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Review: They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe

Cemetery Dance OnlineAugust 3, 2022July 31, 2022ReviewsHaley Newlin, Katrina Monroe, Reviews, They Drown Our DaughtersLeave a comment

They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe
Poisoned Pen Press (July 2022)
384 pages; $15.29 paperback; $6.49 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

In a perfect world, mothers are kind, gentle beings who protect their children at all costs. The catch, however, is that a mother must be selfless and nurturing in every role — an inevitability doomed expectation.

In Katrina Monroe’s They Drown Our Daughters, the prologue in the 1800s sets the stage for a mother’s fierce fortitude in the wake of familial turmoil. But, things turn for the worse, and an unexpected, somewhat accidental tragedy unleashes the curse that haunts five generations of women. Continue Reading

Review: Endymion or The State of Entropy: A Lyrical Drama by Kurt R. Ward

Cemetery Dance OnlineAugust 1, 2022July 31, 2022ReviewsEndymion, Joshua Gage, Kurt Ward, ReviewsLeave a comment

Endymion or The State of Entropy: A Lyrical Drama by Kurt R. Ward
Self-Published (July 2022)
88 pages; $21.99 hardcover
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Kurt R. Ward has privately published numerous poems as well as a recording of his jazz compositions for solo piano. His newest collection of poetry is Endymion or The State of Entropy: A Lyrical Drama.Continue Reading

Review: Below by Laurel Hightower

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 28, 2022July 27, 2022ReviewsAnton Cancre, Below, Laurel Hightower, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Below Below by Laurel Hightower
Ghoulish Books (March 2022)
115 pages; $12.95 Paperback; $4.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I dug the hell out of Laurel Hightower’s previous book, Crossroads. It had that heart I am always looking for, a fair amount of “messeded up,” and an attitude that took zero percent of my guff. So, of course, when I found out that she had a new one coming out, and that it involved Mothman, I was down as a clown in D-town.Continue Reading

Review: Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 27, 2022July 25, 2022ReviewsBlake Crouch, Dave Simms, Reviews, UpgradeLeave a comment

cover of Upgrade Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Ballantine Books (July 2022)
352 pages; $19.20 hardcover; $14.99 e- book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Evolution can be a fascinating topic for thrillers, science fiction, and horror. One thing is clear: it almost never ends well. Just ask Dr. Moreau.

However, the evolution of Blake Crouch has been a pleasure to watch and the only danger to society is keeping readers up past their bedtimes.

From the weird brilliance of the Wayward Pines trilogy to the beautiful horror of Dark Matter, Crouch has carved out his own path in strange, dark thrillers.Continue Reading

Review: The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 20, 2022July 9, 2022ReviewsHaley Newlin, Reviews, Riley Sager, The House Across the LakeLeave a comment

cover of The House Across the Lake The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
Dutton Books (June 2022)
386 pages; $17.47 hardcover; $24.95 paperback; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Drowning.

Murder.

Poison.

If it weren’t for all the wicked haunted house scenes and terrifying entities in Home Before Dark, I’d say Riley Sager’s latest release, The House Across The Lake, is my new favorite of his. Continue Reading

Review: Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 18, 2022July 4, 2022Reviews, The Comic VaultAlys Arden, Columns, Jacquelin de Leon, Reviews, The Comic Vault, Zatana: The Jewel of GravesendLeave a comment

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cover of Zatana Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon
DC Comics (July 26, 2022)
208 pages; $16.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea-leaf readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans French Quarter. She cut her teeth on the streets of New York and has worked all around the world since. The Casquette Girls, her debut novel, garnered over one million reads online before it was acquired by Skyscape.

Jacquelin de Leon is an illustrator and comics artist currently located in San Jose, California. She graduated with a BFA in illustration and entertainment design from Laguna College of Art and Design. Since graduating in 2015 she has become an illustration brand, self-publishing multiple books and working full-time to produce for her online shop and her YouTube channel. When not working on major projects, her favorite subjects are vivid and magical mermaids, sultry witches, and tattooed punk girls with colored hair. Their most recent graphic novel is Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend.Continue Reading

Review: Recursion’s End by Emma Groom

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 15, 2022July 4, 2022Reviews, The Comic VaultEmma Groom, Joshua Gage, Recursion's End, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Recursion’s End by Emma Groom
U-26 Comics (July 2022)
189 pages; $15.00 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

By day, Emma Groom is an undergrad biologist. She’s an entrepreneur specializing in aquaponics and exotic plants/animals with prior work experience in prairie restoration. By night, however, Groom is a comic book artist, and her newest graphic novel is the epic Recursion’s End. Continue Reading

Review: The I-5 Killer by Ann Rule

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 13, 2022July 4, 2022ReviewsAnn Rule, Haley Newlin, Reviews, The I-5 Killer, True CrimeLeave a comment

The I-5 Killer by Ann Rule
Berkley Books (January 2022)
295 pages; paperback $10.99; e-book $8.99;
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

He had it all: eye-catching good looks, an impressive educational transcript, and a reputation as a star athlete. But, like most criminals, that wasn’t enough for NFL draftee Randall (Randy) Woodfield, aka “The I-5 Killer.”

On a spring night in Portland, Oregon, Woodfield stalked the dark streets, hungry for an unsuspecting woman. Woodfield could already visualize her shock. He even thought that the woman might be honored by his attack because of his athletic build and strong jawline — what he knew to be “handsome features.”

He grabbed the woman and held a knife to her throat. Woodfield felt her pulse beneath the blade. His body surged with what was, to him, the pleasure of all pleasures, a helpless woman in his grasp. Continue Reading

Review: Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 11, 2022July 11, 2022ReviewsBlackwater, Columns, Jeannette Arroyo, Joshua Gage, Ren Graham, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham
Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks (July 19, 2022)
304 pages; $24.99 hardcover; $17.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Jeannette Arroyo was born and raised in New Mexico but recently relocated to the rainier Seattle area. She has done freelance in animation and children’s book illustrations. A huge fan of the horror genre, Jeannette likes to mix in some lighthearted spooky elements in her work.

