Jessica HamiltonRezensionen

First, we meet Jonathan, a photographer, a widower, and a father to Joanne, who I found to be one of the creepiest children I have ever encountered in a story. Jonathan himself is no stranger to creepiness either. He is obsessed with a harpist...Sara. He describes her as being beautiful, but she has a profound power over Jonathan who desperately wants to photograph her. I don't trust him very much and really think that he's a pig....and that's doing all pigs a disservice and for that I apologize. The story is somewhat slow, but with a great deal of anticipation and eerie scenes. To add to the eeriness, we find that Joanne has an imaginary friend, whom we will soon learn is not so imaginary or so alive. Joanne constantly makes statements saying that she hopes that she has another birthday and wondering if her father will miss her when she dies. The "beautiful" Sara is also creepy and has an over abundant obsession with blood. Jonathan makes jokes to her about vampires, but by now we readers know that it's not, nor is it going to be a joke soon. Sara finally lets Jonathan into her bedroom, and let's just say their first sexual encounter is...."different"..."odd"..."abnormal"... Sorry, there really isn't a better way of putting it. That scene is not going to be forgotten anytime soon. It's a lot like the sex scene in Katherine Dunn’s [Geek Love] that makes references a squashed cockroach. Think of the steamiest romance you have ever read, the creepiest ghost or haunted house story, combine them with an M. Night Shyamalan movie and you pretty much have [Childgrave]. I don't understand the why or the how, but this whole thing...just worked.

Hannah and Scarlett are life-long best friends. They meet Thomas in college and Scarlett invents The Daring Game. They keep track of their dares and sadly, there are some bad consequences of the game. Now, years later, Hannah is married to Evan with 2 daughters. Scarlett is in Australia, and Hannah tracks her on social media. Thomas re-enters Hannah's life, but Scarlett attempts to warn her from him. The Daring Game begins again. Will the results be as disastrous this time around?
This is a tale of jealousy, deceit, revenge, and secrets. At times chilling, be careful of dares and your past!

Hannah and Scarlet were BFFs for years and didn’t make room with other friends, until everything changed in college after meeting Thomas. To make college more interesting they began playing a daring game, with each dare growing increasingly and there relationship evolving more into a triad situation.

Everything was great, until one dare went too far and Thomas wasn’t heard from again. That is until married Hannah finds a Do You Dare in her mailbox, years later from Thomas. However, Thomas might not be the only person who is in on their daring game this time.

A thrilling read with intriguing character dynamics. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fast-paced stories with unexpected twists and turns.

Thank you thrillerbooklovers for my gifted copy.

An incredible debut, this book is a superb piece of nostalgia that transported me to my own childhood summer. Unfortunately, that was where most of the similarities ended because I would love to have my own family mystery to unravel. The back and forth between the two sisters’ point-of-view, in addition to the paranormal aspect, gave this book a fun twist that I hadn’t expected nor seen since reading The Lovely Bones.

With innumerable moments of nail-biting suspense, it was difficult to put this book down. Characters and their dialogue are so expertly crafted, you come to love or hate them with an abrupt intensity.

The best part of this book was that you never knew what was going to happen, despite your best theories, and it was refreshingly unconventional in its conclusion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy. The opinions are my own.

Parts of this book I enjoyed due to the twists and turns and parts I did not since those were rather juvenile and predictable. It was difficult for me to rate due to that duality. I’ll settle at four stars because of the creativity and inventiveness of the game.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Elizabeth is not your average 14 year old, and although she is descended from witches I'm not convinced that alone is at the heart of her actions. Elizabeth seems to have no real feelings or emotions. She is quite cold and detached from everyone, other than an apparition that observes her from the mirror.

Does Elizabeth have actual powers or is she just deluded? Does she suffer some sort of mental illness? She definitely feels no empathy but has taught herself to imitate it, much like someone with borderline personality disorder. Nothing seems to phase her, be it murder or sex acts, as she narrates the story on a very even keel whether she is telling you about a recent death or what interrupted her plans for an evening of incest.

I think Elizabeth could best be described as a cross between Carrie and Lolita, and I am at a loss of how I feel about it.

The perfect "ghost" story. As I read, I was watching the motion picture in my mind... and I may just have a few nightmares. Don't read this one right before you go to sleep if you're not a fan of scary books.

Sometimes, it's the smallest things that change or happen, or that our mind tells us has happened. And the way we realize how different things really were once we are grown. I feel like this summarizes June's experiences with Avril Island. What she pictures and a great childhood experience, save for the summer her father took off, doesn't seem so beautiful now that she's an adult and owns the island.

