Werewolf Cop by Andrew Klavan

” Werewolf Cop ” is a supernatural thriller/ mystery written by Andrew Klavan , published in the mid 2010’s .

A brutal murder attracts the attention of the Extraordinary Crimes Unit , specifically detectives Zach Adams ( The Cowboy ) and Martin Goulart ( Broadway Joe ) . They notice the crimes were committed using broadswords and that leads them to believe that the crime was committed by the BLM ( a German-Russian gang ), not only that , the leader of the group ( Dominic Abend ) was there himself . The two detectives have never been closer but Zach is having to deal with some complications . His boss brings him in to her office and tells him that Martin might be on the take , also Zach is being blackmailed by a former lover . He finds a potential lead in Germany in the form of a professor . The professor tells him a crazy story involving immortal Nazi’s , magic daggers , and werewolves . He doesn’t believe her … until the moment she turns into a werewolf before his eyes . From there , the story turns into a fast paced supernatural thriller involving police corruption , German cults , and one hungry werewolf cop !

This is my first time reading an Andrew Klavan novel , I’ve seen some of the movies he wrote ( One Missed Call , True Crime , Gosnell ) and enjoyed those so I figured that his novels would be worth reading . Let me tell you , ” Werewolf Cop ” is one hell of an introduction to the guy . Dark and fun are the two words I would use to describe this masterpiece . It’s not for the weak of heart but if you enjoy a good detective story or are just into werewolves , read it folks !

The Mask by Dean Koontz

” The Mask ” by Dean Koontz is a supernatural thriller that was originally published in the early 1980’s .

Carol and Paul are a young couple looking to adopt a child but some complications arise . First , a freak lightning storm smashes the office of the lawyer who is helping them out and they lose their application in the process . Second , mysterious noises start popping up all around their house . Third , they start having intense nightmares . Paul hires someone to check out their house to find the source but they end up finding nothing and the man tells Paul a story about poltergeist . Carol ends up running over a fifteen year old girl who was wandering around in a daze . The girl is not seriously injured but she does seem to have a case of amnesia . Carol , feeling guilty , ends up visiting the girl often and they make a connection . The search for the girls parents doesn’t go well so Carol decides to bring her home with her and Paul . The girl starts to have nightmares as well and creepy things continue to happen around the house . Join this family as they endure a tragic tale dealing with fire , ax murder , possessed cats , and a killer game of Scrabble !

” The Mask ” by Dean Koontz is an intense a supernatural thriller as any other the author has written before. The characters are likable and the pace of the novel never drops . If you start reading this , you’ll want to finish it in one sitting . It’s that intense and it’s that good , read it folks !!!

Octopussy and The Living Daylights by Ian Fleming

” Octopussy and The Living Daylights ” is a short story collection written by Ian Fleming and starring James Bond , originally published in the 1960’s . Seeing as all of these stories are only a few pages long , I’m going to summarize them all in one or two sentences , to avoid spoiling them too much .

” Octopussy ” : A revenge story involving Nazi gold , ice climbing , and a hungry octopus .

” The Property of a Lady ” : Using a double agent to find another double agent at an art auction .

” The Living Daylights”: James Bond has to take out a Russian sniper while saving another agent.

“007 in New York” : Bond is sent to warn a former British agent that their boyfriend is with the KGB .

Ian Fleming is one hell of a thriller writer and it shows in all these stories . ” Octopussy” is my personal favorite of these tales even though it involves James Bond the least , it’s a suspenseful revenge story with a twist ending. ” The Property of a Lady ” is a more laid back James Bond story , it trades bullets for a competitive auction. It’s a nice change of pace but if you’re looking for violence … this is not the story for you . ” The Living Daylights ” is the most action packed of the four , an intense story that deals with the dirtier parts of the spy business. “007 in New York” is a sad story that deals with love and deception in New York , I’d like to see it expanded upon which is the mark of a good short story … it’s a shame Ian Fleming isn’t around to do it . Overall , if you’re a James Bond film , I’d recommend reading all of them . If you’re just a casual fan of thrillers in general , I’d say at least read ” Octopussy ” and ” The Living Daylights ” stories .

