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beastreader's review
3.0
I liked this collection of short stories. There is definitely a lot of murder and mayhem happening in Montague Falls. Of the three stories my favorite is Red Ink by Russ Colchamiro.
I enjoy a good "spy" story. Isaac is an enjoyable character. I at his age was pretending to be a "spy" as well. Or is Isaac an actual spy. I guess you will just have to pick up a copy of this book to find out the truth. Not that I blame Isaac for spying on his neighbors as some of them are very suspicious.
When it came to the other two stories, I liked them but was just not as engaged in the other characters as much as I did Isaac in Red Ink. In The Devil's Delinquents, the teens get more than they bargained for when they pursue an occult ritual.
Than there is A Many Splendid Thing. This story is a thriller with a plot twist ending. Which made this story really good. It just would have been better had I been able to connect on a deeper level with the characters.
Overall, this is still an enjoyable anthology of short stories worth checking out.
I enjoy a good "spy" story. Isaac is an enjoyable character. I at his age was pretending to be a "spy" as well. Or is Isaac an actual spy. I guess you will just have to pick up a copy of this book to find out the truth. Not that I blame Isaac for spying on his neighbors as some of them are very suspicious.
When it came to the other two stories, I liked them but was just not as engaged in the other characters as much as I did Isaac in Red Ink. In The Devil's Delinquents, the teens get more than they bargained for when they pursue an occult ritual.
Than there is A Many Splendid Thing. This story is a thriller with a plot twist ending. Which made this story really good. It just would have been better had I been able to connect on a deeper level with the characters.
Overall, this is still an enjoyable anthology of short stories worth checking out.
b00kr3vi3ws's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a collection of three novellas set in a town by the name of, you guessed it right, Montague Falls. Each novella is written by different authors and elements in it, but are connected by the single element of murder.
Red Ink by Russ Colchamiro is the story of a paper boy called Isaac. He discovers that a murder has been committed on his route. When the authorities involved pays no attention to Isaac’s input about the case, he decides to take matters into his own hands. But do we really know what Isaac is up to or what really happened?
The Devil’s Delinquents by Sawney Hatton features three teenagers and satanic rituals. The three teenagers find each other due to common situations and experiences. Derry and Cal almost immediately feel a pull towards Nat. But they are up to no good as they are on the hunt for revenge and they plan on using satanic rituals to get it. Do they know what they are doing or are they way in over their heads?
A Many Splendid Thing by Patrick Thomas is about a forbidden relationship. Like most of us, Jethro is a teenager who is infatuated with a teacher. Only, in this case it is reciprocated by Ms. Carmine. The excitement of a forbidden romance catches up with them soon enough as there’s a murder to be accounted for.
Read the full review on Bookish Indulgences with b00k r3vi3ws
Red Ink by Russ Colchamiro is the story of a paper boy called Isaac. He discovers that a murder has been committed on his route. When the authorities involved pays no attention to Isaac’s input about the case, he decides to take matters into his own hands. But do we really know what Isaac is up to or what really happened?
The Devil’s Delinquents by Sawney Hatton features three teenagers and satanic rituals. The three teenagers find each other due to common situations and experiences. Derry and Cal almost immediately feel a pull towards Nat. But they are up to no good as they are on the hunt for revenge and they plan on using satanic rituals to get it. Do they know what they are doing or are they way in over their heads?
A Many Splendid Thing by Patrick Thomas is about a forbidden relationship. Like most of us, Jethro is a teenager who is infatuated with a teacher. Only, in this case it is reciprocated by Ms. Carmine. The excitement of a forbidden romance catches up with them soon enough as there’s a murder to be accounted for.
