Rena Mason

In her debut novel, Rena Mason hits it out of the park with her horror novel The Evolutionist. Set in the Las Vegas suburbs, Stacy Troy lives a self-absorbed life with her friends, who are cast right out of one of those Housewives of show. Mason even cleverly has Stacy and her group of friends trying to be cast on the show. Her days are filled with yoga classes, spa treatments, and driving her son around. Her nights are filled with brutal nightmares where she dismembers the bodies of her show more loved ones. Although Stacy feels as if she is losing her mind, I wouldn't classify this as a psychological horror novel. The nightmares lead to a purpose. When she can no longer take it, she goes to see Dr. Light, a psychiatrist, who uses strange techniques to help Stacy, except that her nightmares only get worse, and she begins to hear voices. The twist where this all leads to caught me by surprise in a good way.

The first thing that stands out is that Rena Mason is a talented writer, something that as a fellow writer I can appreciate. Her prose rings out strong and clear, especially her dialogue. The characters are also very well developed, even if they are not always likeable. For instance, Mason does a good job with Stacy's circle of friends, even though I didn't find any of them someone that I would root for. There is a nice build that leads to the climax, and a dark sense of foreboding that resonates in this book. If you like your fiction dark and appreciate good writing, this is a novel that you will want to pick up.

Carl Alves - author of Blood Street show less

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Wow. What a gangbuster list of horror stories. I don't think I disliked a one of them except for that poem that was like a half a page and just made me go huh. But you all know that most poems I read that are horror (usually written by Stephen King or Neil Gaiman) are like my least favorite things.

The first story is shockingly a poem (leave me alone), but not the one I was talking about above, show more "Other Fears" by Christina Sng starts off with a woman who is being abused by a man and how he chips away parts of her through the years and how he wore a mask for others. And how it ends...yeah, that was a great ending.

From there we have great stories that I didn't want to end.

"Idiot Girls" by Jennifer McMahon shows us that even though you are in love with someone, how well can you know them?

"Waste Not" by Alma Katsu shows us how a family can come together and hide a monstrous thing. Got to love that ending though.

"Night Shopper" by Michael H. Hanson shows us how different things are in a world where monsters roam and still need their groceries. Seriously was delighted by this one and thought it was cleverly done.

"Scrape" by Denise Dumars shows us a world where something different is always feared (in America) but is seen as almost sacred in Mexico. The main character, Mitsuko left the U.S. with her wife Judy after Asian hate crimes took off post-COVID. I did feel this one ended a little weaker than the others so far in the anthology though.

"Mud Flappers" by Usman T. Malik. I am still confused by this one and what happened. I still enjoyed it though.

"Churn the Unturning Tide" by Annie Neugebauer. Reading about a woman who is pregnant and seems to be going through some changes, and some women that she meets while doing a swim class who seem to go a bit feral was kind of...actually it was on the mark.

"There's Always Something in the Woods" by Gabino Iglesias. 5 damn stars. I want a movie. Also, yes, it's not fair.

"The Turning" by Hailey Piper. A young girl is going through something that is changing teens all over the world. What her family does next though...is it really unexpected?

"Help, I'm a Cop" by Nathan Carson. Well what do you know...I felt a little pity. Just a smidge. Excellent story. I did love how Carson shows us our main character that gave up so many parts of himself for an indifferent father.

"Miss Infection USA" by Shanna Heath. What to do when young girls rise as zombies? You throw a pageant. Honestly this was great and the darkness of the story bleeds in after a while. You realize what big sister in this story has gone through to make sure her sister Martha stays safe.

"All Not Ready" by Tracy Cross. A bunch of kids play a game.

"Illusions of the De-Evolved" by Linda D. Addison. No.

"Black Screams, Yellow Stars" by Maxwell I. Gold. What happens when the red hats (guess who) come for everyone. Echoes of the Middle Passage are brought back to the present.

There are so many more stories but honestly just read this thing. It was so so freaking good. show less

Two very well written historical crime stories playing in the 19th century Scotland and England respectively. The first one deals with two body snatchers - a practice which become quite virulent at that time. Well, I have to confess, in this one I felt already sympathetic with these two god-for-nothings. On the other hand: The rather mystical end of the story irritated me, was too unreal for me.

Even more I enjoyed the second story: A remake of the good old 'Jack the Ripper' theme in which show more the heinous murderer is not a man but a young female student of medicine 'practicing' in the East End of London. Two stories I had to read in one piece ... show less

This volume contains two novellas related by theme, based on historical facts. Only the Thunder Knows by Gord Rollo is based on the actions of Burke and Hare, the notorious grave robbers active in Scotland in the 1820's. It combines elements of horror and magic, including the participation of Merlin, Morgana Le Fey and King Arthur in a classic story of good versus evil. East End Girls by Rena Mason set in London inthe 1890's and is a new take on the story of Jack the Ripper. Could Jack have show more been Jill? Both novellas come off well, but I preferred the Burke and Hare story for its presentation of realistic characters (if one can say that about Merlin!) and a quite realistic setting. This is the first in a series of DoubleDown books by JournalStone Press. The series is off to a good start! show less