REVIEW: Andrew Lennon - Keith

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Createspace

Publication Date: 19^th June 2015

Pages: 71

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Keith was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Andrew Lennon in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Createspace.

This is the first book I have read of Andrew Lennon. This is a short story. I generally find them a good way of introducing yourself to someone new. It gives you an idea of the writing style without having to spend too much time on first time reading.

John is like any normal guy. He works, he lives a normal life by himself in his flat and he generally just tries to get by without any drama in his life. He hates his job. More to the point he hates his boss. Sometimes he fantasises about causing him pain.

One night a pizza delivery man arrives at his door with a pizza he didn’t order. As if this wasn’t mysterious enough, the same guy literally bumps into John a few days later. He introduces himself as Keith.

Keith and John strike up an unlikely friendship. It’s the only friend John has in the world.

When demands from Keith start to get more bizarre and deadly. John has to ask himself what he is doing associating with Keith and more importantly how in the hell he is going to end that association.

THE MILESTONES KEEP A COMING!!

Would you believe it! Two milestones within a week!

Milestone one:

Confessions of a Reviewer celebrated its half birthday on 4^th August!

Six months since I started my journey into the unknown world of blogging. I was a total virgin. No knowledge of what to do or how to go about doing it. All I knew what to do was pick up a book, read it, then ramble about it.

It appears that some of you out there like to read my ramblings. There is no one more surprised at that than me.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #4 - Ronald Kelly Original Artwork and Story

Number four in the Show-Off and Tell feature is a little bit different.

Ya’ll know the Jedi Master of Southern-fried Horror, Ronald Kelly? If you don’t then do yourself the biggest favour of all time and check out some of his work. Not only is he a fantastic author but his artwork is second to none.

Being the fantastic family man that he is, last year he offered up some of this artwork in exchange for a small donation to help get his daughter, Reilly, funds to make sure she made her People to People Student Ambassador trip to Europe, which she has just successfully completed.

I had just read Ronald’s book Fear (one of my favourite books of all time) and couldn’t resist asking for something featuring the monster from the book, the famous “snake-critter”.

This is what I got in the post a couple of weeks later!

REVIEW: Caroline Mitchell - Don't Turn Around (Detective Jennifer Knight Book 1)

Genre: Crime / Paranormal

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 24^th April 2015

Pages: 318

MY REVIEW:

I received an advance copy of Don’t Turn Around from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Bookouture.

So Caroline Mitchell is a new one to me. This is the first I have ever read of hers. To be honest I thought it was her first book until I discovered Paranormal Intruder which appears to be a story about her own true life experiences with paranormal activity. All I can say is that after reading Don’t Turn Around I am intrigued and interested to get my hands on a copy of Paranormal Intruder, firstly because I am interested in that sort of thing (no choice, my wife is a psychic medium and frequently brings her work home!!) and secondly, if she can write fiction like Don’t Turn Around then the non-fiction stuff must be pretty damn good as well.

Jennifer Knight is a detective in the CID in the quiet, small town of Haven. She is investigating the stabbing of a local gangster when the body of the perpetrator turns up. An apparent suicide by hanging. Something doesn’t fit for Jennifer though and the voices in her head seem to agree.

As the bodies mount up, they all seem very similar to a case Jennifer’s late mother was investigating when she was a Detective Inspector years earlier. Jennifer didn’t know about this case until she uncovers some evidence of her own and starts to put the pieces together.

She must now decide whether to listen to the voices in her head, follow the dead she was able to communicate with when she was younger and finally be able to admit her suspicions to her unbelieving boss and colleagues.

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #6 - J.D. Barker

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

J.D.Barker

The Past

So… Many people don’t know this about me but I started my professional writing career with non-fiction, and not the good kind. Although I wrote fiction as a child, as I entered adulthood and had to pay bills I began writing for magazines. I’d love to say these publications included the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, or other high-brow fodder but that wasn’t the case.

My first writing assignment was with a magazine called 25^th Parallel where I worked alongside the man who would later become Marilyn Manson. From there I moved on to Teen Beat, Seventeen, and others. I interviewed everyone from Tiffany to Debbie Gibson, New Kids on the Block, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and many others. While this was a fun time in my life, I found writing non-fiction to feel like work and quickly lost interest. It became a job, nothing more.

REVIEW: David Bernstein - Goblins

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Samhain

Publication Date: 4^th August 2015

Pages: 208

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Goblins was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author David Bernstein via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Samhain.

So David Bernstein is lucky enough to have two books coming out within a month of each other with two different publishers. I have just finished his other book Skinner and the review is written. I decided to read this one straight away after enjoying Skinner so much. I was hoping for more of the same. I think this one is better!

