Book Tour: The Litter by Kevin R. Doyle

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kevin R. Doyle will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner, and a second drawing for a free e-Book copy of the book, via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

They kept to the shadows so no one would know they existed, and preyed on the nameless who no one would miss. Where did they come from, and who was protecting them? In a city that had seen every kind of savagery, they were something new, something more than murderous. And one woman, who had thought she had lost everything there was to lose in life, would soon find that nothing could possibly prepare her for what would come when she entered their world.

Read an Excerpt

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Pam said.

“Still think it was a dog?” her partner asked.

“What else could it have been? It doesn’t take the ME over there to know that this guy’s been all chewed up.”

“What I’m getting at is it may not have been a single animal.”

“Come again? Are you thinking of a pack or something?”

“Well,” Gonzales said, “just looking at it . . .” He waved his arm in the direction of the mess on the pavement.

“That’s insane, Enrico. Who the hell ever heard of a pack of dogs attacking people in the middle of a city?”

“You ever hear of one dog doing anything that even remotely looks like that?”

“What about rats?” she asked the older cop, fearful he would laugh in her face.

“I actually thought of that myself for a moment there. It’s not the most far-fetched of possibilities.”

“No?”

“Not at all. Once, I saw what was left of an old wino eaten by rats, back when I’d been on the force not much longer than you have. But that was a guy who’d crawled under the porch of a house, probably trying to escape the weather. Besides, long ago as it’s been, from what I remember, that body didn’t look anything like this.”

“No, huh?”

“Not really, no. It looked more like he’d been nibbled on till he was worn down to practically nothing.”

Pam pointed towards the corpse.

“That’s not a bunch of nibbles,” she said.

About the Author:

A high-school teacher, former college instructor, and fiction writer, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of numerous short horror stories. He’s also written three crime thrillers, The Group, When You Have to Go There, and And the Devil Walks Away, and one horror novel, The Litter. In the last few years, he’s begun working on the Sam Quinton private eye series, published by Camel Press. The first Quinton book, Squatter’s Rights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus award for Best First PI Novel. The second book, Heel Turn, was released in March of 2021, while the third in the series, Double Frame, came out in March of 2022.

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Audio Book Review: My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

My Best Friend's Exorcism
by Grady Hendrix
Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
Published May 17th 2016 by Blackstone Audio
Purchased from Audible

1988. Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act… different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby.

Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries - and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

Like an unholy hybrid of Beaches and The Exorcist, My best Friend's Exorcism blends teen angst, adolescent drama, unspeakable horrors, and a mix of '80s pop songs into a pulse-pounding supernatural thriller. 

Book Review: This book was a bit nostalgic for me as a child of the 80's. I found myself repeatedly trying to put myself into Abby's position. At times it was a bit hard, I have to admit. I found the beginning a bit confusing, but finally got my footing. 

The plot was good, but I didn't get why Abby did some of the things she did. Even as a teen I don't think I would have done some of the things she did or put up with the stuff she did. Yet I can also remember being willing to walk through hell for my best friends. However I still had a hard time with the characters. They just didn't feel fleshed out, I found them one dimensional and a little bland. 

The events leading up to the exorcism were a bit cliché. Although I did find the end of the exorcism pretty original and it brought a smile to my face. While not a stand out book, I did find it a entertaining read. 

Book Review: The Legend of the Dogman by David C. Posthumus

The Legend of the Dogman

by David C. Posthumus
Published: January 11th 2022 by Timber Ghost Press
I received a copy of this book free via Silver Dragger Book Tours from the author. 

Something dark and malevolent stalks the majestic Northwoods of Michigan, and each corpse sends a new wave of terror through the small town of LeRoy. Anthropology professor Jack Allen uncovers a pattern of strange encounters, disappearances, and unsolved murders that shake him to his core. The deeper Jack delves into the horror in the woods, the more his life falls apart around him. With his family and all of Northern Michigan hanging in the balance, Jack must find a way to stop the cycle or risk losing everything to the ultimate predator. Meet a new kind of monster in David C. Posthumus’s bone-chilling suspenseful thriller, The Legend of the Dogman!

