Character development, character development, character development. What Ryker is able to do in only 65 pages, most authors can't accomplish in 265 pages. Among Prey is told from multiple character's POV and you'd think that it would be distracting to the story. Au contraire, it adds richness and depth here, another testament to Ryker's storytelling prowess.

In Among Prey, we have Amber, a pill-popping worker at a build-a-doll store that meets Bobby, the 7-foot mentally handicapped behemoth that comes in one slow Wednesday morning. Where many people would be terrified at the silent hulking man, Amber takes a shine to him. That is until the day she realizes that the dolls Bobby has been building in her store look amazingly like the little girls that have been kidnapped in the area the past few months. The story wraps around itself nicely as we're introduced to Carol, Bobby's caregiving nurse and then Bobby's POV. This one is a pageturner, folks. The ending may be a bit abrupt for some, but it left me satisfied that I had read a well-crafted thriller. Loved it.

5 Bruised Doll Heads out of 5

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Some kind of unknown and unseen animal is killing the area ranchers cattle. The sheriff is stumped. Experts from the university have never encountered anything like it. The ranchers are tired of finding their livelihood dead in the pastures the next morning and are losing patience waiting for someone to provide them answers. Keith is one of them. He's had his run-ins with the sheriff and the local band of punks. He was considered a loose cannon before he lost his wife. Now, without her calming influence, Keith has turned to alcohol to help him face his demons and get him through his day. On a night half drunk and slumbering on his porch, he's awakened by a high pitch squeal in his pasture. What he finds, attacking one of his cattle, is pure fury and stinks of the grave.

Burden Kansas is my first read from Ryker and I can't say enough about it. The characters are perfectly flawed and realistic. The small town rural setting reminds me of the lonliness and tone found in the movie Near Dark. The pacing is excellent. The relationships between the characters are realistic and add wonderful depth and layers to the story. Ryker's vampires are how they should be - fast, furious, and definitely do not sparkle. Great, great story that has caused me to download more of his work before I was even done with this one.

5 bloody fangs out of 5

You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2J1JOKW56F2YT

Aaron has returned home after his mothers death, to settle up her affairs and sort through his childhood home and get it ready to sell. Once he's there he begins to relive the terrors he experienced as a child when something emerges from his bedroom cupboard.

Ryker again explores light and dark in this read and it reminded me a little of his novella Nightmare Man. This time he taps into childhood fears of monsters hiding in shadows, who only appear when it's dark and you are alone.

To be honest it didn't really engage me much at the start, I found Aaron a hard character to sympathise with but as the read continued I started to warm up to him. His brothers childhood disappearance created a great emotional storyline and helped to flesh out Aaron and add depth to the read.

There were some nice creepy scenes in the story but it was the ending that stood out for me, very effective.

Recommended.

Oh, now this story packed a punch! I love when novellas manage to suck me in so wholly. Alan Ryker proves that it doesn't matter how many pages he has to work with, he can write one hell of a story.

Since this is so short, I won't go too into detail. I wouldn't dare take the experience away from you. Instead I'll simply say that this story is very well done. Aaron's character, with his locked away memories, is believable. I understood his pain, felt his unwillingness to fight the demons lurking inside him, and cheered him on as he bravely fought anyway. There were plenty of moments that had me shivering, because the writing definitely evokes a sense of dread. Best of all, everything wrapped up in a way that I wasn't expecting.

In The Shadows Of Children starts a bit slow, but keep going. Trust me. It ends up being well worth it!