Read the full review on Bookish Indulgences with b00k r3vi3ws
elles_shelves's review against another edition
4.0
Murder in Montague Falls is a horror anthology featuring three short stories that take place in the town of Montague Falls. The first story is Red Ink by Russ Colchamiro. It tells the story of Isaac Fuller, a 14 year old neighborhood paperboy who has a vivid imagination. Though he is only a high school student, Isaac fantasizes that he is a spy who is helping President Reagan in the fight against the Soviets. One day, while Isaac is collecting money on his paper route, he witnesses a murder. . . or did he. Even Isaac is a bit uncertain if he really saw a dead body or if his overactive imagination made his think he saw a murder victim. He decides to investigate the situation more in depth in hopes of finding out the truth.
The second story was The Devil's Delinquents by Sawney Hatton. This is the story of two stoner high schools friends, Derry and Cal, who are more interested in heavy metal music and the occult than in schoolwork. When a new girl Natalie Glantz shows up in detention hall, the boys are instantly intrigued by her Goth style and her devil may care attitude. When it turns out that Natalie is a practicing Satanist, the boys decide they want to be a part of Natalie's dark rituals. What is this trio willing to do in order to achieve their goals of success, power, and revenge.?
This final tale was A Many Splendid Thing by Patrick Thomas. This is the story of high school student, Jethro, who finds himself entangled with his science teacher, the beautiful Mrs. Carmine. Jethro is frequently bullied, so he is surprised when his teacher takes a special interest in him. Unfortunately, she tries to convince him that he needs to kill her husband. Will Jethro kill for this sultry femme fatale?
These three stories can all be categorized as coming of age tales as these young adults work through what they want their identity to be. There is plenty of self doubt as our characters navigate a through the world and make decisions concerning the events going on around them. I enjoyed reading all three stories and found them light and fun. I especially liked the throw back feel and sense of nostalgia while reading these stories.
The second story was The Devil's Delinquents by Sawney Hatton. This is the story of two stoner high schools friends, Derry and Cal, who are more interested in heavy metal music and the occult than in schoolwork. When a new girl Natalie Glantz shows up in detention hall, the boys are instantly intrigued by her Goth style and her devil may care attitude. When it turns out that Natalie is a practicing Satanist, the boys decide they want to be a part of Natalie's dark rituals. What is this trio willing to do in order to achieve their goals of success, power, and revenge.?
This final tale was A Many Splendid Thing by Patrick Thomas. This is the story of high school student, Jethro, who finds himself entangled with his science teacher, the beautiful Mrs. Carmine. Jethro is frequently bullied, so he is surprised when his teacher takes a special interest in him. Unfortunately, she tries to convince him that he needs to kill her husband. Will Jethro kill for this sultry femme fatale?
These three stories can all be categorized as coming of age tales as these young adults work through what they want their identity to be. There is plenty of self doubt as our characters navigate a through the world and make decisions concerning the events going on around them. I enjoyed reading all three stories and found them light and fun. I especially liked the throw back feel and sense of nostalgia while reading these stories.
annes's review
4.0
Red Ink by Russ Colchamiro - 3 stars
I really enjoyed this novella, we follow Isaac who imagines himself as a spy and ends up in a spot of bother. Isaac is a really interesting character to follow as we see that even though he is only 14 years old he has dealt with so much and hasn't properly dealt with that. Unfortunately due to this he lashes out at the people he cares about.
Dani, Isaac's best friend was a really great character. You can really tell she cares so much about Iaasc and only wants what is best for him. I really enjoyed the atmosphere created in this book, it was quite tense and kept me really intrigued throughout this story. This was a really solid novella.
The Devil Deliquents by Sawney Hatton - 4 stars
I wasn't really sure what I was getting into when I started this novella but boy I got a hell of a lot. We follow two main characters Cal and Derry who are you typical bad teenagers smoking weed, drinking etc. They meet a new girl and end up doing some pretty horrible stuff in the name of Satan.
This was a really dark story full of blood, gore and pretty horrible stuff. Our main characters are not likable at all but I could see exactly how they got wrapped up in all of the satanic craziness that was Natalie.
Natalie has had some traumatic things happen to her and turns towards the Devil to worship which leads to her being a little bit on the psychopath spectrum. She seems to have more emotions which was really interesting to follow with.
