atmospheric

Review: The Raging Storm (Two Rivers #3) by Ann Cleeves

~ megs14malloy

The Raging Storm (Two Rivers #3)The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Raging Storm is the third release in the Two Rivers series by beloved Mystery author, Ann Cleeves.

This Police Procedural Mystery series follows Detective Matthew Venn. I loved the first book in the series and have been hooked on it ever since. I feel like I have been waiting for this release for so long and it did not disappoint!!

The setting for this story is the small village of Greystone, Devon, a place Venn is very familiar with. He spent time there as a child, and due to personal reasons, has since parted ways with the community.

This might sound ominous, and it sort of is. If you’ve read the previous books, you’ll know, but basically, Matthew was raised in a very religious household; part of the Barum Brethren, who have many members living in Greystone.

Matthew’s sexuality, among other things, forced his separation from the group and family. Even the thought of returning makes him uncomfortable, but he’s a professional and goes where he must.

Duty calls after the body of minor-celebrity sailor, Jem Roscoe, has been discovered in a dinghy anchored off Scully Cove. The residents of Greystone are shocked.

Roscoe, who grew up there, had returned after many years away and was renting a cottage. He just came back a few weeks ago, who could possibly want him dead?

Everyone seemed to find his presence entertaining. Many were curious as to why he came back. When asked, he claimed to be waiting for a visitor, but never indicated who. Could this person be the one responsible for his death?

Matthew, along with his team members, Jen Rafferty and Ross May, head to Greystone to investigate this highly mysterious death.

As they begin their investigation, talking with the locals and digging into the lore and history of the town, they discover this mystery may run much deeper than they initially expected. As mentioned, Roscoe did have roots in the community, even if he had been away for many years.

With storm fronts ripping through the small town, the investigation takes many unexpected turns as we rushed towards the surprising and satisfying conclusion.

I had so much fun with this. The audiobook is fantastic. I definitely recommend that as a format for this story.

I love Matthew as a character. He is smart, dedicated, but also still processing his childhood and schism from his family and community. This makes him feel vulnerable at times. He’s healed a lot, is happily married and obviously successful in his career, but those old insecurities sneak up on him sometimes.

I feel like his character is just so relatable and I think a lot of Readers will be able to really connect with him.

In addition to a compelling leading man, these novels contain exceptionally well-plotted mysteries. I loved how this one evolved over the course of the story.

You can tell from the very start that Cleeves is a veteran-Mystery writer. This lady knows what she is doing. All you have to do is sit back, relax and take it all in.

I love mystery stories set in small towns and this one is a perfect example of why. As the detectives began questioning the locals, they certainly learned a lot. There are so many connections and everyone knows each other’s business.

It was interesting that Jem Rosco, who was originally from the town, had gained some celebrity. They all had opinions on that, whether it was based on who he was when he was young, or assumptions they made about his character now. I loved how he created such a fervor just by returning to town.

The rumor mills were churning even before he got himself killed. That may sound harsh, but seriously, the town was just a’clucking about his return.

I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Police Procedural Mysteries. I think this whole series is just incredible. The writing is fantastic, the characters well-developed and the mysteries all super compelling.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I cannot wait for the next book!!!

View all my reviews

Review: Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

~ megs14malloy

Vampires of El NorteVampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Set in 1840’s Mexico, Vampires of El Norte is a love story a lifetime in the making. It’s more than just a love story between two people though. It also speaks to the love of the land, one’s home and culture.

This is the latest release from Isabel Cañas. It’s a beautifully told Historical Romance story with well-blended Horror elements. We’re talking creepy vampires!

Having loved The Hacienda, I was so excited for this release. Not only did it sound amazing, but the cover is easily one of my favorites of all time.

While this started a little slow, taking me about a week to make it through the first 10%, after I got through the initial build-up, I couldn’t put it down.

In this story, we are following two young people, Nena and Néstor. Nena is the daughter of a wealthy rancher and Néstor was her childhood best friend.

