"Deadly Passage" by Lawrence W. Gold, M.D.{Book Review}

*Disclosure: I received the following product(s) below from the Author in exchange for an honest review and in no way was I asked to give a positive review. I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Synopsis:

The novel operates on several levels not commonly encountered in a high-octane thriller, including insights into the terrorists, their backgrounds, rationale, and subtle conflicts within the communities from which they have been drawn that ultimately condition their decisions and actions. The responses of US governmental agencies mirror these diverse perspectives.

Andy Reiss, a physician, Jesse his registered-nurse wife, and Rachel, their barely teenage daughter, head home on their sailboat, Prophecy, after five years at sea touring the world. They thought they’d dealt with every imaginable experience at sea. When Prophecy comes upon a sailboat adrift, they discover two young Americans, a brother and his sister. After bringing them aboard, both break out with a rash that Andy identifies as a deadly virus.Soon it becomes clear that they’ve inadvertently rescued two homegrown terrorists intent on bringing a deadly virus to the Miami area.

Soon the disease is full-blown, sealing the fates of the terrorists and all those they encounter.

Andy, Jesse, and Rachel must deal with the unwanted guests, their disease, the Cuban Navy, an approaching hurricane, and the U.S. Coast Guard turning them away from safety, operating under the influence of conflicting political and operational motivations in the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and the Oval Office. The shocking and unexpected denouements leave us twisting in uncertain winds reminiscent of On the Beach.

{Book Review} "Ctrl Z" by Danika Stone

Book Description:

Indigo Sykes has spent years trying to forget where she came from. She has a degree, a new life, and a quiet existence. Everything she ever wanted... But all of this comes to a screeching halt when an unexpected meeting with computer hacker, Jude Alden, changes her plans. Romance blooms between the mismatched duo, even while entanglements from Indigo’s past threaten to pull the two of them apart. Dogged by a history of running, Indigo’s hard-won security is shattered when Jude’s illegal activity drags both of them into a dangerous game. As the net of hacking and underworld crime tightens around Jude and Indigo’s dark history is exposed, the two of them must find a way out or risk bringing the consequences down on them both.

{Book Review} "The Haunted Halls: Volume 1" by Glenn Rolfe

Book Description:

What lies in wait at the Bruton Inn? Where did it come from? What does it want? People are checking in, but the little voices, the nightmares; the deep cold sinking into their marrow is changing them. What haunts these halls will alter those within its confines. Something big is unfolding, something dark- something evil. The haunted halls of the Bruton Inn welcome you. Checking in?

This debut novelette from Glenn Rolfe has been a top 10 serial at jukepopserials.com.

{Book Review} "Dead Light" by Mike Pace

Synopsis: 

…a matter of light and death…

In the sleepy college town of Cumberton, MD, an old cemetery must be moved to make room for a new dormitory, and an ungodly Light, buried for centuries, escapes. A rash of gruesome student suicides rocks the town. Sheriff Estin Booker teams up with former Baltimore homicide detective Anna Tucci to investigate the deaths. What neither expects is to have all roads point to a 2000-year-old legend which, if true, could lead to the destruction of mankind.

The most frightening account of the power of evil breeching our world since The Exorcist, DEAD LIGHT will teach you the most improbable lesson you will ever learn:

 FEAR THE LIGHT!

"Deadly Recall" by Donnell Ann Bell {Book Review}

Welcome to My Cozie Corner's stop on the 

"Deadly Recall" book tour. 

This tour is brought to you by Innovative Book Tours.

BLURB:  

A terrifying memory is locked deep inside her.  A killer wants to keep it that way.

Nine-year-old Eden Moran thought she was saying good-bye to her mentor that fateful day in St. Patrick’s.  She had no idea she’d witness the nun’s demise, or that her child’s mind would compensate.  Now seventeen years later, Albuquerque cops have unearthed human remains, and the evidence points to Eden as being the key to solving Sister Beatrice’s murder.  When a hellbent cop applies pressure, Eden stands firm.  She doesn’t remember the woman.  Unfortunately for Eden, Sister Beatrice’s killer will do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

"A Glimpse of Her Soul" by Stuart Jaffe {Book Review}

Synopsis:

When 16-year-old Gillian Boone discovers that a secret message has been etched into her soul, her world of normal teenage life is destroyed. Now, bizarre monstrosities try to kill her so they can read this message as her soul departs, hoping its information will guide them back to the world they came from.

