Kill River by Cameron Roubique

This book was such a weird experience. I was really excited to read some oldschool-style over the top horror and that's exactly what you get...after you've slugged through the first thirteen chapters. I just feel the set up to this premise was so unnecessary and drawn out. Instead of starting the book with the teenagers just finding the abandoned waterpark and breaking in, it instead starts with our main character Cyndi going off to camp. At camp she meets the other teenagers and then nothing really interesting happens until they decide to escape the camp in the middle of the night, float down a river and end up at the waterpark. At this point nearly half the book is over. I can understand maybe not wanting Cyndi to know the others that well but the camp has nothing to do with the rest of the book and there are much easier ways (have her be new to the town and casually mention she knows the kids from school but they've not hung out before, for example).

After this halfway point though, this book delivered everything I wanted. This is a traditional slasher with an unknown attacker and a bunch of graphically violent scenes at a great setting. The characters were a bit stereotypical but had enough depth for you to not completely detach from them. The waterpark is a perfect setting for some really good horror moments and I had an utter blast reading this. My only other criticism is that I felt the characters should have been around 15 instead of 13. There's not a ton of sexual stuff but there are hints of it and while this might be technically accurate for 13 year olds, it made me slightly uncomfortable to read about. It was just distracting.

If I had to rate this book accurately, the first half would be 2 stars and the second half would easily get 4. I've averaged this out to a 3 but it seems a shame when the second half was so strong and it delivers on the premise so well. I'm hoping the sequel will have less unnecessary setup.

Overall Rating:

The Shapes of Midnight by Joseph Payne Brennan

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Dover Publications in exchange for an honest review.

Horror anthologies can be so hit or miss for me. I tend to avoid collections published by one author unless I know their work because I have specific tastes for horror and I dislike the ambiguous short stories the genre often results in. I made an exception for The Shapes of Midnight and I am so glad I did!

This is a VERY short collection (~100 pages) of horror stories which are mostly basic in concept but are executed really well. The first two were my least favourite and the most straightforward of the bunch but it was all uphill from there. If you could plot my ratings of these on a graph, it would almost be a perfect bell curve because I felt the middle stories were definitely the strongest. My Kindle ARC was sadly missing two stories (Canavan’s Back Yard and Slime) which might also be why it felt so short to me.

No of stories: 10 (12 in actual collection)

Diary of a Werewolf-What it says on the tin. This was definitely one the weaker ones. It wasn't bad but it was very straightforward and there were no surprises or depth to it.

The Corpse of Charlie Rull-A man dies in a radioactive river and comes back to life. Slightly better than the one above because I couldn't tell where it was going and it was less of a standard plot. I also loved the way this opened, it had a fantastic style to it.

The Pavilion-A very creepy story about a man who murders his friend and returns to check if the body has been dislodged by the sea. This grabbed my attention and kept me excited to see what was going to happen next.

House of Memory-A different type of horror story to most and a refreshing addition to the collection. A woman is forced out of her childhood home and refuses to accept it has been demolished, much to the confusion of her family. Another very decent and enjoyable one.

The Willow Platform-A man in a small town finds an evil demon book. The writing style of this was very entertaining but I wasn't a fan of the story topic itself, which is probably just personal preference.

Who Was He?-A man in hospital keeps getting visits from a hospital barber. This was hands down my favourite of the whole bunch. I read it late at night and was genuinely very scared by it.

Disappearance-Another very strong story about a man whose brother has gone missing and the narrator suspects he killed him. The 'twist' of this was very easy to guess but it was still entertaining and possibly my second favourite.

The Horror at Chilton Castle-A man lives near a castle which has a secret sealed room, the contents of which are only shown to the heirs of Earls. This started off strong but the actual contents of the room turned it into not my type of horror story. It was still one of the best and definitely had some good horror moments.

The Impulse to Kill-A man who has the urge to kill devises a way to do so without being arrested for it. This is a neat enough idea for a story and it was well-written but it suffers from being very linear and not having a lot beyond the basic concept.

The House on Hazel Street-Upon entering a house, a man realises he has no memory of why he is there. The occupant of the house has a specific request of him. This story has one of the more unique concepts in the anthology and it was good but not one of my absolute favourites.

I debated between 3.5 and 4 stars for a while but I felt 4 stars was right since I enjoyed almost every story in here and the writing style was consistently strong throughout. At points Brennan has almost a Lemony Snicket-esque narration style and this was very enjoyable when it cropped up. This collection is very short in the form I received but that was minus two stories so I decided to not lower the rating due to that. Overall, this was a wonderful horror anthology and I would definitely want to read more by this author.

Overall Rating:

Little Girls Sleeping by Jennifer Chase

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

I am not usually the biggest fan of police procedurals but I couldn't help but be intrigued by one with a premise as creepy as this. Our protagonist Katie Scott has just returned from serving in the army when she stumbles into a missing-girls case in her home town. Someone has been putting the girls into glass coffins and preserving their bodies for years. With the help of her support dog Cisco, Katie is determined to find out who is responsible.