The two were inseparable as kids, even past the point where it was considered appropriate. They would sneak off and slowly, over time, they began to grow sweet on one another.

During one of their secretive late night rendezvous, Nena was attacked by a mysterious monster. Néstor races her to help, but believing Nena dead, he promptly flees the area. He’s been on the run ever since, wracked with grief, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero.

When the heart of our story begins, nine years have passed since that terrifying night of Nena’s attack.

Nena has remained on her parent’s ranch, training with Néstor’s Grandmother to become a curandera. When war threatens to spill over their borders, the locals gather together and form a cavalry to fight back against the invaders from the United States.

Nena’s father is in charge and she convinces him to let her travel with the group as their healer. Men will be getting sick and injured and she knows she can prove herself useful.

Preparing to travel to the battlefields, Nena and Néstor are reunited with very mixed feelings. Néstor has lived the past 9-years feeling guilty for Nena’s presumed death and Nena has lived the past 9-years feeling abandoned by Néstor.

Good ole’ fashioned romantic miscommunication ensues.

As frightening and dangerous as war is, the nightmares from Nena and Néstor’s past still lurk in the shadows and they’re about to become more threatening than ever.

Forced to work together, will Nena and Néstor be able to put their misunderstandings aside long enough to rid their country from their enemies, both human and non-human?

As I mentioned above, this did take me a little bit to really become invested in. Once Nena and Néstor were reunited though, I was hooked. I loved their chemistry.

The journey of their relationship, as well as what was happening in the plot was just so satisfying. I really enjoyed them getting to know one another as adults.

The side characters, as well, added a lot. Both of them had family members still rather prominent in their lives and it was interesting watching all those dynamics play out.

I am not a Historical Fiction reader generally. It’s definitely not a genre I gravitate towards, however the way Cañas expertly blends in convincing Supernatural Horror elements really sells it for me.

I love the imagery she creates. These vampires are definitely not the sparkly kind. I also appreciate the vivid settings and how much culture plays a role in the story. You really get a sense of place and time from her writing.

Overall, I just had a really great time with this. I felt transported. This was the perfect type of romance story for me. I will remember this one for a long time.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait to see what Cañas delivers next!!!

View all my reviews

Review: House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of the Salt #2) by Erin A. Craig

~ megs14malloy

House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of the Salt, #2)House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

🥀🌾🥀🌾🥀🌾🥀🌾🥀🌾🥀🌾🥀🌾🥀🌾🥀

House of Roots and Ruin is the second book in Erin A. Craig’s tremendous YA-Fantasy series, Sisters of the Salt.

I looooooooved the first book, House of Salt and Sorrows, so much and I couldn’t wait to return to this beautifully-eerie world. It was one of my most anticipated YA-releases of 2023 and it did not disappoint.

This story takes place years after the conclusion of the first story. In this one, we’re following Verity, who I believe is the youngest of the remaining Thaumas sisters.

Verity is 17-years old and has spent her whole life living at the family estate, Highmoor, now run by her older sister, Camille. The rest of the remaining sisters are all all living in various places around Arcannia.

While Verity loves Camille and loves Highmoor, she’s beginning to feel stifled. She wants more.

Any time she broaches the subject of leaving the estate with Camille, however, her hopes are quickly dashed. It seems her sister wants to keep her trapped there, but why?

It’s as Verity is struggling with this issue that she receives word from her sister, Mercy, that the Duchess of Bloem is interested in hiring Verity to paint a portrait of of her son.

Verity is more than intrigued. This sounds like exactly the kind of opportunity she needs and the son, Alexander, is a young man just her age. This could be just what she needs, but how will she ever convince Camille to let her go?

As the sisters battle it out, the truth about why Camille wants to keep Verity at Highmoor is revealed, leaving Verity more confused than ever and more determined.

Verity decides she can’t wait any longer. Under the cover of darkness she flees, making her way to Bloem.

