The Awakening (Dark Terror Series #2) by A. Drew - Book Blast

Book Title: The Awakening (Dark Terror Series #2)

Author: A. Drew

Publisher: Drew Publications

Genre/s: supernatural horror, LGBT, suspense, paranormal

Heat Rating: 0 flames 

Length: Approx 30 000 words

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Blurb

A near-fatal incident stirs an awakening of an adolescent's ability to connect with entities from the deep and dark hidden world, that which is beyond our natural awareness. A world of lost souls, both good and bad, all trying to reach out to the boy now that they are aware of his surreal capability.

Coming to terms with his psychic ability that he neither asked for nor knew how to wield it, he is unwittingly drawn into solving a grisly mystery from beyond the grave. This will become the greatest test of his faith in himself.
Will he survive?

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Excerpt

On Phil’s fourteenth birthday in 1974… Miserable simply did not describe how he felt. He couldn’t wait to be discharged from the mid-century built community hospital. The building was covered in dark gray walls which had seen better days, cloistered by gardens that struggled to survive. Phil reflected on the state of the hospital and pondered upon whether it matched his own mental state because he was convinced something was seriously wrong with his head since the accident.

He desperately tried to keep his eyes firmly shut, doing his best to relax and with a bit of luck, bring his heart rate down to a respectable level. Praying for the morning to arrive, he beseeched, “Dear God. I’ll never try to impress Jason again …or anyone else for that matter. I’m so sorry that I tried to show off by jumping into the river.”

Tragically, it was this birthday, his fourteenth one, when he nearly drowned after he jumped off the tree. That day would be forever etched in his memory. He trailed along with his friends who hung out with the older kids from school as they cooled off in the river.

Jason who was one of the oldest in the group brought out a long rope from his backpack and deftly tied it around a strong looking branch off a tree as it extended over the river. The dare was simple. Each boy had to swing over the river as far as he could in readiness to release their hold of the rope just before it started to return to the shore.

Phil did his best to hide his attraction towards Jason, after all, if anyone found out that he liked boys, he’d be in deep trouble. As he thought of the consequences for his attraction of other of his own sex, he couldn’t help himself as he gave a furtive glance at the object of his desire.

Jason was considerably taller than Phil and had lustrously dark curly hair. His shoulders were so broad, developed over many years of playing rugby, in fact far more than he should have instead of studying, but he certainly didn’t care. The sports star was the coolest and the most successful player on the field. Even the way he smiled was cool, reminding him of an Elvis Presley impersonator.

While the boys got ready to impress the girls, Phil secretly hoped to gain Jason’s undivided attention. Whoever jumped the farthest in each round, would be rewarded by a kiss from sweet Emily-Lou. She was one of the hot cheerleaders, and it was generally whispered by the boys that she only rewarded tough boys, usually with a kiss on the school grounds. Phil joined the group with only one goal in mind. To be alongside Jason but he didn’t dare let anyone know about it.

Bolstered more by Jason’s gaze on him as he climbed the tree rather than the girls’ attention, from the safety of a thick branch, he held on to the rope with all his might, but something made him freeze. It was pure and simple unadulterated fear. He was so high up on that sinewy tree, perched precariously on the branch. His only savior was the greasy rope, slippery from the countless instances when other children had gripped it firmly before launching themselves off and into the river.

Right now, getting Jason’s attention was no longer was on his priority list, but hearing the taunts from some of the boys shook him up enough to help him take a deep breath. He quickly looked around and noticed Jason and a few of the kids did not take part in the jeering but watched him with some concern.

He wrapped the rope tightly around his hand before shouting bravely, albeit somewhat awkwardly and not feeling very much like the older boys at that moment. In pure fear and with his eyes firmly shut, he jumped, praying that he had swung high enough to release his grip on the rope, effecting a perfect entry into the slow running river rather than slamming into terra firma.

Despite all hopes of swimming majestically in front of his friends after what he thought was a great swing into the river, Phil, in fact, woke up feeling the hard dirt on his back. He wasn’t sure what happened, but the urge to breathe was strong enough for him to push away the frantic hands that prodded over his chest. He felt confused, reeling in pain and completely out of sorts.

