Cannibals and Evil Cult Killers - Review

Author: Ray Black

Genre: True Crime

Format: Hardback

Pages: 576

This was one of those books that I never planned on reading, or even knew existed until a coworker put it in my hands. They knew that I liked true crime and horror books, and this had been sitting on their shelf for a bit. All they'd done was flipped through it a couple of times here and there.

I read this book cover to cover, only skipping over the chapter on Manson. I've read Helter Skelter so I didn't need another deep dive into that crazy. Not that the rest of this book wasn't filled to the brim with crazy.

It starts with small stories of cannibals from all over the world. Just a few paragraphs to sort of lay the scene. Easy you into the idea of what you've got yourself into, and then full-on crazy on a nonstop bullet train of what in the actual hell am I reading. I couldn't tell you because I hit plenty of walls where I thought, that's enough of this book.

But I always picked it back up! ALWAYS!

Each section in this is well-researched and jammed packed with information, but each section flows nicely and I never felt overloaded with information. It almost felt like I was watching a small news section on each case. This makes sense with this being published by Times Warner.

It's a creepy as hell book that left me asking myself weird questions after during the cannibals' portion. While the cults section left with questions. A laundry list of them, but none of those questions could be answered in the book. 

For example, why do so many cults that start off with good intentions go wrong so quickly? Why does it take such violent measures to happen before any kind of law enforcement steps in when hinky crap is going on?

This book made my brain run in circles. So it took me nearly a month to read this. I couldn't read it for long stretches, otherwise, my brain might have melted.

My only gripe about this book is that it's poorly edited. I found several spelling mistakes throughout the whole book. There were also several continuity issues. The latter threw me off more than anything when the wrong names were used, only for me to realize it was an editing mistake.

So, if you fan of true crime or horror and see this on a shelf. It's worth a flip through, even if you don't read it cover-to-cover. I learned a few things along the way. Had some weird dreams too. 

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

   

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

There’s something almost magical about the way Maya’s grandmother cooks--and although Halmunee may be losing her memory, she always knows how to make the most delicious gimbap. Maya doesn’t remember her family’s old life in Korea, but she learns new recipes and stories when they cook together--stories that Maya's mom would prefer stayed in the past, especially if they involve Maya’s father.

One summer day, as Maya and Halmunee are making patbingsu, something unbelievable happens: a single delicious bite transports Maya and Halmunee back in time, into the memory itself. Halmunee explains that their family has the ability to time travel through food--and Maya can do it too, if she practices.

As she eats her way through the past, Maya tries to unravel the mystery of what life was like in Korea, and what really happened to her dad. She learns that time moves in ways she couldn't imagine . . . and that sometimes, families keep secrets to protect the ones they love. Brimming with heart, and interspersed with Korean family recipes that readers can make themselves, this is a story to savor.

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

 

This was okay. I liked how this story was told, in pieces and came together in the end. It was creepy and I loved the look of Krampus' little henchmen. But, some of the panels were so dark that I couldn't make out the characters. Also while they were tring to give it a sort of It's a Wonderful Life / Christmas Carol vibe. I got distracted at the end because the guy who was suppose to do better, had no pants. Why did he have no pants... Also, his little ghost of Christmas past/present/future felt odd. I think I'd prefer a not so happy ending.

I read this book about two years ago during the lockdown, and I thought it was adorable. I only recently found out it was made into a series. The third book is due to hit shelves in January 2023.  Cause this series is both ridiculous and adorable.

HAPPY READING!!

2022 Favorite Reads

I am having the hardest time accepting that Christmas is a week and some change away. All day at work yesterday it was blowing my mind that next weekend is Christmas. This means the year ends in two weeks and some change. I feel like I might have lost a month or somewhere in the middle of the year. I've lost days in December. 

Where do they go? Did someone take them? 

Anyway so close to the end of the year means looking back at the books I've read. There have been a lot of them, and for the most part, I lucked out this year with some good reads. I have a solid amount of three-star reads. Which is great!

It means that in the end, I enjoyed most of the books I read. My DNFs were pretty small this year, too. Pretty sure I only kicked about three books to the curb. A couple I shelved for later because I wasn't in the right mindset to read them. Better to wait than force myself to read a book and then dislike it because I was in a mood.

But, of all those books, what follows are a few of my favorites:

And yes, I still have some solid reading days left in the year. I plan on squeezing in a few more reads before 2023 kicks down my door. So if any of those I squeeze in should have made the list. Then there's always next year. Because all know I'll be spending the first day of 2023 curled up reading.

I'm too old and too cranky, and my TBR is too big to be going out on New Year's Eve!

Speaking of TBR. I love to keep growing. Tell me about some of all of your favorite reads this year.

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

A ghost-hunting reality TV crew gain unprecedented access to an abandoned and supposedly haunted mansion, which promises a groundbreaking thirteenth episode, but as they uncover the secret history of the house, they learn that “reality” TV might be all too real — in Bram Stoker Award nominated author Craig DiLouie's latest heart pounding novel of horror and psychological suspense.

Fade to Black is the newest hit ghost hunting reality TV show. It’s led by husband and wife team Matt and Claire Kirklin and features a dedicated crew of ghost-hunting experts.
 
Episode Thirteen takes them to Matt's holy grail: the Paranormal Research Foundation. This crumbling, derelict mansion holds secrets and clues about the bizarre experiments that took place there in the 1970s. It's also, undoubtably, haunted, and Matt hopes to use their scientific techniques and high tech gear to prove it. 