This story ended up being very gruesome which I actually really enjoyed and kept me on the edge of my feet. I'll definitely be looking out for more by this author.
A many splendid thing by Patrick Thomas - 5 stars
This story was more of a psychological thriller which I really loved. This is all about our main character who falls in love and has an affair with his science teacher. This was really twisty and turny that had me on the edge of my seat flipping the page wanting to know what's happening.
Although I did guess the final twist due to see this in previous stories i still really enjoyed this thriller novella and would definitely recommend it.
Overall thoughts
So there you have it my three reviews of the novellas in Murder in Montague Falls. This was definitely a fun and quick read which I would definitely recommend to horror and thriller fans!
I really enjoyed this novella, we follow Isaac who imagines himself as a spy and ends up in a spot of bother. Isaac is a really interesting character to follow as we see that even though he is only 14 years old he has dealt with so much and hasn't properly dealt with that. Unfortunately due to this he lashes out at the people he cares about.
Dani, Isaac's best friend was a really great character. You can really tell she cares so much about Iaasc and only wants what is best for him. I really enjoyed the atmosphere created in this book, it was quite tense and kept me really intrigued throughout this story. This was a really solid novella.
The Devil Deliquents by Sawney Hatton - 4 stars
I wasn't really sure what I was getting into when I started this novella but boy I got a hell of a lot. We follow two main characters Cal and Derry who are you typical bad teenagers smoking weed, drinking etc. They meet a new girl and end up doing some pretty horrible stuff in the name of Satan.
This was a really dark story full of blood, gore and pretty horrible stuff. Our main characters are not likable at all but I could see exactly how they got wrapped up in all of the satanic craziness that was Natalie.
Natalie has had some traumatic things happen to her and turns towards the Devil to worship which leads to her being a little bit on the psychopath spectrum. She seems to have more emotions which was really interesting to follow with.
This story ended up being very gruesome which I actually really enjoyed and kept me on the edge of my feet. I'll definitely be looking out for more by this author.
A many splendid thing by Patrick Thomas - 5 stars
This story was more of a psychological thriller which I really loved. This is all about our main character who falls in love and has an affair with his science teacher. This was really twisty and turny that had me on the edge of my seat flipping the page wanting to know what's happening.
Although I did guess the final twist due to see this in previous stories i still really enjoyed this thriller novella and would definitely recommend it.
Overall thoughts
So there you have it my three reviews of the novellas in Murder in Montague Falls. This was definitely a fun and quick read which I would definitely recommend to horror and thriller fans!
cupofbooksreviews's review
4.0
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I have given Murder in Montague Falls: Noir-Inspired Novellas by Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton and Patrick Thomas four out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was very excited to be a part of this blog tour as this book of novellas has given me all the spooky feels I needed just in time for Halloween!
The first book in the series is called Red Ink, which is about a fourteen year old paperboy called Isaac. Whilst on his paper delivery round, one of his regular customers, Ms Gagne, hasn’t paid him on time. With his overactive imagination Isaac becomes very suspicious about this and decides to investigate which is when he discovers a body on the floor of Ms Gagne’s house! Isaac tries to get help from the police but they’re hardly interested in what Isaac has to tell them as they don’t believe him in the slightest. This is when Isaac decides to take matters into his own hands and from there,the mystery starts to unfold… It was a very fast-paced mysterious, crime investigating novella which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. I really enjoyed the use of the descriptive, detailed writing as it helped me picture the setting clearly. I thoroughly enjoyed this page turning story and the characters the author created.
The second book, The Devil’s Delinquents, is a very creepy, satanic story filled with gore and bloodiness. This story follows two teenage boys called Derry and Cal, who befriend a girl called Nat. The boys are soon to find out that Nat is involved with heinous Satanic rituals, which she then manages to draw the boys in to join her with these acts due to their tragic similarities; from being bullied at school to their sad home lives. The unexpected twists and turns throughout the book were fantastic! I liked how this story referred back to the first story Red Ink and I also enjoyed the descriptive detailed writing style used by the author, just like the first book, this story kept me on the edge of seat too. I thought that the ending to this story was quite rushed, although it is a short story I wish it hadn’t rushed the events, twists and turns that happened as it started to feel quite unrealistic.