Straight off the bat, I really liked Katie. There is occasionally the odd clumsy line which is designed to hype her up as a character which was somewhat annoying, but overall she was a brilliant protagonist. The other characters are sadly a lot more basic and there are very clear standard roles here. You have the persistent newcomer in Katie herself, you have the derisive detective who hates her inexplicably, you have the hesitant partner who learns to have her back...there's not really anything new here. Having said that, these features are common of most police procedurals so that's not necessarily a negative.

The plot itself was very well-paced and I felt like the book was just the right length. There was no padding or pointless story threads and this created a very tight narrative which kept you reading through it quickly. The solution to the whole plot was satisfying and didn't have the usual problem of it just being some random, fairly obscure character. Perhaps some readers will find it a bit basic but it was done well so it didn't bother me in the slightest.

Overall, I think people who love police procedurals will probably enjoy this a lot more than I did. This is a strong example of the genre with a likeable detective and a decent hook. I would definitely consider reading more in the series, especially if a more complex plot was incorporated.

Overall Rating:

.5

Growing Things & Other Stories by Paul Tremblay

I received a free copy of this book for review thanks to William Morrow and Edelweiss.

Oh boy. I really honestly thought I would love this short story collection. I read A Head Full of Ghosts by Tremblay earlier this year and really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to experiencing a greater range of his work through an anthology. Sadly this book was not designed for the casual reader. Honestly I was surprised by the sheer amount of references to his other work present in this and, as someone who has only read one of his books, I did not find the stories easy to understand despite not getting those references. This was my major problem with the anthology and I found myself skimming and skipping stuff as a result. Maybe if you're a mega-fan then you would get a lot more out of this but I also feel that this should stand on its own as a collection rather than relying on knowledge of other works.

My other main problem is I just wasn't that interested in many of the stories. Normally I review every single story for an anthology but for this one I would be repeating myself a lot so I'm just going to mention a couple and do my overview stats.

Number of stories: 19
Number I liked: 2
Number which were okay: 3, maybe?

Something About Birds-A somewhat meta creepy story about birds where a journalist writes about meeting a horror author who wrote a creepy story about birds. Okay, so this one definitely felt like I was maybe missing something from the context but it was one of the few where it didn't matter and I still got absorbed into the story. It was probably my favourite of the collection and it had creepy moments whilst still making sense.

A Haunted House is a Wheel, Upon Which Some Are Broken-A choose-your-own adventure story about a woman visiting a haunted house. Despite the page numbers not being available for the ARC (meaning that I could not choose my own adventure but had to read it linearly) this was a very beautiful story and I loved every minute of it. A tied favourite with the previous story and this would probably be my favourite had I been able to read it in the way it was intended.

These two stories save it from being a one star read for me. Now for some of my least favourites:

Notes from the Dog Walkers-An incredibly meta story which is exactly what it says on the tin. This story just went on and on and on and I tried to read all of it but it was just getting worse and worse. I have actually read the work I needed to in order to get this reference and yet I still didn't get it which is a terrible sign. It was very surreal and read very narcissistic to me. Only for mega-fans I feel.

That's the only one I can talk about in detail as I have forgotten the rest. Sorry.

Overall, I am deeply disappointed I didn't enjoy this. It won't stop me from reading Tremblay's other books and being excited for them but I think I'll avoid his short stories from now on. I understand Tremblay is a huge author but it seems a strange decision to release a collection which is so alienating to people who don't know his work inside and out. I wish I could have given this a more positive review.

Overall Rating:

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 11 edited by Ellen Datlow

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

An anthology calling itself 'The Best Horror of the Year' certainly has a lot to live up to. How did it fare?

Total number of stories: 22 (my Kindle ARC missed two for some reason)
Great stories: 7
Good/Okay stories: 4

I Remember Nothing by Anne Billson-A woman wakes up next to a strange man in a creepy room and neither of them remember what has happened. This started well and did some cool stuff but it quickly went downhill. It's not a bad concept for a story but as is my usual complaint with horror short stories, it could have done what it did a lot simpler and it would have been stronger for it.

Monkeys on the Beach by Ralph Robert Moore-A family goes on holiday and terrible things happen. I don't get the point of this story? The events didn't seem linked to me and it feels like I missed something important. Very lackluster.

Painted Wolves by Ray Cluley-A crew of people are filming a nature documentary about painted dogs. This was great right until the very last section when it became weirdly vague. I'm pretty sure I know what happened and I liked it but it was executed so well until that point that it left a bad taste.

