Curse of the Reaper by Brian McAuley

 

The book flap reads that it is like a cross between Scream and The Shinning. I think a better movie to described mixed with the shinning would be Wes Craven's New Nightmare. Howard played The Reaper years ago in a series of films, when studio execs want to reboot it with a new actor playing The Reaper, Howard has to come to terms with it. Trevor, the new actor for The Reaper, also has his personal demons to face while trying to make the part his. What follows is a psychological and supernatural story about passing the torch…or the chains so to speak. It was a little predictable as I said it feels like New Nightmare, but in a good way. I loved the story of New Nightmare with the mythology (I know I am in the minority on this) and Curse of the Reaper scratches the itch for another story like it. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Hide by Kiersten White

 

A game of hide and seek in an abandoned amusement park, the last person found will win a large sum of money. The premise and the beginning of the novel reminded me of the movie The Running Man. The contestants were given time to run and hide from the seekers. The seekers however are not what they seem. Unfortunately, like a decommissioned roller coaster, it started off exciting but then could not keep that feeling going. The writing was fine, but the characters were a mix of fleshed out and being one dimensional. All the characters in my opinion were very stereotypical architypes you might see on any reality show. Some may argue that it would lend some authenticity to the story, however, mixed with the flat characters it just came off as cheap. I did like the premise and the pacing of the book, so that gives it some weight in my rating of it. It was an average book at best, I think if the characters were not so bland, I might have cared what happened to them. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Gwendy’s Final Task by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

 

Just like Jason and The Leprechaun before her, when there is no other place to go with a character you send them to space. Gwendy is now in her sixties and living with Alzheimer’s. She has one final task to do for Richard Farris. I enjoyed this book better than the second book, but the Button Box was the strongest of the trilogy. The flow of the story felt more polished and had less rambling on just to fit a certain page limit. The supporting characters did not seem as fleshed out as those in the Button Box, but they were more interesting than those in the Magic Feather. 3 out of 5 stars.

If I were to rate the series as a whole, I would round up and give the trilogy a 3.5 out of 5 stars. There was promise of an interesting story and the possibility of meeting Randal Flagg again, however, in the end Farris is a different character all together. I did enjoy the jumping in time so we could follow Gwendy during different periods in her life.

Gwendy’s Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar

 I was a bit disappointed with the second outing for Gwendy. After a great first story, this one felt a bit different and did not have the same mysterious feel as the first book. In this novel Gwendy is in her thirties and is living the life of a politician. She heads back to Castle Rock to lend a hand in finding out what is going on that is causing some people to go missing. The story is much slower going than the Button Box. It seemed like it could have moved more quickly if it was the same length as the previous book. It was a little hard to get through as well because it lacked the same mysteriousness of the Button Box and to me, lacked the charm of the first story. It was an average story, but I probably would not have continued reading the story if I knew it was not part of a trilogy. If it was a standalone book, I probably would not have finished it. 2 out of 5 stars.

Sea Salt's Purr-fect Mystery by Suzanne Rothman

 

This review will be a little different to what I normally review but I felt with my over twenty years in the educational field I should branch out some and review books that may be beneficial to parents and educators. This is a review for an ARC.

Sea Salt the Chocolate Point Himalayan cat has gone missing. Hattie goes looking for her and runs into a group of friends who offer their sleuthing skills to help locate Sea Salt. What follows is a story that encourages the readers (and listeners) to use some problem-solving skills, self-reliance, and critical thinking on lending a hand themselves in finding what happened to Sea Salt. This is the part where the book shines. I have seen very little children’s books that incorporates the child to do extra thinking while learning to read. The extra learning exercises at the end of the book are a plus. The only negative thing I would say about the book is while most of the rhyming words were great, some felt like a stretch. The book is great for emerging and new readers. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Creepers by David Morrell

 

Five people go urban exploring in an abandoned hotel. There are many dangers that are needed to be on the watch for when exploring run down places. To top it off, the explorers may not be alone in the abandoned hotel. The characters are lopsidedly written as some are given a back story while others are not. The thing I appreciate from David Morrell’s books is that you can tell he does a lot of research when writing. He then translates this to what he is showing and explaining to the readers. While some people might be put off by it for being too wordy, I really enjoy it in his books. All the books of his that I have read has been grounded in reality and what he has researched and explains makes sense as opposed to some books where they basically ask you to suspend belief on what is happening. It is a solid read if you are looking to bring something to read on a trip. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Blackwater Falls by Ausma Zehanat Khan

 

While I do read and enjoy mystery stories, I am not a huge fan of police procedurals. Blackwater Falls by Ausma Zehanat Khan is a good example of how they can be done right. The book does a good job of introducing different characters that seem believable to have in any law enforcement team. If you have seen any police procedurals on T.V. you can get an idea of the cast that is in this book.

Inaya Rahman has made the move to Colorado from Chicago and faces some of the same situations one would expect the new person to face. On top of her work life, she must deal with her family. The author does a really good job, in my opinion, of showing the readers what can typically go through a family whose generational differences can cause conflicts, especially when traditions and expectations differ between parent and child. As this is the first book in the series, I can see Inaya growing more mature and surer of herself when dealing with both her professional and personal live.

I am not sure if I will read anymore of this series as it is not a genre I typically read, but I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre and wants a realistic portrayal of the types of issues minorities may face. I give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Sacculina by Philip Fracassi

 

Sacculina is a short read at just over 100 pages long. What it does in those few pages is a lot better than some stories three times its length. The story gets right to the point and gives us enough character to development to feel for all involved. The story was a bit predictable in that I could easily tell who was going to make it and who wasn’t and which order people were going to go. That being said, it was still a good enough story to keep me reding. This story would make a great episode in an anthology TV series if they would faithfully adapt it. The description was written so well that no adaptation would be needed to create a complete image that immerses the reader. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Radio Tower by Boris Bacic

 

Chris Townsend moves to the small town of Woodberry because of his job. What first seems like a quaint place to live quickly turns strange and cryptic. Chris soon realizes that leaving will not be so easy and does not know who to trust and who not to believe. This story is fast paced and easy reading. The story is gripping and keeps you reading. The mystery and the way it unfolds is done well. This was my first book by Bacic and I am looking forward to reading more of his works.  4 out of 5 stars.