The wild west may not have seemed too wild to some people, but when the truth comes out about why the migration took so long after the Civil War ended you would understand the resistance. Swillers, Hobgoblins and Werewolves roamed western territories after the war making it uncomfortable for the settlers to travel, much less find a place to live. That is where men like Uriah Zane come into play. A ghoul hunter of great notoriety in the west, even the ones he hunts know his name as he cleanses campsites, and clears out caves full of these cadavers.

While a large prison had been constructed by the country's higher ups to house the really bad hobgoblins, the werewolves were truly the scourge of the west, they could be defeated, but if you killed one in human form, he would haunt you for the rest of your days. Hellsgarde was built for the worst of the worst and they always have room for more. Charlie Hondo is the legendary prisoner in this dungeon, a werewolf shipped over from Russia who was the leader of the Hell’s Angels before his incarceration. His reach is greater than anyone could have known, by having a Mexican witch on his side that helps to plan his escape from the awful prison. Werewolves changing in daylight and a fire breathing dragon hit Hellsgarde by surprise, springing Hondo so he can execute his next task, to become the most powerful of his breed.

Zane has been on the heels of many of these types, always delivering on what he promised for the right amount of cash. Being a ghoul bounty hunter is far from glorious work, but it pays well. Zane always prefers to work alone, but when he hears about the breakout of Hellsgarde, he knows he will need to take on a partner or two to help with the hunt. He runs into Angel out in the Colorado Territory, but with a lot of history between them, they try to keep each other at arm’s length, but neither are able to control their bloodlust when it comes to a common foe. Angel is a loner as well, but a very strong, very attractive hunter and one of the few women who Zane can trust will make it back every time with her bounty. The two move west in search for Hondo and run into another old friend, Al Hathaway who may be a little slow, but is just as deadly as the other two.

Dust of the Damned takes you back into the old west, where you have more to fear than just the Native Americans, you have a different and deadly breed running over the plains. Zane and friends take to the trail and try to locate these Hell’s Angels before they are able to find a way to become more powerful. Although the Hell’s Angels are run by Hondo, the witch Ravenna is truly in control of the group, increasing their powers, heightening their senses and providing protection from the sky in the way of a dragon. Meeting opposition at every path, Ravenna tells the group to keep it cool while in the towns so they do not get noticed, but once they run in to the James-Younger gang, she is unable to follow her own direction. Jessie James joins the fight and heads off with Zane’s crew to put an end to the terror the Hell’s Angels are trying to put together.

Books like Dust of the Damned just make me smile.  A retelling of history is always fun to get into and leaves you saying, ‘what if?’ This book does not fail in this aspect, by having the Union Army calling in the help of ancient evil to help win the Civil War and exploring what would happen once the war was over. Where would all of the ghouls go? Out west of course, where there is nothing to keep them from doing what they wanted to do all along, live and eat people. Author Peter Brandvold also gets you wrapped up with what outlaws would do if they did not want to get captured by the army, becoming ghoul hunters to keep money in their pockets and whiskey in their stomachs. The Wild West has never been so wild, and I hope it does not come back to bite us in the neck. Stay Scared and Happy Reading.

Everyone should have fond memories of their parents, be it the help they provided you with over the years, the fun times you had as your father coached your baseball team, or your mother just teaching you how to do the laundry, so all of your socks don’t come out of the dryer with a pink color. It is your parents that make up these memories for you, even if you did not ask for them. Royce Bruyere is one of these parents that did not want to miss a second with his son Colt, using everything in his discretion to make sure his son turned out to be a great man when he got older. Now Royce was very well off in his financial situation, being able to capitalize on the internet bubble before it burst and he was going to make the most of it. Taking his son surfing was one of the highlights of his week living on the coast of California. If the waves were not big enough, Royce would watch the news and find out where he needed to go to make the day feel complete.  

On their latest trip to find the best surf, Royce and Colt fly down to Mexico and enjoy the day with great conversation and even greater waves. Although Royce had been told not to fly in the dark, he ignored this and took off when the day came to a close and headed back up the coast to San Diego. A strong wind hits the plane as they are landing, causing the plane to tumble down the runway. Colt is badly injured, but his father Royce is dead on arrival. Being very well off, Royce had signed up for Cryogenics, just in case he was taken before his time. The response time by the company he paid for this service is astounding, and it ends up changing his life forever.

