"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" By Mark Haddon

Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Author: Mark Haddon
Published Year: 2003
Pages: 226

A captivating and quick read and its not just about a dog either. Haddon's book takes on the view point of an autistic teenage boy. I have personally worked with autistic children, teenagers and adults and I have to say what he showcases here brought many memories of those people flooding back.

Christopher the lead character is autistic and he finds the body of his neighbor's dog dead with a garden fork through it body. Of course he wants to know what happens and decides to investigate. The investigation leads to other findings of lies he has been told in his life.

Haddon is amazing as he takes real life events that many of us struggle with and puts them in the perspective of an autistic teenager where these life events are even harder to comprehend and deal with. At times I found my self wanting to cry and Haddon tugged on my heart multiple times throughout the book. I wanted so badly to smack the people in young Christopher's life that didn't help him and were seeming to give up on him.

If you think you have it rough, read this book, it puts things into a whole new perspective.

"The Hunger Games" By Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Published Year: 2008
Pages: 374

This falls under the category of "I read it because a lot of people told me it would be good". However despite all the hype I did not get all the hype. It is the first of three books in a series and since it leaves unfinished without reading the next one I will continue to read the series. I have read other books with the same type of situation that are far better works. Some people may say this is because it is a young adult book, but I have read numerous other young adult fiction and enjoy them.

The Hunger Games takes place in post apopolycptic America. The country has been split into 12 different sections each one has its own product they produce for the rest of the country. There was a time in the past when the people revolted against the people in the capital, the capital of course came out the victor and then created the Hunger Games which happen once a year. Each section is required to send one boy and one girl to compete in them. These games were created to show the people of the nation that the capital is in control. At these games the children sent there must fight to the death to have one victor. In this book a girl saves her younger sister by offering herself for the games. She goes to the games and the book is her story of what happens.

I personally do not have anything else to say about this book except it was a struggle for me to get through the book. It took longer for me to read it than it should have. Like I mentioned earlier I will continue the series since I was left with unanswered questions. I guess in that respect the author succeeded.

"Into the Dark" By Peter Abrahams

Title: Into the Dark: Echo Falls Mystery #3
Author: Peter Abrahams
Published Year: 2008
Pages: 328

Into the Dark is classified as a young adult fiction read. I do have to agree with that classification. Just because its a young adult fiction novel doesn't mean you cannot enjoy it. It is also the third in a series of mysteries. I had not read the previous two mysteries in the series and still have not read them, let me just tell you that you do not need to read them in order to pick up on the series in this installment. There are a few mentions of previous mysteries during the book but nothing that will leave you completely off guard.

If you are an adult, you may find the story proceeded a tad bit slow in parts, but then at other times the speed ramps up and you are surprised at the next turn. In this book a man is killed and the girl who is the main character of the book seeks to find out who really killed the man. Her grandfather has been accused and she full heartily believes he is innocent. Of course in the normal lives of teenagers, other family issues and conflicts arise and those also must be dealt with during the course of the mystery.

After reading this one, I can see why Stephen King has recommended his works. That was the real reason I decided to pick up this author and try him out. His name was on a list of recommended authors by Stephen King and this title is the first one that popped up when I did a search on Amazon for him. I bought this one first and now want to read the rest of the series. I just hope my daughter will too when she is old enough.

"Nathaniel" By John Saul

Title: Nathaniel
Author: John Saul
Published Year: 1984
Pages: 343

Yes another Saul book that I have recently finished. Guess I am kind of on a Saul kick. He has so many awesome books out there. I didn't realize until I joined Goodreads online how many books he has actually written. Also the fact that he lives in the Seattle area is a bonus since I'm in the same area. And of course I was not disappointed in this book of his. I had read some not so great reviews of this book, and there is only one thing I didn't like about it which is it was not as captivating as some of his other books. Don't get me wrong, I still absolutely loved the book just some parts of the book were slow going compared to other parts of the book.

In this book a woman finds out her husband secretly went and visited his home town. The way she finds out is that when he goes there he dies while he is there (don't worry that is not a spoiler, its the whole premise for her to go to this small town). So she up and leaves New York for this tiny farm community where her husband grew up and fled as fast as he could. Since she has no where to go, she decides the best thing for she and her son is to settle down in the small town. His family he fled lives there and she is curious about what drove him to leave. A legend by the name of Nathaniel surrounds the town and scares all the generations living there.

There are personal mysteries to be solved as well as whether this Nathaniel really exists and why he haunts the small town. Mystery abounds in this book and it is worth every second to get to the conclusion.

"Hellfire" By John Saul

Title: Hellfire
Author: John Saul
Published Year: 1986
Pages: 344


Saul does not disappoint in this book. As with many of his other books, the pace is quickly set and the need to put the book down doesn't come. Instead, I found myself reading faster and faster in order to try and finish what I could before I absolutely had to put the book down. This book is captivating and a quick read, at least for me.

Do the sins of our previous generations actually harm the lives of the current generations when it comes to families? Hellfire takes a look at this scenario along with many current life themes. Divorce, remarriage and the struggle of becoming a complete family also play a role and add to the conflict besides the normal supernatural conflicts that Saul writes about.

The characters are so well written than at times when I was reading I wanted to reach into the book and smack the hell out of a couple of the characters due to the way they were treating others that were trying hard to please them.

The best thing about Saul is he puts in believable story lines that could happen right here in present day America with the addition of supernatural issues that arise. In this specific novel, the ghosts of murdered children try and seek their revenge on those who murdered them. Just because those that murdered them are no longer living doesn't mean they cannot go after their ancestors.