Once there, she’s entranced and impressed with her new surroundings. Bloem is stunning. The Duke is a celebrated botanist and the entire estate is replete with vibrant gardens and active greenhouses.

Additionally, Verity is smitten with Alexander. He’s handsome and charming. Their days together fill her with a sense of happiness she has never felt before.

Unfortunately, before long, Verity begins to be plagued by nightmares and dark feelings. Is her past catching up to her, or is something more going on in Bloem?

Reading House of Roots and Ruin was such a beautiful journey. It’s different than the first book, because of the setting. We’re now removed from the sea and thrust into a more botanical scene, but I still really enjoyed it.

In my opinion, Craig’s brand of gothically-infused horror imagery is unmatched in the YA genre. She brings such a rich atmosphere and the spooky imagery is A++.

The romance between Verity and Alexander was so pure and it was sweet watching it evolve. Verity has never had any sort of relationship like this, so she struggled a bit fitting her experiences with her expectations.

I thought that felt very real for a young woman and I enjoyed how Craig let her work through that versus just following a standard romance format.

I also enjoyed very much the complexity of the familial relationships, both Verity’s and Alexander’s. While the atmosphere was the highlight for me, I think the character work and the way the relationships played out deserve top marks as well.

We know a lot of Verity’s family history from the first book, and we do get a bit more here, but learning about Alex’s family, the Laurents, was so intriguing. Without giving too much away, I sort of feel like their last name should have been Moreau…

Craig did a great job of steadily building intensity. There is also an overriding mystery that kept me on my toes.

As the end approaches, everything begins to move at warp speed. I couldn’t put it down until I got to the end. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out and there were some twists getting there that I definitely didn’t see coming.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a darker Fantasy story, particularly if you enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrows. While I could see people enjoying this as a standalone novel, I think it would be most impactful if you read the first book prior to this one.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m not sure if there are going to be more books in this world, but if there are, I will absolutely be picking them up!!

View all my reviews

Review: Boys In the Valley by Philip Fracassi

~ megs14malloy

Boys In the ValleyBoys In the Valley by Philip Fracassi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Boys In the Valley is a classic Horror story; an absolutely delightful scarefest that gripped me from the start.

In the opening scene, we meet a young boy on the night that he loses both of his parents and his home in one bloody tragedy. The violence of this scene aptly sets the tone for the entire story, tense and atmospheric.

From there, we find ourselves at St. Vincent’s Orphanage for Boys, a self-contained parochial orphanage and school set in a remote valley in Pennsylvania.

It’s the early 1900s and being in such a location makes for a dire lifestyle. The boys at the orphanage, under the careful watch of several priests, grow their own food and only ever socialize with one another.

There are occasional supply runs to a distant farm, but only one of the priests, Father Andrew, and one of the older boys, Peter, ever go. For the rest of the boys, the grounds and the orphanage make up their entire world.

On a dark and dreary night, as all the boys lie in their bunks in the dorm, they hear a disturbance below. Someone has come seeking help from the priests.

It’s a group of men, one of whom is badly injured. The injured man is raving, dangerous, he has occult symbols carved all over his body. As the priests attempt to aid him, he dies suddenly, releasing an ancient evil with his last breath.

The boys upstairs aren’t privy to these events, but as the doors to their dorm room suddenly burst open and the cross hanging sentry above their door falls to the ground, many can feel a shift in atmosphere.

Soon a few of the boys begin acting strangely. They’re suspicious and mean, bullying in ways they never attempted before. They begin forming groups and taking sides.

Peter, the oldest and golden boy of the orphanage, an aspiring priest, becomes the unofficial leader of one side, as another boy, Bartholomew, leads the dark side.

As the tension rises, so does the danger and before the innocents can even wrap their minds around it, all hell breaks loose at St. Vincent’s. It’s chaos.

Fracassi transported me with this story. I loved the historical feel and the remote setting was so well done. I felt like I was there in the dark and the cold. I literally felt cold and I read this during one of the hottest weeks of the years.

That’s a damn good story.

