Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

Happy Book Birthday to Clay McLeod Chapman! His latest, Whisper Down the Lane, is out now from Quirk books!

In 1983, a single mother and her son move to a new town for a new start. Instead, they find themselves at the center of a case alleging abuse and satanism at the child's school.

In 2013, a teacher at a small private school finds a mutilated rabbit with a birthday card addressed to that little boy from so long ago.

This latest from Chapman is inspired by the very real McMartin Preschool Trials and Satanic Panic that so gripped the nation in the late 80s and early 90s.

I really wasn't expecting this book to be quite as unsettling as it turned out to be. I'm a seasoned horror reader and most of the stuff I dive into doesn't bother me. 

This one was a bit different.

I've definitely noticed that since I had my son certain themes bother me a lot more than they used to. Don't get me wrong, there are themes that always bothered me, but there are more now that I have a kid and this book hit on some of those HARD!

Richard is still something of the new guy in town. He's recently married to a fellow teacher who has a young son Richard is still trying to bond with. But he doesn't talk about his past and no one knows all that much about him. 

Except someone apparently does. 

The school's dead rabbit left with a birthday card just for him? He's able to cover that one up by being the first person on site. The dead bunny is reported but the card isn't something he's going to share. 

More and more, though, it becomes clear that someone has it in for Richard. And it becomes harder for him to cover that up. 

The parallel story taking place is that of Sean, a five year old who's just moved to a new town with his mother. And he becomes the main witness in a growing case against the teachers at his school. 

The horror here isn't Satanism. It's the human factor. The McMartin Preschool Trials were the Salem Witch Trials of their day. There was a frenzy to the paranoia that drove the case and that's the central horror that is present in Whisper Down the Lane. 

Chapman weaves a story that not only delves into how something like this can come about but how the events and their effects can echo through multiple generations. And yeah, it's deeply disturbing!

Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

Kris made a name for herself in the 90s as part of Dürt Würk, a heavy metal band whose cult following had pushed them to the brink of success. But rather than finding fame, the band fell apart and it was lead singer Terry Hunt who ended up with all the glory. 

Twenty years later, Kris is barely squeaking by with a job at a crappy motel, a care that barely runs, and a house she's about to lose. And that's when she sees it - a billboard announcing Terry's return to the stage and an all our rocktastic final tour. It's the push Kris needs to finally do something. To finally confront Terry about what happened all those years ago. 

But Kris soon finds that some things are better left unknown. And some betrayals are far worse than you can ever imagine. 

Heavy metal and horror collide in this latest from Hendrix, a terrifying tale about how far one would go to make their dreams come true.

Grady Hendrix is not only an expert in analyzing the horror genre, he's proven himself an expert at writing it too. And yes, I do mean expert. Three books in and all three have hit my favorites list, that qualifies him in my mind.

I honestly wasn't sure when I dove into this one. Sure, Horrorstör was flat pack paradise of ghosts and My Best Friend's Exorcism thoroughly creeped me out while also appealing to my 80s obsessed nature, but heavy metal is most emphatically NOT my thing, so even I had some reservations in getting started with this latest. But given he hasn't let me down, I was excited none the less. And it was worth it!

Kris is in a dead end job, living in a house that's literally being sold out from under her. She really has no friends, no connections at all, and no direction. And part of that is thanks to the fact that she's been facing the fact that she had it all and was on the brink of a big music career, and lost everything. And the how of that particular storyline is part of the book but it's clear from the time that she sees Terry's billboard that she believes Terry is the cause of her downfall.

And thus begins her dark and horrific adventure!

This was a fabulous horror read, y'all. Super fun and super fast paced. Also, creepy as all get out! An instant favorite for any horror fan!

Paperbacks From Hell: A History of Horror Fiction From the '70s and '80s by Grady Hendrix with Will Errickson

Oh, horror fans, is this the read for you! I normally steer clear of non fiction, but this was definitely an exception that I had to make.

One summer a few years back, Grady Hendrix and Will Errickson came together for a Tor.com series called "Summer of Sleaze." The two horror aficionados covered some of the schlockiest installments in horror history, beginning with a book about Nazi leprechauns (which turns out not to be leprechauns at all). And oh, I did love each and every post.

It wasn't all schlock, though. They took time out to focus on Thomas Tryon and James Herbert, Graham Masterton, and even Michael McDowell. For sixteen weeks (and then two subsequent series later on) they teased my TBR with posts about a bevy of horror delights that my itchy hands were (mostly) dying to find.

And that's a bit of the origin story behind Paperbacks From Hell!


Paperbacks From Hell is focused on the paperback (in particular) popularity of the horror genre that hit in the wake of the likes of Rosemary's Baby, The Other, and The Exorcist. (Levin, Tryon, and Blatty, if you're unfamiliar.), tracing the trends in both titles and cover illustrations that ruled over the course of roughly two decades.

Books about possession, devil worshipping, evil children, killer creatures and more captured the readers' imaginations! Hendrix touches on everything from the gory and grotesque to the literary classics that have survived the test of time. Many of the houses have died, some of the authors have too, but the shelves of used bookstores nationwide are still full to the brim with these gems. I should know, I've browsed enough of them to build my own small collection.

Let me be clear, I was not able to delve into the heyday horror fiction until the 90s due to age limitations. Mom but the kibosh on anything beyond the YA category until the summer I hit the age of fourteen and put my foot down - it was time to allow for adult horror reading!

So I missed out on a lot of the titles Hendrix is focusing on here, at least when they originally released.

