Vengeance from Beyond: Ruthie is a terrifying tale of one dead child's quest for revenge

 

Ruthie

Angie Gibson

Independently Published, 2025

Ebook, 128 ppg.

ISBN-13: 979-8311772297

Buy link

 

A group of 12-year-old friends know about a missing 6-year-old girl named Ruthie in their area, but when they find Ruthie, they at first find her as what appears to be a body. Frightened out of their wits, they run away screaming, but when they return, the child is sitting up and is alert. What’s going on here? Didn’t they just see her as a body not too long ago? Nevertheless, they befriend Ruthie, thinking she was just left there, and they decide to help her bring her abductor to justice. Then strange things start happening with Ruthie. The group of friends – four boys named Jalen, Pedro, Dylan and Dakota – are not really sure what’s happening, only that Ruthie needs their help! But are they willing to hang in there until the very end, despite all of the strange things that keep happening with their young friend?

 

I really enjoyed reading Ruthie by Angie Gibson! It may be a story for kids, but it definitely held my interest! I loved seeing how the four friends were trying to figure out if Ruthie was alive or not, and if not, then what was she, exactly? Was she a zombie? One of them asks the others if they think so. Nah, one of the boys say. “Zombies aren’t real.” Maybe so, but Ruthie sure does show interesting signs of being a zombie – like how she is slowly falling apart and smells pretty much like death!

 

I also liked seeing how the friends relate to each other. Even when one of them is freaking out over Ruthie’s strange behavior and is convinced they need grown-up help, they rally together to help this friend. It’s definitely a scary situation for a kid to be in, but they keep their heads in the right place and stay grounded when they work through everything happening together.

 

This story was scary, mysterious and full of suspense. It kept me guessing at every turn. I was surprised over the new things happening as the story unfolded, and I worried that something bad was going to happen to one of the boys before they could bring the person who hurt Ruthie to justice.

 

As a person familiar with ghosts, and as someone who has read many ghost stories (both real and fictional), I was really intrigued by the “ghostly” aspect of this story. It’s hard to see the character Ruthie as a ghost, since she eats the same food as the other kids, but there are some parts of her existence that is ghostly. So I pretty much saw her as a ghost in the story. That said, I also recognized her as a child that had been murdered. For the longest time, as I read this story, I tried to ignore the brutality of a child of only six being murdered. I tried not to let it get to me. But when I got to the part where Ruthie says “I miss my friends and my dollies” that was when the waterworks broke. That made me so sad. I have seen similar statements by child ghosts in stories, even though Ruthie is not a ghost in this story. So, yeah, that hit hard.

 

And as a parent, I was thoughtful over the boys’ actions, as well as the mother who was dealing with the pain of her missing child.  

 

Ruthie is a story with very scary moments, but it is also a very moving story of making right what was made wrong. Themes of vengeance, loss, and friendship are very strong in this story, possibly themes which young readers 12 and up could relate to. It’s a spooky story that is both entertaining as well as chilling. Ruthie is the kind of story that stayed with me long after I read the very last page, and even though it had a very satisfying ending, I could only wonder if there was the chance our young ghoul may once again rise from the grave, hungry for more blood and revenge!

 

 

Five stars.

 

 

Disclaimer: I downloaded this book through my subscription with Kindle Unlimited.

 

Ruthie by Angie Gibson is available both as a Kindle ebook and for free through Kindle Unlimited.

A Mysterious Danger on the Prairie: Shadows By Night is an unputdownable historical horror novel of revenge

 

 

Shadows by Night

Zach Ellenberger

Independently Published, 2025

ISBN-13: 979-8343983807

Ebook, 164 ppg.

Buy link

 

According to what we learned in school and from nonfiction books, life on the prairie was hard in the old days. We learned about the constant battles between US soldiers and the white man against the Native Americans living on their land. What we hardly ever got to learn about was any incidents of “revenge” the natives may have sought after the white man who stole their lands.

 

Well, readers will get to read about it here! In Shadows by Night by Zach Ellenberger, we follow the Noble family as they trek across country to land they have laid claim to which once belonged to a Native American tribe. In fact, the father in this family, Elijah, was one of the soldiers who participated in the merciless slaughter of the tribe that had lived on that land. What he and his soldiers don’t know is that a group of those natives escaped, later creating a supernatural force of creatures hell-bent on revenge.