The year is 2047, thirty-five years since the crash. Royce awakens in a small white room with people in lab coats looking over him, speaking what he thinks is Chinese. Thinking that there is a joke being played on him, a young American lab tech named Alex takes pity on the man and explains what is going on. The world has changed, American soil from New York to the Mississippi River has been taken over by the Chinese. The restrictions that the Chinese have put into place have made it impossible to figure out what has happened on the other side of the continent. Besides that, Royce is now a medical anomaly, being the first person in the history of cryogenics to be revived. With this success, the Chinese plan to work on reviving more people, to show the world their medical dominance, and lack of foresight.

Half of America being under China’s rule is only the first problem Royce gets to encounter in these future times. The second is much more troubling as three more people are revived from cryostasis and start biting their doctors. Cryonic gives you a look into the future as medical advances and world dominance are the primary worries for the hybrid country that is America/China. Royce gets thrown into a drastic situation as his new world is getting eaten up, person by person. Joining a group of Alex’s friends, Royce is able to see where technology has advanced in the future, but only in the medical side with lasers that can slice through human tissue like a hot knife through butter and faster healing techniques. As these biters get loose and the current government does not know how to cure them, the biters are shipped to different medical facilities across the globe. The infection gets out of hand, and only Royce and his group of survivors have an idea of how to stop it, but not being able to contact anyone due to the restrictions placed on their side of the river, they will need to fight to get across to America and pass their knowledge on.

This is another zombie novel that is a joy to read. Author Travis Bradberry is able to play upon your fears of the nation being run over by another, then adding the threat of zombies to that puts you into a state of shock. Your main character Royce is as strong as he should be, fighting off the oppression of the Chinese, the zombies and taking lead of his group on his way to get back home.  With the strong morals this man possesses, you will be cheering him on and hoping that nothing gets in his way as he fights with all of his heart to see what has happened to his family. Great zombie kills are also added in this novel, with the classic bullet to the head, but those that fight also have a bayonet attached to their rifles, along with a flesh cutting laser that seems to work wonders on the hordes of zombies that come their way. Just be happy we are still many years away from seeing what will really happen when someone gets out of cryogenic slumber, but once you hear on the news that Walt Disney is being defrosted, be ready to run!

Who am I? Am I still me? Are these questions you should still be asking yourself after you take a vacation? I would hope not, but if you are, you must really need to get away, maybe a bit further than usual. This is the question a group of college friends have been left to ask themselves after a long-deserved vacation to Cancun.  Upon their arrival to the resort, they are able to befriend a group of heavy drinking Greeks who go by Mexican names and a German named Mathias. Although the group does not know what to expect from these friendships, they are ready to just have a great time.

Amy and Jeff, long time sweethearts from their early college days, are traveling along with Stacy and Eric, their love is by no means a long-term relationship, but enough to stay with each other and not sleep around. After their long and satisfying stay at the resort, Mathias comes to the group and asks if they have seen his brother recently. The group has not and remembers that a couple days prior the brother had hit it off with a very pretty local girl and had run off somewhere with her. Mathias had found a note along with a hand drawn map of the location where his brother should be. The group, still on their vacation high decide to go along with the German on a little adventure.

When arriving at the location shown on the map, the group stumbles on to a little Mayan village on the outskirts. The locals do not seem to mind the outsiders in their village but keep a close eye on the group and their movements. They take pictures and try to communicate with the locals, but they only know some broken Spanish, and not enough to make sense with locals. Finding the correct path to what appears to be a dig site, the group moves to some bare earth and onto a hill that only seems to be covered by beautiful flowers.

The group moves up to the plateau of this hill and notices the majestic view, along with the lack of any other plant life. Feeling a bit out of place, the group moves back down the hill, but is surprised to find a group of Mayans from the town, armed and guarding an invisible barrier, not allowing them to exit the ancient land. This is just the beginning of their problems, as they stumble across the body of Mathias’ brother who was shot in the chest and left to die on the hill. The group also finds an abandoned dig site, one devoid of people, but all of their belongings remain. Along with that, Pablo, one of the Greeks that decided to tag along on this adventure fell into a shaft and broke his back. But these are the least of their problems, for the hill has a secret of its own it is about to reveal.

Welcome to The Ruins, one of the reasons I will never go down to Mexico for fear this will happen to me. Scott Smith has a fabulous imagination and is able to put it down on paper just the way he intends. This book is full creepy, disturbing and downright wrong thoughts of what would happen if you were left to die on a hill with a bunch of your friends. Worrying about the safety of your group, your future, lack of water, starvation, a group that will not let you leave, along with a hill that is able to…come alive, you worry for the group and what will be their best escape from this treacherous place. 

