Fast, furious, and fun, Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series is one of my all-time favorites. Any book in the series is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon (as long as you don’t intend to relax too much – these books are seriously action-packed) and GUILTY PLEASURES is the one that kicks it off.
Give it a shot. I bet you’ll want to read the next one … and the next after that …
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I first read Chiefs decades ago, before I was published myself. It has proven to be one of the books that has most influenced my writing. Chiefs begins early in the twentieth century and follows the careers of three police chiefs in a small Georgia town.
The stories of the chiefs are intensely personal, incredibly compelling, and give insight into how small towns work. There is an overarching story of a serial killer that begins early in Will Henry Lee’s days and isn’t solved until the well into the third chief’s time of duty. It’s shocking and will keep you on your toes.
The chiefs themselves aren’t always what you might expect and that’s one of the reasons I consider this a great novel. This epic is laden with detail that enriches the story. I just reread it and t is as absolutely riveting as it was the first time through.
Bentley Little’s strange (but impressive) imagination is unparalleled in its ability to find and deliver terror in the most complacent and comfortable places. He’s one of the few writers who can give me nightmares, and THE RESORT, in particular, emblazoned some very creepy-cool and eerily bizarre images onto my mind that, years later, are still terribly vivid.
I laughed, I shuddered, I kinda wished I’d read it in daylight hours. Five stars.
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I’m first and foremost a lover of ghost stories and Ash Wednesday is one of my all-time favorite books about ghosts and hauntings. I count it alongside The Shining, Ghost Story, Houses Hill and Hell, and a handful of others as truly satisfying.
Ash Wednesday is about a haunted town, Merridale. The dead begin to appear as translucent blue entities all over town. The reactions of the living range from terror to joy and everything in between. This is a quiet ghost story and it satisfies on every level with the care Williamson takes in making his characters – all of them – real. The novel is touching and terrifying and hits all the right notes.
I loved this book as a kid, and even credit some of these creepy short stories for my early fascination with horror (which probably shaped my imagination and influenced my own gruesome writes!)
For nostalgic purposes, I re-read this book as an adult. I expected to be disappointed, the way we so often are when we try to re-experienced something we loved from childhood, but Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark held its intrigue for me. I love it when that happens.
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I’ve read American Gods several times. It pushes all the right buttons from the fantastical to the mysterious. I’m a life-long lover of mythology and Gaiman’s use of it throughout the novel is absolutely delightful. He manages to fuse contemporary sensibilities and humor with those of the old gods. I’m particularly fond of Loki and Eostre, who eats live bunnies. It’s by turns, touching, horrifying, and funny, and it’s full of heart. If you love world mythology, I think you’re especially likely to love this book.
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Witty, enthralling, and very, very spooky, UNDER THE LAKE was a much-needed breath of fresh air. It’s got ghosts, crime, action, drama, and lots of good twisted history. Highly recommended!
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