What I'm Reading: Medieval Horror

 

 I'm reading Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. I saw it mentioned quite a few times online and finally decided to get it at the library.

Wow. This really is fantastic and worth the praise. Others agree, judging from the reviews in the thousands. Funny, as the foreward by Joe Hill states, the book was first published in 2012, dropped like a stone unnoticed, but was republished and now has made a resurgence in popularity. Odd, how that works.

* Review: Wow. This is different, so different. Besides the amazing writing, it's a tale of medieval faith and religious fears come to life in horrific images of modern horror and monsters, and a supernatural fight for good vs. evil. In the end, it's a trail through hell and redemption. Truly worth a read. 

But it is a lush, descriptive tale of the horrors of living during the big plague outbreaks in 1348 in Europe....  Always found it a fascinating, yes, horrific topic that half a population could die based on ignorance, lack of hygiene, and lack of medical knowledge. Oh...are we heading that way again?

While the topic is horror enough, I'm thinking, what classifies this as "horror" as we define it? 

I'm halfway through and then I got to the monsters... still trying to figure out what this creature is and then there are other things that appear. I won't give it away, but I'll say it's different and weird and imaginative.

Looking forward to finding out what comes up next and what makes the little orphan girl Delphine, who appears to talk to angels and see "demons?",  seem like a saint, or a psychic, or as her traveling companions, a fallen knight and a drunken priest call her, a witch...

Really enjoying this one. I have to read fast as I have to get it back to the library in two weeks!

* Note: Amazon affiliate link may provide some compensation to the blog owner.

New Horror Fiction - and Cookbook! - Coming

 I've got two new stories coming out soon! 

 I have a new story  - and recipe! - in a new book, Let the Right One Simmer, Volume 1, now up for pre-order on Amazon, only 99 cts!. (Releases June 2.). (400+ pages!) From Campfire Publishing.

 * And it's already crept into the Top 100 of the Bestsellers in Horror Collections. Yay!

Inside the pot lies something sinister, a strange spice, an out-of-place herb, a dash of the unexpected...

In my story, "Be Mine," Charlotte finds her life is about to change drastically but she's assured she'll soon have a special place in her exclusive community.

Story Start: Charlotte started bleeding the day after Easter. 

And....

My story, "The Change," will be in Behind the Shadows IV anthology, coming in July from Inkd Publishing.

** You can get in on some deals now via the Kickstarter (by June 7.)

In my story, Drusilla's formerly quiet life as an herbalist and healer becomes an unending cycle of misery after she's attacked by a strange, hairy intruder in her yard.

New Reads: Preston & Child Dark Mysteries

 I posted this on my other blog, but am reposting it on this blog as I figured the readers here would also enjoy these thriller-mysteries.

 If you like your mysteries dark with a touch of horror, then the Agent Pendergast series written by Preston & Child is for you. What took me so long to discover this series?

Wow! Amazing thrillers written a touch above other mysteries with bits of horror and the supernatural that find me even making a list of words to look up and I have a good vocabulary. Intrigue, weird situations, and some monsters, both human and other-worldly.

 I'm reading out of order (of course!), but it doesn't seem to matter too much. Some of the books are in sets so I'll be reading those together.

**  I'm just finishing book 20, Bloodless, so we'll see which one I read next.

The series starts with Relic where murders at a natural history museum exhibit of South American objects and weird religious fetishes can't be done by a human. And aren't. (Interesting settings though I wasn't as crazy about this one.) Book 2 Reliquary continues the hunt for the monster so read these two together. 

The first book I read in the series was The Cabinet of Dr. Leng (#21), a creepy serial killer, time-travel novel. Fascinating! I love finding a long series to read and this is a good one!

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The 22 book series list in order (plus a new prequel): (I'll link these as I read them and mark with * for myself.) I'm going to add a short description to remind myself of what they're about. I'm listing these, too, as the books don't really have a good list in order.

   

* 1 Relic  - a creepy museum exhibit and a mysterious (not of this world) murderer (Books 1 and 2 are a set.)