This is a fantastic read. Smith keeps the story flowing from their arrival to the hill, to when they all…well…let’s just leave it at that. With all that is going on with the group and their fight for survival, Smith is able to keep some moments of levity, that is until it all hits the fan. Pick up this book, make sure your plants are happy and watered and keep a light on. This book is guaranteed to take you places you never really wanted to go. Stay Scared and Happy Reading.

Welcome to Catalina Island, home of solitude, wine mixers and missing persons. On Labor Day, Henry Cadmus, his wife Ruby and their daughter Moxie are on their way to visit his mother who has recently moved back to the island. Henry and his mother, although not being well off monetarily lived on the island for a short spell during his youth. After the two moved off of the island, Henry still tried to keep in correspondence with his mother. Although the two drifted apart and the letters were few and far between, his mother flat out just stopped responding to her only son.

Returning to the island is not something that Henry wants to do thanks to all of the bad memories he has from his short stay during his youth, but with his new family along with him now, he figures that all of the bad things that happened were all in his head. Stopping to get something to eat at the local diner, Henry keeps his eyes and ears open for familiar faces and problems. One local woman that enters the diner is a real estate broker and when Henry hears her voice, he recognizes her as a girl that tormented him when he was a child. When they arrive at their hotel, they hear a private investigator named Arbuthnot asking about a missing person. Not really putting the pieces together yet, Henry is able to obtain directions to the Shady Isle Retirement Community to go and find his mother, just to make sure she is okay.

That afternoon, Henry and Ruby take a hike out to Shady Isle. Finding a large gate in their way, Henry hits the button to get someone out of the buildings to come let them in. When no response comes, Henry and Ruby begin to make the long trek back to the hotel, but Henry is not done yet with his search for his mother. Stopping at the local police department, Henry is able to voice his distrust about Shady Isle, but it seems as if the officer that is taking the complaint is not interested. ‘People move out here for the solitude and quiet. If your mother wanted to talk to you, she would. Please be on your way.’ This does more than infuriate Henry, it motivates him to take action on his own, and what he will find will be far from what he expected.

Terminal Island puts you into the eyes of Henry Cadmus as he tries to find out what has happened to his mother, along with battling his memories of what the island had done to him in his youth. Private Investigator Arbuthnot fills in not only as an advisor on Henry’s quest but assures the young man that everything that did happen to him on the island was real, and that Henry would never believe in any of it until seeing it with his own eyes. Ruby, Henry’s wife, tries her best to keep a handle on the situation with her husband, but she reaches a point where she thinks that he has completely lost it and needs some sort of medical attention.

This is an interesting read to say the least. Most of the crucial parts of this book are written in flashbacks, and while I usually don't like those, they flow well with the story, so you understand what is going on and why it is happening. If you keep your eyes open, you will be able to see the ending coming, although they try to take a clever twist on it. If you are open to some disturbing imagery, a new god, Zagreus, along with a new religion that just seems flat out crazy, this book is for you.

A young man is found crucified and decapitated with the mark of the Gemini on his left palm. The work of the Gemini killer is suspected by the police force, but this cannot be since the Gemini has been dead for over a decade. Lieutenant William Kinderman is called in to investigate the heinous crime. Kinderman is not alone in believing that there must be a reasonable explanation for this gruesome murder, but is unable to put his finger on it before leaving the scene of this gruesome murder, a boat house.

William Kinderman is a highly regarded member of the police force, even though he is getting high up in his years of service and he is known for speaking his mind and saying what he believes before his mind has a chance to stop him. This earns him a reputation of being senile around the department, but even with this knowledge; Kinderman never lets it affect his work. Father Joe Dyer is fully aware of this quirk when it comes to the aging lieutenant, but never holds it against him. The two have been friends for many years and have always been able to find common ground to stand on, even when their respective religions cross paths.

Suddenly, a new murder has been called in, a priest is found decapitated in his confessional, yet none of the parishioners seemed to see anything. Kinderman is called to the scene once again, only to find the same M.O. that the youth suffered in the boat house. Trying to wrap his head around the two murders of two completely different victims, Kinderman turns to his friend Father Dyer once again. The father is laid up in the hospital, but willing to help as always. The father receives a new doctor, Vincent Amfortas, who is ready to retire to pursue his studies in pain suppression, and a line of questioning from Kinderman makes the doctor a prime suspect, until the lieutenant sees a familiar face from his past...