It scared me. There were scenes, particularly in the beginning as it begins unfolding, that got my pulse-racing. I was simultaneously horrified and delighted.

This felt like a treat to read. There are no tricks, or gimmicks. It’s just a well-told, well-plotted, well-developed, atmospheric, engaging and creepy tale. A story that could be told just as easily around a campfire, as read in the silence of your own room at night.

It’s got that epic good-versus-evil feel, but stripped down to a fluid Lord of the Flies meets The Exorcist combination.

I would absolutely recommend this to any Horror fan, particularly if you are creeped out by things like religion and kids. If you are, this will play right into your sweet spots.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m really excited to pick up more from this author!

View all my reviews

Review: Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

~ megs14malloy

Looking Glass SoundLooking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Looking Glass Sound is the latest release from one of my favorite voices in the Horror space, Catriona Ward. I respect her work so much and feel she brings her own unique brand to my favorite genre.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and damn, was it impressive.

I went into this novel without knowing too much about it and I’m glad that was the case. It was exciting watching it unfold without having many preconceived notions.

I knew it was set in Maine, my home state, and involved a writer, but that was about it. I recommend you go into it not knowing much more than that.

I’m not sure I can adequately describe my time with this story, it’s just something you need to experience yourself. It’s definitely a bit of a mindf*ck; pardon the expression.

I can’t wait to read it again someday. I think upon reread, I could end up enjoying it even more. Ward is too smart and honesty, I’m in awe of her brain. I’m probably going to dream about this one for a while…

This delivered such beautiful Coming of Age Horror story vibes initially, it hooked me from the start. Eventually, it evolves into something a little more. It’s Coming of Age Plus.

Honestly, there are so many different elements contained within this story that are cause to celebrate.

For me, one of the highlights was the different types of relationships explored and the characters were all so well done. I did listen to the audiobook and recommend that format as the narration style fit the characters fantastically.

I don’t want to say too much more about the actual story, I think you can tell from my reaction that I really enjoyed it. You may be wondering though, with all the accolades, why I didn’t give it a full 5-star rating.

I guess I would just say that in the second half, I did find some of the perspective jumps and overall narrative shifts a little hard to track. There were moments I felt I should have been having an a-ha revelation and I was having more of a head-scratching marathon trying to connect the dots.

I would absolutely read it again though, as mentioned above. I think I would pick up more the second time through and may end up enjoying it even more. There’s definitely a lot of details I would like to revisit knowing what I know now; aka. having read the end.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys, well, a literary mindf*ck, featuring great atmosphere and nuanced characters.

Also, this is a must for Coming of Age Horror lovers, or Readers who enjoy a book-within-a-book.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I’m very excited to see what other people think of this one!

View all my reviews

Re-Reading The Shining for the 4th-Time!!!

~ megs14malloy

The ShiningThe Shining by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my 4th-time reading The Shining.

You read that correctly, the 4th-time. I’m aware rereading isn’t for everyone, but I am a huge supporter and fan of rereading, especially tried and true favorites.

I know a lot of people feel it is a waste of time, but for me, when a story is special enough to you, each time with it is like a whole new experience. That’s exactly how I feel every time I open the pages of this book.

Additionally, I feel like where I am at in my life plays a huge role in what I take out of a reading experience.

For example, the first time I read this, I was in high school. You better believe that 14-year old Meg walked away from this having picked up on different things than 44-year old Meg does, reading it now.

My experiences have shown me that rereading allows me to focus on different areas of any particular story. This time around, for me, I felt myself really drawn to the private thoughts and emotions of this cast of characters.

Jack’s experience, in particular, as he struggles with the position he finds himself in, his loitering addiction and the love for his family, hit me hard this time. Instead of seeing his horrible aspects front and center, I thought more about what was going on with him internally.

There were moments of clarity for him, when he could see beyond the fog of the hotel’s power, moments where he cherished his son and wife, but they would slip away like mist. It made my heart ache for the whole family.

