Book picks similar to
Chain Letter by Willow Rose
horror
willow-rose
thriller
short-stories
The Scarry Inn
Shirley McCann - 2015
Surely the owners, Dick and Thelma are simply trying to drum up business for their new motel by terrifying their guests.But when Kara is found brutally murdered, they realize the danger is real and they must find their way to safety before the secrets of the inn claim another victim. Making things even more difficult is the lack of cellphone service in the small town of Frighton, Arizona. With no clue as to who they can trust, the remaining threesome are now caught up in a fight for their lives.
The Claiming
Ike Hamill - 2015
It wasn’t Lizzy’s fault that she saw the cloaked people out in the yard. It wasn’t her fault that she was drawn by the moonlight to watch them as they advanced on the house. And it definitely wasn’t her fault when people began to die. Lizzy didn’t want the strange dreams where she saw how they were killed. Even her sister was starting to suspect her. It wasn’t fair because it wasn’t her fault. Lizzy was claimed.
Come Closer
Sara Gran - 2003
A memo to her boss that's replaced by obscene insults. Amanda—a successful architect in a happy marriage—finds her life going off kilter by degrees. She starts smoking again, and one night for no reason, without even the knowledge that she's doing it, she burns her husband with a cigarette. At night she dreams of a beautiful woman with pointed teeth on the shore of a blood-red sea.The new voice in Amanda's head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. Is she possessed by a demon, or is she simply insane? Described as “a new kind of psychological thriller” by George Pelecanos and “this year's scariest novel” by Time Out New York, Come Closer has become a modern classic “with a kick that will stay with the reader for days afterward” (The Dallas Morning News).
Morbid Thoughts
Michael McGovern - 2017
For years he has kept that fact hidden, but one bad day is about to bring it all out into the open. When Jane Flannery walks into his computer repair store, he becomes obsessed. He wants to know every detail about her life. Unfortunately for Jane, Aaron already has everything he needs to accomplish that goal. Her computer. Jane is in great danger and she doesn't even know it yet.SPR says, "It's strange to claim that a book about a guy who is this downtrodden as 'fun', but Walsh is a spirited narrator, no matter how spiritless he claims to be. Mind you, he's an extremely creepy narrator and person, even hateful at times. Profane and grotesque, he's still compelling; you're driven to keep reading to see just how downtrodden he can be. If you're in the mood to explore the dark depths of human behaviour, Morbid Thoughts is a riveting read."Kirkus says, "Although this story is often somber and grotesque, McGovern injects enough nuance to prevent it from being a mere blood bath. A riveting character study even during its most appalling moments."
They Come At Night
Nick Clausen - 2009
A cottage by the beach. A scary secret kept by the locals. And those who come at night ... A classic horror story in a gothic setting told in a modern voice, They Come at Night has sold several thousand copies worldwide. It has everything for fans of horror, mystery, thrills and suspense.
Hide and Seek
P.S. Brown - 2012
And as the cruel challenge against the clock unfolds, he has to come to terms with the fact that any one of his friends could be the mastermind behind the sinister game."Hide and Seek was a page turner that had me hooked from the first word. Paul Brown's book has a feeling of suspense on every page with an ending I never saw coming.Hide and Seek will keep you on the edge of your seat until the climatic end. Paul Brown is a must read author for every mystery, thriller, or suspense fan.This book will keep you up late into the night until you discover who Celo is and why is he playing this game. The answer will surprise and amaze you."Trudi LoPreto, Readers Favorite
Homecoming
Scott Langrel - 2012
He handles things that ordinary paranormal investigators can't or won't, and he often ends up cleaning up behind them.For fifteen years, McCoy has turned his back on his hometown of Shallow Springs, Virginia, and the dark secrets the town harbors. But now an evil, unstoppable force has been unleashed on the unsuspecting residents of the town, and McCoy finds himself the only thing standing between the town and total destruction.
The Turtle Boy
Kealan Patrick Burke - 2004
For eleven year old Timmy Quinn and his best friend Pete Marshall, the dreary town of Delaware Ohio becomes a place of magic, hidden treasure and discovery. But on the day they encounter a strange young boy sitting on the bank of Myers Pond a pond playground rumor says may hide turtles the size of Buicks everything changes. For it soon becomes apparent that dark secrets abound in the little community, secrets which come cupped in the hands of the dead, and in a heartbeat, Timmy and Petes summer of wonder becomes a season of terror, betrayal and murder.
