OH, THE HORROR!
J.L. Murray writes horror, dark fantasy, and sci-fi. Thank you for visiting, and be sure to sign up for the newsletter to find out about new releases, giveaways, and creepy fun.
Lux (Frankie Mourning #4)
0%
Queen Victoria's Monsters
(The Diablerists #1)
181.23%
The Resurrectionist
(The Diablerists #2)
22.22%
PRE-ORDER NOW: QUEEN VICTORIA'S MONSTERS
Coming Spring, 2024.
London is full of dead things.
In a world where witchcraft is met with vigilante justice, American witch Celestia Fallow is cursed with a power over the dead. A refugee in London, where magic is technically legal, Celie finds herself imprisoned in Old Bailey, a breath away from the noose when she is summoned to the Isle of Wight by Queen Victoria herself.
Celie finds the queen has a single task for her: Find a way to bring Prince Albert back from the dead, or be executed.
She finds respite, however, in the nearby estate where she takes up residence. Cliff House has become a home for all of Queen Victoria's monsters, and Celie finds a family within her new coven of witches, and a connection to an inscrutable ex-soldier with an impossible secret of his own. But when Celie and the others are ordered to travel back to London to apprehend the murderous vigilantes who are butchering witches there, matters become even more complicated. Someone wants Celie's rare necromancy for themselves, and they will do anything to acquire it.
Along with the other monsters, Celie must unravel the mystery before the world is consumed with bloodshed, in this dark tale of adventure, magic, and murder set in an alternate 19th century Britain.
Pre-order the first book in The Diablerists series now!
London is full of dead things.
In a world where witchcraft is met with vigilante justice, American witch Celestia Fallow is cursed with a power over the dead. A refugee in London, where magic is technically legal, Celie finds herself imprisoned in Old Bailey, a breath away from the noose when she is summoned to the Isle of Wight by Queen Victoria herself.
Celie finds the queen has a single task for her: Find a way to bring Prince Albert back from the dead, or be executed.
She finds respite, however, in the nearby estate where she takes up residence. Cliff House has become a home for all of Queen Victoria's monsters, and Celie finds a family within her new coven of witches, and a connection to an inscrutable ex-soldier with an impossible secret of his own. But when Celie and the others are ordered to travel back to London to apprehend the murderous vigilantes who are butchering witches there, matters become even more complicated. Someone wants Celie's rare necromancy for themselves, and they will do anything to acquire it.
Along with the other monsters, Celie must unravel the mystery before the world is consumed with bloodshed, in this dark tale of adventure, magic, and murder set in an alternate 19th century Britain.
Pre-order the first book in The Diablerists series now!
NEW RELEASE: SANGUINE (BLOOD OF CAIN 3)
“They’re just roses, baby. Roses in the snow.”
On her way to Chicago to reckon with Dekker’s past, Frankie Mourning takes a detour into the town of Red Rock, Idaho, where strange things are happening, all seemingly connected to a young woman called Annalise Stoppard. Annalise has a peculiar power over her dreams, a power which has turned her life into a waking nightmare. Without Frankie’s help she will be swallowed up by her own mind, putting the lives of everyone around her in danger.
Grappling with Dekker’s resurrection, a shifty psychiatrist up to no good, and their own complicated feelings for one another, Frankie doesn’t have time to play games. With Dekker growing more vulnerable by the moment, Frankie learns the source of the danger is a god trapped in a dream world of Annalise’s making – a god who threatens to darken the very fabric of reality if she can’t save Annalise Stoppard. If that happens, Dekker may well be lost to her for good.
And if something happens to Thomas Dekker, one thing is certain: no one is safe from Frankie Mourning. Absolutely no one.
Sanguine is available now, and you can add it to your Goodreads list here.
On her way to Chicago to reckon with Dekker’s past, Frankie Mourning takes a detour into the town of Red Rock, Idaho, where strange things are happening, all seemingly connected to a young woman called Annalise Stoppard. Annalise has a peculiar power over her dreams, a power which has turned her life into a waking nightmare. Without Frankie’s help she will be swallowed up by her own mind, putting the lives of everyone around her in danger.
Grappling with Dekker’s resurrection, a shifty psychiatrist up to no good, and their own complicated feelings for one another, Frankie doesn’t have time to play games. With Dekker growing more vulnerable by the moment, Frankie learns the source of the danger is a god trapped in a dream world of Annalise’s making – a god who threatens to darken the very fabric of reality if she can’t save Annalise Stoppard. If that happens, Dekker may well be lost to her for good.
And if something happens to Thomas Dekker, one thing is certain: no one is safe from Frankie Mourning. Absolutely no one.
Sanguine is available now, and you can add it to your Goodreads list here.
THE COLLINS WIDOW
Some family secrets are better left buried.
Six months ago, Stella Collins killed her husband, Morgan. Previously mild-mannered and caring, Morgan changed, becoming monstrous in an instant, and tried to murder Stella on the staircase in their home, instead falling to his own grisly death.
