Just one more page, *screw it*, one more chapter
5 out of 5 stars
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve tiptoed my way into the horror scene. I don’t really enjoy horror movies (jump scares just piss me off). And I don’t like being creeped out. But, for some reason, when it comes to books I can turn off that specific “freaked out” thought process and go to bed. That is until I started reading The Siren and the Specter. I mention this for two reasons – Janz scared the hell out of me and that I have not read another Janz book before this (queue horror fan gasps).
I follow Michael Patrick Hicks and when I saw how excited he was for this The Siren and the Specter I knew I was in for a treat. I knew I should have read other book by Janz already but if this book is any indication on what I’ve been missing – don’t worry, I’m mad at myself now.
David Caine is a skeptic and is invited to stay at the so-called most haunted house in the state, The Alexander House. What he comes to find while staying here freaked me right out. I was reading through my hand like that was going to protect me. The story itself was one of those just one more page, screw it, one more chapter – type of books. But at the same time, I kept putting the book down to give myself a break.
Janz had me completely freaked out. He was able to build this soupy and thick atmosphere you could cut with a knife that just set the mood for everything to come. I knew that if I was freaked out early – that this one was going to keep me up at night as I got deeper and deeper. Top that off with great character building and characters that jumped off the page (both good and bad) and you have a book that is something special.
I hope that this is a sign of things to come from Flame Tree Press because… wow, just wow did this one start it off right.
Book Description:
The Siren and the Specter by Johnathan Janz
Published by Flame Tree Press on September 6th 2018
Genres: Horror
Format: Kindle
When David Caine, a celebrated skeptic of the supernatural, is invited by an old friend to spend a month in “the most haunted house in Virginia,” he believes the case will be like any other. But the Alexander House is different. Built by a 1700s land baron to contain the madness and depravity of his eldest son, the house is plagued by shadows of the past and the lingering taint of bloodshed. David is haunted, as well. For twenty-two years ago, he turned away the woman he loved, and she took her life in sorrow. And David suspects she’s followed him to the Alexander House. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
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I was looking for an audio version of any of Janz’s stories but I don’t think he’s committed any to audio. He seems to be creating waves everywhere, though.