His first impulse was to cough and retch while trying to push away a hand that was trying to turn him onto his side. Phil decided to sit up, but darkness quickly enveloped him again, before eventually waking up in the community hospital.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been in the hospital, but Phil seemed to continually repeat cycles of lucidity before lapsing into unconsciousness for the whole time he was there. He didn’t verbalize it, but he wished that all the whisperings stopped around him so he could get some decent sleep.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but sometime later when he was fully awake, his gaze was drawn to the familiar sight of his parents who stood before his bed. Their faces said it all, through their deep frowns and pale complexions. This was a worrisome time for them.

His mother tearfully asked as she rushed to his side, “Phil darling, how are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, I think. Not sure what happened though.” He responded, smacking his lips and trying to lubricate his mouth. He was so thirsty. It felt like it had been days since he had a glass of water.

His mother frowned, looking indignant as she sharply responded to him, “What happened? Young man, you nearly drowned! That’s what happened! We told you so many times not to go near the river to swim. That river has many unexpected currents coursing through it! How many times do we need to remind you that many people have tragically died in that river?”

Some things never change. Phil might have nearly died on that occasion, but that still didn’t stop him receiving a lecture from his mother even though he was laying on his hospital bed.Give me a break Mom. I just wanted to impress the others.

What complicates things more was not the shame of being rescued and puking in front of all the kids, particularly Jason, but it was the fact that from the time when he was able to open his eyes, Phil noticed shadows streaming across the walls of his cold room. These shadows seemed to be urgently whispering incoherent words. He couldn’t understand what they were saying, because they all talked over each other, but nevertheless, it was constant chatter.

It was eerie to see them but even more frightening to witness their urgent whispers. Phil had been embarrassed to mention these things to the treating doctor who came to check on him later that afternoon, in case he might have thought Phil was losing his mind. The man spoke like a pompous old schoolmaster, despite his youthful appearance. Phil tried to explain to him about the shadows and their whispers when the man abruptly interrupted him.

About the Author

Lily Lamb aka A. Drew is a Turkish Australian multi-genre indie author. She works as a nurse by day where she feeds her soul by caring for others. At night she tends to her imaginative alter-ego by writing tales involving love, passion, mystery and LGBT romance.

Author Links: Amazon | Blog/Website | Facebook

Twitter: @1LilyLamb

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Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win 2 ebooks The Dowling House & The Awakening (for 3 winners)

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Dinner at the Blue Moon Cafe by Rick R. Reed - Release Blitz

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner

Paperback: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Length: 67,000 words

Cover: Aaron Anderson

Blurb

A monster moves through the night, hidden by the darkness, taking men, one by one, from Seattle’s gay gathering areas.

Amid an atmosphere of crippling fear, Thad Matthews finds his first true love working in an Italian restaurant called the Blue Moon Café. Sam Lupino is everything Thad has ever hoped for in a man: virile, sexy as hell, kind, and… he can cook!

As their romance heats up, the questions pile up. Who is the killer preying on Seattle’s gay men? What secrets is Sam’s Sicilian family hiding? And more importantly, why do Sam's unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon?

The strength of Thad and Sam’s love will face the ultimate test when horrific revelations come to light beneath the full moon.

Excerpt

From the moment Thad stepped through the front door of the Blue Moon Café, the décor cleared up any mystery about what kind of food they served. The little café, with its mahogany bar along one wall, its grouping of maybe a dozen tables, and its faux-tin ceiling, could have been straight out of central casting for “Italian joint.” Thad saw the requisite checkered tablecloths, the oil paintings of Italian landmarks like the canals of Venice, the Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and St. Peter’s Square. And yes, each table sported a candle plugged into the opening of an empty green-glass Chianti bottle. A TV sat above the bar, thankfully turned off.

“Buona Sera” by Louis Prima played from the overhead speaker system. Thad was certain the rest of the evening would be peppered with the likes of Dean Martin, Jerry Vale, Rosemary Clooney, and of course, Sinatra. Underneath the music was the usual restaurant orchestra: conversation, laughter, the clink of glassware and the tinkle of silverware.