In an attempt to understand what happened to her husband, Stella travels across the country to Morgan’s childhood home to search for answers. She finds the house derelict, rotting from time and neglect, leaving Stella with more questions than answers.
Uncovering a packet of old letters and diary entries that belonged to the matriarch of the family, Elizabeth, Stella begins to uncover the horrors of the Collinses, the house, and the winding caverns that snake beneath. As Stella’s mind begins to play tricks, she learns of Elizabeth’s plight, she is haunted by the literal ghosts of the past, including Morgan. And the more she learns, the more she is convinced that all of it, even Morgan’s death, leads back to the past, to the original Collins widow. And to the unspeakable horror which has plagued her husband’s family for a century.
The Collins Widow is available now.
Six months ago, Stella Collins killed her husband, Morgan. Previously mild-mannered and caring, Morgan changed, becoming monstrous in an instant, and tried to murder Stella on the staircase in their home, instead falling to his own grisly death.
In an attempt to understand what happened to her husband, Stella travels across the country to Morgan’s childhood home to search for answers. She finds the house derelict, rotting from time and neglect, leaving Stella with more questions than answers.
Uncovering a packet of old letters and diary entries that belonged to the matriarch of the family, Elizabeth, Stella begins to uncover the horrors of the Collinses, the house, and the winding caverns that snake beneath. As Stella’s mind begins to play tricks, she learns of Elizabeth’s plight, she is haunted by the literal ghosts of the past, including Morgan. And the more she learns, the more she is convinced that all of it, even Morgan’s death, leads back to the past, to the original Collins widow. And to the unspeakable horror which has plagued her husband’s family for a century.
The Collins Widow is available now.
THE HUNGRY DEEP
Some places are abandoned for a reason.
When newlywed Rachel Corrigan agrees to accompany her husband, Tom, to his family estate before starting their lives together in the city, it is an opportunity to get to know him and to explore the manor where he grew up. But when Rachel arrives she finds Corrigan House strange, the nearby town empty, and her husband's sudden and cold demeanor increasingly frightening. She soon learns that one year ago, Tom's first wife, Lavinia, took her own life in the twisted forest behind Corrigan House. The servants claim that her spirit resides there still, calling out from the wood, her voice as clear as the day she died.
In an abandoned town where everyone harbors a secret, Rachel finds herself a prisoner in a place which is becoming increasingly treacherous. When the village priest is found savagely stabbed and on the edge of death, it becomes clear that the remaining townsfolk - witnesses to Lavinia's demise - are being hunted down one by one. But Lavinia Corrigan is dead. Isn't she?
Read The Hungry Deep now, or add it to your Goodreads list here.
When newlywed Rachel Corrigan agrees to accompany her husband, Tom, to his family estate before starting their lives together in the city, it is an opportunity to get to know him and to explore the manor where he grew up. But when Rachel arrives she finds Corrigan House strange, the nearby town empty, and her husband's sudden and cold demeanor increasingly frightening. She soon learns that one year ago, Tom's first wife, Lavinia, took her own life in the twisted forest behind Corrigan House. The servants claim that her spirit resides there still, calling out from the wood, her voice as clear as the day she died.
In an abandoned town where everyone harbors a secret, Rachel finds herself a prisoner in a place which is becoming increasingly treacherous. When the village priest is found savagely stabbed and on the edge of death, it becomes clear that the remaining townsfolk - witnesses to Lavinia's demise - are being hunted down one by one. But Lavinia Corrigan is dead. Isn't she?
Read The Hungry Deep now, or add it to your Goodreads list here.
HOARFROST (Blood of Cain #2)
"The Mother of Hearts is here."
Plagued with terrifying visions and hounded by wraiths, Frankie Mourning is on the run again. Afraid she will hurt Thomas Dekker, she goes off on her own and does what she does best: killing the killers. But Dekker needs her help. Corpses are washing up onto the Oregon coast, frozen solid and covered in hoarfrost. And their hearts are missing.
As Frankie and Dekker delve deeper into the mystery, things get stranger. Frozen oceans; a woman who bursts into flame; holes in the fabric of reality; a shapeshifter; and a horrifying woman in a white shroud who claims she wants to help. Despite herself, Frankie finds herself closer to Dekker than ever, but her frightening power and terrifying visions grow stronger, threatening to hurt the last person alive she loves, along with anyone who gets in her way.
But Dekker has a secret of his own, and it might just tear Frankie apart. If she can't keep it together, she's not sure what she's capable of. Though a dwindling group of gods seem to think she could be the salvation the world needs...or the catalyst of its destruction.
Hoarfrost is available at Amazon.com.
Plagued with terrifying visions and hounded by wraiths, Frankie Mourning is on the run again. Afraid she will hurt Thomas Dekker, she goes off on her own and does what she does best: killing the killers. But Dekker needs her help. Corpses are washing up onto the Oregon coast, frozen solid and covered in hoarfrost. And their hearts are missing.
