Blog Archives
Blood on the Trailhead – A Lost Grove Mystery
Blood on the Trailhead is a haunting, slow-burn mystery that tangles horror, folklore, and small-town secrets into a story that seeps under your skin. It opens with an archaeologist’s quiet curiosity and ends in something much darker, something that feels both ancient and alive. The book’s plot threads stretch across Devil’s Cradle State Park, where strange glyphs, a missing child, and old wounds converge. The story blends investigative suspense with mythic terror, pulling you through the redwoods and into the dark pulse of the land itself.
The writing is lush and eerie, with that grounded sense of place that author’s Zang and Knudsen do so well. They write forests the way others write cities, every root and shadow alive with intent. The pacing is steady, sometimes deliberately slow. When the horror hits, it lands hard, not with cheap shocks but with creeping inevitability. I found myself both enchanted and unsettled by how human the story felt, even when it slipped into the supernatural. The grief, guilt, and obsession in these characters are raw. Sometimes the dialogue feels almost too clean, but that’s balanced by the way silence and atmosphere carry the emotion.
What really struck me was how the story handles belief, scientific, spiritual, and everything in between. It doesn’t force explanations. It lets mystery exist, and that takes confidence. The book asks you to trust your instincts, even when they’re wrong. There were moments I felt real affection for the characters, especially the flawed ones who keep searching for truth when it’s obvious the truth is going to hurt. The story gave me that same uneasy calm as walking through an empty parking lot after dark, knowing you’re probably fine but not quite believing it.
I’d recommend Blood on the Trailhead to anyone who loves mysteries with a side of folklore and a heavy dose of unease. It’s perfect for readers who like their horror thoughtful, their detectives damaged, and their endings not too tidy. If you enjoy stories that make you linger on the last page before closing the book, this one’s worth every step into the woods.
Pages: 444 | ASIN : B0FVZH16H9
Midnights in October – eerie nightly escapes
Midnights in October is a collection of 31 tiny tales, each just fifty-five words, crafted to match the eerie, mystical mood of every October night. Each story aligns with a calendar day in October, some rooted in real-world observances and others purely imagined. The book doesn’t follow a linear plot but rather unfolds like a haunted advent calendar, with each entry offering a flash of the supernatural, a flicker of fear, or a jolt of dark whimsy. Ghosts, witches, misfits, rebels, and spirits lurk behind every page, waiting to whisper their fifty-five-word truths into the reader’s ear.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at first. I’ve seen microfiction before, but never quite like this. The tight word limit could’ve been a creative straitjacket, but Bossano wears it like armor. Each story punches harder because there’s no room to soften the blow. The writing is sharp, vivid, and almost lyrical. It dances between poetic and unsettling without getting bogged down in over-explanation. I found myself rereading many entries just to let the mood sink in again. One second, you’re smirking at a sly jab; the next, you’re genuinely creeped out. It was like sipping thirty-one shots of moonlight and ink, each with a different burn going down.
What I liked most, though, were the ideas hidden behind the shadows. There’s anger here. Power. Longing. Justice. Loss. Bossano doesn’t just want to scare or amuse you, she wants you to see something. Sometimes it’s political, sometimes it’s personal, sometimes it’s just raw. Stories like “¡Salud!” and “Uprising” stirred something deep and real. Others, like “It’s My Party Day” or “National Cat Day”, brought a strange tenderness to the eerie. It’s rare that something so short can carry so much weight, but these stories do. They sneak up on you. You’ll feel a little haunted afterward.
Midnights in October is a perfect companion for dark, quiet nights when the wind starts to rattle the windows and you want something strange to keep you company. I’d recommend it to fans of flash fiction, lovers of all things spooky, and anyone who craves clever, offbeat storytelling that doesn’t overstay its welcome. If you enjoy Halloween vibes with a side of soul-searching, this is for you.
Pages: 39 | ASIN: B0FJMVJF85
Following Your Gut
Between the Living and the Dead follows a teen girl whose friends die in a hit-and-run accident, causing her to discover she has the ability to interact with ghosts and leading her to uncover long-buried secrets about her heritage. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
There were multiple inspirations for this story. When I was a teenager for some reason I was convinced my bathroom hallway had magical potential. I had recurring nightmares and dreams about magical events happening in there. When I was a kid, I was curious and often volunteered to investigate “mysteries” for friends at school. Most of the time it was trivial stuff, but in my imagination, I dreamed of solving Sherlock Holmesian-like mysteries. As I grew older I fell on some Hercule Poirot books and I devoured them. I am also an adoptee from Venezuela and the search to find my origins has been a major part of my life in recent years; I chose to incorporate that into my main character’s journey. I have always loved ghost stories, (even though I was thoroughly spooked about the idea of ghosts for a while in my teens). I thought it would be cool for an average teenager who had nothing but curiosity, observation, and gumption going for her to suddenly have magical powers and being able to see things in the “In Between” having just enough of a different lens of the world to see what others cannot.