Blatty’s Legion takes you on a journey into the realm of faith, beliefs and possession. Kinderman is challenged by an unknown force that will put him at odds with his department, friends and family.  Without knowing who or when an attack will be coming or who the intended victim will be, Kinderman has to look deep inside of himself and try to think as his foe would to protect the next target.

Legion is a fantastic read, a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. You get to see the world from the eyes of a disgruntled doctor, an aging lieutenant along with the spirit. When Kinderman asks the spirit its name and the response is, ‘Legion, for we are many’, the hair still sticks up on the back of my neck. The novel will keep you thinking up to the very end of who the killer really is and how the murders were managed by one individual, even if he were supposedly locked up while they happened. Stay Scared.

Very few times can you ever find what you are looking for, if you are looking for it. When you lose your keys, your wallet or matching socks, they are never there when you need them when you make a conscious effort to find them. They always turn up in the most unexpected places and appear out of nowhere when you have given up your search. 

Dr. Montague is looking for something to expand his career, a legitimate haunted house. He has stayed in several homes that have had this claim attached to them, but none of them have ever produced anything concrete. Hearing the stories and reading the articles about Hill House, Dr. Montague is more than intrigued. Sending out many letters to find a group of people that would be as interested in possibilities of the paranormal, along with having some kind of background dealing with the same thing, the Doctor receives three letters back saying they will accompany him on this journey.

Arriving at Hill House, Eleanor Vance is excited but frightened at the same time. She has just stolen her sister’s car to go on this expedition and was going to have no regrets until she had seen how the house was looking at her. It was cold, dark and did not seem to appreciate her looking in its general direction, or it could have been the rude greeting she received from Mr. Dudley manning the front gate. However, regardless of her feelings, she is still ready to enter the home and see what the legends could produce in her presence. Being joined by a second visitor, Theodora, Eleanor finds that she may have a friend that she can depend upon while they are in the spooky house.

The two ladies take a walk outside of the creepy old house and find that there is a brook nearby that they should go and visit during their stay. A picnic needs to be had, for it is beautiful outside of the old house and no daylight should be wasted while they are investigating. Looking back at the house, the two agree that it looks very eerie. Making their way back to the spooky location, they find that two more guests have made their way in. Luke Sanderson and Dr. Montague have arrived and are ready to get settled in as well. Mrs. Dudley, the caretaker in the old house is very strict in her ways and lets the group know her schedule and will not deviate from it one bit. Everyone agrees, Mrs. Dudley maybe a little out of whack, but find humor in her dedications to the schedule.

The group gets together to discuss their past and what they are going to be doing in Hill House. Dr. Montague wants everyone to write down what they find in this haunted house, and he also lets them know not to worry if they encounter a spirit, as ghosts cannot hurt the living. Everyone gives a laugh and retires for the evening. The first night goes well for everyone, nothing out of the ordinary happens and some feel as though they enjoyed their finest sleep in ages. But the second night is where things get a little different as Eleanor and Theodora hear a knocking sound coming down the hallway that stops at their room…and waits for them to acknowledge they are still in the room. The women get very upset, but when the good doctor returns to the room, they both seem to be strangely calm and go about their business, until they are not able to find the two men in the morning for breakfast.

The Haunting of Hill House is a spooky tale that follows a group of four individuals that have never met before, but have to depend on each other to keep their sanity. Dr. Montague is the leader of the group, trying to provide rational explanations about what is happening. Everyone feels safe within the house, including Eleanor who the house has its eyes set on as messages are scrolled upon the walls calling to her. Eleanor keeps her cool for the most part, but when it gets to be too much for her, she gives in and starts to succumb to the haunting. Trying to protect everyone, along with his inheritance, Luke seems to be the sanest, but he can only keep it together for so long before the strange happenings start to get to him as well. Hill House is looking for someone, or something to sooth its eighty year old rage and there may be just the right victim now inside of its walls.

In need of a classic haunted house book on your book shelves? The Haunting of Hill House is a great one to add to your collection. Shirley Jackson has written a great piece that continues to have people raving, years after it has hit the shelves, and it even became a Netflix TV series. The disturbing thought that someone in the afterlife could be stalking a living, breathing person and driving them a little crazy is one thing, but making sure that same person gets driven into madness without feeling bad about it is just scary. It may be a short novel, but it does not keep you wondering what anyone in the house, or the house wants in the long run as everyone gets their own brand of scares throughout the story. It is a fantastic read and something that should be added to any horror fan's collection. Stay Scared and Happy Reading.