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Book Review: The Forgotten Dead (OutFoxing the Paranormal #1) by Jordan L. Hawk

Cover art for The Forgotten Dead (OutFoxing the Paranormal #1) by Jordan L. Hawk

The Forgotten Dead (OutFoxing the Paranormal #1) by Jordan L. Hawk

Independently published, 2022

ISBN-13: 979-8430224660

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook.

Buy: Amazon.com

 

The Forgotten Dead takes place in an alternate timeline where parapsychologist J.B. Rhine successfully established an Institute of Parapsychology at Duke University.

 

Dr. Nigel Taylor desperately needs a grant to save his assistant professorship. Patricia Montague offers him the money on the condition that he convince the face of the ghost hunting web series OutFoxing the Paranormal, Oscar Fox, to explore the Matthews house, where a mass killing of the family took place, followed by the killer’s suicide. Nigel, a friend of young Mike Matthews encountered the killer after the murders but escaped. Montague believes Oscar is a medium and Nigel’s personal connection will stir up any ghosts.

 

Nigel hires Oscar to investigate the house. Without telling Oscar that he is observing him to see if he is a medium, or what happened in the house, he, Oscar, and the two other staff members for the show, Tina and Chris, head there. Unsettlingly, nothing has been moved or changed: even blood spatters from the murders are still there. Cold spots, bad feelings, and drained batteries suggest that something is very wrong.

 

It’s clear to Nigel that Oscar is a medium but Oscar denies it, afraid that admitting his visions would end up with him in an institution, but finally he has to face the truth. He, Nigel, Tina, and Chris decide they will try to clear the house of spirits: easier said than done when one is a killer.

 

This wasn’t as horror-themed as Hawk’s Widdershins books, but it has some inventive and terrifying moments (razor blades in the walls, yikes!)  and touches on heavy issues, including mental illness, suicide, and grief. There’s also the beginnings of a romance between Nigel and Oscar. Hawk’s books are addictive for me and I look forward to the next book in the series.

 

In terms of representation, Nigel is a trans man, Chris is nonbinary, and Oscar is gay. Author Jordan Hawk is also trans, making this a great choice for the #TransRightsReadathon this week.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on March 27, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

 

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Berkley, 2023

ISBN-13: 9780593201268

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

Louise receives a phone call she never thought she would get from her brother, Mark. Their parents have been killed in a car accident. A single parent to Poppy, Louise doesn’t want to leave San Francisco for Charleston, South Carolina to deal with the estate. However, certain her brother can’t cope with any of the organization and care that is needed to get the old house sold and settle things properly, she grudgingly goes back to her childhood home. Their father, Robert, was a retired successful academic. Their mother, Nancy, ran a successful Christian puppet ministry, creating every puppet with her own two hands, as well as a amassing a collection of dolls, handmade art, and taxidermy. Then there is Pupkin. Oh, we will get to Pupkin later.

 

It seems the moment she sets foot in Charleston, she can’t find the time to mourn or cope with the shock of the death of her parents. Fighting with her brother over everything, including and especially the inheritance, sets the siblings on edge. When they do manage to talk in a civil way, they discover they have very different views on their childhood, and what Pupkin meant to both of them.

 

Pupkin…is he possessed? Is he haunted? Whatever he is, he’s a terror in more than one sense of the word. If you’re his friend, he will take over your entire being. If you are foe, just watch out. He’s got a killer mindset and he’s not afraid of anything.

 

Part of the reason I keep picking up his books is that Hendrix has a unique mix of off the wall horror, gore, and humor in his novels. Another part is that he has a way of writing believable characters, and everyone has flaws. The tense relationship between Louise and Mark feels very real. When the rest of the family gets involved in, well, everything, the story gets even more interesting. Mark opens up about his experiences with Pupkin after Louise has left their family home, which is intense and one of the most horrifying parts of How to Sell a Haunted House. Where Louise felt her brother was the favored child, always being coddled and supported throughout every failed scheme of his, he felt she was the gold standard and that she was always so perfect. The scenes between the siblings are well executed.

 

If you’re a fan of creepy dolls and puppets, family drama, and good, campy horror, pick up How to Sell a Haunted House. Just beware of taxidermy squirrel nativities…

 

Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

 

Posted on October 28, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

 

cover art for Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

Wednesday Books, 2021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250787101

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

 

Within These Wicked Walls takes its inspiration from the classic gothic romance Jane Eyre. Set in England, Jane is an orphan who arrives to work as a governess in Thornfield Hall, home to the wealthy Edward Rochester, and the two fall in love. Author Lauren Blackwood moves the story to contemporary Ethiopia, replacing Jane with Andi, an impoverished Black debtera, who is hired to exorcise the malevolent spirits haunting the opulent Thorne House and its owner, nineteen-year-old Magnus Thorne. The book is focused in on Andi and Magnus and their attempts to eliminate the curse of the Evil Eye that dooms anyone who looks into Magnus’ eyes and causes the deeply disturbing hauntings in the house. Blackwood turns the horror and the supernatural up and intensifies the romance, creating an emotional whirlwind that will blow the reader away. Blackwood does not shy away from addressing race, women’s independence, and colonialism, all of which impact the story in a much different manner than in the original book.

 

Recommended for readers, especially teens, in the mood for a gothic romance, an African-inspired fantasy, a terrifying haunted house, or any combination.

 

Contains: body horror, gore, violence, death, physical and emotional abuse, references to suicide.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on February 8, 2022 by , Reply
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