This experience also reiterated for me how much I love Wendy and Hallorann. They got played dirty in the movie adaptation and we all know it. Not by the actors, the acting was fantastic, but yeah, they feel like completely different people in the book, IMO.

Again, I was beyond impressed with some of the scenes in this still having the ability to scare the shit out of me, even after all these years. The perfect example would be the first time Jack tries to trim the topiary.

That freaking scene gets my pulse racing every time!

I also felt like I paid more attention to the history of The Overlook this time through; like when Jack is looking into it. I really felt focused in those sections and loved being reminded of its intensely lurid history.

Finally, I would just give all the stars in the universe, yet again, to King’s sense of place with this one. His ability to transform a hotel into an actual character in the story is just a masterpiece. It’s basically the standard to which I compare atmosphere in all other stories.

I’m so glad I took the time to reread this. It was exactly what I needed to re-energize my reading. You better believe, this won’t be the last time either!

Earlier

Here’s the thing, July hasn’t been the best reading month for me. I’ve had a lot of 2-to-3-star books. I’m frustrated. I’m getting disgruntled and burnt out on it honestly.

I have never been in a reading slump before, but I definitely feel myself drifting into that territory…

I feel like in an effort to keep that from happening, I am going to reread one of my top-3 favorite books of all-time. If anyone can shake me out of this funk, it’s Jack Torrance. I hear the fourth times a charm!!!

View all my reviews

Review: The Weekend Escape by Rakie Bennett

~ megs14malloy

The Weekend EscapeThe Weekend Escape by Rakie Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

After reading the synopsis for The Weekend Escape, I knew I needed to read it. This set-up is my absolute go-to for atmospheric, thrilling reads.

A deserted island, a vicious storm, a murderer amongst friends…

The weekend was intended as a fun reunion for six friends, Val, Bobbie, Juliet, Amanda, Lyndsey and Sonia, but almost as soon as the women arrive on the deserted island, their destination for the weekend, things take a turn for the worst.

The women form a bit of an informal climbing group, they’ve been climbing things together since they were school girls. Their mountain this weekend, an old lighthouse.

A climbing incident leaves one of the women injured. Inclement weather and other extenuating circumstances make communication with the mainland impossible.

Power outages, misplaced poison, secrets, lies and a mysterious Bird Warden, add to the tension and spiraling happenings. What started as a weekend for fun and adventure has turned into a weekend of survival and a fight for their lives.

Who will make it through the weekend escape?

I had fun with this. The setting and atmosphere delivered as promised. I also enjoyed learning about the characters and all their drama, as well as their shared history.

While I’m not sure how memorable this story is overall, it made for a fun weekend read.

I will say this is very, very, very similar to She Started It, which I read not long ago. For the record, this one was published in 2021. I wish I’d have read it first. I actually enjoyed this one more than SSI.

I liked this setting more and I also didn’t find this to be predictable, as I did SSI. I couldn’t help but make comparisons throughout while reading, which I did find to be distracting. I wish I had read this one and this one only.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a deserted island story, or stories involving friends weekends gone wrong. This had some intense moments and it was fun watching it all unfold.

Thank you to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it!

View all my reviews

Review: The Night It Ended by Katie Garner

~ megs14malloy

The Night It EndedThe Night It Ended by Katie Garner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

When a private investigator reaches out to Dr. Madeline Pine, a criminal psychologist specializing in female violence, to ask for her help with a case, she is hesitant to assist.

The case involves traveling to a remote private school, for girls with behavioral challenges, to investigate a recent death of one of the students.

Madeline doesn’t know if she is capable of handling this right now. That difficult case last year almost ruined her.

When she hears about the dead girl though, found barefoot and in her pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine, she can’t resist. The deceased, Charley’s, Mom is the one who hired the P.I. after the police ruled the death an accident.

Madeline has her own daughter, Izzy, about the same age. She can’t imagine being in Charley’s Mom’s position. She would do anything to find out what happened to her own daughter, thus she feels like she has to help.