Shit Happens by Michael Marshall Smith-I have read and reviewed this story previously so here is my original review: This story has the weirdest premise and it shouldn't work but it does? While on a business trip taking place on a cruise ship, a mysterious affliction strikes people who are close to the sea. This is one of those short stories I could see being expanded into a whole book and it would make a great comedy horror one. It worked extremely well as a short story in my eyes but I did kinda want more from the world and the characters. One of the strongest in the (original) anthology.

You Know How the Story Goes by Thomas Olde Heuvelt-SO GOOD. This story gripped me right from the start and is a perfect example of a simple concept done well. A man recounts of a time when he hitchhiked and something terrifying happened to him. It builds tension fantastically and holds it from start to finish. One of my favourites.

Masks by Peter Sutton-This was so short and tbh, I don't really know what it was about. It didn't hold my attention very well.

The Donner Party by Dale Bailey-Another brilliant one. Set in the past in a society where the rich dine upon the poor at annual feasts, our main character is invited to such a feast but then problems arise. This one doesn't contain many surprises but it doesn't need them. The horror is woven into the world of the story so well that you feel dread and disgust without as opposed to it having punchy moments. Definitely one of the best.

Milkteeth by Kristi DeMeester-This one was so short that it was over before I had the chance to really process what it was about. There's something about a dead mother and teeth and hunting but I wasn't a huge fan.

Haak by  John Langan-A teacher tells his class a historical story that is linked to Peter Pan I think? I switched off really early in this due to the historical element so I can't really say much more about it sadly.

Thin Cold Hands by Gemma Files-A pretty creepy story about a changeling child. The writing wasn't the best for this but it had a strong concept and was genuinely quite disturbing.

A Tiny Mirror by Eloise by C. C. Shepherd-This is about a woman telling a man a creepy story from her childhood whilst they're on a plane together. It was enjoyable but incredibly short and over way too soon. Pretty average on the whole.

I Love You Mary-Grace by Amelia Mangan-This story came from a horror anthology entirely about dogs and you can definitely tell! It's very weird and about a guy who idolises a girl, which is all I can pretty much say about it. Not for me unfortunately.

The Jaws of Ouroboros by Steve Toase-I think this is set in the future and two people are collecting a resource from giant mouths which have appeared around the world. Another incredibly weird one and this was also hard to follow. I got the jist but it could have been done a lot better.

A Brief Moment of Rage by Bill Davidson-People are afflicted with a condition that makes them incredibly violent for short periods of time at random. It was fine.

Golden Sun by Kristi DeMeester, Richard Thomas, Damien Angelica Walters, & Michael Wehunt-So this story started off really well. It's about a family on holiday and their daughter keeps singing a specific song and then a weird event happens. This event is told from four characters' perspectives and each author writes one segment of it. The problem is that the segments weren't different enough in my opinion. The only one which adds any new details after the first one is the final one, so it becomes a repetitive reading experience. I understand what they were trying to do here and they almost accomplished it but that stopped this story being great.

White Mare by Thana Niveau-An American family visit England around Halloween and discover a creepy local tradition. This was so good! It was really well-written and pretty creepy. I didn't 100% understand the ending but the rest of it was strong enough for me not to care. Maybe my absolute favourite?

Girls Without Their Faces On by Laird Barron-A girl has been dating this guy and at a party, she realises she doesn't really know him. Creepy stuff follows. This one was almost really great but it fell short at a few hurdles. The guy 'J' became weird in a way which was hard to follow and the ending suffered from that stock confusion. There were some strong moments in this, it just wasn't consistent.

Thumbsucker by Robert Shearman-I did not like this story one bit. It's about a world where thumbsucking is stigmatised and the main character's dad becomes a thumbsucker. It was really weird and uncomfortable to read. I kept waiting for a line at the end to explain the metaphor but it never came, so the whole thing fell a bit flat.

You Are Released by Joe Hill-A very powerful story about a plane that runs into trouble, framed by swapping the focus to a different passenger every few paragraphs or so. This wasn't really horror in my opinion but I am so so glad I read it. It has a lot of really thought-provoking moments and was just excellently done.

Red Rain by Adam-Troy Castro-A story about a horrific incident that starts with a man jumping from a roof, uniquely told entirely in questions posed to the reader. I did really like this one on the whole but the gimmick wore a bit thin near the middle. It's a nice idea but it became incredibly repetitive and moreso than I felt it needed to be. The story itself was so strong though.

No Exit by Orrin Grey-A woman tells the story of her sister who was involved in an accident. This was a good story but it felt like it almost could have been a great one from the concept and it just fell a bit short.

Haunt by Siobhan Carroll-I have read and reviewed this story previously so here is my original review: I possibly didn't give this story the chance it deserved because I was sort of done with the anthology by the time I reached it. It has the strong general premise of a ghost ship relating to slaves being drowned but the execution just wasn't there. It had some good moments but overall it wasn't enough to keep my attention or leave a lasting impact.

Overall Rating:

.5