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Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, #4)
8.4
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Think your in-laws are scary? Try meeting Paige Winterbourne’s potential father-in-law: CEO of the...
The Trail in the Woods
Book
The story begins at an abandoned overgrown trail with the scary name of 'The Devils Tail'. The trail...
science fiction thriller Stanley C. Straub Stanley C Straub Stanley Straub The Trail in the Woods
ClareR (6129 KP) rated How to Kill Your Family in Books
May 19, 2022
Imagine the injustice of being sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder you didn’t commit. Not that Grace Bernard is actually innocent. I mean, she HAS murdered six (or is it five? I lose count) members of her own estranged family. Not that they didn’t deserve it.
This was a dark, funny book, and I found myself laughing at the most inappropriate moments. Grace plans her murders meticulously: she finds out what each family member likes to do, where they live and who their contacts are. She’s calm, collected and seriously scary. Grace is a prime example of a psychopath. She has no real attachments, she’s calm and collected during her murders, and her life otherwise appears to be normal.
But if anyone had found the memoir she starts to write whilst jailed for the murder she didn’t commit, she would have had a much longer sentence.
As you probably know by now, I always seem to end up with a soft spot for the more unpleasant, dare I say, naughty, characters. If you count six murders as a bit naughty, then yes, Grace has been added to my list of favourite characters. She really is something special!
Thanks to The Borough Press for my copy of this book to read through NetGalley.
This was a dark, funny book, and I found myself laughing at the most inappropriate moments. Grace plans her murders meticulously: she finds out what each family member likes to do, where they live and who their contacts are. She’s calm, collected and seriously scary. Grace is a prime example of a psychopath. She has no real attachments, she’s calm and collected during her murders, and her life otherwise appears to be normal.
But if anyone had found the memoir she starts to write whilst jailed for the murder she didn’t commit, she would have had a much longer sentence.
As you probably know by now, I always seem to end up with a soft spot for the more unpleasant, dare I say, naughty, characters. If you count six murders as a bit naughty, then yes, Grace has been added to my list of favourite characters. She really is something special!
Thanks to The Borough Press for my copy of this book to read through NetGalley.
Merissa (13950 KP) rated Snowbody Loves Me (Christmas Falls #2) in Books
Nov 13, 2023
SNOWBODY LOVES ME is the second book in the multi-author seasonal series, Christmas Falls. You don't have to have read book one to get this one, but you're missing out on a brilliant story.
Arlo is the owner of one of the B&Bs and Emerson is the one lucky enough to find a spare room when everywhere is fully booked up. It is insta-lust, quickly followed by insta-love. To be fair, they don't act upon the insta-lust immediately with neither of them sure what is going on or how long Emerson will be staying.
There are lots of pluses for this book, but I do wish they would have spoken a little more about the big things. I know it can be scary to put yourself out there, but surely getting a solid answer is better than a lifetime of uncertainty.
This was a fun, low-angst, seasonal romance set in a town I am coming to love. Definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 13, 2023
Arlo is the owner of one of the B&Bs and Emerson is the one lucky enough to find a spare room when everywhere is fully booked up. It is insta-lust, quickly followed by insta-love. To be fair, they don't act upon the insta-lust immediately with neither of them sure what is going on or how long Emerson will be staying.
There are lots of pluses for this book, but I do wish they would have spoken a little more about the big things. I know it can be scary to put yourself out there, but surely getting a solid answer is better than a lifetime of uncertainty.
This was a fun, low-angst, seasonal romance set in a town I am coming to love. Definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 13, 2023
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2534 KP) rated The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster! in Books
Nov 8, 2022
Will the Pigeon Enjoy a Roller Coaster?
Pigeon is ready to ride a roller coaster. He knows he will need a ticket. He knows he will need to wait in line. And he knows it will be scary as it twists and turns at high speed. But he is ready. Is he really ready for what will happen next?
This is a mostly fun entry for fans of Pigeon. It’s told in typical style with illustrations and dialogue only. There isn’t quite as much interaction for us, but Pigeon still carries the book by himself. The story didn’t go quite the way I thought it would, but once I adjusted my expectations, I had to laugh at the outcome, especially the final page. And it provides a good lesson for all that sometimes things you are looking forward to turn into disappointments. I think the biggest issue with the book will be some of the vocabulary choices, which will be a bit beyond the target audience. Yes, I get the concept of stretching a vocabulary, but I think a couple of the words are a bit too abstract for the age group. Still, fans of Pigeon will be glad they picked it up.
