Category: Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: Serial Encounters, ed. Jane Nightshade

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Title: Serial Encounters
Author: Various, ed. Jane Nightshade
Genre: Horror Anthology
Publisher: Hellbound Books
Publication Date: 5th March, 2024

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered what may happen if you were ever to happen upon a notorious serial killer while going about your daily life – before they earned their notoriety? 
Jane Nightshade’s Serial Encounters brings you 18 chilling tales of mayhem and murder that tackle that very question from some of the edgiest indie horror authors in the business. Consider the following:
Killer clown John Wayne Gacy drops off his famous clown suits at a dry-cleaners, and the teenage girl who works there finds something extremely disturbing about them.
Another unwitting teenage girl unwisely dates David Berkowitz, The Son of Sam killer, and finds herself possessed by David’s very unusual dog.
An auto mechanic working late in Seattle encounters a tall, handsome law student who is in one hell of a hurry to get his Volkswagen Beetle repaired. The polite, well-spoken law student gives his name as Ted…
These and a bundle of other spine-chilling forays into the murderous world of real-life serial killers await you in tales of terror from: Jane Nightshade, N.J.Gallegos, Bret McCormick, Jayna Locke, Damon Nomad, Trev Hill, Tom Howard, Mord McGhee, Charles Reis, James Musgrave, Dave Davis, Ethan K. Lee, Kevin Hopson, G.N. Anderson, Ann O’Mara Heyward, Carson Demmans, and D.W. Milton.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Small Town Horror by Ronald Malfi

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Small Town Horror
Author: Ronald Malfi
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Titan Press
Publication Date: 4th June, 2024

Synopsis:Five childhood friends are forced to confront their own dark past as well as the curse placed upon them in this horror masterpiece from the bestselling author of Come with Me.

Maybe this is a ghost story…

Andrew Larimer thought he left the past behind. But when he receives a late-night phone call from an old friend, he finds he has no choice but to return home, and to confront the memories—and the horror—of a night, years ago, that changed everything.

For Andrew and his friends, the past is not dead, and the curse that has befallen them now threatens to destroy all that they’ve become.

One dark secret…

One small-town horror…

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Epeolatry Book Review: Darkness Beckons, ed. Mark Morris

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Darkness Beckons
Author: Various, ed. Mark Morris
Genre: Horror Anthology
Publisher: Flame Tree Press
Publication Date: 10th October, 2024

Synopsis: Darkness Beckons is the fourth volume in the non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window. A terrifying cocktail of the familiar and the new, the established and the emerging.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Smile So Red and Other Tales of Darkness by Mia Dalia

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Title: Smile So Red and Other Tales of Darkness
Author: Mia Dalia
Genre: Collection; Horror
Publisher: Anuci Press
Publication Date: January 19th, 2024

Synopsis: From the author of Estate Sale and many other literary nightmares, comes a collection of dark psychological fiction like no other, featuring novelettes and shorter stories that range from horror to suspense to mystery to coming-of-age to thrillers.
Smile So Red – a man down on his luck finds a strange graffitied house on his hike, and can’t quite seem to leave it behind.
Spindel – a twelve-year-old boy suspects that one of the neighbors on his paper route might be a local serial killer and sets off to investigate.
Blues for the Soul – a library worker tries to help a troubled young boy and uncovers a terrible truth about his family.
Devil’s Chord – return to the world of Smile So Red with a meta journey set to the earworm tune of your worst nightmares.
Stump – a bullied young boy and a downtrodden family man from the same apartment complex unwittingly find solace in the same area of the local woods, trusting their secrets to the same remnant of an old tree.
Flamingos – two sisters must confront their troubled past when a buried memory is triggered by the seemingly innocuous plastic lawn birds.
The Trunk – a first-generation immigrant from a war-torn country striving to achieve the American Dream finds something in the basement of his new home that has other ideas for him.
Reddest – another return to the world of Smile So Red, albeit from a very different perspective.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Mother Knows Best: Tales of Homemade Horror, ed. Lindy Ryan

