Devil's Hill II: Stories

The author very kindly sent me a review copy for my Spooky Season reads. I'm glad to have received it! Although this is the second, you don't necessarily have to read them together, or in order, but it does help. This released on September 21, 2022, brand new! Show some indie support this Halloween!

This is an 8 story horror anthology collection. Right off the bat I liked that they are a little lengthly, it reminded me of being in the same vein as Josh Malerman's ‘Goblin'. The stories are all interconnected through the 8th story (no spoilers) and the fact that they all take place in Devil's Hill, Arizona. They all have various classic horror nods, such as: Christine, Scream, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and I'm sure a bunch of others my horror newbie self just happened to miss. Some are overt references, and some are through the content, which I liked a lot. The pumpkin head gent from the cover makes me think Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns big time, especially with both featuring flame lit ones, even though they're being worn, but this is definitely for adults! 

My personal favorite story was ‘The Seance'. I liked the way the author set it up, the execution, and the climax of it all. The author has this way of capturing dialogue in the exact way it's spoken, which is unique to me, because I feel like mentally people have an accepted version of “normal” talking for reading...this is talking as people actually talk. 

Personally a 4.5/5* for me. My first with this author.