Review: Asylum Lake By R.A. Evans

 

Asylum Lake by R.A. Evans is one of the first horror stories that I have read in a long time that totally captured my attention and my imagination.  Mr. Evans has deftly woven the past and the present into a completely believable tale.  I could not put Asylum Lake down until it was completely finished.  I found it captivating and scary with some humor entwined within the story.

We meet Brady Tanner, headed to his childhood summer home after the death of his father.  Brady is a depressed, broken man, mourning the loss of his wife and unborn child.  He hopes visiting his old home will help him break out of his state of depression and begin to live life again.  Little does he know what he will face when he arrives in Bedlam Falls.

From the beginning, R.A. Evans pulls you into the emotions of the story.  From the beginning, you feel Brady pain from his loses.  You feel the underlying fear when weird things start to happen.  Evans makes the reader feel as if we are watching everything happen and not just reading words on the page. 

The novel flows quickly and with the addition of each quirky character, the story never misses a step.  Instead, the characters blend into the weirdness of Bedlam Falls and the story.  I also loved the way Evans integrated the stories from the past into the present day story to allow the reader to begin to piece together what really happened at the Asylum along with Brady.

The horrors of the asylum permeate the town and provide a chilling backdrop to events from the past and the forthcoming events from the future.  Even though it has been closed for years, the asylum still haunts the lives of the people who live there.  It is creepy enough to keep thrill seekers away.  I think the thing that sent chills down my spine the most was the Scrabble board that kept appearing around the house with different words spelled out!

This story is a stage for a thrilling supernatural adventure.  There are hauntings, possessions, the creepy asylum, along with murders and other atrocities of the past.  These are all the elements of a great horror!  I strongly suggest reading this one with all the lights on!

Review: Plain Jane:Brunettes Beware by Cristyn West

Title: Plain Jane:Brunettes Beware

Author: Cristyn West

Format: Paperback and Ebook

Found at: Amazon and Smashwords

This book keep me captivated from beginning to end!  The story was wonderful and repulsive at the same time.  The hunt for this serial killer took so many twists and turns yet left you wondering who was more insane, the killer or the profiler on their trail!



I loved the main female character in Nicole.  She was a strong and smart woman yet vulnerable in affairs of the heart.  Her job is first and foremost in her mind except when it comes to dealing with her ex, Kent.  He brilliant, deranged and obsessive, all the hallmarks of a top profiler.  He was an ass to her and their co-workers and I cheered at the times she found her moxie and let him know how she felt.  Their relationship is as intriguing as the mystery of the serial killer and I was totally satisfied with the way it played out in the end. 


The serial killer was spooky and the reveal was a total surprise  There were several viable suspects and the author really kept you guessing until the end.  The suspense lasted the entire novel and I came away from the novel with a  sense of "WOW". There is definitely a gross factor with the more visits and the "prize" that the serial killer took from it's victims.  This story may bother you a little if you are a touch squeamish.



A few things I would have like to have seen was more of the back story of the characters.  There was discussion in the book about previous cases and previous relationships but since this was the first book, I only know what was mentioned.  It would be nice to see a prequel book showing how Nicole and Kent wound up together in the first place.  I hope there will be more with these two!  They work together well and it'll be interesting to see another case with them! 


Check out this book at the Blog Tour De Force Cage Match!!

Review: Dead Barchetta by Kathryn Lively

Title: Dead Barchetta
Author: Kathryn Lively
Format: Paperback and Ebook
Available at Amazon and Smashwords

From Amazon: “Lerxst” Johnston doesn’t have an enemy in the world…so he thinks. Armed only with a guitar and endless questions, Lerxst escapes the discomfort of his beach home and hides out in New York City to learn the true identity of his would-be assailant. Instead he learns more about himself and what he needs to do to survive the next attempt on his life. What a long, strange trip it is.

Review:

I read this one from beginning to end!  The story started off with the simple question of "Why was the mysterious woman was trying to kill him?" to a bigger plot that no one saw coming until it sprang up!  The story was engaging and you couldn't help but love Lerxst and the characters he meets along the way.

It had plenty of musical references and a great deal of dark humor but the book didn't bogged down at any point.  Instead, it moved at a quick pace and had you looking for answers as if you were Lerxst!  The characters were also wonderful.  There's the grandma who grows "medical herbs", a brother that has a huge secret and the female bass player that becomes his partner in the hunt for answers.   In spite of everything going on, Lerxst keeps a level head as he searches for the truth.

This was a wonderful read!  I read it from beginning to end and I wouldn't mind picking up again to discover any wonderful nuances I may have missed the first time around!  Music fans will also enjoy the rock references (especially for Rush) but you don't have to be a music fan to enjoy it.  It's great to see an ordinary, unexpected guy be the detective for a change.  Grab this one!  You'll enjoy it!

Review: An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy

Title: An Atlas Of Impossible Longing
Author: Anuradha Roy
Format: Print and E-Book
Found at: Free Press(Simon and Schuster.com) and Amazon


An Atlas of Impossible Longing is a hauntingly beautiful story about a family in India.  The author explores love and loss through the years of this family and the longing of hearts separated by class and circumstance.  I was taken into the caste system of India and the author showed regardless of feelings, status had to be maintained.  It was so easy to get lost in the pace of the book and the author wove the story in such a way that you could actually feel as if you were in India viewing the story.

This is a beautifully written book and the love story of Mukunda and Bakul will touch you deep in your heart.  To know they were kept apart because of their Mukunda's unknown caste was heartbreaking and to see how their lives unfolded was tragic, in a sense, and you can't help but want them to find each other again but you realize that their circumstances will keep them apart.  Other family members live with longings and regrets and you can't help be become drawn into the family story, one member at a time.

This makes a wonderful rainy day read.  Curl up with a cup of tea, a blanket and get lost in India for the afternoon.

*This book was a pre-release copy from Free Press.  The review is my own honest opinion.*