* 2 Reliquary - The hunt for the murdering Museum Beast deepens and continues as Pendergast and team search Manhattan's labyrinth of sewer tunnels.

3 The Cabinet of Curiosities

4 Still Life With Crows

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5 Brimstone (Books 5-7 make up the Diogenes Trilogy about a twisted criminal - Pendergast's brother, Diogenes.)

6 Dance of Death

7 The Book of the Dead

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8 Wheel of Darkness

9 Cemetery Dance

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10 Fever Dream (Books 10-12 make up the Helen Triology concerning Pendergast's late wife Helen)

11 Cold Vengeance

12 Two Graves

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13 White Fire

14 Blue Labyrinth

15 Crimson Shore

16 The Obsidian Chamber

17 City of Endless Night

 * 18 

19 Crooked River

 

* 20 Bloodless (2021) - Is a vampire stalking Savannah? (Good one! Might be my favorite so far.) Strange goings-on with links to alternate universes, AI, computers, and monsters, plus a link to DB Cooper's 1970s unsolved bank robbery and skyjacking.

* 21 The Cabinet of Dr. Leng - I read this one first and wow!  Pendergast's protege Constance Greene goes back to the 1800s to prevent the deaths of her siblings and find a creepy serial killer. Great time travel! (Beware it ends on a cliffhanger and continues in book 22.)

 

* 22 Angel of Vengeance - Constance Greene returns to the past to face the serial killer while Pendergast's brother appears with his own agenda. Some interesting twists in this one.

23 New Prequel: Pendergast: The Beginning (Jan. 2026) Pendergast's first case reveals his unorthodox style as he and his partner investigate ritual murders by a serial killer. (Waiting for the library to get it in.)

* Note: Site uses Amazon affiliate links that may offer some compensation to blog owner.

Spooky Halloween Reading List

 Thirteen eerie HALLOWEEN entries to read if you dare!! Bwahhhhh-ha-ha! 

* Warning: Some of these may be extremely creepy or horrific. I haven't read them all, just sharing what I've come across. (I also have a "lighter" Halloween Books & Collectibles List.)

Anthologies

Behind the Shadows III: Dark Secrets - Eerie, weird tales, includes my story, "Big Al's Revenge." (Paperback, Amz)

Blood on the Page: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene, Vol. 1 - "Stories of zombies, ghosts, serial killers, and the most horrific monsters of all - ourselves." (He also restarted daily blogging here or see his Substack newsletter.)

Flash of the Dead: Halloween '25 - Slashers, folklore and more horror in 73! short short stories.(Paperback)

 

Noncorporeal III: Nightfall - Strange tales of things that go bump in the night. In my story, "Cat's Eyes," a "cat burglar" decides to do one last job... a fateful decision. (Paperback, Amz)

 Acquired Taste, Clay McLeod Chapman - Twenty-five terrifying tales from a strange and terrifying addiction, to something weird in the fireplace, to ghost boyfriends, salamander-worshiping nuns (?) and more...  (I see this is at the library; will put it on my list.)

Terrifying Tales to Tell at Night,  editor Stephen Jones - Ten creepy tales for kids, with creatures, monsters. Dr. Frankenstein and more! 

Weird and Weird Covers 

 

Fifteen Eyes, Tyler Downs - Fifteen sordid tales... Solomon Northcutt enjoys the simple things in life: a nice sweater vest, trivia night with co-workers, and using the eyeballs of the deceased to transcribe horrific deaths for his bosses' reading pleasure.

Scuttle, Barnaby Walter - When an overnight camping trip in the woods on Halloween night goes wrong, and a girl ends up dead with what looks like animal wounds, the whole neighbourhood is shocked. How did it happen? And more importantly what was it that killed her?

Where He Can't Find You, Darcy Coates - Don't walk alone or the stitcher will find you... Don't stay out late or the stitcher will take you...  Abby and her friends have to act quickly when her sister is taken, before too much of her is cut away... 

Puzzles, Quizzes

Test Your Terror: Trivia from the Dark Side of History, Books and Movies, Joe Myndhardt  -  As the description says, "Like Jeopardy!, but with more ghosts, gore, and guillotines."

