Book picks similar to
Awake: Tales of Terror by Lou Rera


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Bad People


Craig Wallwork - 2020
    Over the past three years, the quiet Yorkshire village of Stormer Hill has lost three of its children. No bodies were ever discovered. No evidence found. No witnesses. THE WRITER. Struggling to find inspiration for his new novel, celebrated crime author, and ex-police officer, Alex Palmer, believes the story of the missing children could end his writer's block, but is he prepared for the story that's about to develop?THE DETECTIVE. Tom Nolan, a seasoned detective and loner involved in finding each missing child. Nolan is tasked with chaperoning Palmer and walking through each case. But as both men revisit the past, and dig deeper, neither are prepared for the chilling discovery to why the children were taken.THE BRETHREN. A secret cult. Two men, and a series of brutal and unimaginable murders spanning over seven years with one intention; to show the world that death can be justified if it's for a greater good.

The Fear


Spencer Hamilton - 2020
    A world falling into chaos.When a virus sweeps across the globe, cities and entire countries shut down overnight. The Fear zooms in on a married couple, Ash and Jack, in one small apartment, growing restless and claustrophobic and paranoid. People are dying in droves. Governments are toppling, imploding, lashing out. Martial law, police states, riots, bioterrorism. No one knows what to believe, who to trust.As the horror ramps up to apocalyptic levels, Jack is slowly unraveling. She shuts herself away and fears everything. Fears the virus has crawled its way inside, down her throat, into the lining of her stomach. Ash is afraid, too—afraid of what her increasingly erratic wife will do to her.In a pandemic none of us are ready for, should we fear the outside world . . . or what's waiting within?

Mist City


Sam Sisavath - 2019
    A new hero... Same deadly universe... A SHOOTER WITHOUT A TARGET. The man who calls himself John Smith once had a reason to fight: He was committed to a crusade he was willing to kill and die for. Trained by one of the best gunmen alive, Smith’s natural instincts with a handgun were honed to almost perfection. But after suffering a devastating loss, Smith has turned his back on everything he once believed in. Now, Smith wanders post-Purge America, crossing paths with other survivors—some good, some bad, and some…unknown—while dealing with the monsters that still lurk in the darkness, forever waiting for unsuspecting prey. Smith doesn’t go out of his way to find trouble, but no one who has gone up against him has done so more than once. One of these days, he might find something to believe in again, but until that time comes, cross John Smith at your own peril. Mist City is a post-apocalyptic Western and is the first in a series of planned storylines starring an old breed of hero made for a new kind of world.

The Highland Murders: Book 2


J.S. Donovan - 2018
     Months after killing one of her adversaries, gifted homicide detective Rachel Harroway finds herself being stalked by a spirit she can’t evade. Meanwhile, a new but unpredictable killer arrives in her small hometown. Torn between raising her daughter, catching a murderer, maintaining a double identity amidst her colleagues, and pursuing dangerous methods to banish the wayward spirit, Rachel battles to keep her head afloat as winter creeps into Highlands, North Carolina.

Haunted Gracefield


M.L. Bullock - 2019
    Armed with her ability to dream about the past and with the aid of a familiar ghost, the dream catcher gets to work. Hoping to unravel the mystery quickly she decides to stay at the lonely manor house and through her dreams uncovers the forgotten Starlett family history. As she discovers the paranormal reports are true and that she has become a target of the angry spirits, she must quickly work to settle the score on their behalf. Or join their ranks as a ghost of Gracefield. Gracefield is Book One in the Haunted Gracefield series. If you are a fan of M.L. Bullock's Seven Sisters series you'll be familiar with Carrie Jo and her unique abilities. You can read this series by itself but if you would like the full Carrie Jo experience the suggested reading order is The Ultimate Seven Sisters Collection, The Idlewood Collection, Return to Seven Sisters and now Haunted Gracefield. If you prefer darker stories, check out Monica's Gulf Coast Paranormal series which contains intense ghost stories and loads of paranormal investigation or her Sugar Hill series. Scroll up and grab your copy of Gracefield now!

Mysteries Uncovered: True Stories of the Paranormal and Unexplained


Emily G. Thompson - 2020
    Cooper"... For every instance rationalized away, there is another that defies explanation...

The Sleep Tight Motel


Lisa Unger - 2018
    Check in for the night with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.Eve has a fake ID, a .38, and a violent lover receding in the rearview mirror. He’ll never find her at the isolated motel, and its kindly manager is happy to ease her fears. But if Eve is the only guest, whom does she keep hearing on the other side of the wall? Eve won’t get a good night’s rest until she finds out.Lisa Unger’s The Sleep Tight Motel is part of Dark Corners, a collection of seven heart-stopping short stories by bestselling authors who give you so many new reasons to be afraid. Each story can be read in a single sitting. Or, if you have the nerve, you can listen all by yourself in the dark.

