Advance Review: The Ouija Trials by Fiona Dodwell

Title: The Ouija Trials
Author: Fiona Dodwell
Release Date: June 13, 2016

I'm pleased to have the chance to read and review another work by Fiona Dodwell. For full disclosure's sake, I am friends with Dodwell and I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. 

SIX STRANGERS. ONE BOARD. WHAT CAN GO WRONG? 

When three students decide to make a documentary about the Ouija board, they think it'll be an easy project. What can go wrong? They invite six strangers to attend a séance, and what unfolds during the course of filming their project changes their beliefs - and lives, forever. 

Will they survive the night with their sanity intact - will they survive at all? The Ouija Trials is a chilling story that explores the subject of spirit communication - and highlights the negative outcome it has for many.

There's just something very interesting about Ouija boards. They're firmly entrenched in pop culture, which is pretty intriguing considering that they're a fairly recent invention. Spirit writing has been around in various formats for hundreds of years, however Ouija boards in specific are credited as being invented around the 1890s. That the paranormal and the need to discover what lies beyond the veil have long enjoyed their own individual popularity goes without saying. 

The story's opening, a series of e-mails about a university project, is reminiscent of one of Dodwell's earlier works, the 2015 short story "The Redwood Lodge Investigation". It's worth mentioning in general, but especially as both stories deal with people exploring the supernatural, albeit in very different ways. 

What's fun about this story and Dodwell's work in general is this sense of creeping dread that worms its way in, slowly but surely. This story is no exception, although I will note that it's surprisingly lighter fare than some of her other tales. It's still dark, but it's likely going to be an easier read for some than say, The Banishing. That one dealt with domestic abuse and demonic possession and its resolution still haunts me, just so you know what I'm comparing it against.

This is a fairly quick read and while it's not my favorite Dodwell short story, it's still something that I'd recommend overall. It admittedly lacks a bit of the punch delivered by "The Redwood Lodge Investigation" and "Juniper's Shadow", both of which tie as my favorite short stories of hers, but I still found myself eagerly reading as quickly as I could in order to find out exactly how things would end.

It's well worth checking out, in my opinion.

(4/5 stars)

(Reader copy provided by author)

Coming soon to an e-reader near you: The Ouija Trials by Fiona Dodwell

If you've seen any of my other posts, you'll know that I'm a fan of Fiona Dodwell's work. It's not always an easy read, given that she's unafraid to tackle tough subjects like domestic abuse, but I've always found her work to be exciting and captivating.

Her newest piece is another short story called "The Ouija Trials" and it's slated to release next month in the US and UK, on June 13. Here's the synopsis:

SIX STRANGERS. ONE BOARD. WHAT CAN GO WRONG?

When three students decide to make a documentary about the Ouija board, they think it'll be an easy project. What can go wrong? They invite six strangers to attend a séance, and what unfolds during the course of filming their project changes their beliefs - and lives, forever. 

Will they survive the night with their sanity intact - will they survive at all? 

The Ouija Trials is a chilling story that explores the subject of spirit communication - and highlights the negative outcome it has for many.

This sounds freaking amazing, in my opinion and you can pre-order the book on Amazon US and Amazon UK for only one dollar.

Review: Juniper's Shadow by Fiona Dodwell

Available on Amazon and Amazon UK.

If you've ever followed my reviews, you'll know that I'm a fan of Dodwell's work. I've become friends with her via my coverage of her books (full disclosure) and I have to say, she's only getting better.

Lately she's been on a short story spree, as "Juniper's Shadow" was preceded by the very excellent "The Redwood Lodge Investigation". She's been doing well with this format, as short stories lend themselves very well to horror, and I'm excited to see what she will come up with next.

When Leighton Banks finds an extremely rare record at a music fair, he is thrilled with his find. However, after hearing the legends and creepy stories associated with the music, he beings to wonder if the record is cursed. 

Thrown suddenly into a dark world where even music can put lives and souls at risk, Leighton soon learns that he must find a way to put a stop to a centuries long curse, or become victim to it himself.