As Frankie and Dekker delve deeper into the mystery, things get stranger. Frozen oceans; a woman who bursts into flame; holes in the fabric of reality; a shapeshifter; and a horrifying woman in a white shroud who claims she wants to help. Despite herself, Frankie finds herself closer to Dekker than ever, but her frightening power and terrifying visions grow stronger, threatening to hurt the last person alive she loves, along with anyone who gets in her way.
But Dekker has a secret of his own, and it might just tear Frankie apart. If she can't keep it together, she's not sure what she's capable of. Though a dwindling group of gods seem to think she could be the salvation the world needs...or the catalyst of its destruction.
Hoarfrost is available at Amazon.com.
MONSTROUS (Blood of Cain #1)
Kindle Book Awards finalist for Horror/Suspense.
Frankie Mourning died on a Thursday. Then she came back.
Tasked with killing the killers – people with the blood of Cain running through their veins – Frankie always gets her murderer. But this time it's different. This time she has to go home. Something strange is happening in Helmville, Montana. People are dying at an alarming rate, and the sheriff is ruling them all accidents and suicides. Nothing is as it seems and Frankie soon finds herself sucked into the tangled and seemingly supernatural mystery. Because the people acting strangely, the people killing everyone around her are haunting the mirrors. Now Frankie's own reflection is behaving strangely and seems hellbent on causing her harm.
In a world enmeshed in remote beauty, dark magic, and violent memories, Frankie feels lost. Luckily, a detective on the run for murder shows up. Thomas Dekker wants to help and claims he cares about Frankie. But daring to trust him could cost her everything.
BLOOD OF THE STARS
"I remember my name."
Spencer McQuarrie wakes to find himself in a New Orleans hospital in 1945, in a spiraling sequence of events that ends with the brutal murder of his wife, Josephine. Pulled back through time to 1927, he is reunited with a still-living Josephine, and desperately tries to piece together his broken mind to avoid her future death. But then McQuarrie finds himself in the middle of a war between Haitian Vodou demigods – the Loa – and they do not have his best interests at heart.
The loa pull the couple from one time to another, demanding that McQuarrie learn who is killing almost everyone he knows. As McQuarrie starts losing time and waking up in different parishes throughout New Orleans, the list of suspects grows, and he begins to decipher his connection to the killer. Knowing the truth may mean losing Josephine's love. But to save her, he would give up everything: He would fight, he would kill, he would die.
To save her, he would burn worlds upon worlds upon worlds.
Spencer McQuarrie wakes to find himself in a New Orleans hospital in 1945, in a spiraling sequence of events that ends with the brutal murder of his wife, Josephine. Pulled back through time to 1927, he is reunited with a still-living Josephine, and desperately tries to piece together his broken mind to avoid her future death. But then McQuarrie finds himself in the middle of a war between Haitian Vodou demigods – the Loa – and they do not have his best interests at heart.
The loa pull the couple from one time to another, demanding that McQuarrie learn who is killing almost everyone he knows. As McQuarrie starts losing time and waking up in different parishes throughout New Orleans, the list of suspects grows, and he begins to decipher his connection to the killer. Knowing the truth may mean losing Josephine's love. But to save her, he would give up everything: He would fight, he would kill, he would die.
To save her, he would burn worlds upon worlds upon worlds.
BLOOD DAY
This is the way the world ends.
When millions of children went missing during a global blackout, no one suspected monsters. No one thought that vampires were real, or that they would overthrow every world power, instituting a nightmare version of totalitarianism. Yet that is exactly what the Revenants did.
After an initial orgy of terror, however, the monsters vow to stop killing in exchange for a government-enforced Blood Day: mass donations of human blood to satisfy their insatiable thirst. But not all Revenants are interested in a new way of life, and not all humans are willing to obey.
Sia Aoki, a classical musician, wakes up in an experimental hospital, high on Slack and refusing to donate blood. She soon learns the Revenants don't plan to punish her, but are planning to use her for an experiment that will change everything. As Sia recovers from addiction, however, it becomes obvious that there is more to her that meets the eye. And the Revenants have no idea what's coming.
Mike Novak, a journalist with a checkered past, is on the run after writing about the new experimental hospitals. He holes up in an abandoned farmhouse at the behest of a mysterious new benefactor, and begins working on an underground newspaper, printing real news about the Revs, and the humans working to bring the monsters to their knees.
Genevieve White has lost everything: her medical career, her home, and her family. Recruited to work in a new kind of hospital, she meets Sia Aoki, a strange and troubled patient. But Viv has a secret, too. She knows how to destroy the monsters that ruined her life.
With the help of a rebel Revenant, Joshua Flynn, the three strangers fight to save what's left of humanity, and to destroy the despot, an ambitious Revenant named Ambrose Conrad. He is the architect of the massive takeover, and he has far more horrific plans for the dwindling population. Sia, Mike, and Viv must survive if they want to save a world drowning in despair.
That is, if despair doesn't destroy them first.
