Mik Dyer is a rock star.  Kim Reid is his number one fan.  Mik has had enough of the shallowness and emptiness of the rock-star lifestyle and wants to end it all.  Kim becomes his willing nemesis, eager to do anything to fulfill her idol’s wishes. The two have never met, but Kim knows what Mik wants from her.  His lyrics, and a drug-induced vision, have given her all the instructions and inspiration she needs. As Mik’s band God Dog return to their hometown for the final gig on their latest tour, there’s more than just songs on the set-list.  The audience is in for a night they’ll never forget… Gig by James Lovegrove, the latest e-book release from Anarchy Books, has an interesting premise. The same story is told in two books, each book covering a different character’s point of view. The two narrative strands begin separately, but gradually start to interweave with one another as they head toward the same moment. Kim and Mik are essentially the alternate sides of the same coin. Mik appears to have everything you could ever want – fame, money, talent. Kim meanwhile, is living in a grubby squat. Barely existing, she survives by dealing drugs to rich…

We want to live… In the ballroom, wallflower mannequins stretch their fingers towards Ron. He can’t ask them to dance. He’s already waltzing with other ghosts. Someone stole the world while Ron contemplated death. They packed it in a briefcase and dumped him in the halls of the ruined hotel–The Vestibule. A nowhere place. Last weekend I felt the urge to read another short story and who better to provide that necessary fix than Spectral Press. I’ve previously reviewed their first two releases – What They Hear in the Dark by Gary McMahon and Abolisher of Roses by Gary Fry. I enjoyed both so I was looking forward to reading the latest release, Nowhere Hall by Cate Gardner. When the reader is first introduced to Ron Spence he is standing at the edge of the road contemplating jumping in front of oncoming traffic. In a split second the moment passes but Ron is still plagued with doubt and anguish.  There is a real sense here that this is someone who is dying by degrees. Ron finds his way into foyer of a hotel called The Vestibule. As he roams the building he is faced with opulence on one hand and abandoned shell…

Meet Stan Markowski of the Scranton PD’s Occult Crimes Unit “Like the rest of America, Scranton’s got an uneasy ‘live and let unlive’ relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call me. My name’s Markowski. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets… When I read an author’s work for the first time I tend to go with my gut instincts. If I’ve not started to enjoy a novel after the first couple of chapters then there is a reasonably good chance that the book in question isn’t going to win me over. I’m pleased to say, that I was completely sold on the premise of Hard Spell within nine pages. As soon as I read the paragraph describing goblins high on crystal meth I knew this novel had captured and, more importantly, was going to retain my interest. In an alternate United States where supernatural beings are the norm, the reader is introduced to Stan Markowski, and the other men and women of the…

Beneath Lausanne cathedral, in Switzerland, there is a secret buried before time began. Something unknown to angels and men. Until now… Marc Rochat watches over the city at night from the belfry of the cathedral. He lives in a world of shadows and beforetimes and imaginary begins. Katherine Taylor, call girl and dreamer, is about to discover that her real-life fairy tale is too good to be true. Jay Harper, private detective, wakes in a crummy hotel room with no memory. When the telephone rings and he’s offered a job, he knows there is no choice but to accept. Three lives, one purpose. Save what’s left of paradise before all hell breaks loose… The Watchers is the debut novel by Jon Steele.  It explores the nature of good and evil, and how these forces affect everyone. Three residents of the historic town of Lausanne are caught up in a mystery surrounding the whereabouts of an Olympic official. As with all the best thrillers, there is more to this than initially meets the eye. Mark Rochat, Katherine Taylor and Jay Harper make for a genuinely intriguing group of characters.  Steele takes great pains to flesh them out and make them all…

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very peculiar photographs. A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen year old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive. Jacob has grown up listening to his grandfather’s tall tales about the island he lived on during the Second World War. These stories about monsters and strange children with powers were a delight to Jacob as a youngster, but as he grew up, he became disillusioned with his grandfather’s flights of fancy. When his grandfather unexpectedly dies, Jacob finds himself drawn back to these stories. He decides to undertake a journey to try and separate the truth from the lies. There are some fantastic characters in this novel and normally I would take great delight in describing them to you, but in this case I…

Human medicine is easy. On her first day at Grace General Hospital, new intern Aline Harman risks vampire infection, demonic possession, and having her heart torn out of her chest… and this from her colleagues. Juggling transhuman politics only becomes more difficult when a patient’s life is at stake. With a zombie to resuscitate and a mermaid in critical care, Aline has her hands full. At least the doctors are good-looking. I have to be honest and admit a certain amount of uncertainty when I initially approached this ebook. This is not the sort of thing I would normally choose to read, and I was concerned that this would not be to my taste. As ever though, I am keen to try and broaden my horizons when it comes to reading, so decided to give it a chance. On reflection I’m glad that I did, as I was pleasantly surprised. Our heroine Aline is immediately thrown in at the deep end and the author certainly seems to have captured, what I imagine to be, the frenetic chaos of an emergency room. Reading the opening chapters, and the descriptions of when she first arrives at Grace General, it was easy to picture…