This is a mostly fun entry for fans of Pigeon. It’s told in typical style with illustrations and dialogue only. There isn’t quite as much interaction for us, but Pigeon still carries the book by himself. The story didn’t go quite the way I thought it would, but once I adjusted my expectations, I had to laugh at the outcome, especially the final page. And it provides a good lesson for all that sometimes things you are looking forward to turn into disappointments. I think the biggest issue with the book will be some of the vocabulary choices, which will be a bit beyond the target audience. Yes, I get the concept of stretching a vocabulary, but I think a couple of the words are a bit too abstract for the age group. Still, fans of Pigeon will be glad they picked it up.
Tilt is a book with a lot going on. Annie is heavily pregnant and is at IKEA looking for a crib for her baby (Bean). She can’t find what she wants, and after an argument with the Ikea worker, she finds herself buried under a pile of the building due to a catastrophic earthquake. After the Ikea worker lets her out (she clearly doesn’t hold a grudge), Annie starts the long and dangerous walk to find her husband.
On the way, she reflects on her life, telling Bean the stories of her disappointments, buried ambitions, loves and hopes for the future (getting home, mainly!). It’s a long, hot, dangerous walk home for anyone, let alone a heavily pregnant woman. The catastrophic circumstances are vividly described, including the death of a woman, the lack of fresh drinking water, the abandoned cars and the desperation to keep her baby, herself and her husband safe.
It puts a lot of things into perspective for her and in a way, encourages the reader to look at what’s important in their lives (ok, that might just be me).
This is a gripping, unputdownable read/ listen, and Ariel Blake, the narrator, sounded perfect as Annie. Not that I necessarily needed this book being brought to life - it’s scary!
On the way, she reflects on her life, telling Bean the stories of her disappointments, buried ambitions, loves and hopes for the future (getting home, mainly!). It’s a long, hot, dangerous walk home for anyone, let alone a heavily pregnant woman. The catastrophic circumstances are vividly described, including the death of a woman, the lack of fresh drinking water, the abandoned cars and the desperation to keep her baby, herself and her husband safe.
It puts a lot of things into perspective for her and in a way, encourages the reader to look at what’s important in their lives (ok, that might just be me).
This is a gripping, unputdownable read/ listen, and Ariel Blake, the narrator, sounded perfect as Annie. Not that I necessarily needed this book being brought to life - it’s scary!
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
5.0
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It' s official: stumbling, bumbling James Lessor and Skip Moore are licensed private investigators....
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Annabelle (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Annabelle is the newest demon-based spooky fright film produced by James Wan (producer Saw II-IV & director Insidious 1&2). The trailers would have you believe that it is a prequel to the Conjuring. Well I suppose it is, although a very loose prequel.
Annabelle, the possessed doll, is mentioned a few times in “The Conjuring,” but it doesn’t contain any of the cast from the original . The film takes place in the 1970s and focuses on a married couple who have just moved in to a new house and the wife, Mia (Annabelle Wallis) is pregnant. Her husband (played extremely woodenly by actor Ward Horton) buys her a long sought after custom doll named Annabelle. Shortly after, the couple is attacked by their neighbors who we find are satanic cult members. Mia is stabbed in her belly (threatening the life of her child); the female Satanist neighbor dies clutching the Annabelle doll, her blood dripping and seemingly sucked into the eye socket of the doll, ushering in the demonic reign of Annabelle.
You’d assume that this is a standard “killer doll” horror flick, you’d also be a bit misled, and that’s a good thing in my opinion. This isn’t Chucky. You won’t see Annabelle speaking or running around the house brandishing a knife. That isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have its share of genre tropes, it has plenty of those.
