Category Archives: Dark/Sordid/Bizarre
Mother Of – Lauren Coffin
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Meredith Mayes is facing the unthinkable. Her husband and son died in a car crash ten years ago. Now, her other son Percy has been penned with the nicknames “The Minor Street Monster”, “The Ann Arbor … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Skinny reads
Tagged mass murders, psychology, serial killers
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Poso Wells- Gabriela Alemán (Translated from the Spanish by Dick Cluster)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Something crouches in the streets of Poso Wells, and it attaches the nerves like a persistent drumbeat. Whatever it is haunts the dreams of the residents, panting I their faces, slobbering them with noxious saliva and … Continue reading
Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Latin American Literature, Noir-esque fiction, Political fiction, World Issues, World Literature
Tagged corruption, Crime, cults, Ecuador, politics
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The Third Hotel: A Novel – Laura van den Berg
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The foundation of horror is a dislocation of reality, a dislocation designed to reveal the reality that has been there all along, and such dislocations happen all the time. “ That was according to the fictional … Continue reading
Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Horror, Modern Literary Fiction, Noir-esque fiction
Tagged cinema, Cuba, death, grief, Havana, Latin America, surrealism
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Serial Killers: Horror and Murder: Scary and True Stories of the Most Terrifying Serial Killers the World has Ever Seen! – Frank C. Chastain
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Don’t be fooled by the book cover! You may think it was taken right out of a tabloid headline. No, Serial Killers takes a mostly objective look at some of the world’s darkest and most notorious … Continue reading
Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, History
Tagged Crime, murder, psychopaths, serial killers
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The Skin Room – Morgan Fleetwood
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…I was already imagining her insides —I am not one to stop at the body naked. My imagination ran behind the flesh, into the pulp. I imagined her glistening innards, her yellow and purple heart, the … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Dark/Sordid/Bizarre
Tagged crime fiction, psychological thriller, serial killers, suspense
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Sugar Skulls – M.R. Tapia
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Celestial authorities have coordinated with the Emergency Alert System to issue this warning: Your soul is now properly fucked…” Micah DeAtta, a young drug and alcohol addicted, depressed, deadbeat dad is faced with finality—death itself. Death … Continue reading
Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged book reviews, death, fiction, memories, regrets
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Siphon – A. A. Medina
Reviewed by JD Jung) Hematopathologist Gary Phillips continually pulls all-nighters at the hospital and hates his job. He has no girlfriend or social life, though he has an infatuation with a female co-worker who is at least ten years his … Continue reading
The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema – Michael Vaughn
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Welcome seeks of the odd and the strange! What you hold in your hands is not merely a book but a map to the sublimely weird, the wonderful, and the grimy side of cinema from all … Continue reading
Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Non-fiction, Our Best
Tagged cinema, cult film, Grindhouse
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What Lies Within – Clare de Lune
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…I learned how a body could become a beautiful contribution to the power of cosmetics…the most exquisite, deepest shade of blood red lipstick you’ve’ ever seen, rich soaps made from the finest fats…all those parts put … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Our Best
Tagged book reviews, fiction, horror, New Orleans, psychological thriller, San Francisco, suspense
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Fall – Candice Fox
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “How to explain it all to him, a normal human man, someone with all his faculties, with a soul. How to explain that at the core of her being Eden killed people the way she breathed, … Continue reading
