Book Review: Haunted Hideout (The Haunted Ones #1) by Michelle Dorey

Haunted Hideout (The Haunted Ones #1)
by Michelle Dorey 
Published January 14th 2018 by Amazon

Ghostly terror awaits in the so called ‘safe house’.

They didn’t know it was the last day of normal. Liam—husband, father—the rock who anchored them in a comfortable life in sunny Miami had been gunned down by a hit man.

The wounds of losing him are raw when Lydia and her two children are snatched for their own protection. The FBI scoop the family into the Witness Protection Program. Their safety from the drug cartel is assured.

Or is it?

The FBI makes a serious mistake in the relocation plan. The secluded farmhouse in a northern state is anything but a sanctuary. No one questioned why they could buy the house so cheap. No one listened to the local yokel tale of what happened there.

A tale of a dark and tragic history. Ghosts of the past have abided there for years, forcing other families to flee for their lives. At first the entities toy with Lydia and her children, flickering the lights, banging doors, and revealing fleeting glimpses.

When a raging blizzard traps the family there, the haunting escalates. What had been frightening escapades become dangerous threats. Deadly threats. Years before there had been a massacre in this house. It’s time for another.

Will they survive the night?

Reviews:  I chose this book because one of the reviews I read said it took place in Northern New York, which is where I live. I didn't think that it would actually take place 30 mins away from where I live. So I found myself trying to picture the location and if the house might have been based on a real place. Sadly I couldn't think of anything that matched, but it was fun trying.
Lydia and her children are swept away by the FBI when he husband is found out as a snitch for a drug cartel. Her husband is dead and the family is being stalked by the drug cartel. The story is extremely fast paced and I found Lydia taking things at face valve a bit unbelievable. While I felt this was a good bases for the story and characters, I would have like to see things built up more. I felt like this should have been a full length book and not just a short story. It would have played out better with more of a build up than what we got. There was a great foundation, but nothing solid to sink the readers teeth into. 
With that said I did like the story, it was exciting and had it's moments. I just wish there had been more to it. 

Book Review: The Redwood Asylum

The Redwood Asylum 

by L.A. Detwilers 

Published March 12, 2021

The dead do talk ... if you’re brave enough to hear their sinister secrets. In a thick forest sits a forgotten stone building, The Redwood Asylum. Once inside, the criminally insane, the darkly disturbed, and the eternally confused residents learn one thing very quickly: they are at the mercy of ruthless evil in many forms. At twenty-six, Jessica Rosen starts a new job at Redwood in the hopes of forgetting an insidious past. She quickly realizes, however, that Redwood harbors malevolent secrets and beings in every chilly corner. On her second day adjusting to her job, the unstable man in 5B quickly latches onto Jessica in an unsettling way. When his rantings and warnings start to make sense, though, Jessica will be taken on a ride of secrets, murder, and dangerous beings. As she begins to uncover the horrifying truths behind the man’s past , the terrors of Redwood Asylum will follow her home and make her question her own sanity. Can Jessica solve the secrets of the man in 5B in time to save herself, or will the terrors trap her in Redwood’s evil clutches forever?

Review: I was intrigued and disappointed by this story. Jessica is starting her new job as a nurse at Redwood Asylum. After something happens in her past she is trying to leave it behind and just move on. Yet after meeting the man in 5B she's pulled into a dark terrifying ride. 

I actually liked the story, the plot was well done and moved along well. Ms Detwiler did a really good job of keeping the reader interested and reading. I liked Jessica, she was a good protagonist. I found her believable and it was easy to be empathic toward her.  As the story progresses you know she did something horrible, yet can also tell she feels bad for whatever it is. On the other hand she had made her decisions and has to live with them. I really wanted her to find redemption in trying to figure out the mystery behind the ghosts haunting her. 

This leads me to the biggest disappointment of the book which was the ending. I won't do spoilers, but lets just say things did not end the way I had hoped they would. While this is fine, most the time. The whole ending of this book just left me feeling frustrated. 

I thought Ms. Detwiler's writing was well done and she did a great job of creating a paranormal mystery. If you're in the mood for a spooky read then give this book a try maybe you'll feel differently. 

Fort Ontario Trip

We took the kids to Fort Ontario today. Had a nice walk around the fort and they had a car show going on so we looked at those. On the way home we stopped at a road side flea market. I picked up a new ring and the kids found some treasures.