David Bernstein (1)

I loved this book! I was captured from the first chapter and it didn't let me go till the end!

Witch Island is off limits to the town residents as an actual witch put a curse on the island back in the early 1900's when she was burned alive. She cursed all the people that had a hand in killing her and she cursed their future generations.

Of course, it is all a myth, right? There is no such things as witches and curses. A few friends decide to forego everything that their parents have warned them about the island and go have a graduation party on the island to prove that there is nothing to the legend.

Little do they know that they have just stepped into a nightmare when they dock their canoes on the island. Out of all the friends, only two of them are protected as they have magic rings to protect them from the curse. When one of the friends finds something interesting under the ground and digs it up, no one is prepared for the consequences of that discovery.

Mother Nature literally comes alive and the friends are in for facing their worst fears as the killings and gore start flying. Lots of gore, suspense, and action within these pages!

Giving it five stars for keeping me glued to my kindle and up in the wee hours of the morning trying to finish it.… (meer)

This was a fast paced book filled with twists and turns throughout the book!

The story revolves around two hit men that break down out in the middle of nowhere and they are trying to find a place where they can make a phone call. They come upon what appears to be a house that has seen better days. They try everything they can to break into the house, but they have a hard time as it is reinforced for some reason. They finally do break in and they ransack the house seeing what they can take. There is not much of anything worth taking in the house except for an old briefcase. When they open it, they are speechless as the case is full of diamonds.

The men start a chain reaction of disaster after opening the briefcase as things happen where the briefcase ends up changing hands multiple times within few days. The briefcase manipulates the minds of the people that come in contact with it and gives them their desires for a price. The stakes are high and their lives take a turn for the worse as the briefcase makes its rounds from person to person. Four stars for this one.… (meer)

I have to admit that I'm not a big reader of short stories. I prefer stories that require more of a time investment. In other words, novels. However, the exception to that are horror short stories. I love them. I read my first scary short stories as a child. Remember those anthologies of ghost stories you could order from the Scholastic book flyer? I later graduated to Stephen King's short stories and many of his are among my favorites. I think horror works for me in short story format (unlike other genres) because horror can be such a fast paced medium. For instance, horror films are usually no more than 2 hours long, but they still pack a punch. Did I mention that horror films are my favorite? But I digress. What I'm getting at here is that I love horror short stories, especially those that are as good as the stories in A Mixed Bag of Blood.

I love horror that pulls no punches and this author knows his stuff when it comes to that. Some of the stories are a play on our fears of foreign invasion, whether it be in our world, or our bodies. Others bring forth the monsters we're terrified of...zombies, vampires, Bigfoot (we lived in a house surrounded by woods when I was growing up, and yes, I was terrified of Bigfoot. Don't laugh). Some are very gross, yet funny in their message while still being horrific. I'm not going to go into detail because short stories are very easy to spoil for others. Suffice it to say that each story has something to offer.

This slim volume of 125 pages contains 10 stories. I enjoyed every one of them. This "Mixed Bag of Blood" is a must read for any horror fan. I mean it.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)… (meer)

This was a fast paced revenge tale that pulled no punches.

Beth Baker is 82 and she's tired of listening to her neighbor beat his wife every night. However, he's a policeman and her neighbor can't stand up to him. Since Beth lost her daughter to an abuser, she can't take it anymore. And since her dead daughter is visiting her every night urging her to do something, she does.

This novella rushes right along to its all out crushing finale and has you rooting for the 82 year old Beth the entire way. Will she get her revenge for what happened to her daughter? You'll have to read this to find out.

I recommend this quick novella to lovers of well written revenge stories, who do not mind a touch of extreme horror.

*I was provided a free copy of this novella to honestly review and that is what I have done.*

Find this review and others like it at: www.Horrorafterdark.com.… (meer)