Rabid Reader's Reviews

Rabid Reader’s Reviews presents a selection Spooky Reads for Halloween 2015

Brainwashed by Ruth and Michael Harris

Genre: thriller

Jai Jai Leland has tracked Zeb Marlowe to ask for his help is finding the reason that veterans of the Lullaby Room, a top secret CIA brainwashing experiment, are dying. The official cause of death for Jai Jai’s husband is suicide, but she knows that can’t be the case. What they discover is bigger than could have ever been expected. Will they risk their lives to save the world? Continue reading

 

Rogue Goddess by Gary Henry

Genre: fantasy, suspense

Years have passed since the world came to know the Helpful Ladies—female superheroes with unique powers. The women have set up a Ladies’ Net and the world looks to them to solve difficult problems and save lives. Trish and Megan, the original American Goddesses have thrived and now have their own children, each with a daughter that may or may be on the cusp of realizing their own Helpful Lady powers. When Melinkova returns with an obsession to destroy Trish and Megan and gain indomitable power for herself, is she the one foe the Helpful Ladies cannot defeat? Continue reading

 

Mortal Religion by Marc Horn

Genre: thriller, suspense

Chalk Cutter was cruelly nicknamed “Moonface” as a child for his unusual appearance. His parents rejected him; his schoolmates rejected him. People he thought of as friends used him to further their own sadistic fun by playing tricks and torturing him mentally. When young Elizabeth, delivers an insult in a bar by cruelly introducing Chalk to her friend as her boyfriend, “Gavin” and then laughs in front of him at her friend’s expression, Chalk has had enough. He enacts and elaborate plot to kidnap Elizabeth and show her the folly of judging people based on appearance by shining a light on the imperfections of society and their backward way of thinking. When his plan starts to work, Chalk makes contact with a former schoolyard bully whose life Chalk has ruined and boasts to him about his actions thinking the man has already fallen too far. Has he or will pride be Chalk’s ultimate mistake? Continue reading

 

Timer—The Complete First Season by Marc Horn

Genre: science fiction, thriller, suspense

In the indistinct future people have their expiration dates displayed on their chests. A mysterious killer is stalking people whose Timers are about to run out. D.I. Stewart is on the case but can he track a killer no one remembers? Can he find a shadowy character that may not be of this world? Continue reading

 

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Genre: horror, supsense

This is a short story by Shirley Jackson first published in the New Yorker on June 26, 1948. The story chronicles an annual tradition in a small, contemporary, American town called The Lottery (Tale Blazers) in which families pull marked stones and the “winning family” pulls individual stones to determine which member will have the honor of making the ultimate sacrifice for a perceived greater good. Continue reading

 

Truders by Chandler McGrew

Genre: thriller

Fane, a twelve-year-old boy who has been raised by his mother, cameras everywhere and watchers ready to pounce if he goes out on his own. Far away, Shep Ward is escorted from his hometown of Rastley, New York to a military facility in Nevada. He kills his watchers and is able to get away, but how far can he go with a killer on his heels and what about the unpredictable wild humans? At Rastley Research in New York, crazy genius, Morgan Rastley has a plan. Can anyone stop him? Continue reading

 

How to Date Dead Guys by Ann Noser

Genre: paranormal

Emma Roberts has seen ghosts all of her life and desperately tries not to see them. She is a sophomore in college when she meets Mike, the brother of her roommate’s boyfriend. When Mike and Emma go for a midnight swim and he dies, she turns to her the Book of Shadows, which belongs to her roommate’s sister, in an attempt to bring him back. Things go awry when she brings back the wrong dead person and as Emma delves into the book, her powers grow. Will she find Mike and correct a terrible wrong for which she feels responsible? Continue reading

 

Verliege by Micheal Rivers

Genre: paranormal, horror, supernatural

Adrian Bolt was convicted by a German court of killing his wife at Verliege Castle, their new home. Adrian is sent back to West Virginia where he hasn’t spoken in the two years since she was found at his feet. Dr. James Pellitier is able to get a terrible story from him and heads to Germany with a paranormal investigator at hand. Will they prove that Adrian killed his wife or are darker forces at work? Continue reading

 

The Ghost of the North Carolina Shores by Micheal Rivers

Genre: nonfiction, horror, folklore, tales

Driving home from work on Friday, I passed a woman kneeling at the end of a driveway in front of a boulder. She caressed the boulder like one sees people caressing a gravestone of someone they dearly loved. While normally the odd scene would be noted and forgotten, it has stayed with me and the reason is the little thought at the back of my mind. Is this a scene of the past playing out or something really seen? The way the odd scene was perceived is all down to a recent reading of Ghosts of the North Carolina Shores. Continue reading

 

Paper Cuts by Dave Turner

Genre: fantasy, humor

Dave Marwood, Death’s assistant (yes, THAT Death, though he rather likes to be called Steve) for four months and if nothing else, he’s discovered how hard ectoplasm is to get out of clothing. What’s up with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Could there be stranger things in the world that Dave has yet to see in his role as Death’s office help? Continue reading

 

The Monitor by Cathy Vasas-Brown

Genre: psychological thriller, suspense

Lt. Carolyn Latham investigates the suicide of four teens that came from varied parts of the country to Cypress Village, Oregon in order to die together. Following their trail, Carolyn discovers a world she’d never imagined. An organized support group for those waiting to “take the bus” orchestrated by a mysterious Monitor. When a Japanese teen that has withdrawn from the world and is living with his uncle in the United States disappears, Carolyn knows that she doesn’t have much time to save this teenager’s life. Continue reading

 

Blackjack by Andrew Vachss

Genre: paranormal, thriller, suspense

Something is killing people who poach (whether animals or humans) and has been for years. A task force sets out to find this unknown force and hires Cross, a mercenary who is a bit of an urban legend onto himself, and his crew to find the mystery unknown. Can Cross succeed where others have failed? On the surface he seems the best guy for the job but this killer appears to be not of this world. Continue reading

 

The Drive by Wife by Mike Wells

Genre: thriller, suspense

Allen and Cynthia Hunt were growing distant when Allan started having doubts about his wife’s fidelity. He follows her one night in order to confirm his suspicions and is there in time to save her from a potential rape. In the melee he accidentally kills Cynthia’s attacker. Thinking that he got away with murder, they go back to their now increasingly troubled marriage until one day the brother of Cynthia’s attacker shows up knowing what they’ve done as though he was there. What will Cynthia and Allen do when he reveals that he will keep his silence in exchange for a Drive-by Wife? Continue reading

 

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