The scents of garlic, oregano, basil, and tomatoes perfumed the air. Over a counter at the rear of the restaurant, Thad could see into the kitchen: a wood-burning oven, chefs busy at their stations, the occasional upsurge of flame as one of them poured alcohol into a pan and ignited it by tipping the pan. Thad’s mouth began to water.

He already liked this place.

And he liked it even more when he saw the bartender, who was busy drying wineglasses and reaching up to hang them upside down on a rack above the bar. He was a compact little guy, olive skin and shaved head. His muscles tested the endurance of the black T-shirt he wore, and even from his vantage near the hostess stand, Thad could make out the thick black five o’clock shadow that covered his jaw. He was just the kind of guy Thad fantasized about. One who would take him roughly and be in charge.

Stop it, now! I’m in Green Lake, not Capitol Hill. This guy probably has a wife and two kids at home and would not appreciate how I’m imagining how he would look should the seams of that tight T-shirt burst and reveal a defined and hairy chest. He wouldn’t cotton at all to my thoughts of wondering how his asshole would taste, for cryin’ out loud.

Or maybe he would….

Thad grinned and bounced up and down a couple of times on his heels, feeling strangely energized and definitely a little smitten.

Shut up, horndog. Behave yourself.

My thoughts

WOW. Talk about a prologue setting the tone and pulling you straight into the story. The start to this book is dark, and then some. There’s a full moon and a monster is hunting, choosing his prey and striking, thus setting the scene for what’s to come.

Except that the tone of the story appears to change as soon as the prologue is over. The next few chapters, during which Thad and Sam first meet, are anything but horrific. The two men are instantly drawn to each other and their coming together is sweet and sexy. Thad and Sam’s coming together appears to be destined, as if these two men are made for each other. In fact I’d almost forgotten about the monster lurking in the background until it struck again, once more during a full moon.

I don’t want to say too much about the monster, except that his attacks continue and appear to be aimed at Seattle’s gay community. Who the monster is and exactly why it is killing, is a mystery each reader should get to ‘enjoy’ for themselves. I thought I had the mystery solved early on, only for one or two red herrings to throw me off again. This is just the way I like my mysteries, and it was very well done in this book.

My heart ached for Thad and Sam. After their near perfect coming together the odds appear to be stacked against them. They have so much to overcome, the obstacles they have to overcome are so huge it at times feels like theirs is a hopeless case and for a while I feared this book might turn out not to be a romance after all.

It is very hard to write this review without giving too much away, so I’m keeping this one short. I do want to say that I completely lost myself in this story. Rick R. Reed pulled me into a world that closely resembles mine but isn’t quite the same. He created a wonderful and imaginative combination between horror and romance that worked like a charm even for me who doesn’t really do ‘horrific’ stories.

I do have one admission to make. While I adored both Sam and Thad, I think my favourite character in this book was Jared. As secondary characters go he was perfect and I do hope he gets (or maybe has already gotten, I must check) his own story. He’s such a wonderful friend to Thad, and I can so see something fascinating and thrilling happening to him and TJ.

Overall this was a story that forced me to step outside my comfort zone and totally engrossed me in the process. The balance between romance, angst, mystery, and horror was just about perfect and has left me thinking I may have to take a closer look at other darker stories. Rick R. Reed is fast turning into favourite, must-read, author for me.

Author Bio 

Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love.

He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). He is also a Rainbow Award Winner for both Caregiver and Raining Men. Lambda Literary Review has called him, "a writer that doesn't disappoint."

Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever "at work on another novel."

Stalk Rick

Facebook Page  | Twitter | Google+  | Blog | Website  | Bookbub 

Email: rickrreedbooks@gmail.com

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A Face Without a Heart by Rick R. Reed - Release Blitz

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | DSP Publications

Cover: Aaron Anderson

Publisher: DSP Publications

Length: 56,887 words

Blurb

A modern-day and thought-provoking retelling of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray that esteemed horror magazine Fangoria called “…a book that is brutally honest with its reader and doesn’t flinch in the areas where Wilde had to look away…. A rarity: a really well-done update that’s as good as its source material.”