 

Adam Noble is the only survivor of that tribe that died by the hands of Elijah’s army (as far as he knows). His name is not really Adam, but that is the name which the Noble parents gave to him when they took him in as a young child. Typical of many Western families at that time, they basically “whitewashed” Adam, stripping him of his name, his language, his heritage, culture, language and even clothes that he knew as part of the tribe and raised him as the “white way.” They gave him a Christian name, raised him in the Christian faith and threw upon his young shoulders the responsibilities and lifestyle of the way they lived. All of this made Adam forget who he was, so of course, he is confused when other people question his relation to the Nobles or treat him like he is a native.

 

The natives are called “savages” in the story, but I refuse to identify Native Americans by this term. In fact, reading this story made my blood boil, as I have Native American blood and I am well aware of the atrocities many, many Native American tribes faced at the hands of the white man. It’s no wonder that they soon grew to hate each other and showed no mercy in choosing to kill each other.

 

One thing I love about reading Zach Ellenberger’s books is the attention to detail and historical research that he brings to his stories. We normally don’t get to fully absorb ourselves in the way things were back in the day, but in reading this story, it felt like I was really there. I actually felt the same hardships the families endured as they tried to eke out a life on the prairie. I also appreciated how the portrayal of the US Army’s takeover over the lands the natives once lived on was so true-to-life.

 

But this story does capture a sad fact of history: How many Native American children were taken from their families and basically “whitewashed.” In fact, there was a whole orphanage dedicated to taking in Native American children absconded from their tribes and raised as white, having to wear the same clothes, speak the same language and live the same way white people did.

 

Even so, the bigger part of this story is the terrors which the Noble family faces upon settling in on their land. Even before they have a house built, danger strikes. The horrors inflicted on this family come from a mysterious source and they can only fight this evil without even knowing what they are fighting, or why.

 

Shadows by Night is a fascinating, riveting historical horror novel that was hard to put down. This story drew me in from the very beginning. Brimming with historical fiction, terrifying horrors and captivating suspense, this novel provides a gripping story of retribution and redemption.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

HEADLINES WE DON'T SEE: BROADCASTING FROM THE END OF THE WORLD OFFERS POEMS AND STORIES OF HARSH TRUTHS AND CHILLING TERRORS

 

 

BROADCASTING FROM THE END OF THE WORLD: POEMS AND TALES

Andrew Buckner

Alien Buddha Press, 2025

ISBN: 9798302426239

Ebook, 107 ppg.

Buy link

 

Picture it: All the terrible things happening in life, in the world, with someone on the sidelines broadcasting about it all. For readers of BROADCASTING FROM THE END OF THE WORLD: POEMS AND TALES by Andrew Buckner, that is what is found here. But, true to form as a writer of poetry and fiction, the author also provides poems and stories providing entertainment, escape, and wonder.

 

It’s rare to come across poetry that speaks so strongly about life and the real world, but that’s the kind of poetry we find in this book. And some of the stories in this book reflect the reality of how we’re all just trying to survive. To keep a roof over our heads and food on the table for our families.

 

I loved the poem “IT’S ALL TURNING INTO BULLSHIT!” It really IS all turning into bullshit! Especially ALL of those things the poem mentions which is bullshit. Every. Single. One.

 

“INVASIVE SPECIES, OR A BAKER’S DOZEN OF BLOOD” was my favorite story. I love the message this eco-horror story sends, but I love the goriness of the story too! It’s a really good summer camp horror story – and not cliché at all!

 

I especially loved this quote in the story:

 

"“Summer ends,” the sequoia boomed. “Youth fades. Maturity takes over. One must eventually answer for their irresponsible deeds. It is the harshest truth of the June through August months that come and go every year in childhood as if they will never end.”" (pg. 45)

 

I know the character, Michelle, is being told this as a way to explain that all childish things must end at some point and that we must accept adulthood and responsibilities (like taking care of the earth!), but it really captures how the summer season makes ALL of us feel like kids again, when we get to have a vacation AWAY from school and AWAY from jobs (if that’s possible!). Summertime is indeed family time. A time for fun, play and enjoying life to the fullest.

 

BROADCASTING FROM THE END OF THE WORLD: POEMS AND TALES provided poems and stories that I not only agreed with and related to, but took the time to absorb and enjoy as the world all around us continues to exist in a storm of chaos. It provided a perfect escape from that chaos. This was indeed a collection that I really enjoyed reading. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading speculative fiction as well as poetry that speaks out against the horrors of the real world.

 

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book as part of my digital subscription with the publisher.