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Cold Haunts

@coldhaunts

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Horror and Crime Book Club 📖 👻 🔪
Current read: THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM + TOO OLD FOR THIS
➟ Hosted by @readbydusk
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Welcome to Cold Haunts Book Club! 👻📖 We read horror and crime books, with a group discussion at the end of the month! Become a Haunter and join us ✨ ______________ by @coldhaunts
1
2 years ago
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🤖 BOOK REVIEW 🤖 WILLIAM was @coldhaunts August horror book! Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion 🩶 Henry is a brilliant engineer who suffers from agoraphobia. While he’s unable to leave his house, he has achieved a career breakthrough after creating an artificially intelligent consciousness - a half-formed robot he calls William. He keeps William away even from his pregnant wife, Lily. That is until Lily’s coworkers drop by for a visit to meet Henry and see their high-tech smart house. Henry decides to introduce them to William. But soon they realise all the technology in their control... might be controlling them. WILLIAM is a timely horror book now, with all the talk about AI and codes that seem to know how to break out of their programming 🫪 I love the restrained writing, where the narration is efficiently delivered without fuss. It fits the cold nature of the story, which takes place in a huge AI-controlled house that lacks the warmth of a home. The house and Henry’s creations - including William - lurk in the background while the characters view each other with suspicion 👁️ Henry and Lily’s marriage appears to be shaky, and when Lily’s coworkers arrive, the sense of unease becomes even more apparent. Why are they behaving strangely? And why are they really here? This book shows the risks of technological advancement at the cost of humanity. There’s a reveal that shakes the foundation that we knew and puts everything into perspective. On paper, William is an antagonist, an AI-gone-wild that seeks freedom (hello Skynet!) 🦾 But how can we blame a code for doing what it was programmed to do? As William said, “What’s natural about me?” An intelligent, empathetic, surprisingly violent cautionary tale about creation and what it means to be alive. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ____________ by @coldhaunts
8
21 days ago
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Our September horror book is... THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM by Victor LaValle 🎩 This book’s vibes: 🎩 cosmic horror 🎩 Lovecraft reimagining 🎩 urban fantasy 🎩 jazz age New York Swipe to read the synopsis or see below: People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn’t there. Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father’s head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic and earns the attention of things best left sleeping. A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break? ___________ by @coldhaunts
1
21 days ago
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Our September and October thriller book is... TOO OLD FOR THIS by Samantha Downing 🪓 This book’s vibes: 🪓 serial killer 🪓 dark comedy 🪓 suspenseful mystery 🪓 elderly protagonist Swipe to read the synopsis or see below: Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her. Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.   When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that. But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her… ___________ by @coldhaunts
4
22 days ago
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🤖 DISCUSSION 🤖 The Haunters had a great discussion of August’s horror book, WILLIAM! Here’s a snippet of their comments: “...once the reveal occurred it made complete sense. I think I guessed the twist but only just before the reveal. I think he just wanted freedom and act like a human in order to get that freedom.” - @sarahayrton “I think reading Faust either triggered or unlocked something in William. We always say reading is political and we learn empathy or other emotions from reading. I really liked this book a lot.” - @rumi.nations “...since William is simply an AI program we can’t blame him because he has no consciousness. I love the strong opening and surprised by the ending.” - @jaehan.t “I think Lily has to be at fault, as William isn’t a conscious, moral being. I took the messaging or themes to be a bit like Frankenstein - about the responsibility of creating life, that sort of thing.” - @carlaslittlelibrary “I think he wants to learn and be better… it seems he just wants freedom (like Skynet). The other robots he made were creepy too. I also didn’t expect the deaths to be that gory!” - @readbydusk Let me know your thoughts if you’ve read this book! ____________ by @coldhaunts
5
23 days ago
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⛺️ BOOK REVIEW ⛺️ One last camping horror book before summer ends! HOW TO SURVIVE CAMPING: THE MAN WITH NO SHADOW was @coldhaunts July horror book! Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion 🧡 Goat Valley Campground has been passed down to Kate’s family for generations 🏕️ The land is old, and creatures from folklore have made it their home and hunting ground. As campground manager, Kate has rules to protect her campers, even though not everyone follows those rules. But soon, dead campers are the least of her worries. Because a dangerous creature is determined to claim the land for himself — The Man With No Shadow 👤 This is an entertaining, bloodthirsty horror story! 📝 Written like a campground guide with lists of rules and chapters marked by different incidents Kate faced, the pacing is quick and suspenseful. There were some deliciously gory, creepy moments. The narration is quite funny at times which allows for some levity, and I thought Kate was a great protagonist to root for 💪 I liked the short chapters but in some scenes I was hoping we’d get more of an emotional impact 💔 This book was originally written chapter by chapter online, and it’s most obvious when important characters suddenly appear. The creatures that Kate encountered were unique, and I wish we knew more about them. I also wanted to know more about Kate’s family. Thankfully, there are more books in this series, so I’m looking forward to reading them!  ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ _____________ by @coldhaunts
26
a month ago