Though she has the aid of her father and some new friends, there is only one who has the real power to help. A rogue monster named Jackhammer Jack. But he might want her secret, too, even as he helps her evade the clutches of those pursuing her.

With threats surrounding her, Gillian will have to lead her allies in a struggle for survival - a struggle all the more treacherous when her allies are just as dangerous as her enemies.

Filled with action, excitement, magic, a touch of romance, and mystery, A Glimpse of Her Soul is a pulse-pounding ride you're sure to enjoy.

"Eternal Revelations" by Candis Vargo (Book Review)

Synopsis:

As Hell reins terror on the earth, can one child bring back humanity and defeat the Devil himself? After millions of people vanish and the dead rise to spread plague over the Earth, 23 year-old Evelyn and
her brother join with a small group as they fight for survival. As the plague spreads and the number of the Reanimated rise in humans and animals alike, there isn’t anything man made that is strong enough to hold them off. When Evelyn and her group find one of the only children left on Earth—an Autistic child—the Devil begins lurking in the darkness, following their every move. The remaining children are the only chance the human race has at defying the plans  the Anti-Christ holds. Of all the horrors the Earth now holds, none are comparable to how treacherous the living become once their humanity is thrown out the window. Evelyn realizes survival isn’t just fighting for your life but fighting for your humanity in a world of terror. Join the journey fight for survival against the undead and beasts released straight from the pits of Hell.

"In The Bones" by Renee Miller {Book Review}

Synopsis:

Welcome to Albertsville: Population 400…and falling.

When Ryan Cassidy claims a house left to him by his estranged grandparents, he becomes tangled in the mystery of a town crushed by a deadly secret spanning generations.

The town's power core, which includes the reeve, his council members, and the local police, smother opposition with deceit, brutality and fear. They will stop at nothing to keep the horror they've committed buried.

A severe winter storm leaves Albertsville snowbound—a trap only the dead can hope to flee—and Ryan becomes a liability that must be silenced at any cost.

The answers to the town’s mystery and its salvation are hidden...In the Bones.


This book is intended for Adults 18+

"The Game" by Shane Scollins {Book Review}

Synopsis:

No matter where you are, they’ll find you, and put you in “The GAME”.

Candice Laguna’s life is being systematically dismantled, by an unknown force, for a reason she can’t imagine. But she is about to become the unwilling star of a reality game competition the likes of which has never been broadcast to the world.

Just when things get darkest, a mysterious man snatches her from the grips of doom. He is a man who is not what he seems, and not who he says. He has no name and his motivation to help Candice is not what it  seems to be.

But his selfishness has good intentions, he just wants to know who he is and where he came from. And getting to the man orchestrating this reality game is the only way to find the truth.

THE GAME is a mystery/thriller with an unpredictable paranormal twist. It has action and adventure and plays up the everyday exploitation of reality television obsession gone wrong.

"Oddities & Entities" by Roland Allnach {Book Review}

Book Description:

‘Oddities & Entities’ is a surreal, provocative anthology of six tales within the supernatural/ paranormal/horror genres, exploring a definition of life beyond the fragile vessel of the human body. The stories are: ‘Boneview’, in which a young woman struggles to balance her ability to see through people with the presence of a supernatural creature in her life; ‘Shift/Change’, in which a hospital worker struggles to regain his memory as he is confronted by a series of desperate people; ‘My Other Me’, in which a lonely college student finds himself displaced from his body by his alter ego; ‘Gray’, in which a frustrated man is stunned to discover a little creature has been living in his head; ‘Elmer Phelps’, in which a brother and sister find themselves linked in a strange reality by a bat bite in their youth; and lastly, ‘Appendage’, in which a cynical mercenary is hired by his son to protect a research lab on the verge of a stunning discovery.

"Evol" by Jess Wygle {Book Review}

Synopsis:

“I will do whatever it takes to keep us together. Nothing can keep us apart. You’re mine now.” She’d love him just as he loved her. She had to. She didn’t have a choice.