But, as the house begins to slowly reveal itself to them, proof of an afterlife might not be everything Matt dreamed of. 
  
A story told in broken pieces, in tapes, journals, correspondence, and research files, this is the story of Episode Thirteen — and how everything went horribly wrong. 

Why I'm Waiting: I really liked books told in the found footage form. So I'm excited to see how Craig DiLouie wrote Episode Thirteen in that style.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

I've been going to the thrift store about once a week to look through their book selection. The downside to it being on my way home, the upside is I haven't found anything. Well, nothing in the book aisle, I did find some household treasure. I just like the thrift store, okay! Over the weekend, however, I got lucky. As soon as I walked in found some gems!

I really liked the first Remember Me, so I was pumped to find the sequel. The cover is a little busted, but that just gives it a bit of character.  So that is on the top of my 2023 TBR. Because there is no way I'll get to it this month! Point Horror is a 90s collection I just discovered, despite growing up in the '90s. I blame my tiny little library for not having enough funding back then. Anyway, I'm making up for lost time by collecting and slowly reading what I can find. And, I found a Christopher Pike book from this collection. Which I'm excited about.

Technically, I was trying not to buy any books over the next two months. Mostly because work is slowing down, which means my hours will shrink. So I'm trying to be responsible. Then again these are thrift books! 

Has anyone else snagged any books this last week?

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

   

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

When Charlie was eleven, she created a monster…

In the seaside town of Hithechurch, England, eleven-year-old Charlotte meets Emily, a clever and secretive girl her own age with a dark family history. In an attempt to get rid of Emily’s abusive father, Charlie and Emily perform a ritual to try and summon the spirit of a Hithechurch girl of urban legend—named Stitch Face Sue by Charlie—who was killed by pirates and supposedly haunts the town in a quest for revenge. When it appears that the macabre game they've invented is working, Emily becomes obsessed with Stitch Face Sue, and ropes in another girl—but the game goes tragically wrong when the new girl is killed. Charlie and Emily are caught trying to hide the body, and both are carted away to institutions.

Past meets present when Charlie returns to Hithechurch as an adult to research a book on the folklore of the area, but is drawn into the cases of several girls who have mysteriously vanished. And she has other motives for coming back as well. Emily has published a bestselling memoir on the fateful incident from their childhoods, one that lays the blame squarely at Charlie’s feet. Outraged, Charlie scours the town for evidence to back up her side of the story—and in doing so exposes an older, even darker tale.

Charlie is set on discovering the truth about the girls’ disappearances, but someone is watching, and her own past is nipping at her heels. In a town haunted by tragic disappearances and unrelenting urban legends, Charlie's determination for truth is laced with secrets buried deep in Hithechurch's past.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

Massive shout out to Quirk Books for sending me some adorable book mail. I had my fingers crossed that I'd be able to snag an early release of this because it sounded absolutely cute, and reading isn't my only passion. I love being in a kitchen. So a book that is built around cooking was right up my alley. Add on the fact the recipes in the story also appear in the book. I love a challenge in the kitchen. So I cannot wait to read this book and maybe try a few new recipes!

A Spoonful of Time is set to be released on April 11, 2023! You can find more information about the book here, add it to your Goodreads, or pre-order it wherever you get your books! 

HAPPY READING!!

Most Anticipated Reads 2023 pt 1

 

My 2023 shelf is already huge and it's only December. I usually want this list to include the first six months of the year, and it does for the most part. Some of the books are currently set to be leased toward the middle of the year. But, most of these books are hitting shelves in the first three to four months. So be on the look for a summer edition for some of my anticipated reads of the coming year. 

To no one's shock or surprise, Last year I was good about buying the books I was really excited. I was not as good about reading them. And, while I'm sitting here swearing that 2023 is going to be different. That year I'll read the books on this list, not just read them. Part of me, most of me, knows I'll be really good about buying them. Probably not so good about reading them. Good thing book buying and book reading are two completely different hobbies!

That's the list! These are just fifteen books I'm really excited to add to my collection in the coming months. But this is just a small amount. So many good books are getting ready to hit shelves. On the day my TBR is going to crush me, and that's just the physical one. The one I have online on Goodreads has reached the thousands. 

What are some of the books that ya'll are excited to get your hands on?

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

Your past and your family can haunt you like nothing else… A hilarious and terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Final Girl Support Group.

Every childhood home is haunted, and each of us are possessed by our parents.

When their parents die at the tail end of the coronavirus pandemic, Louise and Mark Joyner are devastated but nothing can prepare them for how bad things are about to get. The two siblings are almost totally estranged, and couldn’t be more different. Now, however, they don’t have a choice but to get along. The virus has passed, and both of them are facing bank accounts ravaged by the economic meltdown. Their one asset? Their childhood home. They need to get it on the market as soon as possible because they need the money. Yet before her parents died they taped newspaper over the mirrors and nailed shut the attic door.

Sometimes we feel like puppets, controlled by our upbringing and our genes. Sometimes we feel like our parents treat us like toys, or playthings, or even dolls. The past can ground us, teach us, and keep us safe. It can also trap us, and bind us, and suffocate the life out of us. As disturbing events stack up in the house, Louise and Mark have to learn that sometimes the only way to break away from the past, sometimes the only way to sell a haunted house, is to burn it all down.

 

Why I'm Waiting: I read my first Grady Hendrix book this year, loved it, and I cannot wait for his next book to come out!

HAPPY READING!!