"Strangers" By Dean Koontz

Title: Strangers
Author: Dean Koontz
Published Year: 1986
Pages: 689

At first I struggled with getting into this book. I am a fan of Koontz and didn't want to miss out on any of his books. I am still trying to read every single book he has written and I now can say I finished this one as well. In order to actually get this book read I had to set up a deadline for me to finish it by. I am beginning to realize how important this is for me to do to read certain books I have struggled with. Anyways now on to the book.

The reason why I had such a hard time getting into this book is that it seemed slow going at first. There are many characters and each one has its own story which leads up to the climax of the book. Getting through each individual story and how they were all tied in together was the hurdle I eventually overcame. These individuals soon get their stories to come together, some come together faster than others. Each character is having something distinct and different going on in their lives. They all do not know of each other or so they think. Soon there are small clues coming to each one and the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place.

A little hotel near Elko, Nevada called the Tranquility Motel seems to be the center of all the confusion. As the characters migrate back to this motel that seems to be out in the middle of nowhere, they begin to realize how they know each other and there is something behind the seemingly strange events that have been going on in their live.

A cover-up of some sort is going on, but who did the cover-up and why is the question each one has.

"The Haunting of America" By William J. Birnes & Joel Martin

Title: The Haunting of America
Authors: William J Birnes & Joel Martin
Published Year: 2009
Pages: 497

This isn't your normal everyday ghost story book that holds just ghost stories. Instead what you'll find is a more textbook like book that looks into different parts of our American history that deal with the paranormal realm of ghosts and explains how those events helped shape our history here in America. So in other words it is a cultural study of how paranormal events have played a role in how our country has become what it is today and what effects those events have had on our country here in the United States of America (I say our because I write this blog from the U.S.A. and that is just where my mental picture is formed).

The book includes such events as the Salem Witch Trials, our founding fathers and the relevance of certain things they used in designing some of our most basic everyday items, the rise of spiritualism and the use of mediums as well as the influence of Houdini on our culture. Some of these you may have already looked into and researched, and so have I. However, there seemed a difference here to me in the way the authors presented all the cases. I have read a lot of negative views on this book, but if you are interested in the paranormal even a little bit it will do you good to at least browse through it and see if you can find something you have not come across in the past.

Since it is presented similar to a textbook some of the entries can get drawn out and seem like they are taking forever to get through. My advice is to work your way through the book and that if you feel like you've hit a brick wall in your reading, stop take a break and read something else for awhile; you can always come back and pick up where you left off if you are feeling overwhelmed.

"Coyote's Kiss" By Christa Faust

Title: Coyote's Kiss
Author: Christa Faust
Published Year: 2011
Pages: 348


Based on the hit television show, this book is one of many that follow the Winchester boys through trials and tribulations that weave in and out of episodes. They are stories that fall between the cracks of the television show episodes and make neat ties making the series of books a must read for any fan of the show. Each book isn't always written by the same author, which brings in an even more interesting twist to the books. I love reading different authors, and taking a series of the same type and having different authors write the books for the series brings more fun and enjoyment in my personal opinion. Just like the television series that these books are based on, you'll never know what to expect from the next author especially if you have not read anything else that they have written.

In this installment, the Winchester boys find out about some sort of creature that is killing people in the American southwest. They travel to that part of the country to find out what is going on and what kind of supernatural creature could be killing the people. As they move along in their investigation, they find that a certain group of border patrol agents are being targeted and nothing will stop the creature from killing them. They also find other hunters and journey into Mexico in order to stop an even bigger problem. I won't spoil what that bigger problem is, but there is nothing held back in this book.

If you're anything like me, you'll get hooked and won't want to put the book down. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I have. Now I just need to find some time to grab the next one and get that one read.

"The Cellar" By Richard Laymon

Title: The Cellar
Author: Richard Laymon
Published Year: 1980
Pages: 309

Richard Laymon is not an author for people that cannot handle gore and so-called taboo topics. He does not hold back in his writings and intertwins tales of the paranormal world with those of the worst of human kind.

In The Cellar he takes us on the journey of a mother who is running away from her husband who has just been released from prison. The husband was in prison for raping their young daughter. He has promised he will come after the pair once they get out of prison.

While on the run, they end up wrecking their car and end up in a small town that is home to the famous Beast House. The famous Beast House is home to a beast that has killed many people who have lived in the home and others that have broken in after dark.

Blending the two storylines brings a reality and fear and clashes it directly into a paranormal mystery. It brings a real feeling to the otherwise not normal mainstream issues in life.

"The Haunted" By Bentley Little

Title: The Haunted
Author: Bentley Little
Published Year: 2012
Pages: 389

The Haunted is Little's latest work and if you are a fan of any of his other books you won't be disappointed. Gruesome and gritty, Little keeps the horror action going throughout the whole book. He is one author that I have read every single book he has published. There is not a Bentley Little book out there that I have not read, that's how addicted I am to his books.

For this book, the reader follows the story of a family that moves into a home. At first everything seems fine, but then weird occurrences begin to happen in the house and the neighbors are really standoffish towards them. The events escalate during the book and the peak that happened, I wasn't even expecting despite having read other books of Little's.

Lots of carnage, twisted plots, and bizarre history are all included here, so if that's something you cannot handle then don't even try reading this book, you'll be offended. Little does have a knack for offending some people and that could easily happen in this book.

The really good thing about Little's book is that it does stress the importance of family. This is relevant in other books of his as well.