The Shoppe of Endarkenment

Bradley J. Knefelkamp is a commercial photographer who possesses a strong passion for music (his drum covers to Rush are rad), graphic design, and writing. His first novel was 2016's Escape from Gehenna, a young adult adventure that was followed by a sequel, Return to Gehenna, in 2022. My first experience with the writer is his horror novel The Shoppe of Endarkenment, published in 2021. 

In the Victorian town of Brown's Creek, a new trinket store has just opened. Its mysterious owner, Phineas Stumpf, offers a charming assortment of oddities that captivate the apothecary and antique consumer. But Stumpf is a peculiar shopkeeper. He has a penchant for eating insects, especially the ones that crawl out of his own skin. Stumpf can also make inanimate objects move of their own accord. But his most uncanny ability is the nearly magnetic pull he has on his customers. They “must” possess his various trinkets and treasures - at any price. But, Stumpf proves to be a fair dealer in commodities. He warns every one of his consumers of the danger and responsibility of owning these physical objects. Humanity has a history of opposition to supernatural commands.

The Shoppe of Endarkenment is a type of short story collection. Through these six offerings, listed as “episodes”, six people buy an object from Stumpf and experience horrifying results. It's a variety of offerings, and offings, as these people are essentially killed by their own material possession. Maybe. But, as each episode unravels, readers learn that each of these characters was experiencing their personal demons, an inner darkness that Stumpf preys upon. In the last episode, Stumpf meets his match with a vengeful family man who brings Jesus into the conversation.

Knefelkamp's prose is smooth and to the point, never squandering the propulsive feel of each episode's obligatory demise. He maintains a quick pace while still offering enough characterization of these men, women, and children to allow the reader to care about their fate. This book should appeal to all ages, but it is targeting young adults. There are a few gory details (like disembowelment in a bathtub), but for the most part, it all remains PG-13. You can get the book in digital and physical editions HERE.

Things Have Gotten Way Worse Since We Last Spoke

Boston horror author Eric LaRocca devised a clever 100-page novel called Things Have Gotten Way Worse Since We Last Spoke. The story employs a storytelling device organized like a documentary film pieced together by a diligent researcher via Internet postings, emails, and instant messages. It’s an inventive way to tell a horror story.

The story begins with a somewhat rattling Internet posting from a woman named Agnes trying to sell her grandmother’s apple peeler and the response from another woman named Zoe. The two women (both lesbians) develop an online friendship that veers into sexual flirtation.

Once they start confessing their sexual fantasies to one another, things take a dark turn when Zoe reveals her preferences. It’s about total escalating control over another person. No spoilers here. Leave it at that.

And then the payoff comes and it’s…disgusting. The author is a fine writer but went for the revolting gross-out when something more subtle and menacing would have been more effective. I genuinely think he’s a great writer, so I look forward to checking out his other works. This one failed by going extreme without the requisite build-up.

Also: Gratuitous animal cruelty. You’ve been warned. Get the book HERE.

The Lost Village

Camilla Sten is a Barcelona-based Swedish author and comedian. She's gained recent notoriety for her critically acclaimed suspense novels, including a criminal psychologist character she's created, Rebecca Lekman. Her novel, The Resting Place, was one of Goodreads' Most Popular Horror Books of 2022, and she earned a Viktor Crime Award in Germany. I wanted to start with her debut, The Lost Village, published in 2021. The novel was praised by the New York Times and has been translated to multiple languages. The book has also been optioned for a movie deal.

If you are striving for a traditional, breezy reading experience, then The Lost Village is not the book for you. Instead, this novel is non-linear and alternates between events in the present with those in the mid-20th century. To assist me on my literary journey, I kept a scratch pad handy with character names for both periods. It may not be necessary, but I found it a valuable supplement to Sten's narrative.

In the past, labeled as “Then” in the chapters, a fictional small town called Silvertjarn comes to life through a handful of characters. It's a typical rural village that exists from the income earned through the local mine. It's complemented by charismatic, ordinary citizens who go to work, school, and church. But three monumental events occur that change Silvertjarn's blue-collar charm. First, a new pastor arrives who immediately begins to change the orthodox teachings of the local church. Second, the mine closes. Third, a young woman is tied to a pole and stoned to death. That last one surprised you, right?

In the present, aptly labeled “Now” in chapter headings, a small filmmaker named Alice Lindstedt leads her production crew to Silvertjarn to document the town. It's now completely abandoned, with its streets and old buildings being slowly consumed by nature. Alice wants to investigate the town and search for answers on why the town's population seemingly vanished one day. Helping her is a former ex-best friend (and her male friend), the film's financial backer, and her partner.