The supporting characters in this novel were intriguing and well-developed. Who was your favorite character to write for?
This is a hard question; probably Cavilla; she is heavily modeled on me, and she is what an alternate version of me would have been (minus the magic powers of course!)
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The most important themes for me were: cultural heritage and identity. Growing up in a white family that didn’t acknowledge my ethnic origins was a challenge. Having my birth family and adoption papers withheld also added a layer of complexity and grief. I think others can relate to this experience. As I did research on Peruvian lore and mythology as well, I found it was almost impossible to find authentic source material and primary resources about it. So much has been erased by colonialist retellings. So I took the liberty to adapt and add to the original lore. I am a 90s baby, so I incorporated that 90s feel in the story; a generation that is often teased now for being “old” but there were many cool things despite there being less tech for example. Most importantly the themes of friendship, solidarity, and following your gut were key to this book. Encouraging kids to explore, to keep digging, and care for their friends and family is vital.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
Yes, it is the first book in the series. I have no idea when the next book is coming out. The sequel(s) will expand more into the different pachas, Cavilla’s powers, more cases for her to explore as she gets older, and more into her birth family.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Cavilla Ramirez is an average Peruvian teen, tethered to the 1990s rhythm of clarinet rehearsals, dog-eared Agatha Christie novels, and low-stakes schoolyard mysteries. But when a hit-and-run claims her two best friends, her world implodes—and then restructures itself in a seemingly impossible and unnerving way. Her friends aren’t gone. Their ghosts linger, needing her help in solving their murder so that they can cross over. And it’s not just them. Ghosts are everywhere, and somehow, she’s the only one who can see them.
With a protector in the form of a god-turned-cat, Cavilla becomes a reluctant guide between Peru’s realms of the living and the dead. Solving murders and helping the dead find closure becomes her new normal. But every answer she uncovers tugs loose something else: long-buried secrets about her own heritage, secrets her aunt Tia Luz would rather keep six feet under.
And as Cavilla finds out, not all ghosts need guidance. One presence stands apart, watching her… waiting.
And he isn’t asking for help. He wants her – or something she has.
Between the Living and the Dead
Between the Living and the Dead is a haunting, heartwarming, and genre-defying novella that follows Cavilla, a teenage girl straddling two worlds—the realm of the living and a shadowy, spiritual in-between. After a tragic summer that claimed the lives of her closest friends and beloved cat, Cavilla discovers she can interact with the dead and navigate otherworldly dimensions shaped by Peruvian mythology. With ghosts for companions and an inquisitive mind sharpened by Agatha Christie mysteries, Cavilla becomes an unwitting detective and guardian between realms. Her journey is not only about uncovering truths behind ghostly unrest but also confronting her own fractured identity, cultural roots, and hidden family secrets.
From the first page, I was hooked. Sophie Jupillat Posey’s writing is vivid, lyrical, and brimming with emotion. She captures Cavilla’s inner world with poetic detail while keeping the pace sharp and unpredictable. What stood out most was the voice—raw, funny, intelligent, and very real. Cavilla isn’t some tropey “chosen one”; she’s awkward, stubborn, observant, and relatable. Her relationships, especially with her friends Niko and Angelica, are full of warmth and wit, while her dynamic with Tia Luz Marina is tense, layered, and heartbreaking. The blending of supernatural mystery and Latin American folklore felt seamless, adding richness without ever turning preachy or heavy-handed.
The novella doesn’t hand anything to the reader. The metaphysical elements—different realms, time loops, ancient gods—are murky by design. It can be a little disorienting, especially in the middle chapters where time and space stretch like taffy and you’re not sure what’s real. But that confusion mirrors Cavilla’s own experience, and it made me lean in more. This book doesn’t play by the usual rules, and I appreciated that. The story makes space for grief, healing, and cultural rediscovery without trying to tie everything up neatly. It left me with more questions than answers, in the best way.
I’d recommend Between the Living and the Dead to readers who crave more than just thrills in their supernatural fiction. If you like your ghost stories tangled with myth, memory, and mystery—and told by a smart, fiercely curious teen girl who talks back to gods and ghosts alike—this book’s for you. Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour, Isabel Allende, or early Neil Gaiman. It’s weird, wild, and wonderful.
