The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

Part of my childhood was where the Blair Witch Project was filmed, so when I saw this book was advertised to dabble in it’s features, I was intrigued!

Thank you Minotaur Books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened. But there will be no turning back. Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice: They are not alone. They’re looking for the truth…But what if it finds them first? 

I absolutely loved the creepy, eerie tones throughout this story. The author did an excellent job at keeping the atmosphere to match exactly what I predicted this story to read like. If you don’t like a horror suspense story, this may not be for you. On the other hand, the ending was not believable. It seemed way out of left field and lead to some disappointment. It’s imaginative, but I wanted something more, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. In all, I’m still super drawn the the documentary setting trying to solve a mystery. You don’t see that often!

3.5/5 Stars

The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor

I have yet to read Tudor’s first book “The Chalk Man”, but heard great things about his writing and just had to get my hands on his newest book, “The Hiding Place”.

Thank you Crown Publishing for sending me my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Joe is a teacher returning to his hometown and the school he went to as a child. He never intended to come back to town, but he’s got some scores to settle. Something happened to Joe’s little sister and he’s determined to get revenge. What exactly did happen to her?

WOW! Talk about a powerful prologue! I had to take a deep breath after reading that one. This book had a little more horror than I had anticipated, but it still held my attention the entire time. This is an intense suspnseful story that you may only want to read in the daytime. I will make a note here: I have not read similar books such as Pet Semetary by Stephen King. A lot of people have compared this book to it, which I wouldn’t know much about. That being said, The Hiding Place is a first of it’s kind for me. The storyline is written like a typical suspense/horror story – nothing too unique. Again, more on the horror side than I wanted. For that, I don’t see myself reading it again.

3.5/5 Stars

The Immortal Gene by Jonas Saul

I am happy to participate as a TLC Book Tour host today for The Immortal Gene by Jonas Saul.

This story takes off describing a dark family mass murder from a serial killer who keeps getting away with it. We quickly learn about Jake Wood, who is a cop in the same town as these murders. He hears about the latest family and wants in on the case. Instead, his best friend contacts him and begs him to travel to Brazil to help save his life. He’s about to get married and wants a break on the case, but he has to go save his friend. While he travels, he gets caught up in his best friend’s science experiment. As he’s reading about their studies, he gets bit by a snake and almost dies. Months later, he wakes up in a hospital a different person. What happened to him? Are they going to catch the serial killer? Are these two things linked?

WOW! This blew my mind! This is incredibly dark and twisted, but fast-paced and oh so captivating. I read the entire book in one sitting. I will say it was a little too dark for my liking, but I could NOT put it down. The chapters are short and to-the-point. Saul never pulls your attention away for one minute. I got a pretty nice Stephen King vibe from it, but loved this even better. I am a biology teacher by trade, so I appreciated the science technology behind the book. Dang, this was a good one. Science-fiction meets horror meets mystery/thriller/suspense. Nicely done! It’s not for the faint of heart, but I’m ready to read the next book ASAP!

4.5/5 Stars

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