The Lost Village is like a cross between The Blair Witch Project and David Morrell's Creepers. The narrative's twisty first half is an atmospheric, downright spooky delve into the town's empty school, church, and residential homes. There's a feeling of cold regret, an edgy abrasiveness, and a cloak of impending doom that helps suffocate these characters. Enhancing the mood is a stalking vibe as these characters hear footsteps and laughter in this quiet, neglected place. 

Sten's second half storytelling is where The Lost Village drifts from something truly special into a formulaic cat-and-mouse thriller that doesn't develop into an inventive finale. The surprise reveal wasn't spectacular, and there's a giant plot hole that left me feeling a bit insulted as an invested reader. 

Despite the poor second half, I found there was enough spark here to still make The Lost Village an entertaining read. The panning out from present to past wasn't a unique combination, but it helped the story and propped up the mysterious circumstances involving the town's citizens. The characters were predictable, but compelling. I dislike past-tense presentation, but Sten made it work. I would read another one of her books, but I'm not in a rush to run out and get one.

Get The Lost Village HERE.

At Home With the Horrors: 14 Chilling Tales

Sammy Scott is a rising voice in contemporary horror, known for crafting stories that are as unsettling as they are imaginative. In At Home With the Horrors: 14 Chilling Tales, he turns everyday settings into landscapes of dread, pulling readers into worlds where something sinister is just beneath the surface.

Reviews of short story collections are usually unsatisfying, but here are my thoughts of the first four stories in the collection:

"What We Have Here" - Scott wastes no time scaring the crap out of the reader with this story of a marital communication failure of epic proportions. The things that happen to Emily and Elliott in this story was like a twisted Twilight Zone episode fed through a body horror meat grinder. The less you know the better. Read this story.

"Theresa" - Newlywed Theresa is shattered when her husband Ray is killed in an act of workplace violence until she hears from him beyond the grave. The catch? He’s calling from the day he was murdered. Can Theresa use this temporal time loop to save her man? Depressing, but effective, story. Would be a great Black Mirror episode.

"Blackbird" - Molly is seeing a shrink because she misses her dead mother so much. As you can imagine, she’s excited at the idea of participating in a new kind of psychotherapy where drugs and hypnosis can send Molly into a dream state to have conversations with her mom while unconscious. After a few sessions, Molly begins to wonder if her weekly reunions with mom are a dream placebo or something truly supernatural. Another rattling winner of a story with a tidy twist ending.

"The Sisters" - Andrea is a home health care nurse assigned to care for an Alzheimer’s patient named Delores. Before starting the gig, Andrea receives a briefing about Delores’ creepy and cruel sister, Edna. It’s quite a backstory. Delores is convinced her dead sister is haunting her, and damned if the author didn’t create another great final-page surprise.

You get the idea. The quality of the 14 stories never fades. Sammy Scott is a modern-day Rod Serling who has mastered the art of twist endings that land every damn time. This may be the best single-author horror short story collection since Stephen King’s Night Shift.

At Home with the Horrors is available for free on Kindle Unlimited or just pay for it on Amazon. It’s really something special. Get it HERE.

Joyride

Stephen Crye, possibly a pseudonym for Ronald Patrick, authored Joyride, a 1983 horror paperback published by Pinnacle. The book's blurb on the back cover suggests it is comparable to movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th, only more horrifying and grisly. I originally heard about the book during an interview I conducted with horror writer Brian Berry, who praised the book's use of slasher tropes. Will Errickson also mentioned the book in his interview with Nick Anderson of The Book Graveyard.

Joyride has a narrative that features events happening in both 1982 and 1974. In 1974, the author presents the story of young Robert, a 17-year-old high school kid that's tormented by his fellow students. At home, Robert is abused by his father, a wheelchair-bound dictator that dumps daily diatribes in an outward deflection of his own emotional instability. Robert's only peace is through books, writing poetry, and one-sided friendship with a popular 12th grader named Carla. The events of this period culminate in Robert being facially disfigured in a cruel joke.

In 1982, Robert now lives in the cemetery that his family owns. His mother and father are both dead. When a group of graduating seniors arrive to kickoff the rest of their lives, Roberts slips in behind them and locks the cemetery gates. As night descends, the teenagers are hunted and killed off one-by-one in a macabre murder spree. But, Robert has special plans for a girl named Priscilla, who he mentally sees as Carla, the girl that he had longed for previously.

