by Mary SanGiovanni

Somewhere in the woods of Pennsylvania there is a mysterious door and for generations people have written requests and sealed the envelope with wax mixed with their own blood and slipped the letters under the door. They always get a result, but not always in the way they anticipate.

This is a similar concept to another book I read last year, but in this one someone changes her mind and tries to retrieve the letter. Opening the door was a very, very bad idea. This is mentioned in the book description so I'm not giving a spoiler.

The details of individual situations is what makes the story. Rather a lot of people in the town have made use of the door at some time or other, though many won't admit to it. They are reluctant to talk about it and some incidents are about covering up things the people in question don't want revealed. A professional, Kathy Ryan, is brought in to help deal with the occult occurrences.

If you like truly horrific imagery and especially tentacled monsters, then this is for you. The situation gets progressively more gruesome as things move on, leading up to a dramatic ending. I can't put my finger on why, but I didn't feel what I was supposed to feel as the plot thickened. I think there were a few jumps in the plot that threw me off, just little things like how a group of people in a car are suddenly walking in the forest.

Kathy Ryan is the central character for a series of stand alone stories where she is a sleuth dealing with occult situations. I do find myself curious about the plots of other stories in the series.

When the theoretical research group, with a shady reputation opens a dimensional doorway to another world....a world where only plant life thrives, it is a discovery of unlimited potential.
None of it good.
The discovery of a dead city on this silent world ends in tragedy, as the first research team to cross dimensions vanishes....and a scientist connected to the project falls prey to an infestation that haunts the minds of hardened police detectives.
The corporation hires occult investigator Kathy Ryan to spearhead a rescue mission across the barrier....but their true intentions have little to do with rescue. And Kathy finds herself thrust into a world beyond the veil, joined by a team of non-volunteers, to explore a dead city that doesn't lie still. Where a horror older than time waits.
Mary SanGiovanni spins an engaging horror/thriller that weaves the Lovecraftian Mythos into a fresh, new horror mythos that is hers alone.
Highly recommended. I look forward to more in the Kathy Ryan series and from the pen of Mary SanGiovanni.

This was an eARC from Netgalley.

Expected publication: November 26th, 2019 by Lyrical Press

Something is breaking loose in the Connecticut-Newlyn Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Stalking the halls after dark, brutally murdering inmates within their locked rooms.

The inmates know who is responsible, but no one believes them.

Occult investigator Kathy Ryan interviews an inmate about his connections to a deadly cult, she learns about the killings....and when she reports what she heard, she finds herself investigating the suspect, inmate Henry Banks.

Because Henry is innocent.
Henry doesn't kill.
But his imaginary friends do.
And now they're getting ready to break free of Henry.....and break out into the real world.

Leaving Kathy to face an invasion from a place that doesn't exist by creatures that shouldn't exist before they find the secret to becoming in the real world.....and the only person who may know how to stop it is her brother.....who is one of the inmates.

A terrific, fast paced novel of terror where the monsters of the human mind collide with Lovecraftian things that shred minds and reality.....to breed things that will blow your mind out of your ears.

Highly recommended.

Expected publication: May 7th, 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corporation.

This was an eARC from Netgalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation.

The woods are alive. At least that's what Mary SanGiovanni would like you to believe in her latest offering, Savage Woods. The Nilhollow section of New Jersey's Pine Barrens has had its history of weird happenings. People tend to go missing here. Think of it as New Jersey's answer to the Bermuda Triangle. This has dated back tens of thousands of years. The Native Americans knew this and avoided this area like the plague. But what causes it? SanGiovanni attempts to explain it by introducing us to a chasm in Nilhollow that is allowing the bad mojo to escape it and pollute the wood spirits like a plague. This causes the woods to constantly shift and trap anyone who enters and then the wood spirits form these little tree creatures to off their victims. If you suddenly went "Huh?", you're not alone. Savage Woods has a few good ideas surrounded by an absolute mess and that's the most frustrating part for me. SanGiovanni can write. I've read so-called authors who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. She is not one of them. Unfortunately, the two stories of hers that I've read, she tries to take amazingly unrealistic material and breathe life into them. Instead, we get a laughable plot, uninteresting characters and pacing that makes a snail look like a top-fuel dragster. The possessed trees and vines in the Evil Dead. Now that was scary. Not so here. The tree creatures come off as hokie. Native American folklore can make for a great storyline, much like Brian Moreland did in The Devil's Woods and Dead of Winter. Again, not so here. She does throw in quite a bit of the red stuff, but you're beyond caring at this point and that makes the characters nothing more than cannon fodder. I simply found myself yawning through the whole thing eagerly anticipating the ending to come and put me out of my misery.

2 Killer Oaks out of 5

* this ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5919799-ken-mckinley