A beautiful young man bargains his soul away to remain young and handsome forever, while his holographic portrait mirrors his aging and decay and reflects every sin and each nightmarish step deeper into depravity… even cold-blooded murder. Prepare yourself for a compelling tour of the darkest sides of greed, lust, addiction, and violence.

Excerpt

He was beautiful. Beauty is so seldom ascribed to men, too often incorrectly attributed to men with feminine features—wavy blond hair, fine cheekbones, teeth cut from porcelain. But I’ve always thought of beauty as a quality that went deeper than the corporeal… something dark, dense, inexplicable, capable of stirring longings primal, longings one would be powerless to resist.

He was beautiful. I sat on a Red Line “L” train, headed downtown, bags of heavy camera equipment heaped at my side, one arm resting protectively over them. I watched the young man, unable to train my thoughts on anything other than this man who had blotted out the reality of the day, magical and transforming. Beauty, especially so rare a beauty, can do that. The young man was an eclipse, his presence coming between myself and the reality of the day hurtling by outside train windows.

He had come in behind three foreign people, a bright counterpoint to their drab clothes, colorless, already wilting in the August humidity. They chattered to one another in a language unrecognizable, Polish maybe, and I was annoyed at their yammering, unable to block it out sufficiently enough to concentrate on the book I was reading, a biography of William Blake.

I almost didn’t notice him. It wasn’t like me to pay much attention to what went on around me, especially when I was preparing for a shoot. Usually I used the time on the train to set up the photographs I would take, the way I would manipulate light and shadow and how it fell on my models, to arrange the props, set up and test the lighting.

But something caused me to look up when the doors opened—perhaps I was struck by the dissonance created by the unknown language—and I saw him. Close-cropped brown hair, a bit of stubble framing full lips, a bruise fading to dull below his right eye. The bruise did not detract from the man’s beauty but served to enhance it, making of the rough features something more vulnerable. The bruise was the embodiment of a yearning for the touch of a finger, the whisper of a kiss. He wore an old, faded T-shirt with a Bulls logo, black denim cut off just above his knees, and a pair of work boots, the seam on the left beginning to separate. In spite of the workman’s garb, there was something intellectual about the man, an intensity in his aquamarine eyes that portended deeper thought.

At that moment, I made a decision. I don’t know what caprice seized me. I have always led an orderly life, completely without surprise. But when the train pulled to a stop and the young man stood, I acted on an impulse that was as sudden as it was uncontrollable.

My Review

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favourite books ever, so it was with a mixture of excitement and nerves that I started this book. Excitement because I knew it would be an amazing read if it lived up to the original, and nerves because I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d be able to enjoy the read if it wasn’t up to scratch. I shouldn’t have worried.

The first thing I realised while reading was that it has been too long since I read Oscar Wilde’s book. While everything I felt while reading that book was still firmly fixed in my memory, the story’s details had mostly faded. I’m not sure whether or not that’s a good thing. For starters it means that I can’t tell you how close A Face Without a Heart stays to the original story. Having said that, I know I read this book with the same mixture of horror and fascination as I did the Wilde book.

Now, before I say anything else I want to say this: A Face Without a Heart is not a romance; it doesn’t resemble a love story. This is a tale about sin, debauchery, sex, drugs, and lack of morals and what such a lifestyle does to a man.

Gary Adrion’s (clever play on a name) story had me hooked from the opening paragraph. There’s never any doubt that Gary is evil. Even before they exchange a single word Liam Howard, is scared of the man he’s followed off the train. His instinct tells him to get away, his compulsion forces him to keep on following the beautiful young man and even to invite him to model for one of his holograms.

I’m not going to go into the details of the story. Those who have read The Picture of Dorian Gray will know what to expect and those who are new to the story should be allowed to enjoy it in all its horrifying glory. I do want to say that the story hooked me from the beginning. Once I’d started I couldn’t put the book down until I had read all the way to the end, mesmerised by Gary Adrion’s brutal selfishness and yet unable to thoroughly dislike him.

