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.

Unnatural Bodies in the Water: Girl in the Creek offers a harrowing tale of loss and cosmic horror

 

Girl in the Creek

Wendy N. Wagner

Tor Nightfire, 2025

ISBN-10: 1250908647

ISBN-13: ‎978-1250908643

Ebook, 146 ppg.

Buy link 

 

NOTE: This review is based on an ARC I received from the author. The book will release on July 15. The “buy link” provided is for pre-orders of the book.

 

 

Erin Harper is not just a travel writer. She is also someone with a loved one who is missing. And when she goes to the town where her brother went missing years ago, under the guise of a writing assignment, she ends up becoming involved in a horrible scheme of people going missing in that very town that has gone on for years. Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner is a powerful, gut-wrenching story of one sister’s quest to find out what really happened to her missing brother and the horrible web of deceit and mystery surrounding his and others disappearances.

 

Writers never know what kinds of things they step into when they take on an assignment. That’s what happens for Erin. She’s there to learn anything she can after her brother had gone missing in the area, but when she and her friends end up coming across a poacher camp and finding a body in the creek, things take a horrifying turn. Plus, Erin’s mission to learn more about the town where apparently a lot of people have gone missing gets her in the middle of a town rivalry.

 

Even as Erin tries to play it neutral with the local deputy, the deputy does not trust her. She is suspicious of Erin’s motives and remains tight-lipped about anything outside of Erin’s interests. As she tells Erin at one point, “I’m not telling you anything, Nancy Drew.” It’s apparent the deputy does not trust writers – even travel writers, at that – and her referring to “Nancy Drew” instead of “Lois Lane” gets me thinking that the deputy feels that Erin is sticking her nose where she shouldn’t.

 

Well, in a way, she does, but only because her life and her friends’ lives were threatened. I mean, she’s not going to just sit there and let the police handle it. And somehow, trying to figure out what is going on gets her involved in the mystery surrounding the missing person cases that are rampant in that town.

 

As an Oregonian, I loved reading this book, and not just because it’s set in Oregon. I loved it for the outdoors theme, the description of Oregon forests and wetlands (as well as the constant rain!), and even the exploration of places less traveled through. I thought it was cool this story is set in Oregon; there were so many Oregon vibes I could relate to!

 

I also noticed how this story explores the theme of missing loved ones. The themes of people tearing up in sharing their stories over missing loved ones, the sadness of seeing those “Missing” posters, and the different ways in which people relate to this subject were strong in the story. I do not know anyone with a missing loved one, but after reading this novel, it felt like I did, through the characters in it dealing with this.

 

The part about the “strangeness” in the story and how it affected the body of the girl floating in the creek was confusing. However, I stuck with reading through the whole story, and as certain mysteries were revealed, so, too, was an understanding of what the “strangeness” was. I was shocked by what I learned, but in a way, it made sense. And it gave this story a whole new meaning.

 

I loved how the author wrapped everything up at the end. There was a sense of sadness, regret and longing in those last chapters, but the ending was a satisfying read. After I turned that last page, I walked away from that book with a better understanding of how mysterious nature can be, how unforgiving the forests and trails of Oregon are, and the sorrowful reality people with missing loved ones live with every day.

 

Girl in the Creek is an eye-opening story of horrible truths, unrecognizable nature, and the need for answers to help bring closure when a loved one goes missing.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.