Pages: 112 | ASIN : B0DRYZJFK9
Psychosis Diagnosis
Psychosis Diagnosis by Nikki Minty is a dark, raw, and deeply emotional story set against the gritty backdrop of Coraki, Australia. The book follows Monroe, a teenager born into crushing poverty, drug abuse, and violence, as he struggles to escape his toxic home life. Along the way, he meets Indi, a girl trapped in an oppressive religious cult, and the two bond over their shared trauma. Interwoven through Monroe’s story is the unsettling past of Enzo, a boy from 1920s New Orleans who dabbles in dangerous dark magic and crosses paths with sinister figures. The novel flips back and forth between the two timelines, threading together themes of survival, inherited darkness, and the desperate hope for freedom.
From the very first scene, when Monroe’s mother is scrabbling through carpet fibers for her drug stash, I felt like I was dropped into his suffocating world. The details are so vivid, like the curdled milk on the windowsill, the wild tangle of his mother’s hair, it’s impossible not to feel Monroe’s desperation. Nikki Minty doesn’t sugarcoat anything. She shows every broken window, every slammed fist, and every moment Monroe wishes he could just disappear. There’s a rawness to the language, a kind of grit that doesn’t let you look away. Some parts, like Monroe’s inner battle after Freddy Krueger clocks him with a beer bottle, physically made me tense up.
What surprised me most, though, was how much heart there is beneath all the darkness. The relationship between Monroe and Indi could have felt cliche, but instead, it’s tender and cautious. Indi, with her ice-blue eyes and haunting scars, is fighting her own quiet war, and the scenes where they find shelter under a leaky patio roof or hide out in Monroe’s dingy room are oddly beautiful. I loved that Monroe wasn’t written like some savior figure swooping in. He’s messed up. He’s scared. Sometimes he’s selfish. And that’s exactly what made his decision to help Indi feel heroic. You can feel how heavy that choice is every step of the way.
The flashbacks to Enzo’s life in New Orleans elevated the novel to a deeper and more compelling level. They gave the story this eerie, almost gothic undertone that I didn’t see coming. Enzo’s early scenes with Jerimiah, where they accidentally or maybe not so accidentally kill a young girl during a dark magic ritual, were chilling. It wasn’t just the supernatural stuff that spooked me. It was how easily innocence turned into something monstrous. Enzo’s gradual fall into darkness mirrors Monroe’s struggle in a way that left me genuinely unsettled. The shifts between Monroe and Enzo’s timelines kept the story moving at a brisk pace, though at times I found myself wishing for a few more pages to fully savor each perspective before transitioning.
By the end, I was a wreck, in the best way. Minty builds the tension so well that by the final chapters, when everything’s crashing down, you’re white-knuckling the book, praying these characters you’ve grown to love somehow claw their way out.
I highly recommend Psychosis Diagnosis to readers who appreciate dark, intense, and character-driven narratives. Those who admired works like The Outsiders or Sharp Objects are likely to find this novel equally compelling. However, readers should be prepared for an experience that challenges rather than comforts; this story is not designed to offer easy resolutions, but rather to evoke deep and lasting emotions.
Pages: 372 | ASIN : B0DYZTR4ZR
Ghosts: The People That Melt in The Rain #2
Poor Laura, she has no choice but to accept her new life in the mysterious town of Deluge, where she now lives with her mother. In Ghosts: The People That Melt in the Rain #2, author Carolyn Watson-Dubisch throws Laura into a world where the strange becomes the everyday. From the moment she arrives, uncanny things begin to unfold. A neighborhood cat vanishes, yet its muddy paw prints persist. A woman trapped within a painting at the local library suddenly pleads for Laura’s help. The girl, overwhelmed by emotion, begins to cry, and with those tears, everything changes. What follows is a sharp twist in Laura’s story, one that pulls the reader into a world both eerie and imaginative.
Ghosts channels the nostalgic spirit of Goosebumps, where strange events unfold in a small town, but with a twist: everyone in this town already knows it’s strange. Rather than relying on mystery alone, the book leans into its own eccentricity, crafting a world where the bizarre is baked into everyday life. The inclusion of a “Previously in” chapter smartly reorients readers before plunging into the next segment, maintaining narrative momentum while making space for new developments.
The Traveling Show stands out as delightfully uncanny. Its peculiar charm held my curiosity, especially as the plot zeroed in on Laura and her fate. Her storyline, filled with quiet tension and unfolding mystery, made it impossible to look away. The illustrations are striking and evocative and add dramatic flair to every beat of the story, making emotional moments land with even more impact.