In fact, that’s what I admired most in this book; the gradual decline of Gary’s character and morals and the fact that even in his darkest moments he can’t escape his conscience completely. I should have detested him more or less from the start but found that impossible. It takes true talent to write a monster and still make the reader invested in the character. By the time I finished the book I wasn’t sure whether it had been the author’s skill or my own lack of morals that made me feel a tiny bit sorry for Gary. I still haven’t worked that one out, but I prefer to blame Rick R. Reed.

My advice to other readers is as follows: If you want to read about love and happy endings, please look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you are not afraid of the dark and you like a story that will mesmerize, shock, horrify, and fascinate, you, A Face Without a Heart is the perfect read for you.

Author Bio

Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love.

He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). He is also a Rainbow Award Winner for both Caregiver and Raining Men. Lambda Literary Review has called him, "a writer that doesn't disappoint."

Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever "at work on another novel."

Facebook Page | Twitter | Google+  | Blog  | Website  | Bookbub

Email: rickrreedbooks@gmail.com

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No Man's Land by Theo Fenraven

No Man’s Land by Theo Fenraven

Pages: 170

Date: July 18, 2016

Details: ARC received from author

E-book

The blurb:

Amateur ghost hunters Cy and Zelda are invited to the BWCA in Northern Minnesota to investigate an alleged haunting at Brighton Lake Lodge. Mac, the owner, has returned home from London with plans to restart the family business, but the ghosts have to be dealt with first. 

Interesting things happen the moment they arrive; it seems there isn’t one ghost, but many. One of them uses Zelda’s robot, Orwell, to communicate with them, and they find out the ghosts aren’t ghosts at all. 

Set in a time in the not-so-distant future, the story destroys ideas of what is real, what isn’t, and the lengths people will go to in order to survive.

My review:

It is funny how I find myself obsessively following authors for what appear to be conflicting reasons. There are some whose books or series I keep on returning to because I know exactly what to expect and I need that comfort of familiarity. J.D. Robb is one such author for me.

And then there are authors like Theo Fenraven, who I search out because I never know what he’ll present me with next. No book is exactly like any of the previous releases. He hops from genre to genre with an apparent ease that leaves me both awed and somewhat jealous. Opening a new book by this author is always an adventure because I won’t know what I’m dealing with until I’m well into the story, by which stage the characters and the storyline will invariably have captured me.

In No Man’s Land, the author takes this trait of his one step further than he has done in the past. What I thought I was reading when the book started turned out not to be what this story was really about. I apologise for being vague, but discovering where this story was going was such a riveting and delightful surprise for me I don’t want to spoil that experience for anybody else.

What can I say about the story? Well, it is fascinating and gripping right from the start. It features characters who will intrigue you, and not all of them are exactly human J. And it brings us a tension-filled tale filled with both mystery and questions to ponder. In fact, while I loved this story and the way it was written at least as much as I’ve adored any of Theo Fenraven’s previous books, it was all the ‘what-if’s’ and ‘what-would-I-do’s’ it left me with that really hooked me.

Because that’s the thing with this author’s books; while they invariable give me a good and riveting story, they also force me to think about bigger and very topical issues. Not that you need to reflect on the story-line and what it means in order to enjoy this story. It can, very successfully, be read as a thrilling speculative tale. But if you enjoy lingering and reflecting on what you’ve read after you’ve finished a book—as I do—this book will leave you fulfilled on both counts.

Do yourself a huge favour and read No Man’s Land. Not only will you treat yourself to a fantastic story, which while not a romance does feature at least one love story, you will also find yourself pondering about the choices we make. And that’s before I even go into Theo Fenraven’s mastery of the English language, his carefully constructed sentences which paint detailed pictures without ever using a superfluous word.

Enjoy! I know I did.

Buy Links:

Amazon         Amazon UK    

The Children's Home by Charles Lambert

The Children’s Home by Charles Lambert

 

Pages: 202

Date: May 23, 2016

Grade: 4.5

Details: Copy received from Aardvark Bureau

             Reading Group Read

Paperback

The blurb:

Morgan Fletcher, the disfigured heir to a fortune of mysterious origins, lives on a sprawling estate, cut off from a threatening world. One day, his housekeeper, Engel, discovers a baby left on the doorstep. Soon more children arrive, among them the stern, watchful David. With the help of Engel and town physician Doctor Crane, Morgan takes the children in, allowing them to explore the mansion…and to begin to uncover the strange and disturbing secrets it holds.

