Writer and Editor C.B. Calsing/ G.G. Royale

Caryn Larrinaga’s Mouse Trap is a quick, quiet horror read that will leave its audience satisfied and relieved.  Dakota’s family has suffered...a lot. Her parents had dreamed of fostering and adopting many children, but when their youngest of three dies tragically in the family home, those dreams die with him. Years later, Dakota, the middle child, returns to the family home to help bury her agoraphobic older brother, Lennox. Lennox had promised to protect her from the force she was sure killed her little brother. But now that Lennox is dead, who will look out for Dakota? And is it her grief haunting her or something darker, more nefarious?  This was a solid story with a satisfying ending that leaves the reader hopeful. The lightness at the end, however, does not permeate the story throughout, and there is plenty of tension to the otherwise quiet, not-very-gory plot. It’s one of those stories where you’re never quite sure whether the protagonist’s suffering is coming from with...

Hailey Piper’s No Gods for Drowning is a lesson in world-building and how to make a trope-filled murder mystery new and awesome. I found parallels between her work and China Mieville’s, one of my favorite writers. I would love to see more of Piper’s writing in this world. The plot seems simple at first: something of a ritualistic serial killer is stalking a city, just as the city prepares for its catastrophic rainy season. On top of that, the gods, who used to walk among the people, disappeared ten years previous, and no one really knows why. A cast of characters including a flood fighter, a detective, and two descendants of the missing gods are thrown together in this setting, and both enemy and ally must work together to save their homes. Elements of fantasy, noir, and horror meld together in Piper’s narrative, making for a book unlike any I’ve read in many years. The closest parallel I can draw is Perdido Street Station, but it’s not as odd as that, so if anything it’s more acces...

Caitlin Marceau’s This Is Where We Talk Things Out is a quick, tropey horror read suitable for fans of Stephen King and other classic horror authors. Miller has had a fraught relationship with her mother. Nevertheless, she agrees to go on a girls’ trip to a cabin in the woods...during a snowstorm. The tension quickly escalates when Miller recognizes the furniture, clothing, and accessories in the cabin are from her childhood home. Her mother, Sylvie, has recreated it almost perfectly. Thinking her mom is having trouble coping with Miller’s father’s death, Miller tries to make the most of the time with her mom. But one thing leads to another, and Miller realizes before long that there is more at work here. Can she get out and save herself?  A little bit Misery , a little bit “A Rose for Emily” (hope that’s not too much of a spoiler), This Is Where We Talk Things Out is a strong novella that had me gritting my teeth and wincing in sympathetic pain. Though a bit predictable, the sto...