October has been busy in my house. Vacation, illness, and just regular life...So my Halloween posts have been too sparse. So here are some mini reviews of the horror-type books I've completed this month.
Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films by Nina Nesseth
I would call this more of the psychology of how we get scared and how horror movies capitalize on those fears. Really fascinating look at how these movies get under our skins. If you are a horror movie fan or even just a lover of human psychology this is the book for you. She also gives us a great list of horror films to add to our ever-growing list. I definitely have a few new ones to watch!
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
A lot of things going on with this one. One too many, I think. It's kind of a weird alt-history in England where Jane feels she needs to get married in order to have a decent life after her foster parents are ready to move on to other things. So she picks Dr. Lawrence and eventually he agrees to their arrangement, but with stipulations. She can't ever stay at his family manor and she must allow him to do so while she stays at the surgery. But a terrible storm forces her to turn back to the family manor at night and all is not well.
Ghosts or are they ghosts roam the manor at night. She sees Dr. Lawrence's deceased wife in the windows...
She soon discovers that she has a talent for magic through her love of math and numbers. This is a nod to H.P. Lovecraft's use of magic and geometry. And her husband has been trapped in the basement and she must find a way to get him out and save both their lives.
It gets really messy the last 1/3 of the book. It was hard to follow and I'm still not sure what happened exactly by the end! Cool concept in a lot of ways. But I think there were just too many working parts to really let the story flow. Which is a big disappointment for me since I really loved Starling's "Luminous Dead."
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
I always enjoy Hendrix's books because they are funny and horrific at the same time. While this one wasn't my favorite it was still a fun read even when the story dragged on for a bit too long.
Patricia Campbell moves into a nice neighborhood with her two children and joins their book club. It's a sordid book club where they read true crime novels and discuss all the horrid things people do to each other. But when Patricia is attacked by elderly neighbor and Mary and Mary's nephew James moves into to help sort it all out, things start to get even weirder.
A lot of things are going on from rats attacking Patricia's mother-in-law and her nurse Mrs. Greene to all the children that die and go missing in Mrs. Greene's poorer neighborhood. Hendrix tries to connect systemic racism, sexism, and class into his horror book. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so well. But kudos for trying! Like I said his books are always a hoot. How does the book club and Mrs. Greene find a way to get their revenge and protect their families? No spoilers but yeah it's freakin' fantastic. Best part of the whole book!
Which brings me to another reason why I love Grady Hendrix even when specific books aren't necessarily my fave. He has great endings! He believes in his characters and I know what I'm going to get each and every time. We're going to get great endings for our heroines. Amen.
