Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano

Available now

CW: child death, grief

Picture this: You’re overcome with grief over the death of your child. You find a name mysteriously written on the floor of your child’s room. When you discover the name is actually that of a real island, you travel there and find something really, really strange. Time has stopped. People dress like it’s 1994. The cars are all pre-1994, there’s very little tech, cell phones aren’t allowed, the O.J. car chases is everywhere, and people seem very, very odd.

And then you go missing.

That’s Dead Eleven.

This is a weird, twisty tale with so many twists and turns that I really don’t want to spoil anything. This will be a quick, and hopefully, spoiler-free review!

It’s a strange, quirky novel that explores the complexities of grief, family dynamics, and how teenagers will always mess up a decades long cover-up. The characters were well written and interesting, even if a few felt like horror novel stereotypes. While a dark power taking over a small island isn’t exactly breaking new ground, I really liked the originality of how the residents tried to battle it and keep it contained. The mystery of Clifford Island was strong enough to keep my interested in the story and while the plot moved along pretty quickly, there were a few sections that felt repetitive and the ending seemed a bit rushed. Overall though, I really enjoyed it and found it to be a solid debut novel.

If you’d like to add this dark and compelling novel to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Horror Quickie - The Last House on Needless Street

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Reader friends, this book contains all the content warnings. It’s a rough, rough read but the writing itself is phenomenal.

From the Publisher:

In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.

A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time.
A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory.
And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.

An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.

The Last House on Needless Street is an intricately crafted puzzle that reveals itself to be extraordinarily dark and horrifying. It’s full of unreliable narrators and complex characters set in a dark and depressing part of the neighborhood. This neighborhood also borders a forest and that can only be home to horrific secrets. Not going to lie, it took until the last 50 or so pages for me to fully realize what was actually going on in the story and I was completely blown away. While this is one of the hardest books I’ve read in a long time, Ward’s ability to weave such an intricate story and pull off that level of a reveal was extraordinary to experience.

Highly recommend it, but know this is a hard and trauma filled story going in. If you want to add this book to your collection, you can find ordering information here or click on the book cover.

This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

Available Now

Obsessed over the long-ago disappearance of an entire mining town, Alice and her production team set out to the abandoned village create a documentary. Camping in the village square, cooking over a portable grill, and bathing in the nearby river are far from glamorous, but everyone on the team is dedicated to helping Alice make her dream documentary a reality. Everyone knows that part of Alice’s fascination with the village is her grandmother’s ties to the village. Her grandmother moved away shortly before her family and the entire village disappeared. But not the entire village, a lone baby was found nearby. What the team doesn’t know, is that Alice isn’t the only person with a connection to the village.

As the team searches the village for clues, they encounter strange occurrences that quickly escalate to violence. With no way to contact the outside world for help, Alice and her team must fight to stay alive. But what are they fighting?

This is such a great thriller! I loved how the author includes two time lines, the present day with Alice and her team and Alice’s family from 1959, the year of the disappearance. While you would think that Alice’s grandmother and great-grandmother would provide all the clues to the disappearance, the author doles out the information in small bits, constantly keeping you guessing. But that’s not to mean this a slow book, it actually flies by as the team seems under constant threat from the mysterious force that is trying to force them away from the village. The “Lost Village” is a character itself. While it was once a prosperous mining town full of young families, it held it’s own dark secrets. Gossip spreads quickly in a small town and the village church was a huge influence on the villagers. A young woman named Birgitta, left on her own after her mother’s death, is cared for by Elsa, Alice’s great-grandmother. Birgitta’s difficulties to care for herself, from what appears to be a cognitive deficiency of some kind, causes the village to pity her, but not enough to provide her with proper housing and decent food. As a new pastor gains influence over the villagers, they grow to fear and despise Birgitta, much to Elsa’s disbelief. As the village becomes more hostile towards Birgitta, everyone’s true colors come to light. The same occurs with Alice’s production team. The more danger they find themselves in, the more they become suspicious and fearful of each other. It was really interesting watching the two storylines overlap in that way.

This is an excellent thriller filled with horror elements and an intriguing mystery. It’s a compelling and fast paced story that will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat. I can’t wait to see more from Camilla Sten!

If you would like to add this creepy and thrilling book to your shelves, you can find ordering information here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post also contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.