Mini Reviews – April 2024

After a nasty stomach bug that last couple days, I figured this would be the best way to get caught up on some reviews I haven’t posted yet.

Thanks to the publishers for any gifted copies here!

Mini Reviews – April 2024:

THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE AND OTHER DISTURBANCES – Eric LaRocca (Released April 2nd, 2024 – Thanks to Titan Books for the gifted copy)

A brand-new collection of four intense, claustrophobic and terrifying horror tales from the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

Four devastating tales from a master of modern horror…

This Skin Was Once Mine – When her father dies under mysterious circumstances, Jillian Finch finds herself grieving the man she idolized while struggling to feel comfortable in the childhood home she was sent away from nearly twenty years ago by her venomous mother. Then Jillian discovers a dark secret in her family’s past–a secret that will threaten to undo everything she has ever known to be true about her beloved father and, more importantly, herself. It’s only natural to hurt the things we love the most…

Seedling – A young man’s father calls him early in the morning to say that his mother has passed away. He arrives home to find his mother’s body still in the house. Struggling to process what has happened he notices a small black wound appear on his wrist—the inside of the wound as black as onyx and as seemingly limitless as the cosmos. He is even more unsettled when he discovers his father is cursed with the same affliction. The young man becomes obsessed with his father’s new wounds, exploring the boundless insides and tethering himself to the black threads that curl from inside his poor father…

Prickle – Two old men revive a cruel game with devastating consequences…

All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn – Enoch Leadbetter goes to buy a knife for his husband to use at a forthcoming dinner party. He encounters a strange shopkeeper who draws him into an intoxicating new obsession and sets him on a path towards mutilation and destruction…

My Thoughts: 5/5 stars

This short story collection. It never ceases to amaze at how brutal some of these stories can be. The body horror alone is so vivid, and I love it. Only a handful of authors can make me cringe while reading, and this is one of them! 

Our four stories are: This Skin Was Once Mine, Seedling, Prickle, and All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn. Honestly, there wasn’t a bad one, and they all kept me utterly captivated. I think the standouts were Prickle and All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn. 

Prickle is about two friends reuniting in their old age, and they decide to revive their favorite childhood game, Prickle. A game that involves doing cruel and awful things to unsuspecting people, and I’m sure you can imagine where things will escalate to… but I assure you that you can’t imagine what’s in store. 

All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn is about Enoch going to buy a knife for his husband for an upcoming dinner party, but the shopkeeper he encounters will change his life. The mystery seller draws him into a new obsession with pain and mutilation. The end, though. “All this for a knife?” The answer is, yes. Yes, to all of that.

THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B – Lisa Unger (Released March 5th, 2024 – Thanks to HTP Books for the gifted copy)

Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad’s late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.

At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn’t feel more welcoming. But as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there’s more to the Windermere than meets the eye. Why is the doorman ever-present? Why are there cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the Windermere before she, too, falls under its dangerous spell.

My Thoughts: 4/5 stars

The newest from Lisa Unger is here! One thing that you can always come to expect with her books is that you will never be able to guess that ending. This was so much more than just another domestic suspense novel. Giving off major Lock Every Door vibes, this was crazy suspenseful with a thriller’s pacing and some paranormal elements sprinkled throughout. I was not disappointed with how it ended and I loved the build up!

Can you tell I was making this review while still sick? Now that I’m feeling better, I can add a little more to it! Rosie and Chad aren’t doing too well – barely making rent in New York City and struggling, that is until they get some truly life changing news. Chad’s late uncle has left them his apartment in the luxurious historic Windermere building – think elegance, old New York, and something that definitely has some skeletons lurking around. Of course, there are going to be quite the eccentric group of tenants that are fascinated with their new neighbors. I don’t want to give away much more, but when it comes to the creepy and eerie events that happen within the building, you just can’t stop reading until you get to that ending!

WHEN SHE LEFT – E.A. Aymar (Released February 24th, 2024 – Thanks to GetRedPR for the gifted copy)

When Melissa Cruz falls hard for a dreamy-eyed photographer named Jake, she can’t resist the urge to run away with him. The problem is that she already has a boyfriend, a rising star in his family’s crime organization. Betrayed and humiliated, Chris isn’t going to just let her go.

To find Melissa, Chris turns to Lucky Wilson, one of his family’s professional assassins. But Lucky has his own problems. After years of lying about his day job, his marriage is in shambles and he suffers from relentless panic attacks. He’ll do this job if Chris will let him out of the killing life.

Lucky knows this is his best chance at salvaging the home life he always craved. But Melissa and Jake aren’t going to abandon their chance at something real—something they’ve both been lacking in their lives. But they aren’t the only ones desperate to survive, and a powerful criminal family isn’t the only danger.

And soon, it’s clear that an unlikely partnership might be the only way for any of them to make it out alive…

My Thoughts: 4/5 stars

Mob families, assassins, organized crime – these are the things I love in movies and books. Give me all the horror and thrillers with these aspects, and I’ll devour it. 

Action packed, pulse pounding, suspenseful, and edge of your seat are all ways to describe this mobster thriller. Multiple POVs to keep you engaged, twisty parts to keep you guessing, and unique and memorable characters, I mean, a realtor turned assassin is pretty great if you ask me. Lucky was a personal favorite, and I think the author did a great job keeping the pace up throughout this crime fiction novel. I also recommend reading the epilogue – I know some people skip them. Overall, I found a new author to keep an eye out for when browsing the bookstores, and I had a lot of fun with this!