THE RIPPER by D. E. Athkins (Nola Thacker)

PUBLISHER: Scholastic, 10/1992
GENRE: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary Horror
SETTING: USA
SERIES: Point Horror
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: C+

FROM PUBLISHER: It started out as a game. A game of hiding and seeking. A game of hunting and weeping. And before anyone knew what was happening, someone was killed. The game was over. And the only suspects they had were each other—unless there was else out there . . . someone who was still playing the game.

MY THOUGHTS: This story is only 162 pages and there are eleven main characters- Cyndi, Lara, Dade, Wills, Georgina, Foy, Jane, Rick, Jones, Charity, Dorian, all part of the same group of friends. Needless to say, no backstory on any of them. I think they're all in high school except one guy, Dorian, older brother of Cyndi. Those two don't like each other at all that brought some realism to this story. Cyndi and Georgina have nasty personalities which is something I like in fiction. Rick has a sick sense of humor, which I like too.

The story started out average, with a group of friends dressed up for Halloween hanging out in a cemetery, then it took an unbelievable paranormal turn near the end and I got real confused. Three of them are murdered. Good thing I wasn't trying real hard to figure out who the killer was because I'd have been wrong. There was big disappointment regarding the identity of the killer. I think the whole timespan is just one day. I don't know why the author had to ruin the whole story with that nonsense. Why couldn't this have been a straight up slasher novella where we're contemplating if one of them is killing the others off or if it's an outsider?

STRANGER WITH MY FACE by Lois Duncan

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown and Company, 10/1981
GENRE: Young Adult Fiction/Suspense
SETTING: New England, USA
WIKI: link
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: Laurie was at home, but her boyfriend swears he saw her on the beach with another guy. Her family insists they see her coming and going when she's been out of the house for hours. Who--or what--is taking over Laurie's life?

MY THOUGHTS: I'm reviewing the original version, not the modernized 2010 reissue. It's really hard to discuss this book without giving away the supernatural plot, but I'll try.

I didn't know this was supernatural until I started reading it so I'm disappointed. The mystery surrounding why people are seeing Laurie when she says they aren't was the most interesting part of the story. Once the reveal of what was going on happened, the supernatural plot revealed itself and it became far-fetched and less interesting to me though it was creative. The new character, Lia, was interesting and I liked that she was evil but she wasn't evil enough to suit me. Her personality was a nice contrast to Laurie's.

A few of Laurie's friends are superficial and judgmental, based on comments that were made about people's looks, and really only two friends were likable. Laurie's eight-year-old sister Megan seemed a bit too mature.

Info on the 2010 revised reissues: Publisher's Weekly.

FULL DISCLOSURE by Stormy Daniels

PUBLISHER: St. Martin's, 10/2018
GENRE: Nonfiction/Biography
PURCHASE: link
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: B

FROM PUBLISHER: She was already well-known in some circles before March 6, 2018, but that's probably the first time you heard the name Stormy Daniels. That's the day she filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over a nondisclosure agreement negotiated before the election but never signed.

How did Stormy Daniels become the woman willing to take on a president? What is it like to be reviled by some, held up as a beacon of hope by others, and to be an object of fascination to all?

In this book, Stormy Daniels tells her whole story for the first time: about how she came to be a leading actress and director in the adult film business, the full truth about her journey from a rough childhood in Louisiana onto the national stage, and everything about the events that led to the nondisclosure agreement and the behind-the-scenes attempts to intimidate her.

Stormy is funny, sharp, warm, and impassioned by turns. Her story is a thoroughly American one, of a girl who loved reading and horses and who understood from a very young age what she wanted―and who also knew she'd have to get every step of the way there on her own.

MY THOUGHTS: Stormy's very funny, witty, and obviously a smart business woman but there was a little too much laughter in this. I feel people who always use humor and are outwardly positive do it to cover up emotional pain. Shiny happy people.

Her childhood was traumatic with two crappy parents who didn't care about her at all but she never said how it made her feel while growing up. She was molested for two years by an adult male (she didn't give any graphic details) and she never said how she felt about it at the time, why she never told anyone at the time, and she never said how that experience may have effected her relationships with men or just her life in general. She only said getting into porn had nothing to do with herself being molested. She never talked about why she's never gotten therapy or if she felt she could use some. She never even gave her thoughts on what it was like getting into the porn industry.

Despite her childhood, she got good grades in school and graduated high school with honors, was able to have jobs while in high school, including working at a vet's office, taught summer camp at an equestrian center (she had her own horse), and was even a stripper at age seventeen (like Jenna Jameson). During high school is when she started using the name Stormy.

As for the Donald Trump stuff, I couldn't have cared less about it. It wasn't her idea to bring it up publicly and she just wanted the whole thing to go away.

In case you're interested, years ago I reviewed a porn of hers here.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

COLD SERIAL: THE JACK THE STRANGLER MURDERS by Brian Forschner

PUBLISHER: Morgan James, 10/2015
GENRE: Nonfiction/True Crime
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: Between 1900 and 1909, five girls were raped and strangled in the Dayton, Ohio area. These crimes were never solved.

During that era, police did not recognize the lurking shadow of a predator, but through diligent research, the author now reveals a modus operandi that links them all together.

The escape of one girl creates a twist that opens the door to unravel these crimes. Using the criminological thinking of today, the author attempts to solve these murders.

"Cold Serial" contains riveting, fast-paced portraits of the personal and family tragedies of these five girls, as well as the brutality and victim-blaming they faced. The poor working conditions, lack of rights for women needing police protection, and the sexism of the age prove these girls were victims, not only of a crime, but also of their time. yet the deaths of these girls were not in vain, as they made significant contributions to the Dayton, Ohio area, and, ultimately, the nation.

MY THOUGHTS: This was an informative read and very sad. The author definitely did his research and told us as much about the victims as he could. I'd not heard of the murders of Ada Lantz (11), Dona Gilman (19), Anna Markowitz (18), Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Fulhart (18), and the author's great-aunt, Mary Forschner (15), before. Aside from murder itself, there's nothing worse than a killer or rapist getting away with it and this one did, if indeed they were killed by the same man.

The book contains photos of four of the victims in life and a drawing of Ada, as well as photos of other people involved in the cases, including the possible murderer, a 58-year-old black man. Once he was arrested for a rape, the murder rate in Dayton when down a little.

I've uploaded photos of the victims here.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.