Juniper's Shadow takes a little while to get started since much of its horror derives from Leighton's imperfect relationship with his pregnant wife Jessica, as the two constantly quibble about his dream to own a record store. She's supportive, but he feels like he's a failure since she's almost the main breadwinner. Leighton wants so desperately to succeed that it'd make sense that he'd jump on something that'd make a huge profit - a record by Victor Marlowe, a musician whose music has left a dark legacy. A legacy so dark that there have been efforts to eradicate all remaining recordings of his work.

This is where the horror comes in, because as the story progresses there's this increasing sense of dread. From the start Leighton is warned against purchasing the album (although the seller isn't that reluctant to let it leave his grasp), however he's lured in by its background and the idea of raising a large sum. He quickly grows obsessed with researching the record and if you're familiar with Dodwell's writing style then you know that what Leighton is going to find will be dark indeed.

Overall I was rather pleased with this story. It's not perfect, but that's mostly because this is something that I think would have worked far better as a longer piece, maybe as a novella or full novel. We're left with far too many questions at the end of this and while some don't need to be answered, I was just intensely curious as to the album's background. This next part is a mild spoiler, so I'll try to post it far enough down that those who want a spoiler free review can avoid it. It does somewhat pertain to the piece as a whole and it's not a major spoiler, if you're afraid of it giving away any large reveals.

If you're wondering if you should try this out, I say go for it. It's available for free for Kindle Unlimited readers and while $2.99 is a little pricey for a short story, I greatly enjoyed it.

4/5 stars

Reader copy provided by the author

(Thar be spoilers)

(seriously, there are spoilers)

\

This isn't going to be a major spoiler, but I couldn't help but wonder what the motivations were for the old man selling the record. He was somewhat reluctant to sell Leighton the record, but not so reluctant that he wouldn't have sold it. There's this nasty sort of cat-and-mouse interaction where you can tell that he's baiting Leighton, who likely wouldn't have otherwise shown any interest. There are more revelations at the end of the story that I won't divulge here, but this was the main reason why I felt that this would work exceedingly well as a longer piece. There's a dark, nasty and entirely human force at work here along with the supernatural ones, which is what makes Dodwell's work so horrifying, because a large portion of the misery and darkness in her work comes from how people treat one another. If you look back at her other work, you'll see that while the supernatural does come into play, it's only there because the involved humans invited it, even if inadvertently. I think that this is why I continue to really enjoy her work, since I maintain that how humans treat one another is almost always the most terrifying aspect of horror. It's why books and films like Richard Matheson's Hell House (later adapted into the wonderful The Legend of Hell House) work so well - it has supernatural horror but most of it is a direct result of human interactions. 

Review: Nails by Fiona Dodwell

I've been following Dodwell's work for a while now and I have to say that one of her hallmarks is that her work is challenging. By challenging I mean that her work can frequently tackle difficult subjects like domestic abuse, rape, or stalking - things that make the average person squirm a little more in their chairs. This is probably what makes her works so fascinating to me, since it pushes the horror envelope a little further. This could, however, make her work difficult for some readers, which makes this novella a good place to start for new readers. There are difficult topics in this work, but they're more subtle than they were in her 2011 book The Banishing so if you're easily made squeamish and want to wade a bit before swimming into the deep end (and you should swim into the deep end if you want a good scare), this is a good start.

What makes this so unsettling for me was that Dodwell takes her time in drawing out the scares. There's a lot of human interaction in this novella, which I really enjoyed.  We're given a chance to get to know the main character of Carla as she has to deal with strange noises and voices in her apartment. The buildup, paired with Carla's desperation not to have to return home, reminded me somewhat of Adam Nevill's No One Gets Out Alive. (Nevill's novel is also worth checking out, if you're curious!)

I can't and won't spoil the ending for you, but I was left with some major questions about everything that happened and I can easily say that this could be turned into a more full-length novel if Dodwell wanted to go that route or she could explore some of the side characters introduced such as Brian, the paranormal investigator.

This is absolutely worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of Dodwell's work. (And I am a major Dodwell fangirl!) Also, if you haven't read it already, you should check out her free short story "The Redwood Lodge Investigation". Parts of it are supposed to be based on something that really happened, which makes it much more fun to read!

