Book News and Reviews

Book: Closet Treats

Author: Paul Elard Cooley

Genre: Horror/Psychological Thriller

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:
I just have to get one thing off my chest before this review.  Paul Elard Cooley is a bastard.  He ended Closet Treats in a place where I actually wanted to read a book 2, and I pretty much never actually read a whole entire series of books.  I still haven’t finished the Dark Tower Series and that’s by Stephen King.

As you may be able to gather from my whining, I really enjoyed this podiobook.  Paul E. Cooley does what he calls a “slow burn” in this story – where it starts out slow, then makes you wonder what’s REALLY going on, then makes you scared out of your skull, then makes you want to read more of his books.  I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hope he will continue his writing and get to work on that second book.

Now, quick story synopsis: the basic gist of this story is: Trey Leger has a mental issue – he suffers from psychosis.  He sees eyes in the closet and is so afraid of closets that he can’t put his clothes in them.  That said, he is married and has an adorable boy named Allan.  He’s managed to set up a life for himself that works for him and his family.  That is, until the ice cream man.

Who is the ice cream man?  WHAT is the ice cream man?  Ah, well, you need to read the book to find out.  All I can say is that no one ever seems to fully see his face, and he seems to like children a little too much.

With Closet TreatsPaul Elard Cooley sticks to motto: “Where we don’t believe in happy endings”

Check out Shadowpublications.com for more info on Paul his works.  You cannot buy Closet Treats, but it’s on Podiobooks.com.  You can, however, support this author by buying his fantastic novella Tattoo on Smashwords or Amazon.

See ya on the other side.

Book: All Kinds of Things Kill

Author: Robert R. Best

Genre: Horror

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: This is a book of nine short stories created by Robert R. Best. I have to say I found this set of stories really enjoyable to listen to. The cheerful mayhem created by the wide variety of things that kill (from a wife to a grandmother to a hooker) is tons of fun to listen to.

If I had to pick (and I am) I’d say “Hooker” and “The Wife’s Confession” are my two favorite in his collection, though “Nipping it in the Bud” is just damned creepy – as is “Boil Order”.

Anyway, for a quick and interesting collection of short stories in the horror/dark fantasy genre, check out All Kinds of Things Kill. It’s free for goodness sakes!

If you’d like to purchase a book to support this author – check out Robert R. Best on Amazon.com

Authors: Robert Asprin, Eric Del Carlo and Teresa Patterson

Book: No Quarter

Genre: I’m going to say this one’s Crime Fiction

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:  Okay, so when I received this book from the friendly folks at Dark Star Books, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I certainly didn’t think it was going to be a crazy whirl-wind tale of murder and intrigue in New Orleans. (Well, I did kind of guess the New Orleans part… I mean… just read the title.)

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I’m not usually a big crime fiction person beyond the occasional short story from Crimewavand CSI and Bones and detective novels… hmmm… maybe I do read a lot of crime fiction.

I digress… back to No Quarter. This book is a murder mystery which takes us deep into the world of the French Quarter, and believe me, the Quarter is it’s own little world. 

The first thing to know is everyone in the Quarter goes by a handle.  Like, some people call me “Scotty” (like “I can’t hold her much longer Cap’n”) because of my last name.  Well, these handles get much more interesting than that.  For example, the murdered woman is named Sunshine.  Her ex is called Bone and a bar friend and confident is called Maestro.  The list goes on.

The basic story is that when Sunshine is knifed with an ice pick in a dark alley, Maestro and Bone set out to find the killer.  This leads them on a wild adventure in which they discover a lot about themselves, about each other and they find just how low the underside of the French Quarter really hangs.

So, I say, go ahead and check out No Quarter. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Oh, and just a reminder, this blog doesn’t pay for itself unless you, yes you, take action and click on one of my links to purchase something at Amazon.com.  So, if you can, click on the links and go hog wild.

Jess Haines has announced on her blog that her fabulous book, Hunted by the Othersis now available in bookstores everywhere! Yay! Also, she’s doing a neat contest. Check out her blog for the scoop.

I know I’ve been offline for a few weeks. Sorry about that. I’ve been prepping a move out to Portland, OR which has taken up quite a bit of time. If you’d like to read about my travels in the last week, check out this post on my www.Juliascottdouglas.com blog.

Cheers and I promise I’ll have some new reviews up soon.

Book: Crescent

Author: Phil Rossi

Genre: Horror/Sci Fi

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: Crescent is a free podiobook and is also for for sale on Amazon, so if you would prefer not to listen to it, or just want to support the author, go ahead and buy the book. Either way, though, I recommend listening to Notes from the Vault by Phil Rossi before reading or listening to Crescent. It will make the experience so much cooler.