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Title: Mother Knows Best: Tales of Homemade Horror
Author: Various, ed. Lindy Ryan
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Black Spot Press
Release Date: 7th May, 2024

Synopsis: From mama trauma to smother mother, this all-new women in horror anthology features stories about the scariest monster of them all— our mothers.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Momma Durtt by Michael Shea

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Title: Momma Durtt: A Novel
Author: Michael Shea
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Hippocampus Press
Release Date: July, 2024

Synopsis: Something strange is going on at the Quicksilver Mine in central California. Dead bodies are being dumped there; strange sounds and smells are emanating from its black depths. As increasingly bizarre phenomena occur in the area around the mine, people begin to wonder if Nature itself has turned against humanity and is rebelling at the violation of its pristine beauty. And are some of those who work in the mine actively conspiring to bring about a cataclysm that will overwhelm the region and the Earth?

Michael Shea began writing Momma Durtt in 1986. A few years later, he entered the University of San Francisco, to secure a master’s degree in its writing program, and he completed this novel as his thesis. But Momma Durtt has lain unpublished ever since. Hippocampus Press is proud to present this novel of cosmic eco-horror from the pen of one of the masters of contemporary weird fiction. With vibrant characters, racy language, and a spectacular denouement, Momma Durtt is uniquely suited to our own times, when climate change is alerting us to the dangers of tampering with Nature.

As a bonus, “Momma Durtt” (novelette version) is included as an appendix.

Michael Shea (1946–2014) is the author of the Nifft the Lean series of fantasy novels, as well as many other novels and tales of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The Autopsy: Best Weird Stories of Michael Shea was released by Hippocampus Press in 2022.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Kosa by John Durgin

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Title: Kosa
Author: John Durgin
Genre: Horror
Publisher: DarkLit Press
Release Date: 17th May, 2024

Synopsis: In a secluded mansion hidden away from the outside world, young Kosa lives under the strict and overpowering rule of her enigmatic mother. For Kosa, the rules set by Mother are the guiding principles of her life, shaping her beliefs and actions. She has been sheltered from the truth about the world beyond the confines of their home, conditioned to fear the darkness and malevolence that supposedly lurks outside.

However, as Kosa grows older, she begins to question the reality she has been presented with. Doubts eat away at her, fueled by a deep-rooted curiosity and a burgeoning sense of independence.

But Kosa possesses a mysterious and powerful ability that Mother desperately needs to sustain her own existence. Mother, a figure shrouded in shadows and secrets, will stop at nothing to ensure that Kosa’s power remains potent and under her control. The sinister grasp that Mother has on Kosa becomes increasingly suffocating as she tightens her grip, isolating Kosa further from the truth that exists beyond their home.

In this dark and captivating tale, Kosa’s journey unravels the intricacies of control, the strength of one’s convictions, and the true nature of the world beyond the shadows. The choices she makes will not only determine her fate but also influence the fate of those around her.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Still Waters by Matt Goldman

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Title: Still Waters
Author: Matt Goldman
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Forge Books
Release Date: 1st May, 2024

Synopsis: If you’re reading this email, I am dead. I know this will sound strange, but someone has been trying to kill me.

 

Liv and Gabe Ahlstrom are estranged siblings who haven’t seen each other in years, but that’s about to change when they receive a rare call from their older brother’s wife. “Mack is dead,” she says. “He died of a seizure.” Five minutes after they hang up, Liv and Gabe each receive a scheduled email from their dead brother, claiming that he was murdered.

 

The siblings return to their family-run resort in the Northwoods of Minnesota to investigate Mack’s claims, but Leech Lake has more in store for them than either could imagine. Drawn into a tangled web of lies and betrayal that spans decades, they put their lives on the line to unravel the truth about their brother, their parents, themselves, and the small town in which they grew up. After all, no one can keep a secret in a small town, but someone in Leech Lake is willing to kill for the truth to stay buried.

 

New York Times bestselling and Emmy award-winning author Matt Goldman returns with a gripping, emotional thrill ride in this compelling story on grief and uncovering the past before it’s too late.

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