In love and happily living the life she always dreamed of, Venna Caldwell doesn’t know she is the object of a secret obsession. Until one night when she’s home alone and her stalker finally acts on his fantasies, dragging her into a sadistic nightmare that she barely escapes. Running for her life, from a man who will never stop hunting her, Venna reaches out to her estranged half-brother,  grasping desperately at what little hope she has left. How far will she go to keep out of the clutches of the unrelenting monster that's hungry for her?

With her ability to grab the reader by the shirt collar, Jess Wygle delivers a fast-paced and intensely psychological thriller that will make you think twice about the people around you .

"Red is for Rage" by Connie Corcoran Wilson {Review & Giveaway - Ends 4/2}

Book Blurb:

RED IS FOR RAGE is the second book in the award-winning THE COLOR OF EVIL series by Connie Wilson. THE COLOR OF EVIL won the E-Lit Gold Medal for Horror (Jenkins Group) and the Silver Feather (IWPA). Three evil-doers rise up to wreak havoc on a small, mid-western town in this hot follow up.

When Stevie Scranton goes missing, best friend Tad vows to do everything he can to find him. Even if Stevie is dead, his family craves closure. Tad enlists the help of retired policeman Charlie Chandler and a team of volunteers, including Charlie’s old partner, Evelyn Hoeflinger. This rag-tag team of detectives continues searching for Stevie Scranton, the runty misfit of Cedar Falls’ Sky High. In their search, they discover a monster every bit as dangerous as Pogo the Killer Clown.

Michael Clay (the serial killer Pogo) escapes custody. On the loose again, Pogo’s actions restart a vicious cycle of violent nightmares for Tad McGreevy. Pogo has one main goal: kill Tad McGreevy so that Tad cannot disclose Clay’s location. Pogo doesn’t realize that, up until now, Tad has been unable to harness the paranormal ability he possesses. Now, Tad McGreevy must try to learn to use his unique gift.  Stevie Scranton’s fate hangs in the balance. Tad’s power, if precognitive, could save everyone he loves.
Jenny SanGiovanni returns from her father’s home in Boulder, Colorado, to finish her senior year with her old classmates. She brings home a new set of problems. Jeremy Gustaffsson, the fifth-year senior boyfriend in Jenny’s junior year, graduated. But Jeremy is still in town, still obsessed with Jenny, still dangerous.  When Jenny broke up with Jeremy, it made Jeremy mad. Bad things happen to good people when Jeremy Gustaffsson gets angry and descends into a red rage.

All Jenny’s cheerleader friends from her junior year are back and have problems of their own. Jenny deals with adolescent issues such as self-esteem and self-worth, problems that tax her soul.  But Jenny is not alone. Another Sky High student is driven to the brink. Will that individual plunge into the abyss of despair?

"Nobody Has To Know" by Frank Nappi {Book Review}

Book Description:

Nobody Has To Know, Frank Nappi’s dark and daring new thriller, tells the story of Cameron Baldridge, a popular high school teacher whose relationship with one of his students leads him down an unfortunate and self-destructive path. Stalked through text-messages, Baldridge fights for his life against a terrifying extortion plot and the forces that threaten to expose him. NHTK is a sobering look into a world of secrets, lies, and shocking revelations, and will leave the reader wondering many things, including whether or not you can ever really know the person you love.

“A haunting, briskly-paced page turner that explores the darkest recesses of the human psyche while propelling the reader through an intricate series of hair-raising twists and turns. Nobody Has to Know is a masterfully written tale that is expertly told. Frank Nappi knows how to entertain the reader from start to finish.”
– #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Nelson DeMille

"Pandora's Temple" by Jon Land {Book Review}

Synopsis:

What if Pandora's box was real. That's the question facing Former Special Forces commando and rogue agent Blaine McCracken who returns from a 15-year absence from the page in his tenth adventure.

McCracken has never been shy about answering the call, and this time it comes in the aftermath of deepwater oilrig disaster that claims the life of a one-time mem-ber of his commando unit. The remnants of the rig and its missing crew lead him to the inescapable conclusion that one of the most mysterious and deadly forces in the Universe is to blame—dark matter, both a limitless source of potential energy and a weapon with unimaginable destructive capabilities.