Chapter 4, The Storm, wraps the reader in an eerie atmosphere. Its sense of dread is palpable, yet subtle. From the first panel to the last, I was fully engaged. It’s easy to imagine kids gathered in dimly lit rooms, whispering this story aloud for maximum chills. Watson-Dubisch crafts a tale steeped in mood and originality. Her characters are vivid, multifaceted, and compelling. The pacing moves swiftly, keeping tension high.
Ghosts: The People That Melt in the Rain #2 is a captivating graphic novel that offers a mysterious, emotional, and highly original experience. With its memorable characters, compelling plot, and stunning illustrations, it promises to enchant readers well beyond its target age group.
Pages: 44 | ASIN: B0D8JPYPM2
Ravenswood
Ravenswood plunges readers into the eerie world of a decaying asylum, where a team of paranormal investigators embarks on a chilling journey. At the center of the story is Stephen, a skeptic dragged along to challenge his disbelief in the supernatural. As the tale unfolds, Stephen is faced with more than he bargained for, and by the end, the book hits all the familiar beats of a classic horror movie—for better or worse.
Right from the start, Ravenswood excels at what it sets out to do as a horror story. The pacing mirrors that of a well-crafted horror film, starting slow and steadily building toward heart-pounding intensity. As the tension mounts, so too does the fear, dread, and sheer terror. The true star of the story, though, is Ravenswood Asylum itself. It looms large as the perfect villain, its atmosphere thick with menace and mystery. The asylum is vividly described, its every creak and shadow brought to life in a way that avoids falling into overused horror tropes. It stands as a fully realized, terrifying setting that adds depth to the story and elevates the scares. Like many modern horror films, Ravenswood places its focus more on the concept and setting, which results in a strong atmospheric experience. Stephen, the protagonist, does undergo some character growth, which adds depth to his role, though the real emphasis of the story is on the paranormal intrigue. The supporting cast, while serving specific roles in the plot, effectively helps to keep the focus on the eerie atmosphere and the unfolding mystery. By the end, the introduction of new characters adds a fresh layer of excitement, helping to propel the narrative forward and offering dynamic ways to resolve the group’s dire situation. The process of summoning the primary antagonist, a demon, is deliberately simple, relying on a skeptic, a chant, and minimal ritual elements, which enhances the story’s accessibility and draws readers into the tension quickly. Dispelling the demon, in contrast, requires much more effort, emphasizing teamwork and belief from all involved. This shift in difficulty adds a layer of complexity that keeps readers engaged. Familiar with the horror genre, this structure creates anticipation and a sense of challenge, leaving readers invested in seeing how the characters will overcome the escalating stakes.
Ravenswood is an engaging and atmospheric horror novel that successfully captures the essence of classic supernatural thrillers. Its chilling setting, combined with a steadily building sense of dread, creates an immersive experience that horror fans will appreciate. While the focus leans more on the eerie concept and paranormal intrigue, the journey is filled with tension and suspense, keeping readers on edge from start to finish. With its blend of supernatural scares, intriguing twists, and a truly haunting setting, Ravenswood is a thrilling read that delivers plenty of excitement for fans of the genre.
Pages: 224 | ASIN : B0DHB2L3FP
Someone Died In My House
Someone Died in My House, by Meg Howald, presents a unique psychological thriller, intricately woven around a historical murder mystery in Ben Needham’s residence. The narrative centers on Ben’s quest to eliminate a formidable, possibly hazardous entity from his home, a journey that compels him to delve into a long-concealed murder. Aided by Dr. Rose Henhawke and Dr. Joseph Hightower, experts in psychology and quantum physics, Ben embarks on a path of discovery that challenges the boundaries of science and the supernatural.
This novel distinguishes itself in the realm of psychological thrillers through its skillful integration of scientific elements with the paranormal, creating a captivating mix of suspense and mystery. Meg Howald’s characters are exceptionally well-developed, bringing an almost tangible presence to the story. The reader is drawn into the depths of the enigmatic force in Ben’s house, slowly unraveling the terrifying scope of its capabilities.
A noteworthy aspect of Howald’s writing is the interplay of tension and humor. Mark, Ben’s best friend, provides periodic comic relief, offering a welcome respite from the novel’s intense suspense. This balance enriches the narrative, adding depth and relief to the otherwise high-stakes plot.
For those interested in a psychological thriller that expertly blends suspense with relatable characters, Someone Died in My House is a compelling choice. It’s a novel that engages the reader without overwhelming, promising a thrilling journey into the unknown.
Pages: 293 | ASIN : B0CN4ZX9WC
LITERARY TITAN 