Cloaked in eerie atmosphere, this distorted fairy tale and the unsettling questions it raises will stay with the reader long after the final page.

My thoughts:

Those who regularly read my reviews won’t be surprised to hear me say I enjoy a book that takes me by surprise and leaves me thinking about what I’ve read long after I’ve finished it. The Children’s Home may well be the most surprising, thought provoking and also baffling book I’ve ever read. In many ways this book reminded me of poetry in that both the story and the way in which it is told leave almost everything open to interpretation by the reader. I can’t help feeling that this book will tell a slightly different story to each individual reader. And judging by the reviews I’ve seen, not everybody enjoys that. Fortunately, I do.

To me this book read as a study in contrasts. The tone of the story is observational, descriptive and distant, as if none of the events described are of any great importance. At the same time those same events are shocking and often gruesome. I have no doubt most of this story would have horrified me if it had been told in a more direct way. As it was the horror of what I’d read only sank in slowly, often after I had already moved on in the story. Since I’m not a huge fan of horror stories, the distance worked very well for me.

Did I fully understand this story, its implications or its message? No, I am sure I did not. For me this read as a dark fairytale set in a world not unlike ours but definitely not as we know it. I picked up on a clear and harsh outcry against the way children all too often get used and/or neglected. I liked the Narnia-like mystery of where the children came from and would be going, and it was impossible to miss the World War II references. On the other hand, there were at least as many instances of things I didn’t understand or couldn’t place, and I have no doubt a lot of metaphors went straight over my head. The resulting sense of mystery didn’t frustrate me however, quite the opposite in fact. It left me with a sense of wonder, with questions and possible answers to ponder. And, as I said at the start of this review, I do like a book that makes me think and keeps on intriguing me even after I’ve finished reading the last sentence.

This is the third book I’ve read by Charles Lambert and I have to say I’m mightily impressed with his versatility. I can’t wait to see what he may come up with next.

If you like your stories straightforward and easily explained, this probably isn’t the book for you. However if you, like me, enjoy a book that is unlike most other novels, a story that keeps you thinking long after you’ve finished it, I highly recommend The Children’s Home.

THE HAUNTED MAZE a true Halloween Horror Story

I’ve reached the stage in my life where few things manage to upset me. There are exceptions to that rule though. It still gets to me when I expect a book to be available at a certain date and time, only for it to be delayed for whatever reason.

I was really looking forward to Theo Fenraven’s The Haunted Maze. In fact, I had been counting the days until its release on Halloween. Have a look at the cover and blurb and you’ll understand why.

Blurb: 

Still in his twenties, Percy Callendar is one of the richest men in the world. In an attempt to find the future love of his life—and because he likes to have fun—he builds the ultimate haunted house and assembles a select group of men to go through it.

Sage Donovan, owner of a fledgling IT company, is the seventh applicant to receive an invitation. He figures completing the maze—something no one has done yet—will guarantee fame and maybe fortune, and he immediately accepts despite having a little problem with anxiety.

Witches, spiders, ghosts and ghouls are the least Sage has to deal with, because before the night is over, he will face his deepest fear, changing his life and Percy’s forever.

As it is, Amazon has decided today is the day to fuck up. I’ve been stalking their website since I got up about thirteen hours ago and have been getting more frustrated with each passing hour.

Of course, if this is frustrating for me, imagine what it must be like for the author. He must be tearing his hair out by this stage. You perfectly time your ‘haunted’ story to be released on Halloween only for Amazon to ruin all your carefully laid plans.

I’ll continue my vigil of Amazon and will be one-clicking The Haunted Maze as soon as it appears. After all, a good story is a good story whatever day it's released on. And, unless Amazon makes an even bigger balls up of this, my review of The Haunted Maze should be up on Sunday. Still, somebody ought to tell Amazon exactly how badly they messed this one up.