However, we all know that the bumps in the night almost always have explanations and these explanations will leave your jaw on the floor. At least, for this thriller addict, I didn't see that ending coming - which is my favorite type of book!

I can't wait to read more from Jessica Hamilton and until April 13th when the rest of the world can read this one!

“To what lengths would you go to protect your family, and what can you do if you’re no longer around?” Good book...and good question for the “ghost story junkie”. A story of love...loss... deep dark secrets...and whether it’s possible to ever truly escape your past; or who you are. It’s atmospheric...intriguing... and downright creepy at times. I was never sure May was actually in the house or if she was only real to June. In several chapters she was very present...others as only a constant memory. I learned this was a debut novel for Jessica Hamilton and I would have to say she has a winner. I’ll be looking for more by this author.½

The story of the depraved, wealthy family of Cuttners, as told by their most twisted member, fourteen year-old Elizabeth, who instigates most of the craziness. In the first chapter she tells the reader that she's living at her grandmother's because she's killed her parents. In the second chapter she tells the reader that her uncle is her lover. There's a long list of personality disorders with Elizabeth and Uncle James, but it's impossible to guess what's going to happen next as Elizabeth is getting instructions from Frances, the 400 year old witch in the mirror.
Take The Bad Seed and mix it with Lolita, then add in the urban legend of Bloody Mary. This book is called a "forgotten classic". It should be as well-known as The Bad Seed as the writing is just as good and the story as scary. The bizarre atmosphere the Cuttners live in shadows everything they do.

Published: April 13, 2021
Crooked Lane Books
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica Hamilton was born in Australia but grew up in Ontario, Canada. She has lived and worked in the Czech Republic, Taiwan, India and Japan. She studied writing at the Humber School for Writers as well as George Brown College. She lives in Orillia, Ontario with her husband, son and daughter

“My only thought—June’s going to be so mad at me.”

June returns to the island her family owns after losing her sister suddenly and tragically. June returns to the island that she thought her mother had sold years before. June returns to the island that holds more than secrets and more answers than she is prepared for. Upon her return, June is faced with many instances of the past. Small town gossip, and her first crush- Ezra. As she gets closer to the truth, the real question becomes will June survive Avril Island?

This was a different kind of thriller, but I’m not mad about it. I enjoyed how this story unfolded, and the way the truth gets revealed was clever. The way the characters were used within this book was brilliant.

The characters in this story were all fascinating in their own right. I enjoyed how the island took on a life force and that memories were also strongly represented.

There is so much to unpack in this book. The plot is really well written, the story is clearly defined, and the characters add so much to the mystery and the madness.

I enjoyed the themes throughout this book. Relationships, familial and romantic, bonds, trust, secrets, truth, and the past, are all heavily represented. But there is also a heavy focus on grief, loss, acceptance, and forgiveness.

This was a brilliant book. I did not see the twists coming, and the way they get revealed to the reader is so clever and original. There is a lot to like about this novel. There is also a lot of heavy, dark reality to be wary of.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Jessica Hamilton, and I am impressed. She is a gifted storyteller, and she paints a brilliant scene. If you are looking for a book that will make you think, make you feel, and most importantly- make you remember, this is the novel for you.

What You Never Knew by Jessica Hamilton is a recommended atmospheric mystery.

June Bennet's mother passed away, followed tragically by her older sister, May. Settling May's will, June now learns, at age forty, that she owns Avril island. She had been told the island with her family's hundred-year-old cottage on it was sold years ago, after the summer she was twelve and her father disappeared. June travels to the island in search of answers. She had spent her summers on the island with her beautiful and mercurial mother and beloved, protective older sister May. Now she is alone to face what happened in the island and look for answers. Soon it becomes clear that what June was told was not the truth about what happened years ago and that her family, i.e. her mother, had rumors swirling around her during that time.

As June grieves for May, May is there, haunting her in a sense, as a ghost. June is discovering the mystery behind her family's time on the island while spectral May is present in alternate short chapters, trying to help/contact June. It is an interesting idea but doesn't quite work well here. June's actual discovery of the secrets behind her family's departure from the island and her mother's duplicitous behavior are much more compelling. Hamilton provides plenty of mysterious happenings that can't be explained and clues that someone may be more than just curious about a Bennet's return to the island.

