James Newman (1) (1973–)

The horror that exists when those you once said 'hello' to turn on you.

It's even worse when you understand that they don't care why they've turned on you.

Anger, revenge...they turn the nicest people into monsters that are worse than anything our minds can conjure up. For one, they're real.

And that's the scariest thing of all.

Andrew Holland is the protagonist in this unsettling tale, and he's a best selling horror author - a profession his neighbors deem 'unsavory,' though they don't let him know this until he finds a dead girl's body in a construction site one morning.

The rest, as they say, is rather uncomfortable history.

Deception, death, and Andrew's own paranoia are pushed to their limits in this 'right-next-door' horror novel.

It's a solid tale of what could happen if humans feel justified in their anger - and decide they can act on it. It's the blindness of rage, of grief, and what it can propel us to if closure is never found.

It's a sad tale, a horrible tale (in the best sense), and it's horror in a terrible-pit-of-your-gut feeling - it's ANIMOSITY. It's by James Newman.

And it's damn good.… (more)

Jake and Matthew have not seen their mother for years. They live in constant fear of beatings from their abusive alcoholic father. Jake longs for the day that he will have enough money to take his little brother and run away to find their mom in California, never believing their father that it is their fault she ran off. The relationship between the brothers, and Jake's fierce desire to protect Matthew is palpable. It made me wish I could rip them from the book and rescue them myself.
When Jake is finally ready to implement his plan, outside forces conspire against them and ugly truths long hidden, come to light.

I received a complimentary copy for review… (more)

When three teenage besties set out to teach someone a lesson about messing with a married man, the important thing to remember is that nobody was supposed to get hurt. Their intention was only to make the other woman go away. Sure there may have been some property damage, but mild destruction was not meant to include death. Well you know what they say about best-laid plans. Things go awry for Amelia and her friends when they discover a horrifying secret and there's no telling who will survive the night on Callaghan Drive.

"Silence. Even the crickets had stopped chirping for now. As if they too were appalled at what they had witnessed."

I loved the friendship between these three girls and the way they were portrayed as willing to do anything for each other no matter the risk. These girls were tough as nails in a day when so many female characters in horror are portrayed as catty or weak and waiting for a man to swoop in and save them. The story itself is quite unsettling. It went places I did not expect to go.

I received an advance copy for review.… (more)

I received a paperback ARC of Ride or Die, authored by James Newman from Silver Shamrock Publishing. What follows below is my honest review, freely given. Cover design: Kealan Patrick Burke under his company name Elderlemon Design. Interior art: Bob Veon. Ride or Die comic illustration: Alex McVey. Edit and format: Kenneth W. Cain.

I rated this novella 5 stars. Think fast! What type of characters do you think would fill the pages of a tale titled Ride or Die? First gut reaction? I was mistaken (delightfully so), were you? Now I also went in blind, not even a little peek at the back, which I suggest if you have the chance.

Now, this whole novella is an off the rails, speed ball of twisted horror. Just when I would be certain I had it all nailed down it would go screaming off in the other direction; ramping up the tension as the reader careens towards the unknowable ending.

I hate spoilers. I try my damnedest to review without posting them, and I am having the hardest time sharing anything and not feeling like it is a spoiler in some way. So if you like stories that cut quick, are violent and surprising: read Ride or Die, you will not regret it.… (more)