by G. Robert Frazier

In between the books I review for BookPage, Chapter 16 (Humanities of Tennessee), and Killer Nashville, I do manage to squeeze in a few other reads from time to time. Below are a few reviews for books I’ve read this year not included on those sites.

The Influence by Ramsey Campbell

I was thrilled when I received an advance reader copy of this book from Flame Tree Press. Ramsey Campbell is a master of the horror genre, so I dived right into this novel, expecting heart-stopping chills and scares that would keep me up at night.

Campbell sets the stage quickly enough as Queenie, the matriarch of the Faraday family, dies, setting in motion a series of bizarre events. Queenie asks to be buried with a lock of hair from her great-niece, 7-year-old Rowan, with whom she has a strong rapport. Rowan’s parents, Alison and Derek, and Alison’s sister Hermione, who was traumatized by Queenie as a child, argue over the Queenie’s odd request, but Derek ultimately allows it. Soon after, Hermione is discovered dead.

Rowan, meanwhile, seems to be taking on some markedly different traits, including a condescending attitude toward her classmates and a growing aloofness toward her parents. A new friend, Victoria, who coincidentally shares Queenie’s real name, also begins to have a strange influence over Rowan and eventually appears to take Rowan’s place in the family.

Has Queenie’s spirit leapt from beyond the grave? Will Rowan be able to escape her great-aunt’s influence and return to her rightful place in the family?

Campbell’s writing is darkly atmospheric and mysterious, building slowly in intrigue and suspense. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a slam bang horror opus like I was hoping for, but more of a slow-burn novel with subtle creeps. Not that that’s a bad thing, it just isn’t my thing, so I was ultimately a bit disappointed.

The God Game by Danny Tobey

I’ve never been obsessed with gaming. Sure, I used to play Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Genesis console and I used to play NHL hockey video games, but I never got sucked into the whole gaming world. I bought a Wii game console once – it’s still connected to my TV – but I haven’t used it in years. I just don’t have time for it.

I don’t even like movies based on video games. Not even Ready Player One could change my mind.

So, a book about gamers was not really on my list of must-reads, but since St. Martin’s Press decided to send me an advance reader copy of Danny Tobey’s The God Game, I was obliged to read it.

Billed as a dark thriller, the book follows several teens who become obsessed with a video game created on the dark web and controlled by a mysterious artificial intelligence that believes it’s God. Tobey wastes no time in establishing that this isn’t exactly a compassionate god, though, as when the boys ask the game why there is war, it responds: “Because killing feels good.”

The deeper the teens delve into the game, it becomes abundantly clear that they aren’t playing the game, the game is playing them. Before long, it forces them to do dark deeds at its behest or suffer serious consequences in their real lives.

Tobey creates a typical teen cast – characters subjected to bullying by their peers or dealing with various pressures of growing up – which lends authenticity and depth to the story, then sets them loose in a fast-paced, high-stakes adventure ala Hunger Games or The Maze Runner. There are some fun scenes and it never gets boring, though it does plod toward a somewhat predictable outcome.

Murder She Wrote: Trouble at High Tide by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain

Mom was a big fan of Murder She Wrote, and I must admit I liked the show too. Yes, it was formulaic. Yes, it was quite tame as far as murder mysteries go. But somehow it was always an entertaining diversion.

After Mom passed, she left her collection of Murder She Wrote novels to me and I’ve been trying to read at least one a year as a sort of tribute.

Trouble at High Tide was another fun read in the series with Jessica Fletcher stumbling upon a body on a Bermuda beach during a vacation (doesn’t she always?). At the same time, the local police are caught up in a series of brutal Jack the Ripper-style killings. Whether the cases are related in some way remains to be seen.

Jessica and an old friend, Inspector George Sutherland, investigate all the requisite suspects, uncover a slew of secrets, and get dangerously close to the killer. Donald Bain, whom I met at a Killer Nashville writing conference prior to his death, expertly captures the essence of the TV series sleuth.