As the plot unfolds and June uncovers more information, we also learn more about June, which makes her a realistic character, but not entirely a sympathetic character. She has several flaws. The immediate attraction and connection to her childhood friend, Ezra, seemed a bit off and unrealistic to me. Certainly, most adults would take things more cautiously. I'll admit that I felt no connection for either May or June.

All in all this is a decent debut novel and I stayed with What You Never Knew for the mystery. Alas, while it was a satisfying ending, I saw it coming early on. This is a quick read; you can fly through the pages and reach the denouement swiftly. (A little note about an error: There was a description that said June put sweet-n-low in her coffee for the sugar rush, which had me laugh aloud. Certainly it will be corrected to a caffeine rush in the final edition, but this was indicative of some of the errors in the writing of the ARC.)
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/03/what-you-never-knew.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3907107623

A clever puppy
plotting, learning from mistakes
would pet, cautiously.
or
A cunning stripling
intriguing, not loveable
he looks like he'd bite.

The creepy part of this book is the voice in the dog’s head. It’s a quiet book that gives you chills to the very end.

In the late 70's, I started reading horror in earnest, and I honestly thought I was familiar with most horror writers of the time. I was wrong. I'd never heard of Ken Greenhall until Valancourt Books brought him to my attention. Now, I want to get my hands on everything he's written.

Baxter, the bull terrier, is a sociopath. But he's just a dog, you might say! It's true, but he's observant, willful and extremely dangerous. With some portions of this book being from his point of view, the reader gets a clear look into what's going on in that doggie head of his.



I know this book sounds cheesy, and perhaps like a rip-off of Cujo, but the facts are that it's not cheesy at all, and it was written before Cujo. Featuring keen insights into human behavior, precise but spare prose, and bringing to the reader a growing sense of dread and horror, I'm pretty sure this will be among the best books I will read this year.

My highest recommendation!

You can get your copy here: Hell Hound

*Thanks to Valancourt Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

CHILDGRAVE is a beautifully written quiet horror story, with a sketchy small town lurking in the background. By the time the secrets of the town are revealed, it's too late for the reader to turn back.

As I get older, I find myself more and more drawn to quiet horror. I can do without gore and torture and all that if I have a tale that's well written and atmospheric. I also need compelling characters and CHILDGRAVE has that in spades. The main character, Jonathan, is a widowed photographer. He, his daughter Joanne, and his housekeeper Nanny Joy, are so well drawn I feel as if I know them personally.

When Jonathan's photos of his daughter seem to show specters in the background, while at the same time Joanne seems to have developed some new invisible friends, Jonathan is intrigued. Are the two events connected? Who is Conlee, the name of Joanne's new invisible friend? Lastly, what is Chilegray and how is connected to Conlee? You'll have to read this to find out!

I'll get it out of the way now-this is a slow moving story. What kept me interested was the quality of the writing and the characters. Jonathan is a quirky man. He has few friends and little interest in fashion or modern day trends. His housekeeper Nanny Joy loves jazz and Jonathan's daughter, but is concerned about the appearance of Conlee and the specters in the photographs. Jonathan's agent Harry is hilarious and his girlfriend, Lee, is interesting as well. NYC of the 70's is the main setting, and it was fascinating to read about the city during that time of social upheaval and change.

I was inexorably drawn to the conclusion which leads the reader to a small town hidden in a valley. "Evil in a small town" is one of my favorite tropes and Greenhall knew how to deliver it in a chilling and shocking- yet believable way. You find yourself wondering what you would do in such a situation and I continued to think about it all night long...hours after finishing the book. I can't say that I blame Jonathan for the choices that he made.

While CHILDGRAVE isn't the psychological, fast moving story that both ELIZABETH or HELL HOUND were, it was excellent in its own quiet and compelling way. Slowly drawing the reader down into the valley where secrets are kept for generation after generation, Greenhall deftly brings things to a head and left this reader wishing for more.

Highly recommended!

You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Childgrave-Ken-Greenhall-ebook/dp/B076CFBS61/chashorcor-2...

*Thanks to Valancourt Books for providing this e-book free, in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*

NEVER have I been so unsettled reading a book narrated by a 14 year old girl. But perhaps that is because Elizabeth is not your ordinary teenager. She's descended from a long line of witches and is now discovering the power within her. Or is she? You'll have to read this to find out!

The prose in this book is simply outstanding. It's chilling at times because the narrator seems to have no feelings whatsoever. She talks about sex, acts of violence, and eating breakfast all in the same tone. Sometimes I would need to read a sentence or paragraph over again to be sure that I read it correctly.

