My problem when I get out of a reading slump? I just want to keep reading and I start putting off reviewing! Here are some of the highlights from the past few weeks…
What I’ve Been Reading
Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy — 5 out of 5 stars
Two shocking crimes rock a small North Carolina community and bring to light some of the town’s darkest secrets. David Joy’s storytelling skills are on point in his latest novel, exploring the topic of racism and its generational impacts. At times brutal, other times heartbreaking. I honestly couldn’t put this book down, and I am still haunted by it. Highly recommend.
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper — 4.5/5 out of 5 stars
“The girl didn’t say a thing. She had a teddy bear in her arms and murder in her eyes.” If this doesn’t make you the least bit curious about Harper’s 2017 debut novel, then move on to my next review. 😀 This is noir fiction at its finest (and that’s saying a lot coming from me since I hold David Joy and SA Cosby as the kings of modern rural noir fiction). None of the characters are truly good, only different levels of bad. I knew not to get too invested in the main characters since it was a given that somebody would wind up dying, but I still found myself totally wrapped up in these broken souls. Highly recommend.
The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe — 3.5/4 out of 5 stars
This is a story told through the eyes of young Francie as he navigates through life while descending into madness. Let me tell you, this was one total mindfuck of a story. It took me some time to get used to Francie’s inner voice/narration, but once I did, I kind of wished I hadn’t. I found it a bit slow-going but eventually worth it. If you like stories told by very unreliable characters, you might want to check this one out.
Novellas, Short Stories, and Anthologies
The Bedmakers by Chad Lutzke and John Boden — 4 out of 5 stars
Lutzke and Boden team up again to write another novella that combines human relationships with crime drama. Set in 1979, two homeless war veterans stumble onto a crime scene, and later discover some dark secrets in the small town they’ve adopted as their new home. These authors are great at creating sympathetic characters, and once again I felt my heart aching for one in particular.
Garden of Fiends — 3.5/4 out of 5 stars
Addiction is it’s own horror. This is the second in a series of anthologies that focuses on addictions, whether they be drugs, alcohol…. or something more sinister. Eight disturbing tales from some of the heavy hitters in horror writing today. I thought this was a good mix of subject matter, and of course, as with any collection, I found some stories more to my liking than others.
Orphans of Bliss — 3.5/4 out of 5 stars
One of my February TBR selections, and the final (?) anthology in the Tales of Addiction Horror series. I found this assortment of stories to be very polarizing for me, where I either really liked the story or thought it was just meh. Fortunately, there were far more good, and even the ones that weren’t my favorites were solid tales. If you want to see what addiction horror is all about, you can’t go wrong with any of the titles in this series (Lullabies for Suffering and Garden of Fiends being the other titles).
Stay safe, and Happy Reading!