But not all. Because there are some shining genre examples that have defied the inevitable death of most backlist, still read and released today! And Hendrix does take a breath to hit on the teen horror market of the day as well - Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine in particular, the gateway drugs for many of the horror fans of my own generation. And oh, what a glorious gateway it was for me! I can still recall my first Stine and Pike purchases (Haunted at a school book fair and The Chain Letter on a trip to Mandeville to visit a friend). I trolled the bookstore YA shelves for any and every creepy looking title I could find, all the while gazing longingly at the shiny Stephen King and Dean Koontz titles that beckoned from the forbidden adult section. And I'm always heartened to hear that I wasn't alone - lots of readers of my generation share almost the same story!

Horror is and probably always will be my go to when it comes to books and movies. I like to blame it on the fact that my parents admit to having taken me to the drive in with them to see Return of the Living Dead when I was a baby (in other words, way too young for it to have mattered, especially since I no doubt slept through it and probably couldn't see the screen). I can certainly trace it back to the first ghost story my parents bought me to try and encourage me to read back in second grade. And I can definitely trace it back to my discovery of R.L. Stine's Fear Street hiding out on a Scholastic book fair shelf in third grade. And while I may have missed many of the titles Hendrix talks about when they originally released, I'm making up for it now!

Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For ed by Kate White + a Giveaway

Happy book birthday to the Mystery Writers of America! Today marks the release of their brand-spanking-new cookbook.

I'm an admitted cookbook fiend as well as a book junkie, so marrying the two worlds is always wonderfully welcome in my house. Given that, the new Mystery Writers of America Cookbook was a must have as soon as I heard about its release. Not only have a ton of my own favorite authors taken part, submitting family recipes or dishes connected to their famous lead characters - Alafair Burke offers up "Ellie Hatcher's Rum-Soaked Nutella French Toast" and Harlan Coben shares "Myron's Crabmeat Dip" - , there are a bunch of new-to-me authors who have now tempted me to try their dishes and books as well - Leslie Budewitz's "Farfalle with Fennel and Pine Nuts" got flagged for dinner plans as soon as the book arrived as did S. J. Rozan's "Rancho Obsesso Lavender Beets." Both of their books are on the "must read" list now too.

The book also prompted me to do a little reading/cooking pairing. Frankie Y. Bailey's Red Queen Dies is at the top of my TBR and I feel I absolutely must bake her "Whole Wheat Wild Blueberry Lemon Pecan Muffins" to go with it! I also mentioned recently that while reading Laura Lippman's latest, post vacation, I tried her "Aunt Effie's Salmon Ball." I have that recipe here to share with you, just to give you a taste of what's inside:

LAURA LIPPMAN 

Aunt Effie’s Salmon Ball 

My Aunt Effie—actually my great aunt—was a Capital-C Character, an old-fashioned steel magnolia with a hearty laugh and the first person who ever assured me I was funny. Also, maybe the last. Aunt Effie was the middle of three girls, brought up in an all-female household in Smalltown, Georgia, my great-grandmother having been widowed at a relatively young age. Aunt Effie herself was widowed twice and she learned to take care of herself, ending up in another all-female household with her daughter and granddaughter. Well, there was a poodle name John, but they painted his toenails, poor thing. 

On top of everything else, she was a terrific hostess, and two of my favorite recipes come from her: cheese straws and a so-called Salmon Ball, although I despaired years ago of ever learning how to roll this concoction in slivered almonds, so I just mix it up and put it in a small dish. In fact, it makes a great hostess gift. It’s really simple and everyone loves it. Not quite a health food, but you can substitute low- fat cream cheese for the hardcore stuff. 

Because my household is peripatetic, I often find myself in a different city than the one where I keep all my family recipes. But my Aunt Effie’s salmon ball is very forgiving, which is one reason I like to make it. 

Image courtesy of Steve Legato

YIELD: 8–10 SERVINGS 

1 teaspoon dried minced onions (available in the spice aisle) 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
1 large can salmon, around 15 ounces 
8 ounces cream cheese 
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish 
1 teaspoon liquid smoke— if you can find it 
Slivered almonds (optional) 
Chopped parsley (optional) 

1. Soak dried minced onions in lemon juice for 5 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, drain salmon and mix thoroughly with cream cheese. 

3. Add lemon juice and onions to salmon mixture, along with Worcester- shire, horseradish, and liquid smoke. You can add more or less according to your taste. 

4. If you are nimble and wildly ambitious, you can form the mixture into a ball and roll it in slivered almonds and parsley. Frankly, I started omitting that step years ago because I could never get it to look right, although I suspect it might work better if you slightly chill the salmon mixture first. Me, I just put it in a nice piece of crockery and refrigerate for several hours. Serve with crackers; it also pairs well with a dry martini or the cocktail of your choice. Eat the leftovers on bagels. 

Laura Lippman is an award-winning crime writer who has written ninenteen books, the most recent of which is the New York Times best seller After I’m Gone. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans. 

Excerpted from The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook edited by Kate White. Reprinted with permission from Quirk Books. 

And now for the giveaway! Thanks to the publisher I have not one but TWO copies of The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook to give away today. To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, April 6. US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth

Yesterday marked the release of the latest cool and "quirky" title from Quirk books - E. B. Hudspeth's The Resurrectionist. One part dark and gothic storytelling and one part cryptozoological anatomy book, The Resurrectionist is all awesome!

In lieu of my usual synopsis and review, I thought I'd simply share some of the awesome art and the book's super spectacular trailer with you instead (Quirk has the most phenomenal book trailers ever in my opinion!).

These are some of the Sphinx pieces courtesy of the Quirk website:

 

Sweet, right?! And here's the trailer I mentioned:

Now run out and find a copy - you know you want to!