Then, there's the sex. It's not graphic at all, there are no mentions of sex organs or the mechanics of the act itself...it's just there. Perhaps that is why it never bothered me, as sex between a 14 year old girl and adults should. Then again, perhaps it is because Elizabeth herself never expresses any feeling about it, she only mentions it as a...tool, (please forgive the half-hearted pun), to get what she wants.

The entire time I was reading, I was wondering if Elizabeth, indeed, possessed supernatural powers. Was everything going on simply a matter of coincidence and her overactive imagination? Or were these things actually happening because of her actions? (In this regard, Elizabeth reminds me of one of my favorite books, THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR by Anne Rivers Siddons.) It was the masterful writing of Mr. Greenhall that had me turning this fact over and over again in my mind. I know what conclusion I came to, I'm interested in yours!

This novel reminds me of why I became a horror fan in the first place, it wasn't the gore or the blood, (though those DO have their place and I love them too), it's human nature and what people can be capable of, underneath their ordinary facades. These days we have tons of books and TV shows about sociopaths/psychopaths/personality disorders-all of which are trying to explain things to us. Mr. Greenhall wrote this back in the day,(the 1970's), before FBI profiling and Criminal Minds. Even without all of those studies and the psychiatric manuals, he had this criminal profile down PAT.

Is Elizabeth continuing on her family's tradition of witchcraft, or is she another type of animal altogether? I HIGHLY recommend you read this book, and then come talk to me. We'll discuss it together!

*Thank you to the most awesome Valancourt Books for the free review copy in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*
**Further thanks to Valancourt for bringing back these horror gems that may otherwise have been entirely forgotten. Bravo, guys! Bravo!**

Jonathan Brewster , a photographer, lives with his 4 year old daughter Joanne in New York. At a musical event in the city he meets and becomes besotted with Sara Coleridge, a harpist. Ghostly spectral images begin to appear in a number of his photographs and added to this Joanne's new invisible friends and her obsession with a place called childgray. When Jonathan researches the word childgray he realizes what is daughter was meaning to say was Childgrave which reveals itself as a small community/village north of New York. He becomes convinced that he must visit Childgrave especially when he is informed that Sara Coleridge also resides there. An invitation is sent from the good citizens and Jonathan heads north for a new life..

This is a good old fashioned horror story that culminates in the unveiling of a community that time has forgotten. A community with its own laws and rituals, a community that an outsider should fear. But Jonathan is a man deeply in love unaware of the dangers that he and his precious daughter will soon be subjected to. A beautiful story bristling with the supernatural containing some very intriguing characters none more memorable than Delbert Rudd Childgraves chief of police. Many thanks to the good people of Valancourt books( an independent small press specializing in the rediscovery of rare and out of print books including horror and gothic fiction), for sending me a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written. Highly recommended.

About two years ago, I discovered Valancourt Books, which reissues out-of-print horror, generally from the 1970s and early 1980s, in really attractive slim trade paperbacks. My latest read from them was Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall (originally published under the pseudonym Jessica Hamilton). What a disturbing little book about a 14-year-girl who seems to be a complete sociopath and also thinks she's a witch.½

Hell Hound by Ken Greenhall is partially narrated by Baxter, an English bull terrier. Baxter is not a very good dog. Actually, he struggles to understand those alien human beings on whom he depends and wants to improve his living situation, but the actions he takes are not very good. Eventually, he winds up with Carl, who is not a very good boy. Actually, Carl is a sociopath. The two at first seem to have an affinity for each other and a mutual understanding, but that can't last. I thought this was an interesting and different example of horror that is not gruesome but rather unsettling. Originally published in the 1970s, this book has long been out of print but was recently reissued by Valancourt Books, which I have found to be a very interesting publisher of forgotten books.½

A take-off of "Strangers on a Train". Like many small towns, the residents of Dale Falls have those among them that they like and those that they'd rather not have much to do with. When someone named the Chainmaster suddenly starts a chain letter asking a resident to permanently take care of someone else's problem. These residents start a murder spree affecting one resident at a time. Sort of "I promise to take care of your enemy, if you take care of mine".

As the body count starts to mount up, artist-turned amateur detective, Paul Marnay, starts to look into these mysterious deaths on his own. As he starts to turn up the heat on the Chainmaster, he suddenly finds himself a target.

