Author Mark W. Curran weaves intense tales of horror, mystery, and suspense, with intriguing twists and turns that easily captivates the reader's attention from the beginning. These stories had every element a good story should have. An exciting plot, attention to detail, but best of all fleshed out, well-written and well-rounded character development. There’s an abundance of well illustrated scenes that make you feel like you are right there in the stories, and that's something I really look for in a good book.

The book description says it all; 'Werewolves... vampires... swamp beasts... zombies... even a Jersey Devil... all of these chilling creatures and more await you in this haunting collection of contemporary horror fiction stories. Uniquely set 'down the shore' in South Jersey's Cape May County, these scary tales are sure to terrify and entertain both adult readers as well as young adults.

 

The spooky offerings include: An abrasive radio talk show host who is stalked by an angry werewolf, a Fun Pier boardwalk worker who falls under the spell of a strange attic dwelling girl, an ancient sailing ship filled with bloodthirsty zombies that crashes into the Jersey Shore and much more.

 

The 'cornerstone' of this collection is a novella titled, 'The Witches of Wildwood.' It is a harrowing and suspenseful tale of a witch-hunting preacher hell-bent on killing four teenage sisters determined to destroy the world from their Wildwood boarding house.'

This captivating and commendable work had me immersed from the beginning. The stories flowed from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional ability when it comes to storytelling. There are plenty of attention-grabbing moments in this page turner that will take the reader on a spellbinding journey! It's difficult to pick a favorite from this collection of spooky 'tales of the unexpected'. Even if I was forced to, I couldn't. They were all very well written.

It’s one of those books that come along once in awhile that makes you want to read it non-stop until you get to the end. I’m giving nothing further away here. And this, I hope, will only add to the mystery and enjoyment for the reader. I will say, however, that fans of the horror genre will love sinking their teeth into this one!

I’ll certainly be looking forward to reading more from Mark Wesley Curran in the future. I would definitely recommend this book. Five stars.

​

- Emerald Book Reviews