Review: Most people into cryptozoology know the story of the Dogman. It's one of those urban legends that people latch onto and go searching for. Jack becomes one of those people only it seems that the legend is searching for him. With multiple unexplained deaths at the hands of what seems to be a large dog popping up and Jack seeing a strange humanoid creature with glowing eyes. He then finds he father's chest which drags him down a rabbit hole of strange occurrences that happen every seven years. 

The story is well told with a plot that grabs you and keeps you reading. My only real complaint was that at times Mr Posthumus over explained things. He went into great detail about little things that really didn't effect the story as much as you would be lead to believe by the amount of information he was giving you. The other thing that kinda bugged me but also seemed to work in a way was the telling aspect. I felt like a lot of the book was being told to you, yet it also worked in a way because it was being told to Jack. So I was a bit ify on how to feel about it. In way it bothered my, yet also was justified. I did like that the characters were well fleshed out and easy to empathize with. The story once it got going played out a bit like a movie in my head, dragging me along on this horrific roll-a-coaster. 

Book Review: A Grave Conjuring (The Haunted Ones #2) by Michelle Dorey

A Grave Conjuring
(The Haunted Ones #2)
by Michelle Dorey 
Published October 6th 2019 by Monarch Moments
Read Via Kindle Unlimited

Two orphaned sisters. A spirit without a grave. Can two orphans solve a murder before death claims another victim?
Ashley and Maya wish they could take back the hurtful things they told their parents before the deadly car crash. Two years later, the young orphans try to make the most of their new life with their lonely aunt. But the remote lake house in upstate New York doesn’t feel like home without their mother’s touch. When the girls discover a Ouija board in the dusty attic, they think they’ve finally found a way to tell their deceased mother how they really feel. With help from a séance-savvy friend and a couple of neighborhood troublemakers, the girls summon the spirits… and an unsolved murder mystery. When a restless ghost terrorizes the household, the sisters know they’ll never be free of her menacing presence until they help her rest in peace. If the girls don’t find her body soon, the portal they opened will cast them all into the world of the dead.

Book Review: I've been thoroughly taken with this series. I love that it takes place in upstate New York, and in little used locations for settings. Having visited many of the places I can envision them easily. While I enjoyed the story, the ending was a little expected. I did like how characters from the previous book in the series was incorporated yet this can be read as a standalone. The plot played out like a scary movie in many aspects, yet unlike a scary movie this book didn't have many of the stupid points where your screaming at the character to not do something. 

I found the characters well developed and fleshed out. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see more of a twist at the end. The clues offered weren't really done with any finesse it was to easy to put them together and figure everything out. Yet other than that, I liked the book and enjoyed it.

Book Review: Shepherd's Warning (The Elders #1) by Cailyn Lloyd

Shepherd's Warning (The Elders #1) 

by Cailyn Lloyd 

Published July 10th 2019 by Land of Oz LLC

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Land of Oz LLC, and the author via Book Siren in exchange for an honest review.

For years the abandoned MacKenzie mansion remained hidden in rural Wisconsin. Rumors and stories of apparitions, odd noises, accidents, and strange deaths in or near the property were enough to convince the townsfolk it was haunted and they stayed away. Lucas MacKenzie and his brother Nate know nothing of this when they inherit the property and decide to bring their families to Wisconsin for a major renovation project with HGTV stardom in mind. As they tear out old fixtures and open shuttered windows, the house begins to reveal secrets of a terrible past and it soon becomes clear the MacKenzies are in grave danger. In the end, only one person can save them.

Review: I was conflicted about this story. Lucas and his brother Nate inherit the MacKenie mansion which their mother abandoned. They take their families and move to the house while fixing up the place and trying to use the renovation as a spring board to get a tv show on HGTV. Little do they know what lurks in the old house. 

First off I found it confusing with all the names and points of view. I felt like there were just to many characters. Shepard's purpose and place in the book confused me as well. With a few changes his character could be written out and the book would actually have been better in my opinion. I felt Ms. Lloyd kind of shoehorned him in for whatever reason. There were also a lot of magical things that just didn't feel right in the story. 

The story itself was well told and the writing decent. Despite the confusion I felt, about what I pointed out above, the plot does move along well. Over all the book was ok, not great but alright.

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.