Dr. Phibes by William Goldstein

” Dr. Phibes ” is a mystery/horror story written by William Goldstein , originally published in the 1970’s .

Dr. Phibes died in a car crash while speeding off to see his wife as she dies on the operating table … or did he ? Several doctors in London start dying in weird and horrible ways . The first gets killed by bees , the second was ripped apart by bats , the third involved a frog mask , and a fourth was drained of all his blood . The investigators believe these murders are based off the biblical plagues of Egypt but they don’t know why the doctors have been targeted . Will the investigators find the other targets before all ten plagues have been performed ? What involvement do they have with Dr. Phibes ? Is Dr. Phibes really as dead as people think ? Come find out in ” Dr. Phibes ” ?

I first heard about this book after watching the movie version of it that starred the legendary horror film actor Vincent Price ( which I also recommend ) . This is a fun , smooth , mad scientist story with plenty of twists and sympathetic characters . By the end of the story , you’ll understand everything . Overall , I’d say check this one out if you’re into mysteries and old school mad scientist stories .

Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz

Twilight Eyes is a suspense horror novel written by Dean Koontz , published in the 1980’s .

This novel starts off the same year as the Kennedy assassination . The main character is a 17 year old runaway named Carl Stanfeuss (but since he goes by the name Slim Mackenzie most of the novel we’ll just go with Slim ) . Slim has a special ability , he can see the future to an extent and he can see through some people and see goblins . These goblins are creatures of pure evil intent who feed off the suffering of us humans and Slim has made it his mission to kill any of them he can . Slim joins up with a traveling carnival to get some money and sanctuary . He works under the cold but beautiful Rya and begins to fall in love with her almost immediately . Things get intense though as he has visions that something bad is going to happen at the carnival . Get ready for a tale involving sabotage , carnys , goblins , psychics , betrayal , and that is just the first part !

This book was recommended to me by a friend of mine and I can’t thank them enough . It reminds me a lot of another book of his called ” The Funhouse ” , at least aesthetically , which was also pretty good . The time frame , the traveling carnival , cool side characters , a strong protagonist , a revenge plot , and a romance in a horror story that I can actually buy , all combine together to make one hell of a good read . Get it people !

Magic by William Goldman

Magic by William Goldman is a psychological thriller that was originally published in the 1970’s .

Corky is a successful magician but he is not yet ready to take the next big step . He goes back to his childhood city one day without telling his manager where he is going and why he is . He rents a house by a lake from an old crush of his . He spends his time trying to reconnect with her , reminiscing about his family life there , and talking to his ventriloquist dummy . You know , normal stuff . Can you imagine things start going wrong ?

I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll just say this . This is a great thriller , it keeps you guessing , keeps a sense of humor , with a sense of dread throughout . Read it folks !

The Howling 1 by Gary Brandner

The Howling is a horror story dealing with werewolves . Written by Gary Brandner , it was published in 1977 .

Karyn Beatty was living a happy , normal , middle class life . She was married to a successful editor named Roy and she had aa baby on the way . That is … until she was viciously raped one day . The rape led to a miscarriage and several nervous break downs . Karyn and Roy decide to rent a house inside a village ( named Drago ) in the California mountains in order for them to try to get their lives back together . The villagers seem to be okay people but Karyn is not all that comfortable there , she starts hearing howling noises at night . She tells Roy but he believes that she is becoming unstable . So a gap between them is made and Roy starts having an affair with the local shopkeeper . One night though , Roy gets bitten by a large wolf and he becomes sick for several days . Karyn talks to a former nun who believes there is a werewolf in the village of Drago . Karyn will find out just how true that is as she continues to listen for the howling !

This is a well written werewolf story . It’s got a little bit of mystery , seduction , paranoia , as well as cults and other fun stuff . I wouldn’t recommend it for the weakhearted but if you’re looking for a werewolf story , I’d say give this a bite … I mean give it a look .