Joining forces again with his trusty sidekick Johnny Wareagle, McCracken races to stop both an all-powerful energy magnate and the leader of a Japanese dooms-day cult from finding the dark matter they seek for entirely different, yet equally dangerous, reasons. Ultimately, that race will take him not only across the world, but also across time and history to the birth of an ancient legend that may not have been a legend at all. The truth lies 4,000 years in the past and the construction of the greatest structure known to man at the time:

Pandora’s Temple, built to safeguard the most powerful weapon man would ever know.

Now, with that very weapon having resurfaced, McCracken’s only hope to save the world is to find the temple, the very existence of which is shrouded in mystery and long lost to myth. Along the way, he and Johnny Wareagle find themselves up against Mexican drug gangs, killer robots, an army of professional assassins, and a legendary sea monster before reaching a mountaintop fortress where the fi-nal battle to preserve mankind will be fought.

The hero of nine previous bestselling thrillers, McCracken is used to the odds be-ing stacked against him, but this time the stakes have never been higher.

"Into the Dark" by Stacy Green {Book Review}

Synopsis: 

A two-hundred-mile labyrinth of dark storm drains serves as a refuge for the delusional stalker who will go to any lengths to possess fragile, emotionally isolated Emilie Davis. To survive, Emilie will have to confront the secrets of her past she has kept locked away from everyone, including herself. Emilie is a master escape artist—she’s fled a manipulative mother and a controlling ex-husband. But it’s impossible to evade a stalker who uses a bank robbery as a ruse to kidnap her. He’s still out there, hiding in the Las Vegas tunnels and dodging police. Emilie’s life careens out of control as her assailant continues his pursuit. She has nowhere to turn but to Nathan Madigan, the hostage negotiator who worked the robbery. Nathan is haunted by his failure to protect a loved one fourteen years ago and dedicates his life to saving others. Determined to catch the lunatic hunting Emilie, he finds himself losing his professional detachment. He fears history is about to repeat itself if he cannot protect Emilie from the Taker’s obsession.

The police close in on the Taker’s identity as Nathan and Emilie grow closer to each other and to resolving the misery of their own pasts. At the height of The Taker’s madness, his attempt to replace someone he’s lost will either kill them all or set them free.

"The Burning Time" by J.G. Faherty {Book Review}

Book Description:

Wherever The Stranger goes, evil follows. Wild dogs roam the fields. Townspeople turn on each other in murderous fury. Innocent women throw themselves off bridges. Swimmers disappear, victims of a deadly beast that haunts their waters. And the worst is still yet to come. The Stranger plans to open a gateway to the nether realms and release the Elder Gods to bring forth Chaos on Earth. Only one man knows the truth, a country mage whose family has fought The Stranger before. But can he defeat his ageless enemy before Hastings Mills is nothing but a smoking ruin and the townspeople become unwilling blood sacrifices to the Old Ones? With only the help of a young woman and her teenage son, he will have to use all of his arcane knowledge to thwart his adversary and prevent the final apocalypse. In Hastings Mills, The Burning Time has arrived.

"Unholy Testament: The Beginning" by Carole Gill {Review & Giveaway - Ends 1/27}

Synopsis: 

The day Eco first laid eyes on Rose Baines was the day she discovered (The House on Blackstone Moor) her family’s savage butchery at the hands of her mad, incestuous father.

“I saw you leave the house that day, Rose, that terrible day you discovered your family butchered. I saw you…”

Eco realizing he has fallen in love with her pens a confession documenting all of his sins committed in the course of his immortal existence. The one request is that Rose reads his confession.

Rose, having become his captive, is forced to read this unholy testament of his.

From Ancient Egyptian vampire cults to Roman vampire brothels to The Dark Ages, The Crusades, The Black Death of 1348 to his meeting with child murderer and Satanist, Gilles de Rais, concluding with his wicked affair with the Blood Countess herself, Erzebat Bathory.

Eco is, if nothing else, frankly and brutally honest. The pages are filled with debauchery and advice and murder--yet, there is also love or what Eco swears is love.