Ren Graham is a fiction writer and illustrator currently residing in the rainy Pacific Northwest. They have B.A. in Art History and a graduate studies certificate in Science Illustration, so biology, world mythology, and natural elements tend to influence and reappear in their work. Ren is interested in spooky stories, chilly hikes in the woods, and the ways in which art and science intersect. Co-created, Blackwater is their debut graphic novel. It’s a fabulous horror story geared towards a teen audience.Continue Reading

Review: Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 7, 2022July 6, 2022ReviewsBlack Mouth, Blu Gilliand, Reviews, Ronald Malfi, Titan BooksLeave a comment

cover of Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi
Titan Books (July 19, 2022)
448 pages; $15.99 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

When an evil once thought vanquished rears its ugly head again, a group of childhood friends reunite to confront it, hoping to put an end to it — and to some raging personal demons of their own — once and for all.

That’s the premise of Ronald Malfi’s new novel Black Mouth, and if you think it sounds familiar, you’re right. Serious Stephen King vibes permeate this book, from the obvious parallels to IT to the overtones of “The Man in the Black Suit” that color the Magician character. However, while Malfi is treading familiar ground here, he’s carving his own path, and it’s a journey well worth taking with him.Continue Reading

Review: And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 5, 2022July 4, 2022ReviewsAnd Then I Woke Up, Janelle Janson, Malcolm Devlin, Reviews, TorLeave a comment

And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin

Tordotcom (April 2022)

176 pages; paperback $13.99; e-book $3.99
Reviewed by Janelle Janson

At first glance, you see the flamingo pink and mauve-ish cover. It’s quite pretty with its edgy white font and really catches your attention. Then you look a little closer and see a dark figure in shades of black and grey, in a cloud of gloomy brush strokes, sitting on a chair with a knife at his feet. This figure is difficult to make out, but what you do see is frightening. Of course, being the twisted person that I am, I think it’s just as pretty as the pink. Tordotcom always manages to publish the best novellas with the most striking covers, and as per usual, And Then I Woke Up written by Malcolm Devlin, is outstanding on both fronts.

Continue Reading

Review: Black Mass Rising by Theo Prasidis and Jodie Muir

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 30, 2022June 26, 2022Reviews, The Comic VaultBlack Mass Rising, Jodie Muir, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comic Vault, Theo PrasidisLeave a comment

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cover of Black Mass Rising Black Mass Rising by Theo Prasidis and Jodie Muir
TKO Studios (May 2022)
170 pages; $19.99 paperback; $7.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Theo Prasidis is the author of The Doomster’s Monolithic Pocket Alphabet (Image Comics), Black Mass Rising (TKO Studios), and Swamp Dogs: House of Crows (Black Caravan). A fantasy devotee and cult media specialist by degree, he’s a zealous propagator of the magical and the mystical, the nostalgic and the psychedelic, the pulp and the weird. He lives a rather undramatic life in his hometown Drama, Greece, with his wife and two sons, heirs to a kingdom of horror books, heavy metal vinyl, and more band t-shirts than any sane person should ever be allowed to own. Jodie Muir is a freelance illustrator, based in the UK. Having previously worked in comics (Marvel, TKO) and concepting, she is currently an illustrator on Magic: The Gathering. Their newest book is Black Mass Rising, a sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Continue Reading

Review: Garden of Earthly Bodies by Sally Oliver

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 29, 2022June 26, 2022ReviewsGarden of Earthly Bodies, Haley Newlin, Reviews, Sally OliverLeave a comment

Garden of Earthly Bodies by Sally Oliver
Harry N. Abrams (June 2022)
320 pages; $26.00 hardcover; $9.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Sally Oliver’s Garden of Earthly Bodies is a visceral vortex of blood and trauma.

In a uniquely elegant literary style, Oliver’s novel follows Marianne, whose life has become tense and overgrown with the weeds of trauma and enmeshment. Marianne’s younger sister, Marie, falls deathly ill and experiences heavy mood dips, frequent exhaustion, and severe depression — the three settling in as her reformed default personality. Continue Reading

Review: Jacked: A Crime Anthology edited by Vern Smith

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 28, 2022June 26, 2022ReviewsBlu Gilliand, crime, Jacked, Reviews, Run Amok, Vern SmithLeave a comment

cover of Jacked Jacked: A Crime Anthology edited by Vern Smith
Run Amok Books (July 1, 2022)
242 pages; $18.99 paperback
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Jacked: A Crime Anthology features stories that cover a wide swath of the crime genre, giving readers the chance to indulge in their favorites while also discovering some new approaches to classic crime tropes.Continue Reading

Review: Blood on the Tracks Volumes 1-4 by Shuzo Oshimi

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 22, 2022June 20, 2022Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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cover of Blood on the Tracks volume 1 Blood on the Tracks Volumes 1-4 by Shuzo Oshimi
Vertical Comics (2020)
$12.95 paperback
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

The covers of Blood on the Tracks show a loving mother and son. They don’t look like horror covers. But Blood on the Tracks is a truly amazing psychological horror manga series that simmers and unsettles.

The main character Seiichi is 13-years-old, and he wakes from a nightmare about finding a dead cat that he had been going up to pet, thinking it was alive. When he tells his mother about it, she explains that this was actually a very early memory of his. It’s not clear what happened to the cat, but it sets the stage for things to at first look sweet and cuddly, and then when you come up close, you discover something horrible.Continue Reading

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