Author Greenhall does a decent job moving the plot along as he introduces a lot of different characters. There's probably enough to keep most readers plodding along, but don't expect too much in the way of plot twists or surprise endings.½

Elizabeth Cuttner is the narrator in this somewhat disturbing and twisted tale of a 14 year old who has a story to tell. Through a mirror in her room she is influenced by Frances a long dead relative and participant in the medieval practice of witchcraft. This unhealthy partnership unveils a side of Elizabeth that is totally at odds with the quietly spoken and articulate young lady presented to the reader. As the novel unfolds we learn of the tragic death of her parents, the disappearance of her grandmother, and the somewhat unhealthy relationship she enjoys with her uncle James. What is so striking about the author's narrative is the way he is able to capture and portray Elizabeth who although appears innocent is often controlling and manipulative in a very precise and distasteful way.

The writing of Ken Greenhall is sublime; this is horror that is quietly spoken leaving acts of unpleasantness to the creative mind of the reader...."We pretended that our appetites could be satisfied with toast and cereal."......"He was the only person I knew who didn't bathe very often. I admired him."....."Her hands glittered with oil, and she was carefully lining up the little headless bodies on dark bread. She raised a finger to her mouth and slowly licked it."...."I think it was his discomfort with me that first made me aware of the power that comes with womanhood."...."what did he think when I walked at this side and took his arm so that I could brush it against my breast.".....

The works of Ken Greenhall have been brought alive once again under the guidance of the wonderful Valancourt books who are helping us rediscover rare, neglected and out of print fiction. Many thanks to them for sending me this gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written. At times both shocking and eloquent Elizabeth is a wonderful and entertaining novel.

Ken? Ken who? I thought, as I observed and read about this "brought back to print" horror edition from the amazingly brilliant Valancourt books. Reading the preamble to Hell Hound (rather alarmingly a google search states that Ken Greenhall was born in Detroit in 1928 and is now aged 89. This is inaccurate as he died in 2014 or perhaps this being a horror publication there is a hidden message here.......) Hell Hound was published in 1977 and formed a very limited output by the said author over the next 11 years. At a time when horror paperbacks where beginning to assert and influence an ever increasing reader base Greenhall could find no publisher willing to support him in his venture until a long forgotten Zebra Books produced a limited run with a cheap and nasty front cover (when horror books were often judged by their outlandish, intricate and colourful covers)

HH is a neat, short, original story of a small community seen through the eyes of a number of residents in particular "Baxter" a bull terrier.." a head like a hatchet. Malevolent blue eyes, too small and misplaced."... with some rather worrying antisocial behaviours. When we first encounter him he is the much loved pet of the unassuming Mrs Eileen Prescott. Baxter soon becomes tired of this relationship as "there is never laughter in this house, only the dull sounds of age and weakness."....The sweet little old lady meets an untimely death following a close encounter with a staircase and the friendly pressure of a loving bull terrier.... Nancy and John a young modern couple are "gifted" Baxter whose demeanour and character changes when it is announced that Nancy is pregnant. Naturally Baxter is worried that the relationship with his new owner will be dramatically altered when a child is born and endeavours to recapture their affections by what he sees as a little act of kindness!.....Jason and Sara Fine are worried about their son Carl, his unpredictable sometimes withdrawn nature, and his obsession with Nazi Germany. Would the companionship of a dog help Carl feel more comfortable and accepting of his adolescence?

This is a highly original and understated publication that really should have been showcased many many years ago. It is criminal to think that such a neatly observed, satirical work of outstanding quality lay silent before this new edition was finally announced. Grady Hendrix, in his introduction, pays a fitting tribute to the author Ken Greenhall..."He didn't aim to terrify, he wanted to undermine your sense of comfort. It's a harder trick , but it last longer.".... So here in the in writing of a newly rediscovered, and hopefully not to be forgotten author are some delightful observations..."And never let a dog lick you. A dog uses its tongue as toilet paper."......"Then I lie on the sofa and think of the couple. I wait to hear the faint, peculiar sounds they make in the darkness."....."he deposited on the intricately patterned old rug a small rivulet of urine."......"They're like snails, he thought. They need the shells of their houses and automobiles. Not so much for shelter as for reassurance."....."Most humans have few virtues. But, of course, they have many disadvantages to overcome. Their peculiar bodies, for example. Tall creatures that walk on two legs must be in a constant state of anxiety."...

This exceptional piece of gentle, unassuming horror has only been made possible due to the great work of Valancourt Books, whose mission is quite simply to discover and publish rare neglected and out of print fiction. Many thanks to them for sending me a copy of Hell Hound in exchange for an honest review, and that is what I have written. Highly Recommended.