is out of his element as he tries to reach out and make friends. Through it all, he has his vessel, the superdreadnought, the most powerful warship in the galaxy.
Or so he believes.
