Balm of Gilead Aaron Lebold Independently published (April 5, 2024) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy If presented with a magical balm that could cure you of a fatal disease, what would you do? Would you do anything to get it? This is the question that faces Ryan, ex military in the Middle East, when he meets Omar. Omar shows him the Balm of Gilead and offers him a deal. Cure his ALS for the head of his enemy, Khaled, but is Khaled the enemy or is Omar? Is the Balm of Gilead a blessing or a curse? When Ryan calls on his old military buds to go on a mission to collect the head of Omar’s enemy, he is co ..read more

Being Followed Derek Muk DEMAIN Publishing (January 31, 2024) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy WOW. Derek Muk’s Being Followed is a hard pill to swallow, making America look at the seedy underbelly of White Nationalism rebranded throughout our nation’s history and around the world from generation to generation before, during, and after the rise of Hitler. Muk had this to say about his novella in his interview with Steve Stred, “The book was inspired by racial tensions sparked by the 2017 Charlottesville, VA rally, the January 6th coup … of the US capitol, and the murder of George Floyd, and the fasci ..read more

Unmarked Grave Carietta Dorsch Independently published (March 25, 2024) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy I read Unmarked Grave, Carietta Dorsch’s debut novella, in one sitting. There was a raging thunderstorm, the perfect setting for a light late night serial killer tale. It just so happens I had settled down to read after feeding Bradbury (my turtle) his cockroaches. If you don’t like cockroaches, do not read this novella. If you love serial killers, gore, erotica, and well developed main characters, then this is the novella for you. Carietta Dorsch wasted no time putting me inside the mind of a pre ..read more

Gods of a Nameless Country Jeffrey Thomas JournalStone Publishing (March 1, 2024) Reviewed by Andrew Byers Jeffrey Thomas is an extremely prolific writer, perhaps best known for his Punktown setting and series, but he’s also written a great many stand-alone novels and unrelated story collections as well. I didn’t realize that he has also written several stories set in an isolated part of Southeast Asia called “The Unnamed Country.” Gods of a Nameless Country, a collection of two novelettes and a novella, is Thomas’ newest entry further exploring that setting and its rich past. Thomas’ other vo ..read more

The Dark Diaries Mark R. Vogel Independently published (December 8, 2023) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy Mark R. Vogel’s The Dark Diaries is his fifth book following The Crestwood Lake series, The Ripper’s Time, and Food for Thought. The cover art is haunting and beautiful. This book is a real BANGER. I sat down to read after dinner and read straight through midnight. The anthology is amazing. Drawing from his own background his characters shine, and his plots are intricate. He has thirty-seven years experience as a psychologist, has published hundreds of food and wine articles, gone to culinary sc ..read more

TOXIC CANDYWeldon Burge Smart Rhino Publications (May 1, 2024)Reviewed by Carson Buckingham This author’s work is always worth anyone’s time, and Toxic Candy is no exception. It’s a highly diverse horror collection, bouncing from the end of the world, a hungry sea monster, to a fun take on The Lone Ranger, and so much more. Each is a little gem, deftly plotted, into which the reader voluntarily plunges to explore the engaging depths of storytelling at its finest. Here are my favorites: “A Less than Gratifying Vacation in Paris”—a story of bored rich women who take up unusual entertai ..read more

Living in CemeteriesCorey Farrenkopf JournalStone Publishing (April 19, 2024) Reviewed by Andrew Byers Imagine a world superficially similar to our own in which we have absolute proof that ghosts are real because we can all see and interact with them on a daily basis. In this world, we know that all of our loved ones, all of our ancestors, all of our descendants, and ourselves, die and then return as incorporeal spirits able to communicate with the living. How would that change our society? How would it change the course of your own life? The world of Living in Cemeteries differs in a few key ..read more

Babylon TerminalGreg F. Gifune JournalStone Publishing (September 28, 2018) Reviewed by Andrew Byers Buckle up for a wild ride through the twisted corridors of the mind in Greg F. Gifune’s Babylon Terminal. In this gripping tale, Gifune masterfully constructs a world that is equal parts haunting and exhilarating, where darkness reigns supreme and hope flickers like a distant flame. I found this to be a very unusual Gifune novel because his work is typically very grounded in the real world—sure, he often includes supernatural elements and cosmic horror, but Gifune’s work is mostly set in our wo ..read more

The Girl in Red Christina Henry Berkley (June 18, 2019) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham In this clever re-imagining of “Little Red Riding Hood,” Red is a young woman on her own in an apocalyptic world decimated by a disease called “The Cough,” as well as something more insidious. Some, like Red, are immune, but most are not. The military is rounding up those left alive and putting them into internment camps “for their own protection.” Now where have we heard that before, F.D.R? Red’s life simplifies down to a search for food and hiding from…well…everybody. She makes Fox Mulder look like an open ..read more

This Mortal Coil Cynthia Asquith Solar Press (March 2024) Reviewed by Mario Guslandi Originally published in 1947 by the legendary Arkham House, the present collection includes nine weird and macabre stories penned by Lady Cynthia Asquith ( 1887-1960), a British author and anthologist especially devoted to ghostly and supernatural tales. Writing in an elegant yet straightforward style, Asquith captures the reader’s attention from the very first paragraphs and is able to hold it until the last sentence. Not all the stories in the volume are quite memorable, but most of them are truly excellent ..read more