The story is continued in Unholy Testament – Full Circle, to be released in early 2013.

"Falling: Girl With Broken Wings" by J. Bennett {Book Review}

Welcome to My Cozie Corner's stop on the

"Falling" book tour.

This tour is brought to you by Innovative Book Tours.

BLURB:

The intellectual challenge of college and the warm embrace of a serious boyfriend have given Maya the wings she needs to break away from her bookish and shy reserve. Her ideal life comes crashing down when she and her boyfriend are accosted by a stranger. A stranger with glowing hands.

Maya's boyfriend is killed. She is kidnapped. Changed. 

A rescue comes, but not soon enough. 

Maya’s senses sharpen, her body becomes strong and agile, and she develops the ability to visually see the emotions of those around her as colorful auras…beautiful auras…tempting auras. 

And then there’s the song…

Now, Maya must struggle to control the murderous appetite that fuels her new abilities, accept her altered condition and learn to trust two vigilante half-brothers she never knew she had. As she joins the battle against a secret network of powerful and destructive beings that call themselves "Angels", Maya vows to find and destroy the one who changed her.

On the bright side, at least Maya's oldest half-brother has stopped trying to kill her.

"Grade A Stupid" by A.J. Lape {Book Review}

Synopsis:

Fifteen years ago, Darcy Walker’s parents thought it was a good idea to give her a unique name: Darcy, meaning “dark walker.” Whether that was a stroke of genius or stroke of stupid, they definitely nailed the irony. She lacks direction, her grades stink despite a high IQ, she’s boringly average--although flirting admirers claim otherwise--and God help her, she’s infatuated with a bad-boy. A bad-boy that her hottie best friend, Dylan, wishes would get acquainted with his fist. And, oh yeah, there’s that tattoo that was a royally stupid idea. With her life spiraling out of control, everything changes when she skips class and finds a dead body…in fact, it gets worse. It jump-starts Darcy’s inner-verb, and her AD/HD mind gets caught up in a situation she can’t let go. Set in the fictional Cincinnati town of Valley, Ohio, Darcy falls into a world of threats, violence, and gangland exploits, chasing down every clue to finger the murderer. When a fellow misfit is arrested for the crime, Darcy goes from zero-to-sixty trying to clear his name—constructing aliases, breaking the law, everything that makes perfect sense to her, but reeks of Grade A Stupid to everyone else. Trouble is…will she live to see 16?

"The Mistaken" by Nancy S. Thompson {Review & Giveaway - Ends 1/6/13}

Welcome to My Cozie Corner's stop on 

"The Mistaken" book tour. 

This tour is brought to you by Innovative Book Tours.

BLURB: 

Tyler Karras is an honest man, a transplanted Brit living the American dream, but his charmed life takes an unexpected turn when his brother, Nick, is coerced into joining ranks with San Francisco’s Russian mafia.  Ty intervenes to secure Nick’s freedom, yet only succeeds in incurring their wrath.  With no choice but to accept Nick’s new life, Ty returns to his own, but his dreams are dashed when his wife—pregnant with their first child—is killed, the victim of a reckless crime.  

Despondent and bitter, Ty macerates his grief in alcohol.  From the depths of the bottle screams a voice, howling for vengeance.  His target is a stranger, the woman who drew his wife toward her death.  He doesn’t know her, but he’ll find her, and when he does, he will make her pay, for a deal has been struck with Nick’s Russian associates, enslaving her into a life of bondage.  But as Ty moves forward in a cloud of alcohol, he mistakes the wrong woman for his intended victim and now all his plans have gone straight to hell.

With his eyes made clear by the stark reality of his mistake, Ty is driven, compelled by remorse and a relentless sense of guilt to make amends and protect Hannah Maguire, the innocent woman whose life he has derailed.  He vows to keep her safe and out of the Russians’ hands, but they’re holding Nick as leverage to force Ty to complete their deal and turn over the girl.  Once again, he must fight to free his brother, miring all three lives in further jeopardy.  But Ty can’t do it all:  Save the girl, his brother and his own soul.  One of them must make the ultimate sacrifice.