“Saving Ruby King”–Review

Family. Faith. Secrets. Everything in this world comes full circle.

Ruby King is grieving her mother’s untimely demise, which happened in their home in the South Side of Chicago. Despite what happened, the police look at it as another act of violence in the city, nothing new to them. While no one knows who was behind her mother’s murder, at the same time, people are looking the other way with the reality of Ruby living in hell with her abusive father, Lebanon. Some start to wonder if Lebanon was the killer.

While everyone else is looking the other way, the only one who cares enough to help Ruby is her best friend, Layla. But her father, Jackson Potter, pastor of their church, advises her to stay out of it. But how can Layla sit back and allow Lebanon to get away with his actions? What she also doesn’t understand is how her preacher father refuses to do anything about the situation, especially when Lebanon and Jackson go way back. Layla is scared, yet angry. She’s angry that everyone who knew Ruby’s mother saw the signs of years of abuse she endured, but no one was willing to speak up. She’s angry at Jackson’s cowardice. She’s angry that the police are in a rush to close the case. And she’s angry that Ruby is slipping away from her, practically refusing her help. But none of those facts are going to stop Layla from saving her from Lebanon.

This story did a great job with depicting the realities of domestic violence, denial, and regret. A part of me felt for Lebanon, because of his past, yet it all didn’t excuse his current actions. But I won’t go into detail there. I hated how much he referred to Ruby as “the girl.” I thought, She’s your daughter! Her name’s Ruby! Yes, I got a bit emotionally involved in some scenes. Jackson’s hypocrisy was upsetting to me, as well, yet I was able to look at another fact that although he was a preacher, he had his own problems, like anyone else. Most of the chapters alternate between the past and present and tie the whole story together, bringing a surprise twist I didn’t expect. As I’ve mentioned, I won’t go into too much detail, except to recommend you check out this story. Also, I’m happy that I’ll be taking part in a buddy read for this book on Instagram. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Catherine Adel West is an editor living and working in Chicago. She graduated with both her Bachelors and Masters of Science in Journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana. Her work is published in Black Fox, Five2One, Better than Starbucks, Doors Ajar, 805 Lit + Art, The Helix Magazine, Lunch Ticket and Gay Magazine. Saving Ruby King is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter. For more info on the author, click here.

“Ceremony of Ashes”–Review

In Leinster Village, no one is safe.

On Halloween night, a mother and her little girl are out trick-or-treating. Once they’re ready to head back home after their adventure, a woman covered from head to toe approaches them. All the woman wants to do is show them a harmless, magic trick…

The next day, Adrian Holloway receives a phone call that changes everything: his sister and niece are missing. In haste, Adrian drives back to his childhood home in Leinster Village to check up on his grieving, emotionally unstable mother. While he anxiously awaits answers from the police who are on the case, mysterious disappearances and gruesome deaths are happening so fast, the residents are constantly paranoid. Parents are afraid to leave their children, let alone leave their homes for anything else.

While everything keeps going from bad to worse, Adrian eventually learns of a woman from generations ago, whose powers are beyond imagination, who will stop at nothing until she gets her revenge on the entire town. But why? What happened to this woman and what connection does she have to Adrian’s family tree?

Rarely do I read horror stories, yet I enjoy them. I especially like stories involving cringe-worthy moments and gore, so this story was right up my alley. I’ll be on the lookout for more. For fans of supernatural horror, get yourself a copy of this novella. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, again. I’m always happy to put the word out there.

About the author: Published in Z Publishing’s AMERICA’S EMERGING WRITERS SERIES; Horror, Science Fiction, and New Hampshire issues. Author of contemporary supernatural and psychological Gothic fiction with high doses of drama, suspense, and mystery. For more info, click here. You can also find him on Facebook and Instagram.

“The Safe Place”–Review

No phones. No outsiders. No escape.

Emily Proudman is struggling to make ends meet, all the while trying to make her acting career take off. In one day, however, she not only loses her acting agent, but she gets fired from Proem Partners. To top it off, she’s on the verge of losing her apartment due to her being behind on her rent.

Just when she thinks all hope is lost, she meets Scott Denny, a successful CEO, who offers Emily an opportunity to get back on her feet: a summer job as a housekeeper on Scott’s remote, beautiful French estate. On her first day on the job, Emily meets Scott’s wife, Nina, and their young daughter, Aurelia.

While she quickly gets adjusted to the job and the perks of the estate, Emily can’t help noticing Nina and Aurelia’s odd behaviors and routines. Why won’t Aurelia speak? And what are Scott and Nina hiding? Perhaps the job was too good to be true.

While I liked the idea of this story and was looking forward to it, I felt that some important details were left out, but I won’t spoil it. Nina’s story caught my attention during the second half, but then the rest of the story wasn’t working for me. The ending also was rushed and really could have been better. I was hoping for some kind of surprise. No matter, feel free to check out the book; it’s now available. I’ll still be on the lookout for suspense thrillers. Happy reading!

About the author: Anna Downes was born and raised in Sheffield, UK, but now lives just north of Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children. She worked as an actress before turning her attention to writing, and appeared in BBC TV shows, including EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City, and Dalziel and Pascoe, as well as a long-running stage production of The Dresser in London’s West End. She has degrees from both Manchester University (Drama) and RADA (Acting). She has been most recently published in the Zodiac Literary Review (US, 2017), shortlisted for the Sydney Writers’ Room Short Story Prize (2017), and longlisted for the Margaret River Short Story Competition (2018). The Safe Place was inspired by Anna’s experiences working as a live-in housekeeper on a remote French estate in 2009-10. Follow her on Twitter.