March was a good reading month for me! I temporarily lost track of the Goodreads challenge, though. I’m pretty sure I actually read Pressure by Jeff Strand in February… Oops! I’ll review it here since I missed it last month. (I am usually reading 2-3 books at any given time, so I occasionally mess up this list.)

Pressure (Jeff Strand)

Rating: 4/5

I have read one other Jeff Strand novel (My Pretties), and I find I like his writing style and his twisted ideas. Pressure was a tense story throughout. The reader can feel the frustration of Alex’s dealings with Darren and how hopeless it is to think Darren can be bested. I won’t say anything else because I try my best not to include spoiler alerts, but I highly recommend adding Pressure to your TBR is you enjoy psychological thrillers that keep you on the edge.

Virgin Night (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 5/5

I love Christopher Robertson. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m just devouring his books. Lol. I love his take on all of my favorite horror tropes, and Virgin Night is another masterful ode to 90s slasher flicks. The core characters were well-written and relatable, and the ones you’re supposed to hate…well, you will. The references to AIM, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” industrial/metal bands that were what I listened to back then, etc., just carried me on a wave of nostalgia, while the story itself was crafted in a way that kept you on your toes. There was never a lull in the action: Virgin Night will have you hooked from page one!

Hannah’s War (Jan Eliasberg)

Rating: 4/5

Hannah’s War was sent to me via a “Blind Date With a Book” purchase on Etsy. I put off reading it for a while because I wasn’t sure it was going to be my cup of tea. However, once I started it, I was drawn in almost instantly. This book is historical fiction, set during the final months of World War II. It’s a love story, yes, but all the intricacies of the tale are not drowned in a sappy, over-the-top romance. Hannah is a remarkable woman, intelligent and poised, and the men around her can’t help noticing. She also holds the future in her hands, as she has made a discovery that could alter everything – and she risks losing it all, including her life, to protect that discovery and keep it out of the wrong hands.

Ice Cold Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4/5

Another installment in the Charlie Kingsley series, Ice Cold Murder takes the reader on a journey through a blizzard, to a haunted house, for a weekend with estranged family members and a will reading. Only before any business can be handled, the lawyer is found dead in the woodshed. Now, it is up to Charlie and Officer Wyle to discover the culprit. Have they unwittingly found themselves spending the weekend with a murderer?

All I can say is, if you enjoy cozy mysteries, you’ve gotta try this series.

The Ritual (Adam Nevill)

Rating: 4/5

I actually watched the movie based on this novel a while ago, so naturally, I had to read it, too. The Ritual does take a bit of patience to get through. The main characters are lost in the woods, so there are times when nothing much is happening aside from hiking or huddling I tents. However, the shadow of fear lurks around every corner as Luke, Hutch, Phil, and Dom attempt to escape the ancient forest and slowly discover that they’ve stumbled upon a corner of the world where the things that go bump in the night still exist. If you like messed up stories about people who live beyond the outskirts of society and still respect old traditions (including human sacrifice), this is the book for you.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Madeleine L’Engle)

Rating: 3/5

I read A Wrinkle in Time many, many years ago. When I found three of the companion novels, I bought them without hesitation. I’m glad I did, but I have to say that neither A Wind in the Door nor A Swiftly Tilting Planet was able to recapture the magic of that first book. A Swiftly Tilting Planet was readable, I just didn’t get sucked in. I had to work to get through it. Here’s hoping Many Waters is better.

The Playroom (Wallace Henry)

Rating: 3/5

I generously gave The Playroom three stars for one reason only: the first part of this book is gloriously fucked-up. The story began like dozens of horror movies I’ve loved. Two cops find a woman covered in blood out in the middle of nowhere, and she has a harrowing tale about a house in the woods where a twisted duo did unspeakable things to her. Sounds promising, right? Yeah, it’s not. The twist killed it for me. You can try it, though. Just brace yourself for the genre-bend about halfway through.

***

I am currently reading Sundial (Catriona Ward) and the next book in the Charlie Kingsley series, Murder Next Door.

Progress: 19/50