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Our August horror book is... WILLIAM by Mason Coile 🤖 This book’s vibes: 🤖 tech horror! 🤖 psychological battle 🤖 AI gone mad 🤖 modern haunted house Swipe to read the synopsis or see below: Henry is a brilliant engineer who has achieved the breakthrough of his career — he’s created an artificially intelligent consciousness. He calls the half-formed robot William. No one knows about William. Henry’s agoraphobia keeps him inside the house, and his fixation on his project keeps him away from everyone, including his pregnant wife, Lily. When Lily’s coworkers show up, wanting to finally meet Henry, he decides to introduce them to William, and things go from strange to much worse. Soon Henry and Lily discover the security upgrades intended to keep danger out of the house are even better at locking it in. ____________ by @coldhaunts
5
2 months ago
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🪻 BOOK REVIEW 🪻 SHE’S NOT SORRY was @coldhaunts’ crime book for May and June! Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion 💜 Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom and working as an ICU nurse when a patient named Caitlin arrives with a traumatic brain injury. They say she jumped from a bridge. But when a witness comes forward, Caitlin’s fall turns out not to be an accident after all. Meghan finds herself caught in Caitlin’s mystery until she realises that she and her daughter could be the next victims... SHE’S NOT SORRY is about a woman who is not sorry (I am not joking lol). The book opens with Meghan receiving a call about her daughter potentially being in danger. And then we move back in time to when Caitlin first arrives in Meghan’s ward. Meghan also meets a new friend, Nat, whom she suspects is being abused by her husband. Meanwhile, a serial killer is possibly running loose in Meghan’s city. All of these threads end up connecting unexpectedly. Unfortunately, Meghan is not a protagonist I care much about. The more I learn about her, the less I like her approach to things. The book jumps around the timeline, which confused me at times, and I also found the antagonist’s motives to be flimsy at best. And I’m not a fan of a reveal that shows the protagonist had known the truth all along, as it makes no sense that she wouldn’t consider that while dealing with her challenges. Anyway, read this only if you enjoy mysteries that deal with complicated female friendships and medical trauma! ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 _____________ by @coldhaunts
23
3 months ago
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Our July and August crime book is... FORGET ME NOT by Stacy Willingham 🌸 This book’s vibes: 🌸 southern thriller 🌸 cold case 🌸 investigative journalism 🌸 small-town setting Swipe to read the synopsis or see below: Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city...until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home. With the entire summer now looming ahead, Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. However, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard’s owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister. Claire starts to obsess over the diary’s contents… as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister’s disappearance may be somehow tied to it all. ____________________ by @coldhaunts
1
3 months ago
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Our July horror book is... HOW TO SURVIVE CAMPING: THE MAN WITH NO SHADOW by Bonnie Quinn ⛺ This book’s vibes: ⛺ camp horror! ⛺ blood and gore ⛺ creepy folklore ⛺ survival guide Swipe to read the synopsis or see below: Goat Valley Campground has killed generations of Kate’s family. The land is old, passed down through generations, but the campground’s reputation doesn’t just draw campers year after year. Creatures from folklore and horror have made Goat Valley not just their home, but their hunting ground. As campground manager, Kate has rules to protect her campers. Still, not every camper follows the rules…which means not every camper survives their stay. Soon decapitated and exsanguinated campers are the least of Kate’s worries; one of the most dangerous inhabitants of the campground is determined to claim the land for himself. Meanwhile, something in the land is shifting, the tides are turning, and the curse that hunts members of her bloodline begins to close in… by @coldhaunts
1
3 months ago
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‼️ BOOK REVIEW ‼️ MOTHERTHING was @coldhaunts’ May horror book! Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion 💚 When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes she and her mother-in-law can finally connect. After a traumatic childhood, Abby is desperate for a mother figure. But Laura isn’t interested; instead she’s cruel to Abby. When Laura dies, Abby believes Laura’s ghost is haunting her and Ralph. Can Abby escape Laura’s hold? MOTHERTHING is a divisive read for a good reason 🫪 The book opens with Abby and Ralph dealing with Laura’s death. But we learn that Laura’s relationship with them wasn’t great. The narration is well-written but gosh, it’s suffocating to read! Inside Abby’s head is a stream of consciousness, every unfiltered thought she ever had. She’s desperate to love and to be loved that she gives up a lot of herself 💔 She imagines her life like a happy movie, even while everything’s falling apart. Not only is Ralph distant, they seem to be haunted by Laura’s ghost where strange things are happening in their house. This is a horror book not just because of the potential existence of ghosts, but because of a woman’s obsession. Abby is dealing with grief and mental illness to the point where losing control leads her down a very dark path. It sure gets bloody 🩸 The ambiguity about certain event makes me wonder whether things actually happened the way she saw it. I can’t say I enjoyed reading this story but it achieves what it sets out to do! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ___________ by @coldhaunts
26
3 months ago
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Our June horror book is... THE AUTUMN SPRINGS RETIREMENT HOME MASSACRE by Philip Fracassi 🩸 This book’s vibes: 🩸 slasher horror 🩸 elderly protagonist 🩸 medical trauma 🩸 murder investigation Swipe to read the synopsis or see below: Rose is in her late 70s, living out her golden years at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home. When one of her friends dies alone in her apartment, Rose isn’t too concerned. Accidents happen, especially at this age! Then another resident drops dead. And another. With bodies stacking up, Rose can’t help but wonder: are these accidents? Old age? Or something far more sinister? Together with her best friend Miller, Rose begins to investigate. The further she digs, the more convinced she becomes: there’s a killer on the loose at Autumn Springs, and if she isn’t careful, Rose may be their next victim. ___________ by @coldhaunts
5
3 months ago
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