Marcus Hale is Chief of Police on Roanoke Island. He moved here for a quiet life after a messy divorce and a disaster on his last case as a detective. His career so far on this sleepy island has been just that, sleepy.

Children start to disappear. The pattern is always the same. Shortly after they disappear, their parents are brutally murdered. Butchered would be a better description. When Hale and some of his men stake out the house of the current victims to try and catch the murderers in the act, it all goes horribly wrong when the murderers turn up. They don’t appear to be human. Although he can’t believe it, they appear to be Goblins.

According to the town drunk, this is connected to something that happened in the 16^th century and if it isn’t stopped, the lives of every single person on the island are in danger. Hale has to firstly try and believe what he is being told then secondly, try and keep his men alive as they try to defeat the ancient evil.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #3 - Jason Parent - Seeing Evil

In keeping with the theme of the week, this weeks entry in the Show-Off and Tell feature is my copy of Seeing Evil by Jason Parent.

I was over the moon to receive this review copy in the post from Jason not only because I so desperately wanted to read and review it, but also because I know this man is destined for huge things in the future and I want to be able to say I have followed the journey from the very beginning.

INTERVIEW: THE JASON PARENT VIDEO INTERVIEW

Well here it is. Confessions of a Reviewer’s first ever attempt at a video interview. I’m so glad it was Jason Parent. This guy put himself on the line with this one. He was prepared to answer anything that was thrown at him, and I mean anything!

Giving the logistics of trying to pin someone down who is three thousand miles away from me, this had the potential to turn into a nightmare. I must thank Jason for his patience while some technical difficulties where ironed out and also for giving up his time for what turned into a very long night. It was, however, a night full of answers that will give you all you need to know about Jason’s new book Seeing Evil, his life and writing in general and of course the fun side of Jason where he put his very existence on the line in the 18+ section.

REVIEW: Jason Parent - Seeing Evil

Genre: Thriller / Supernatural

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing

Publication Date: 4^th August 2015

Pages: 234

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Seeing Evil was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Jason Parent in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Red Adept Publishing.

I have not read a lot by Jason Parent, just his stories as part of the mighty crew that gave us the collections, Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love and Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror. I have known him for a while now and have to say he is a decent bloke. I admit to that solely for the purposes of this review. I want it made quite clear that even though I do know him, he is also quite clear that garners no favours when I review books. He knows that I am honest about what I read, no matter who wrote it.

To that end I have to say I was hugely disappointed with what I read in Seeing Evil. Read on and I will tell you why.

Sam Reilly is a detective in the Major Crimes Division. She isn’t exactly orthodox and has a bit of a reputation as being somewhat of a maverick. She is sent to a gruesome murder/suicide where she comes across a small child sitting on the floor in the middle of a pool of blood. His family has been killed in the crime.

The child was Michael Turcotte. 11 years later, he has been in and out of various foster homes, struggling with growing up in a system that sometimes doesn’t care. His only true friend is Sam. She has stuck by him during the years since his family was murdered.

Michael has a secret. It’s so secret he has just discovered it himself. He has visions. Visions of things that are going to happen to anyone that he touches, flesh to flesh. He truly sees evil. When he tells people and Sam about his first vision, they don’t believe him. When it comes true and someone dies, Sam starts to listen to anything Michael tells her.

Tessa Masterton also has a secret. A secret life that no one but her and her father know about. She has heard about Michael’s visions and approaches him to see if he can tell her what her future holds. What Michael sees is something he cannot possibly tell Tessa. He tells Sam though.

What unfolds is a race against time, a race against evil and a race to stop a cold and ruthless killer that won’t let anyone stand in his way. That includes Sam, Michael and Tessa.

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #5 - Tony Tremblay

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Tony Tremblay

The Past

From the age of twelve, I would slip away and disappear with a book in my hand into the various cubbyholes around our home.  Our home was small, crowded and loud. I would hide under a bed, in the bathroom, anywhere where I could find some privacy to read. I remember one instance when my father found me reading underneath the house with a flashlight in my hand. I was nestled in the dirt between the foundation walls reading whatever horror book I had managed to borrow or steal at the time. Books were my refuge, an escape from poverty and the bullying at school. That twelve year old boy, who had shared space with spiders, copper piping, and even a dead cat once, is now entering his seventh decade of life, and while his accommodations have greatly improved, his love of reading has remained constant.

My point in all of this is that I’ve gone to great lengths to read an awful lot of books so you might think that it would be difficult to choose one book from my past that would have a life-long effect on me. However, when Nev asked the question the answer came to me immediately:  Ash Wednesday by Chet Williamson.