Madeline travels to the school with the P.I., Matt, and begins interviewing the other girls on campus over the winter holiday. They’re few, but have a lot to say.

This story jumps between the current timeline, with Madeline at the school trying to figure out what happened to Charley, and audio transcripts of interviews from a case the prior year. You don’t know who the interview participants are, but it’s clear a crime has occurred and the interviewee is involved in some way.

I enjoyed this. I thought this was a solid suspense novel. I enjoyed the setting of the private school and the fact that it was winter break made it extra eerie, as there were very few people left on campus.

The remote location was great and there was even inclement weather to add to that effect.

I liked how cold and dark it felt. Additionally, I liked how mysterious our main character, Madeline, was. She was there to help solve a mystery, but she had her own mysteries as the Reader, I was trying to figure out.

I didn’t find Charley’s story super compelling, but nevertheless, it was still well done. I was more interested in the students that were still left and just getting to know them, as well as finding out their intricacies and secrets.

One of the downfalls of this for me was the narrative style. We had quite a bit of blocky-feeling, stream of consciousness narrative from Madeline and I’m never crazy about that.

Particularly towards the end, Madeline has some things going on with her where she is starting to lose her grip on reality. In those moments, it just felt too jarring to me, the way it was written. I am not a fan of SOC-narrative style in general though, so take that with a grain of salt.


Additionally, in the moments when Madeline was getting confused, I was getting confused and not in a good, suspenseful way. I feel like those moments could have been dialed in a little more to provide more clarity to the Reader.

Overall though, I did enjoy this. I liked the atmosphere and learning about the characters. I think the ending was satisfying and there was definitely a twist that I did not see coming. That made me happy!

Thank you so much to the publisher, MIRA, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This was fun and I would definitely be interested in picking up more from Katie Garner!

View all my reviews

Review: Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

~ megs14malloy

Dead of WinterDead of Winter by Darcy Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Dead of Winter is the perfect Summer Chiller to make your blood run cold on a hot day.

If your air conditioning isn’t keeping pace with the heat, look no further, this novel will cool you down quickly!

In this story we meet Christa as she embarks on a two-week vacation in the Rocky Mountains with her boyfriend of around six-months, Kiernan. Christa is a woman haunted by her past and this vacation is a big deal for her.

Kiernan has been such a blessing in her life and she feels like she has a little more courage with him by her side. Kiernan is from the area near the mountains they are visiting and Christa is excited to see a place that is so special to him.

As they are making their way to the remote lodge on the tour bus, along with eight other guests and their guide, inclement weather makes the conditions less than an ideal. A fallen tree blocking the road ends up stalling them further.

As the guide breaks the tree down to move it out of the way, Kiernan and Christa hike up a nearby ledge to get a private peek at the view.

In the worsening conditions, the couple get separated and the next thing Christa knows she is awakening in a cabin, groggy and injured, with Kiernan no where in sight.

As the roads became impassable, the group was forced to take shelter in a tiny rustic cabin they found not far from where the bus is stranded.

They were lucky to find Christa, but the search for Kiernan will have to be put on hold until morning. Their new quarters are tight and claustrophobic, with very minimal supplies. This is not going to be easy.

The group settles in and try to come up with a plan for escape, but they might as well be the last people on Earth. They have no means of communicating with the outside world, and even if they could get a signal out, how could rescue even get to them?

In the middle of the night, their guide goes missing. The next morning the group is shocked to find his decapitated head hanging in a tree just next to the cabin.

Fear and paranoia runs high, as each in the group realizes there may be a killer amongst them. As bodies start dropping, the suspect list grows smaller. Who will make it out of this vacation from hell alive?

Dead of Winter is a fun read. This is the second Darcy Coates book that I have read. The first was a DNF because I was bored, so this one is a huge improvement over that.

I am an atmosphere girlie first and foremost and Coates absolutely delivered in that category here. I loved the secluded location, the claustrophobic-feeling cabin and the cold, uninviting wilderness surrounding them.

