read Archives

Off Season

“Fighting for your life is a fucking ball. As long as you didn’t get slaughtered.” Author: Jack Ketchum It’s been a rough season for me personally, and I needed some comfort reading. So, I did what any sensible horror hound would do – turned to raging cannibal hillbillies. The premise of Off Season is simple enough – straight forward even. A woman (Carla) who appears to be our main protagonist has rented a cabin in a rural part of Maine during the offseason. She intends to get a little writing done, away from the distractions of the rat race. But first, [...]

Frances Carden2026-07-19T18:08:39-07:00July 19th, 2026|Tags: book review, cannibal, horror, Jack Ketchum, read, reading|

Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion (1941)

1940s Nancy Tackles Murders, a Plane Crash, and a Leopard Author: Carolyn Keene I’ve been chronologically making my way through an eBay haul of Nancy Drew mysteries and finally got to the one I was looking forward to the most: The Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion. The thing about an eBay haul is that some of the books are the 60s/70s “Flashlight” edition (which are quite sanitized and often have completely different stories) and some of the books are the original version (20s-40s usually), where our sleuth isn’t quite such a retiring lady. As a matter of fact, Nancy can be [...]

Frances Carden2026-07-05T13:26:40-07:00July 5th, 2026|Tags: book review, Carolyn Keene, mystery, Nancy Drew, read, reading, ya|

Small Sacrifices

The Story of Diane Downs Author: Ann Rule May 19, 1983, began as any normal day would. It ended with a blood-spattered car, two children critically wounded, one dead, and a surprisingly calm, barely injured mother arriving at the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield, Oregon. At the hospital, the desperate staff fought to save the two children who were still barely alive: Danny Downs (aged 3) and Christie Downs (aged 8). Meanwhile their mother, Diane Downs, who was suffering a minor gunshot wound to the arm, calmly walked police through the events of the night: a mysterious shaggy-haired stranger, an attempted carjacking [...]

Frances Carden2026-07-04T15:41:09-07:00July 4th, 2026|Tags: ann rule, Anne Rule, book review, Diana Downs, Diane Downs, read, reading, true crime|