Moving Targets (Valdemar)


Larry Dixon - 2008
    in a fancy wagon provided by a wealthy father. Then one of them was adopted by a kyree, and then a town asked for help with a problem that seemed to be either demons or ghosts. This story first appeared in Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar in 2008.

Thirteen Storeys


Jonathan Sims - 2020
    Penthouse access is available via the broken freight elevator. Black tie optional.A dinner party is held in the penthouse of a multimillion-pound development. All the guests are strangers - even to their host, the billionaire owner of the building. None of them know why they were selected to receive his invitation. Whether privileged or deprived, besides a postcode, they share only one thing in common - they've all experienced a shocking disturbance within the building's walls.By the end of the night, their host is dead, and none of the guests ever said what happened. His death remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries - until now.But are you ready for their stories?Jonathan Sims' debut is a darkly twisted, genre-bending journey through one of the most innovative haunted houses you'll ever dare to enter.

Not All Monsters


Sara TantlingerBriana McGuckin - 2020
    With this anthology, we wanted to give women the chance to take something back to show their skills and storytelling abilities, but to also create striking stories that resonate profoundly with readers: Protagonists who take no shit; women who save themselves; women who slay the beast; women who become the monster.

Something Came Through


Joe Hart - 2019
    In “Down In The Valley” a young fire service member discovers the horrifying truth regarding the missing persons in the lonely state park his fire tower watches over. A man whose entire life has been haunted by a hideous childhood event gets a second chance to make things right in “You Can Never Go Back”. And a young woman’s tragic mistake while driving and texting literally comes back to haunt her in “More”. Written in Hart’s hypnotic and unnerving style, Something Came Through features ten new terrifying stories that peel back the surface of everyday life to expose the darkness waiting beneath.

Hannah-Beast


Jennifer McMahon - 2018
    The mean girls made sure of it. To this day, for a haunted local mother, the most unsettling Halloween costume of all is an urban legend they call Hannah-Beast. It’s a reminder of the past she can’t forget. Especially tonight when it’s come back, so close to home.Jennifer McMahon’s Hannah-Beast is part of Dark Corners, a collection of seven heart-stopping short stories by bestselling authors who give you so many new reasons to be afraid. Each story can be read in a single sitting. Or, if you have the nerve, you can listen all by yourself in the dark.

Condemned


Michael McBride - 2015
    As the body count continues to rise, he and Detective Aundray Rogers must embark upon their own descent into the underworld, one that mirrors the decline of the Motor City, if they’re to have any chance of stopping the murderer before it’s too late. With the city deteriorating around them, they learn that the abandoned buildings aren’t the only things that have been condemned.

The Small Hand


Susan Hill - 2010
    Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, 'as if a child had taken hold of it'.Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner's grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister ...

Children of the After: The Complete Series


Jeremy Laszlo - 2014
    All four best selling novels for one low price! Book One: AwakeningIt has been six months since their father locked them in the security vault with a promise to return. But he never came back. With supplies running out and vital life support systems failing, Jack, Samantha, and Will have no choice but to ignore their father's warnings and leave the vault. With no knowledge of what befell the world outside, or what they might expect once the door is opened, they find themselves in a world they do not recognize. Thrust into the remains of the world they remember, how will they survive on their own, not knowing what or who else remains amongst the ruins?Book Two: RevelationHaving learned of the destruction of their world, Jack, Sam, and Will are forced to flee the security of their Grandparent's home with blood thirsty beasts hot on their trail. Leaving the dark rider and the answers he likely had behind, they again are forced to fend for themselves as they are pursued relentlessly. It isn't until they begin to see signs of life that hope is rekindled, but with the beasts gaining on them, will they reach what surely must be salvation, or will they fall victim to the creatures that destroyed the world they once knew. Book Three: EvolutionHaving stolen the pickup, Ole Bessy, from the Resistance, Jack, Samantha, and Will find themselves on the run once again. Pursued by those who had once kept them as captives, they are forced to flee into the unknown. Now that Tammy's secret has been exposed, she reveals to her friends a prophecy of her people, further complicating the web of fate the siblings find themselves in. Finding both new allies and new foes, revealed secrets will lead them all to 'The City of Angels' to face the ultimate threat by the invaders themselves.Book Four: RebirthHaving located the City of Angels, Jack, Samantha, Will and Tammy plan to destroy the alien creation. Seeking revenge for all the damage done to their worlds, and all the lives lost to the invaders, the companions seek out those responsible. Fighting their way to the enemy, they discover the reason for the invasion, and the truth about both their past and their future. When face to face with the beings responsible for the apocalypse, can the children of the after prevail?