I also enjoyed the unlikable cast of characters being thrust together into tight quarters. These were people who probably otherwise wouldn’t have been socializing with one another, but fate brought them together and they had no option than to try to work together.

I also enjoyed their interactions. As the tension rose and people’s paranoia started to kick in, I found how they were relating to one another really believable. I think Coates did a great job with the psychology behind it all.

For me though, in spite of the fact that it was action-packed, I did feel like it went on a little too long. There were some sections that dragged, or felt repetitive, when I was just wishing to move forward a little more quickly.

Additionally, I felt that it was pretty clear who the killer was and why, so it made certain reveals a little less impactful than I think the author was intending. I was hoping for a bit more suspense to carry me through to the end.

With this being said, I don’t necessarily need to be surprised to have fun with a story and I still enjoyed this one a lot. I thought the level of violence and body horror was perfect and as mentioned above, the secluded setting was fantastically done.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a chilling, intense, cold-weather Horror-Thriller story.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am excited to read more from this author!

View all my reviews

Review: The Hotel by Louise Mumford

~ megs14malloy

The HotelThe Hotel by Louise Mumford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

10-years ago, Bex and her best friend, Leo, were set to explore the remote and abandoned hotel, Ravencliffe, as a way to celebrate the end of school. Bex’s new boyfriend, Richard and his best friend, Oscar, end up weaseling their way into the trip as well.

Four went there, but only three returned. Leo was lost that day, from a high cliffside, never to be seen again.

Richard, an aspiring filmmaker, recorded their entire doomed exploration of the old property. The footage of that day has become a Horror Cult Classic; think The Blair Witch Project had it been real.

A decade later, the trio of survivors have drifted apart, living very different lives and each coping with the events of that fateful night in their own way.

As the ten-year anniversary approaches a documentary project is proposed wherein Richard, Oscar and Bex will meet up and return to the property, to face the demons of their past once and for all.

Our main character, Bex, has lived in isolation in London for many years. She’s cut herself off from everyone, haunted by the past. Leo was her best friend. She has so many unresolved feelings stemming from that night.

Even though she’s against it initially, Bex ultimately decides that returning to Ravencliffe may provide her with the opportunity to get answers about what happened to Leo. So, begrudgingly she agrees to take part in the project.

Bex, Richard and Oscar are reunited just prior to filming and return to the property from whence all their nightmares stem; along with a whole host of crew members for the documentary, of course.

The property seems just a malevolent as ever and incidents aplenty occur as they begin to film. Will Ravencliffe end up taking more lives?

While I did see one of the reveals coming a mile away, there was quite a bit about this book that I found compelling.

I loved how Mumford told this story mostly using just Bex as the narrative voice, but providing both present and past perspectives. I really enjoyed the present perspective, but was equally as interested in the past, which followed the characters from the time they planned the fateful trip, up through Leo’s disappearance.

It was a slow build initially, but I didn’t mind it. I loved Bex as a main character, even though I understand she probably won’t be every Readers cup of tea.

Personally, I love a main character who is flawed in some way, maybe haunted by their past and deals with it by isolation, self-sabotage, or self-medicating. I also always enjoy when these same characters decide they finally need answers and go back to their hometowns, or some other remote location, to investigate the past.

In this way, The Hotel was made for me.

I would say this continued the slow build until about the halfway mark and then events began to escalate more quickly. Regardless of the slow burn, I was never bored and disengaged from the narrative.

The atmosphere was incredible. I loved the remote, stark setting of the hotel, as well as its dark history. It had a solid is it supernatural, is it not supernatural-feel, which I enjoy. Give me all the dark, spooky things.

Overall, I thought this was a super-entertaining read. The plot elements kept me engaged and I loved the overriding tone and feel of the story. Even though it was slightly predictable in places, it was still a great time nevertheless. Well done by Mumford!

Thank you so much to the publisher, HQ, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to picking up more from this author!

View all my reviews