5/5

(Review copy provided by author)

Further reading:

• The Redwood Lodge Investigation
• Purchase Nails at Amazon

Book review: The Shift by Fiona Dodwell

Title: The Shift
Author: Fiona Dodwell
Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing
Release Date: 05/10/2013
ISBN: 1771150955




I've been a fan of Dodwell's for a while now, ever since I was able to read a copy of her first book The Banishing. Which, I might add, is a creepy little read that I wholly recommend. There's this wonderful creepiness about her work that reminds me of some of the better pulp horror novels I'd read as a teen. You know the type, the ones that tried to play more heavily on the most basic fears and leave you feeling fairly uneasy- the ones that aren't always guaranteed to end with the main character standing triumphantly over the bodies of their enemies while puppies, babies, and kittens scamper around happily. The Shift continues in that vein and while a little on the short side, Dodwell makes the most of her novella and gives a fast moving book that's sure to please.

Michael White is a man desperate to escape his past. After tragedy costs him his job and marriage, he finds himself abandoned in a world of depression, loneliness and unemployment – until a new start working at a luxurious care home is offered. 

But Hill Wood House isn’t like any other care home. What are the shadowy figures that follow Michael? What do they want? And beyond the paranormal, who is stalking Michael? Who is entering his home at night and leaving disturbing messages across his walls? 

Can anyone ever really escape their past? Michael is about to go on a dark journey to uncover the truth behind what is haunting him – a truth that will wreak death and destruction to those Michael cares about.

As you can tell from the opening paragraph, I really enjoyed this novella. A good portion of the book is set within the posh care home and I'll admit that I have a soft spot for any place that involves creepy and remote settings. It has this instant atmosphere and helps enhance any spook activity- and there is spook activity in this book. I'll warn readers that there might not be as much description of the care home as a whole. It's a place where people with various disabilities are dumped by their wealthy families, but we're not entirely given a huge amount of detail except for what's immediately needed for the plot. This doesn't handicap the book (no pun intended), but I'll admit that occasionally I wanted a bit more detail here and there. More information on the type of residents allowed there, as well as some back story on some of their families, would have made them seem a little more fleshed out and fully realized.

What also intrigued me is that so far I've noticed that there's this theme in Dodwell's books that surrounds an unhealthy/obsessive love of some sort. That is present in this book, although I can't entirely elaborate on it because it's ultimately the whole gist of the book. I was actually a little hesitant to reveal even that much, as it gives away quite a bit, but then again if you've read any of her other works then you'll probably have expected this from Shift like I did. This is ultimately what made the ending that much cooler, as love is a theme that almost all of us can identify with in some form or fashion. We might not all be the type that creates hair dolls or carves someone's name into our chest (neither of which happens in this book, just listing those as examples), but the concept of someone doing something out of a twisted sense of affection is one that can unsettle just about any reader.

I didn't really have that many quibbles about this as a whole, other than wishing that occasionally there was a little more fleshing out. This works well with its page length and to be honest, this is better served as a novella than a 300+ page tome. It won't take the place of The Banishing as her most uncomfortable/interesting work to date, though. That's a pretty hard story to top, but The Shift will definitely please Dodwell's fanbase.

4 out of 5 stars

(Reader copy provided by author)

Book Review: Obsessed by Fiona Dodwell

Title: Obsessed
Author: Fiona Dodwell
Publisher: Damnation Books LLC
Release Date: 08/31/2011
ASIN: B005KMBLQ





I have to admit that I held off on reading this book for a while because I wanted it to be the first horror book I read in October. Fiona Dodwell has a deliciously twisted writing style that is chock full of chills and thrills, so what could start off the Halloween season better than a book like this?



Sometimes the past just won't stay dead and buried…

James Barker is a happily married man. He thinks he has it all–until one morning when he witnesses a gruesome suicide. Haunted by the death, James embarks on a journey. Who was this man? Why did he kill himself?

Now haunted by visions of the dead man in his home and in his nightmares, James begins to wonder if he is losing his mind. Surely the dead can't return?