The third book A Many Splendid Thing was like no other book I have read before. It was a clever, conniving and manipulative psychological thriller. This book follows a student called Jethro and a science teacher called Mrs Carmine. Jethro gets bullied a lot at school and has a poor relationship with his separated parents which you learn quite a lot about in this story. Mrs Carmine is Jethro’s somewhat escape and soon they find their feelings for one another start to grow. I felt very suspicious towards Mrs Carmine’s character especially once you find Jethro’s infatuation for Mrs Carmine to be “mutual”. Scheming and manipulation were two huge factors of this story, which made me quite angry at times from the naivety of Jethro and the cunningness of Mrs Carmine. Some of the crimes the characters commit in this story simply horrified me and I found myself squinting and making funny faces at the scenes that I started to read over. I really didn’t see the plot twist coming towards the end and my mouth was agape from the events that started to unravel!
Overall I really enjoyed these three noir-inspired dark novellas. They were all page-turning, mysterious and thrilling. I liked how each novella was different from one another. Also, I thought the novellas were the perfect length to sit through in one/two sittings (depending on the availability and time you have).
I was very excited to be a part of this blog tour as this book of novellas has given me all the spooky feels I needed just in time for Halloween!
The first book in the series is called Red Ink, which is about a fourteen year old paperboy called Isaac. Whilst on his paper delivery round, one of his regular customers, Ms Gagne, hasn’t paid him on time. With his overactive imagination Isaac becomes very suspicious about this and decides to investigate which is when he discovers a body on the floor of Ms Gagne’s house! Isaac tries to get help from the police but they’re hardly interested in what Isaac has to tell them as they don’t believe him in the slightest. This is when Isaac decides to take matters into his own hands and from there,the mystery starts to unfold… It was a very fast-paced mysterious, crime investigating novella which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. I really enjoyed the use of the descriptive, detailed writing as it helped me picture the setting clearly. I thoroughly enjoyed this page turning story and the characters the author created.
The second book, The Devil’s Delinquents, is a very creepy, satanic story filled with gore and bloodiness. This story follows two teenage boys called Derry and Cal, who befriend a girl called Nat. The boys are soon to find out that Nat is involved with heinous Satanic rituals, which she then manages to draw the boys in to join her with these acts due to their tragic similarities; from being bullied at school to their sad home lives. The unexpected twists and turns throughout the book were fantastic! I liked how this story referred back to the first story Red Ink and I also enjoyed the descriptive detailed writing style used by the author, just like the first book, this story kept me on the edge of seat too. I thought that the ending to this story was quite rushed, although it is a short story I wish it hadn’t rushed the events, twists and turns that happened as it started to feel quite unrealistic.
The third book A Many Splendid Thing was like no other book I have read before. It was a clever, conniving and manipulative psychological thriller. This book follows a student called Jethro and a science teacher called Mrs Carmine. Jethro gets bullied a lot at school and has a poor relationship with his separated parents which you learn quite a lot about in this story. Mrs Carmine is Jethro’s somewhat escape and soon they find their feelings for one another start to grow. I felt very suspicious towards Mrs Carmine’s character especially once you find Jethro’s infatuation for Mrs Carmine to be “mutual”. Scheming and manipulation were two huge factors of this story, which made me quite angry at times from the naivety of Jethro and the cunningness of Mrs Carmine. Some of the crimes the characters commit in this story simply horrified me and I found myself squinting and making funny faces at the scenes that I started to read over. I really didn’t see the plot twist coming towards the end and my mouth was agape from the events that started to unravel!
Overall I really enjoyed these three noir-inspired dark novellas. They were all page-turning, mysterious and thrilling. I liked how each novella was different from one another. Also, I thought the novellas were the perfect length to sit through in one/two sittings (depending on the availability and time you have).
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