As so many other possession/haunting movies involving a couple, for the most part the lonely wife is preyed upon while the husband is away at work. Throughout the film the writers find multiple ways of keeping Mia at home alone with the demon. John is called away on a business trip on one of the more traumatic encounters Mia has with Annabelle, resulting in Mia being placed on bed rest, giving her a reason to stay at home in the demons clutches. Later John is placed on the night shift, once again placing him out of the way so the demon can terrorize Mia at night where things are scary. It is inevitable that a scene takes place where her husband doesn’t believe her and thinks she’s going crazy. I can think of so many films that go this same route. The prerequisite priest comes along to help the family figure out their demonic happenings and oh yes, let’s not forget the sagely African American that needs to help Mia find her way and lead her both in knowledge of the demon and its demise. The story manages to throw in some mysterious children to once scene just to make sure that the trope is checked off the list. The remainder of the movie after the introductory attack by the satanic neighbors has Mia and later her child being threatened by the demon possessing Annabelle, the search for what it is, and what it wants and then its climax and disposal. Nothing new to this genre found here.
Annabelle does come with its share of scares (most of these can be seen in the previews), however the pacing is bad. I found myself bored out of my mind by the plot between the scares. So bored and disinterested that once the scary scenes occurred which seemed to be paced almost on a timer there wasn’t enough scare to raise the adrenaline needed to make it to the next fright. I will say that having a child endangered and threatened by the demonic spirit does bump up the tension and nerves and was a necessary inclusion to raise the stakes and pull out some reason to care about the victims by the audience.
Mia and John are so one-imensional that one would be hard-pressed to care about what happens to either of them. The demon effects are about as scary as a guy in a rubber suit lurking around a two-bit horror house, I mean pretty bad. I’ve seen a scarier demon on a TV episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” from 1988. Annabelle is good for a fright or two, and a reason to grab some popcorn and pig-out, but just be prepared to take a siesta three or four times in-between bouts of popcorn binge.
Annabelle, the possessed doll, is mentioned a few times in “The Conjuring,” but it doesn’t contain any of the cast from the original . The film takes place in the 1970s and focuses on a married couple who have just moved in to a new house and the wife, Mia (Annabelle Wallis) is pregnant. Her husband (played extremely woodenly by actor Ward Horton) buys her a long sought after custom doll named Annabelle. Shortly after, the couple is attacked by their neighbors who we find are satanic cult members. Mia is stabbed in her belly (threatening the life of her child); the female Satanist neighbor dies clutching the Annabelle doll, her blood dripping and seemingly sucked into the eye socket of the doll, ushering in the demonic reign of Annabelle.
You’d assume that this is a standard “killer doll” horror flick, you’d also be a bit misled, and that’s a good thing in my opinion. This isn’t Chucky. You won’t see Annabelle speaking or running around the house brandishing a knife. That isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have its share of genre tropes, it has plenty of those.
As so many other possession/haunting movies involving a couple, for the most part the lonely wife is preyed upon while the husband is away at work. Throughout the film the writers find multiple ways of keeping Mia at home alone with the demon. John is called away on a business trip on one of the more traumatic encounters Mia has with Annabelle, resulting in Mia being placed on bed rest, giving her a reason to stay at home in the demons clutches. Later John is placed on the night shift, once again placing him out of the way so the demon can terrorize Mia at night where things are scary. It is inevitable that a scene takes place where her husband doesn’t believe her and thinks she’s going crazy. I can think of so many films that go this same route. The prerequisite priest comes along to help the family figure out their demonic happenings and oh yes, let’s not forget the sagely African American that needs to help Mia find her way and lead her both in knowledge of the demon and its demise. The story manages to throw in some mysterious children to once scene just to make sure that the trope is checked off the list. The remainder of the movie after the introductory attack by the satanic neighbors has Mia and later her child being threatened by the demon possessing Annabelle, the search for what it is, and what it wants and then its climax and disposal. Nothing new to this genre found here.
Annabelle does come with its share of scares (most of these can be seen in the previews), however the pacing is bad. I found myself bored out of my mind by the plot between the scares. So bored and disinterested that once the scary scenes occurred which seemed to be paced almost on a timer there wasn’t enough scare to raise the adrenaline needed to make it to the next fright. I will say that having a child endangered and threatened by the demonic spirit does bump up the tension and nerves and was a necessary inclusion to raise the stakes and pull out some reason to care about the victims by the audience.
Mia and John are so one-imensional that one would be hard-pressed to care about what happens to either of them. The demon effects are about as scary as a guy in a rubber suit lurking around a two-bit horror house, I mean pretty bad. I’ve seen a scarier demon on a TV episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” from 1988. Annabelle is good for a fright or two, and a reason to grab some popcorn and pig-out, but just be prepared to take a siesta three or four times in-between bouts of popcorn binge.