If you love slasher cinema from 1973 through 1986, like Slaughter High, Prom Night, Graduation Day, etc., then this vintage horror novel will be a real pleasure. Crye/Patrick perfectly captures the spirit of the slasher genre by injecting this scarred madman into the narrative while serving him plenty of stereotypical teenagers to feast on. It isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it doesn't have to be. 

As one of the only true slasher books from that era, Joyride is a cause for celebration. Highly recommended. You can also watch my video review of this book HERE. Also, spend a fortune on acquiring the book HERE.

Should a Tear Be Shed?

Charles Boeckman (1920-2015) authored stories for digests and pulps like Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Detective Tales, All-Story Detective, and Dime Mystery. While performing New Orleans jazz for 70 years, the multi-talented writer authored a number of novels with his wife Patti as well as penning sleaze paperbacks under the pseudonym of Alex Carter. Bold Venture Press has spotlighted the author and his literary work with several reprints, as well as his autobiography. I've read a lot of Boeckman over the years, but occasionally I drop in and out of his short stories for quick enjoyment.

“Should a Tear Be Shed?” was a short story published in January 1954 by Malcolm's, a short-lived detective and crime magazine published by mystery fan Malcolm Koch. 

This quick read is a success story that focuses on the rise of a tap dancer named Lawrence Terrace Jr., a young man that suffered a brain injury when a truck ran him over. When a shyster named Jess Norvell catches Lawrence dancing by a bar jukebox, he puts together a scheme. First, he befriends Lawrence, then has an insurance policy placed on the young man for $50,000 (double indemnity for an accident) with himself as beneficiary. The next logical step is to get Lawrence accidentally killed. 

Central to the story's plot is Jess' girlfriend, Candy, who does not endorse the scheme and repeatedly tries to warn Lawrence that Jess is using him for financial purposes. Like any good story of suspense, Boeckman intensifies the tension with multiple attempts at murder. It's an explosive, though not surprising, climax. I loved the story and read it twice.

The best way to read this story is by picking up the collection, Strictly Poison and Other Stories HERE.

Missing in Action

William J. Linn was an associate professor of English literature at the University of Michigan, a position he earned in 1979. He was the recipient of three Fulbright lectureships and taught universally at colleges in Bulgaria, Beijing, and Burkina Faso. During his long teaching tenure, Linn also authored three novels: Missing in Action (1981), Kambi Hai (1987), and The People's Republic (1989). I've always enjoyed a rowdy action-adventure novel featuring the prison-break plot device. With that fondness, I chose to read Linn's Missing in Action, published as a paperback by Avon.

In the novel's beginning, William Tompkins is serving in the Army during America's involvement in the Vietnam War. While the year isn't specified, based on the novel's events, I am guessing this is around 1972. During a firefight (off page), Tompkins becomes the only surviving member of his platoon and is quickly taken into captivity by the Viet Cong. 

In captivity, Tompkins, who is simply referred to as “The Prisoner” in the book's narrative, refuses to provide any information beyond name, rank, and serial number. He's placed in general quarters with a dozen or more fellow prisoners. The narrative flows into a rather one-dimensional plot that provides Tompkins' day-to-day activities, including gardening, masonry, roadwork, and other menial labor. There's an interesting plot device with Tompkins feuding with another prisoner, but that is quickly sewn up.

Eventually, Tompkins makes a break for the jungle and escapes captivity, only to be recaptured days later in a different part of North Vietnam. Here, the menial labor isn't an option. Instead, Tompkins is tortured repeatedly by a sadistic Cong leader nicknamed “No Neck”. These include starvation, solitary confinement, whippings, and mental harassment. Eventually, Tompkins is saved by an older, much wiser Viet Cong leader who was originally educated in America. He forms a unique bond with Tompkins that leads the narrative into a literary trance involving politics, war, peace, and America's involvement in Vietnam's internal struggles. 

Missing in Action has nothing in common with the 1980s action film industry that often used POWs and their captivity as its cinematic bedrock. It's void of the proverbial action star, gunfire, fighting, and so forth. If you thirst for that flavor, then look no further than the M.I.A. Hunter series of paperbacks. This novel is a literary examination of captivity and the concept of mental freedom despite physical boundaries. 

Missing in Action is also a rare example of a book written in the present tense, a fad that consumes most contemporary fiction (one that I'm not fond of). It was interesting to read a novel written in this style in 1981. This perspective makes the novel feel more emotional with the peaks and valleys of Tompkins' daily conditions. 

I did enjoy the book, but I feel like Thomas Taylor's A Piece of this Country is a better example of the prisoner-of-war formula. You can obtain Missing in Action HERE and Taylor's novel HERE.