Xepherus Reads

  Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!    As a fan of crime thrillers and horror novels, I love to sit down and enjoy a spooky tale. But when my two favorite genres collide and produce something even more exciting, I take it slow and savor the story.   The Outsider is written by Stephen King and is published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. In this explosive thriller, we are introduced to Ralph Anderson, a detective with the Flint City police. When a child is found murdered, the prime suspect is local kids coach, Terry Maitland. Eyewitnesses put him at the scene and forensic evidence matches Maitland's own. Ralph, infuriated by the police's findings, arrests Maitland at a local ball game. But their evidence is no match for well-documented proof that Maitland was in another city at the time of the murder. Which begs the question: how can one man be in two places at the same time?   The case grows exponentially wei...

  Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!    Choosing a short novel that can pass the time adequately can often be a chore. Enter Stephen King with his amazing short works and at 290 pages (short for me), Carrie filled this requirement quite well.        Carrie is Stephen King's 1974 novel, currently published by Doubleday Books. In the novel of telekinetic terror, we are introduced to Carietta White. An outcast and school punching bag, Carrie does her best to live her life sin-free and keep her head down at school, lest she becomes her classmate's latest prank. Her mother, Margaret, is a hard-working woman who reports to work every day. But Mrs. White has a dark side, one fueled by religious zealotry and insanity. When Carrie is home she lives in fear that her mother may snap at any moment, sending her to be locked in their "prayer closet" for hours on end. Carrie desperately wants to live her life like other girls, but Margaret is always on duty t...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   As a fan of crime thrillers and horror novels, I love to sit down and enjoy a spooky tale. But when my two favorite genres collide and produce something even more exciting, I take it slow and savor the story.   The Outsider is written by Stephen K ing and is published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster . In this explosive thriller, we are introduced to Ralph Anders on, a detective with t he Flint City police. When a child is found murdered , the prime suspect is local kids coach, Terry M a itland . Eyewitnesses put him at the scene and forensic evidence matches Maitland's own. Ralph, infuriated by the police's findings, arrests Maitland at a local ball game. But their evidence is no match for well-documented proof that Maitland was in another city at the time of the murder. Which begs the question: how can one man be in two places at the same time?   The case grows exponentially weirder as th...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   Four years ago I read and reviewed the Shining by Stephen King. In 2015 my focus was very different, as were my reading habits. With the Doctor Sleep film arriving in November of this year, I decided that it was time to travel back to the Overlook Hotel. I looked forward to how I will interpret this novel today compared to 2015. What I came away with was a completely different telling of this tale that chilled me even further to the bone.   The Shining is written by Stephen King. It is published by Penguin Random House Publishing, under their Anchor Books imprint. Originally published in 1977, this classic horror novel introduces us to the Torrance family. When young Danny Torrance's father, John, is fired from his teaching job at a prestigious school, his parents struggle to survive on their meager finances. With divorce always looming in his mother Wendy's mind, Danny does his best to stay optimistic. ...