Crescent is an awesome Sci Fi/Horror mashup about a haunted space station. Though the place is only half completed for some unknown reason, people live and work on the station. A young salvage hauler named Gerry and his ship, Bean, are employed by the corrupt mayor of Crescent Station – Kendall, to haul suspicious salvage.  After the first salvage run, Gerry wants to get off that station, but he has a contract to wait out and Kendall is not a man to mess with.  Plus, now Gerry’s got a girlfriend on the station.  So, when an archeologist asks Gerry to haul some salvage at a high rate of pay, Gerry agrees.   The salvage turns out to contain something which should have stayed off the station.

To make matters worse, someone has woken the beast in the lowest decks of Crescent – in a place called the Vault.  Strange things start happening in the station.  Areas are flooded, a chill wind rushes down main street, people die for no good reason.  Crescent Station comes to life.

This book is extremely creepy, visceral and intense.  There is sex, violence, drugs and lots and lots of death.  I’d say I hope you enjoy it, but I’m not sure that’s the right word.

Author: edited by Stephen Jones

Book: The Dead That Walk

Genre: Horror

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: The Dead That Walk is a short story book with zombie-esque shorts by authors like Joe Hill, Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Kim Newman and many many more wonderful authors.

“What’s this?” you ask, “Julia actually read a book about zombies?  What is the world coming to?”

I know, I know, I actually did read an entire book full of zombie short stories. When I went to Portland, Oregon for my birthday in December, I went to the awesome bookstore – Powells – and looked around for a fantastic book. To be honest, I was looking for The Living Dead, which has several of the same authors, but also includes Neil Gaiman and George R.R. Martin.  Anyway, I didn’t find that book, so I got The Dead That Walk and found out that a) I loved it and b) it didn’t give me nightmares.  So, maybe I’ve outgrown the whole nightmare part of zombies.

One really cool thing about this collection is that there are so many different types of zombie stories here.  There is a traditional, voodoo zombie story, there’s several brain eating stories, there’s a story which points up how humanity could be affected by the walking dead, without actually showing you any zombies.  Some of these stories are chilling in how much they point to man’s inhumanity to man, while others are actually very touching and sweet.  I think it was an extremely well put-together collection with a story for pretty much anyone.

Also, I’ve come to really enjoy short story collections.  They are nice if you want to take a little break from a full length novel you may be reading, or something to read on your lunch break.  Also, I don’t feel obligated to read them like I do with a short story magazine.  With a magazine, you’re going to get another one in a month or two, so you’d better be done with your current issue by then.  With a book of short stories, you can be leisurely, you can skip stories only to come back to them later.   It doesn’t matter.  There’s no rush.

So, if you like zombies or zombie stories, check out The Dead That Walk. If you buy it from the link I provide here, Amazon will pay me.

Book: Heaven – Season Two: Hell

Author: Mur Lafferty

Genre: Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: This is the next book in the Heaven Series by Mur Lafferty. Our two main characters, Kate and Daniel are together again, but are now in hell with another daring and interesting mission. I can’t really give a whole lot more, or I’d be messing up Season One for you. Suffice it to say they have some crazy times, meet interesting gods and, by the end of the season, get so entangled in problems you (the reader) can’t see an easy way out for them.

I am thoroughly entranced by the Heaven series. It’s got awesome mythology, some steampunk, lots of fantasy and many interesting characters. So, I’d say, check that sucker out. It’s my understanding that this is a podiobook only, so you can either subscribe at the author’s website or at Podiobooks.com.

Author: Preetham Grandhi

Book: A Circle of Souls

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Julia Rating: 7

Comments:  Mr. Grandhi provided me with a review copy of his debut novel, A Circle of Souls.

This book involves several different characters and different points of view.  It’s about the investigation of a young girls kidnapping and subsequent murder.  An FBI agent is investigating the case and she, along with her police counterparts, is completely stumped.  In comes Peter, a young psychiatrist working to help a child with sleepwalking and nightmares.  The child has become a threat to herself while sleeping and Peter needs to solve the case.

One really wonderful thing that Preetham Grandhi does in this book is describe culture and backstory of the child in detail. However, Peter and pretty much all the other characters fell a little flat for me and I had a hard time staying interested while reading this book.

That said, there is a great twist ending, which I always love. I really thought I had everything all worked out by the middle, but at the end I found I was wrong.

I reason I gave this book a “7″ is because while I had a hard time getting through the first half of the book, the last half  was really well written and enjoyable.  So, if you’re okay with having a slow and slightly disjointed beginning, this book has a great ending.

Book: Heaven – Season One

Author: Mur Lafferty

Genre: Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: Mur Lafferty is one of those podcasting divas who has been doing podiobooks, podcasts and more. She has a whole “Murverse” with all her wonderful work.

Heaven – Season One is the first of the Heaven Series. This is basically a story about two close friends who die and go to heaven. They discover that heaven is far larger and different than anyone ever imagined.

This book has a ton of mythology, which I absolutely love. There is also unrequited love and a very sweet friendship in this one. Because of the religious aspect (it is called “Heaven” after all), some people might get offended, but I think if you take everything as fantasy-based, there’s nothing inherently offensive in this podiobook.

So, check it out and let me know what you think!