Zombie

Dating After the End of the World, Jeneva Rose - Recent release with huge ratings! Casey grew up with a prepper father, and until after she's left home and a deadly virus hits, does she realize how right her dad was. Now she's back home to hunker down in a bunker with other survivors, including her hunky arch-nemesis Blake, her teen years' high school bully.

Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter, C.A. Verstraete - What if Lizzie Borden picked up that axe for an entirely different reason? What if her father and stepmother had turned into... zombies? New cover! 

The Gospel of Z, Stephen Graham Jones - "The military and church duke it out using survivors as pawns in a hell on earth where zombies are the least of the creatures to be feared."

* Note: Amazon affiliate links may offer some compensation to blog owner.

Happy Scary Reading! 

New Lizzie Borden Fiction Coming!

 

 The Lizzie Borden House Anthology will release Oct. 14! Pre-Order Here on Amazon.

From feminist re-imaginings to supernatural reckonings, from psychological horror to gothic suspense, these tales examine not just what happened that day in Fall River, but how the story of Lizzie Borden has taken on a life—and afterlife—of its own.

Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson, True Crime, and American Horror Story, this collection blurs the line between history and horror, fact and folklore. Because some stories refuse to die—and some houses never forget.

Includes 20+ stories, including works by NYT Bestselling Author Heather Graham and Stoker Award Winner Linda D. Addison.

* Contains my new Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter story: "You Can Go Home Again."

** FYI: Are you a reviewer? The book is also on Netgalley.  * Get it on Goodreads.

* Amazon affiliate links may provide some compensation to blog owner.

What I'm Reading: Stories Inspired by Stephen King's The Stand

 What I'm Reading: 

The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand

Just released! I've been looking forward to reading this! The Stand happens to be one of my favorite books and I also love re-watching the original miniseries occasionally.

 I'm coming near the halfway point in the book, trying to read every day as it's a HUGE book at over 700 pages (like King's books!). 

I'll say so far it's an interesting set of stories. Really enjoying them. Only one gripe: They should be longer! I really want to know what happened with some of the new characters that were introduced... (Could there be a follow-up??)

* Update: Just became a New York Times Bestseller - #3 on the bestseller's list!

* Get it at Amazon - Bookshop.org - Goodreads

With an introduction by Stephen King, a foreword by Christopher Golden, and an afterword by Brian Keene. Contributors include Wayne Brady and Maurice Broaddus, Poppy Z. Brite, Somer Canon, C. Robert Cargill, Nat Cassidy, V. Castro, Richard Chizmar, S. A. Cosby, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, Meg Gardiner, Gabino Iglesias, Jonathan Janz, Alma Katsu, Caroline Kepnes, Michael Koryta, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Lebbon, Josh Malerman, Ronald Malfi, Usman T. Malik, Premee Mohamed, Cynthia Pelayo, Hailey Piper, David J. Schow, Alex Segura, Bryan Smith, Paul Tremblay, Catherynne M. Valente, Bev Vincent, Catriona Ward, Chuck Wendig, Wrath James White, and Rio Youers.

*Affiliate links may provide some compensation.

Pre-Order Behind the Shadows III Horror

 

 It's alive! You can now pre-order Behind the Shadows III: Dark Secrets! Includes my latest weird/eerie story, Big Al's Revenge where the infamous Al Capone finds a creepy way to end his feud with Bugs Moran. The moral: don't take gifts from strangers.

Preorder now for August 14th - Get the ebook here.

Digital: https://books2read.com/u/bQoQaD

Paperback: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/behind-the-shadows-iii-mike-rusetsky/1148009830

With stories by:

Derik Cavignano

Devin James Leonard

Tim Jeffreys

Mike Rusetsky

Bob Johnston

Ben Sperduto

Felicia Carparelli

Thomas Folske

Jen Janet

Gordon Grice

Samantha J Bryant

Joshua Dyer

Jason A. Wyckoff

Nicole Walsh

DW Milton

SJ Townend

Ann O'Mara Heyward

Gustavo Bondoni

C.A. Verstraete