Just Evil
Vickie McKeehan - 2011
No one cared. But a stranger, bent on revenge, is out to change all that. Kit Griffin has finally overcome a painful childhood at the hands of her mother, former actress Alana Stevens. No longer living in the grasp of the cold, tyrannical woman, Kit has found a new life tucked away in little San Madrid, California, running a business she loves, surrounded by friends she considers family. For the first time her life is on track. That is, until Alana is found brutally murdered on Mother’s Day, pulling Kit back in to the dark horrors of her past. To make matters worse, the police consider her the prime suspect.Jake Boston, an old family friend and the man Kit has loved since she was a teen, is fighting his own demons as a suspect in his wife’s murder two years earlier. Despite his past, he’s determined to win Kit over once and for all. But before that can happen they need to convince the police there’s a killer working his way down a list with cold-hearted vengeance in mind. Forced to delve into Alana’s dark past, it becomes clear someone is out to settle a score. When Jake and Kit uncover a forty year old double murder that leads them straight to the door of a legal dynasty, they soon find out just how far the heirs will go to keep the past buried and eliminate all the loose ends to protect their empire. Will Jake and Kit become the next victims or will they find an unexpected guardian angel?
The Runaway Train
M.W. Griffith - 2014
When another child vanishes into the creeping fog around a bus station, Kathryn and her partner, Selena Marrenger, embark on a mission to find the truth behind the disappearances. What they uncover is a hidden secret far more sinister than they could have imagined.As suspects begin to pile up, Selena is forced to leave the case for the FBI. Alone, and desperate for answers, can Kathryn find who's responsible before it's too late?
Bone White
Tim McWhorter - 2013
Luke and Garrett, two high school seniors, escape from the growing paranoia with the well-worn routine of a fishing trip. But when their boat breaks down and the storm of the century rolls in, they’re forced into a different sort of refuge … One that may cost them their lives.A rivetting tale of terror and perseverance.
The Sixteen Burdens
David Khalaf - 2015
An indestructible madman. And an odd young man cursed with powers to end the world.When Gray Studebaker discovers a pattern on the movie-star maps he sells on the street corner, he thinks he's solved Hollywood's biggest crime mystery of 1939. Instead, he stumbles into a secret world where society's greatest figures share a fiercely guarded secret: They're supernaturally talented. As a half-crazed circus strongman hunts them down, Gray realizes he's the only one who has the clues to find a mystical talisman that can stop the maniac. Gray embarks upon a wild, dangerous hunt through the gritty streets of Los Angeles, dodging cutthroat mafia bosses, Zoot-suited gangsters, and knife-wielding circus clowns. But the end of the search may force Gray to reveal his own secret, a mysterious power that will either save the society or destroy them all.The Sixteen Burdens is the first book in David Khalaf's historical fantasy series. If you like The Night Circus, The Paper Magician, or Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, then you'll love Khalaf's page-turning period-piece adventure with a fantastical twist. Named 2016 Editor's Choice (Historical Novel Society) and a Favorite Indie Book of 2015 (Self-Publishing Review).Buy The Sixteen Burdens to start the first in Khalaf's award-winning series today!
Courage Begins: A Ray Courage Mystery Novella
R. Scott Mackey - 2015
Until Tiffanie is killed in a suspicious accident. Neither the police nor the insurance investigators can prove she was murdered and the case turns cold. Two years later the insurance company asks an intern—former college professor turned private eye Ray Courage—to reopen the investigation. He uncovers little new evidence to support suspicions that Garrett killed his wife for the insurance money. Garrett has the perfect alibi—hundreds of witnesses that place him more than two hours from the scene of Tiffanie’s death. Ray knows he’s missing something. But what? As his search for the truth unfolds, Ray’s life is put in jeopardy and he realizes his adversary is someone who’ll kill before he’ll be caught. In this prequel to Courage Matters, Ray Courage begins his private investigation career, displaying the skills, abilities and sense of humor that have made him a fan favorite around the world.
Gloop!
David Brian - 2015
It has lain in the cold and dark of the bog, waiting patiently for a host to set it free. Now, for John Cluer and his family, nothing will ever be the same again.A novelette of approximately 10,000 words.
Half-Made Girls
Sam Witt - 2014
But Joe is married to one of the most powerful witches in Pitchfork, and spends almost as much time keeping an eye on her as he does dealing with occult crimes and shadowy horrors in the rest of the county. Even his children, a little girl who plays host to a rogue's gallery of strange spirits and a young man with a demonic secret, keep him on his toes. All Joe really wants is a simple life, a bottle of good whiskey, and a break from the horrors of his job. But nothing in Pitchfork County is ever simple, and the horrors just keep on coming. Someone's hung a mutilated girl on a cross in Pitchfork's most infamous church, dragging Joe into the most challenging case of his career. Joe's investigation into the ritual murder leads him through the dark underbelly of the Ozarks to the doorstep of a twisted cult of meth addicts. As Joe digs deeper into the mystery, he soon finds himself the target of the murderers and must stop them before they can summon their dark god and destroy everything he holds dear.