As James uncovers the terrifying truth of the stranger who died at his own hands, he realizes his own life is in danger–and the lives of those he loves.

Obsessed is Dodwell's second book and it's awesome. While her first book (The Banishing) showed us that she definitely has the skills to deliver a spine chilling tale, this book shows us that she's definitely improving and gearing up to bring us even more than that. This is a wonderfully creepy story that kept me turning the pages and wondering what would happen next. What I really liked about this book was that the title so aptly described our main characters in the book. Jeff Jones (the seemingly dead guy) is obsessed with tormenting James. James is obsessed with Jeff's death and the reasons behind Jeff's actions.

I do have to say that I felt that the book was a little too short- I couldn't help but wonder what happened next and more about our characters. (I suppose that if you're going to get criticism, reading that the reader wanted more is one of the best ones to receive.) I love novellas, but if Dodwell wanted she could easily expand this world. (And I'd be right there standing in line to read it!)

I know this all sounds like a fangirl gush, but I have to say that I'm unashamedly claiming my fan status. Just like so many of her peers at Damnation Books, Fiona Dodwell is one of the undiscovered jewels of the indie lit crowd. This should definitely be on your "to read" lists this Halloween.

5 out of 5 stars

(Reader copy provided by author)

Book Trailers: Obsessed by Fiona Dodwell

Ever since I read Dodwell's The Banishing, a creepy read that left me pretty shaken for weeks, I've been eagerly awaiting her next book. It's not out yet, but we do have this spiffy new trailer to whet our appetites on!



James Barker is a happily married man. He thinks he has it all -- until he witnesses a gruesome suicide. Haunted by the death, James seeks therapy for post-traumatic stress. Finding that the answers he seeks don't lie in the therapists' office, James embarks on a journey. Who was this man, and why did he kill himself?

Now haunted by visions of the dead man in his home and in his nightmares, James begins to wonder if he is losing his mind. Surely the dead can't return?

As his obsession spirals out of control, James uncovers the terrifying truth of the stranger who died at his own hands. Is the ghost following James a result of his stressed and damaged mind, or do the dead really return?

Find out, in OBSESSED.
Available September 1st, 2011 from www.damnationbooks.comAuthor website: http://fionasfiction.wordpress.com/
Trailer Design: Su Halfwerk - http://www.su-halfwerk.com

Book Review: The Banishing by Fiona Dodwell

Title: The Banishing
Author: Fiona Dodwell
Publisher: Damnation Books
Release Date: 02/27/2011
eISBN: 9781615723515

When Melissa first notices the change in her husband - subtle at first - she thinks it may be the stress of moving into their new home. Or working long hours. But soon he turns into something far darker, far more sinister. Who or what is the dark shadow living beneath her husband? What is haunting him? Melissa must quickly find the answer to these questions, because Mark is changing, and fast. Soon her fight will be for her life, as well as for her marriage.The Banishing is a dark, disturbing novel exploring the world of demonic possession, spiritual oppression and domestic abuse.

Intense.

If I had to sum this novel up in a word, that would be what I’d use. When I first read this book I wasn’t really aware of what I was getting myself into. I assumed that it was just another “woman against evil being” book similar to the ones that abound in the horror genre.

I have to admit, I was pretty impressed by this book. It does have a few flaws to it, such as character developments that happen a little too quickly, but overall I liked how fast paced the book was. It’s such a quick & addicting read that I found myself burning through the pages & finishing it within a matter of hours. I just couldn't stop reading!

Then I got to the ending, which I won’t elaborate on for obvious spoiler reasons. I wasn’t expecting it so when the big finale happened I was taken by surprise to say the least. I have to admit that I was sad to see this end- I really hope that Fiona writes a sequel somewhere down the line since this idea is too good for just one book.

This book gave me the shivers, which is a good thing. It's reminded me of what I used to really love about reading horror, which I hadn't felt in a while. This just creeped me out & that's a good thing. If you love mainstream horror then by all means, read the mainstream stuff- nothing wrong with that. But when you're ready for something good off the beaten path, read this book as well.

4 out of 5 stars

(Review copy provided by the author)