An abandoned house where its last occupants were the Finch sisters. For years it has stood empty, waiting. Finally, four famous Horror writers agree to spend a night in the house as a publicity stunt. The house does not live up to its 'haunting' expectations, but what the house has in store for them, is not realised until after they leave the house.

This book was really hard for me to get into. It started OK, but then dragged on for far too long before much excitement happened. I found myself struggling to read it at times. There were words that made reading difficult and interrupted the flow. Thank goodness for having a kindle as it has a dictionary. Many times I had to find a definition as some of the words used I had never heard of before. This is not necessarily a fault on behalf of the author. For example, the word 'septuagenarian' (which means a 70-80 year old). Hey at least I am learning things and will lock that word in for next time I play scrabble. How many points is that?

Sometimes things were explained that I think is self explanatory. e.g.. about a characters toiletry kit; 'The toiletries - toothbrush, travel-size Crest toothpaste tube, bar of soap, metal Combe and a small vial of aspirin.' I thought that this again was an example of the author writing in too much detail and boring details. Nothing was left for the imagination.

About 48% of the way through the book, they had already left the house and not much happened the night they were there. It is sometime after that, that the story really does pick up and became interesting. I really enjoyed the last half of the book more than the first part. However, even the ending was dragged out more than it possibly needed to be.

The last 20% or so of the book is pretty gory, like a good horror book should be. It was detailed well, (where the book does enjoy details) and easy to create a picture in my mind. I could see this book being a horror movie, as it really played out like one.

All in all the book was OK. I struggled to get into it and really struggled in the middle of it to keep going as I found myself getting bored of it. However, it was an interesting concept for a story and it did keep me asking why and wondering what would happen. Like the house would draw in people, I found myself drawn to the book, even when I was getting tired of it. I needed to know what happened, and glad I stuck it out. A good read for any horror fan.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, thanks to NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Kill Creek by Scott Thomas.
There is a house that has been known for years to be haunted - Two older sisters inhabited it, died there, and no one has bothered to buy it. What if four famous authors stay in this house for 2 days and everone can watch live and see if this house is really haunted.
These authors are famous for their books - horror novels and a strange man invites them to do just that.
This is a fast read and is really scary. Recommend for those who like a good haunted house story and believe that the dead may not rest quietly.

This is your typical night in a haunted house horror, but DEFINITELY not your typical writing for it. In very vivid prose we get a story of 4 very different horror writer brought to a supposed 'haunted house' to be interviewed for a horror fan blog called Wrightwire.
The Mainstream Hack Sam McGarver- "He had started this new novel at least a hundred times. He had exhausted more first sentences than he could remember. They were single lines on one-page documents, saved on his hard drive in a folder named, appropriately, “Crap.”
And perhaps Sam’s most inspired first sentence:Sam, you suck as a writer and will never write anything that anyone cares about because you are a fraud and your books are shit."

The decrepit Old Has-Been Sebastian Cole-"the golden days of Beaver Cleaver and Good Humor Bars and ‘There’s nothing to fear but fear itself’ are over . They’ve been raped and tortured and left for dead. The only thing to fear these days is everything."

The Christian Bullshit Artist, Daniel Slaughter- "Do evil, and you will be punished. Only the characters that are pure of heart triumph in the end. Evil never wins in my books. Good does, because it’s from God.”

And the Uforgivable Brutal T.C Moore- “Horror no longer goes bump in the night. Horror stuffs the bodies of dead hookers in his crawl space and then pulls a twelve-hour nursing shift taking care of your sick mother. Horror sits in his cubicle and fantasizes about sucking the toes of the high school cheerleader he plans to strangle after work. Horror stays awake at night dreaming up ways to hurt you and your family and your pets and everything you hold dear. Horror is perversion.”

Very different views of what horror means to them...Until that horror starts to prey on them in very REAL ways..

I think that Sam expresses it best when he says "In horror, there’s no such thing as ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ That thing will be back, and it will take over your life. That’s the root of all fear: the loss of control. Not being able to stop the evil.”

Also, everyone who reads or has read this book HAS to tell me I'm not crazy and that if this is ever made into a movie Wainwright HAS to be played by Matt Smith... Right?? Skinny pants, wavy brown hair, U.K accent (ok, so they say Irish.. We can work with it) and a wierd smooth clay face?? COME ON!!

Trigger warnings include domestic violence, self harm and suicide.

Kill Creek is best read when the weather is on your side. While I travelled to the Finch House there was torrential rain, thunder that rattled the windows, hail that pounded on the roof, 30,000 lightning strikes one night in the local area (or so they reported on the news) and wind that howled through the trees. One windy night around 3am as I crept through the dark house trying to be quiet so I didn’t wake anyone up I walked through a cobweb. Reading at night with the only light coming from my Kindle I could almost imagine something that used to be human reaching for me in the darkness of the room just beyond what I could see. It was creepy and it was perfect. I highly recommend reading Kill Creek under similar circumstances.

If ever a book was written with a cinematic quality where you could practically watch the movie as you’re reading the book, this is the one. An hour or so before walking through my cobweb I’d read a part in the book with spiders (so many spiders! 🕷) and sitting there in the dark I convinced myself I could feel something crawling along my arm. Now that’s the kind of creepy I love, when the book reaches out from the pages (or screen) and convinces you that what’s happening in the book and what’s happening around you as you read it are related, like the book knows and is somehow causing these ‘coincidences’. After reading his book, Scott Thomas almost had me convinced the house at Kill Creek had the power to reach into my life, and that is the type of creepy fun I haven’t experienced in a book in a long time.

Kill Creek takes us to Finch House, a gorgeous and meticulously crafted house with over 150 years of tragedy living within its walls. Wainwright of WrightWire (an internet “destination for horror events”) and his photographer Kate plan to interview four of the world’s most famous horror writers at Finch House for WrightWire’s annual Halloween stunt.

Our (lambs to the slaughter) authors are Sam, a lecturer at the University of Kansas and best-selling author who’s struggling to write his next novel, Sebastian who’s basically horror writer royalty, Daniel who I imagined as a Christian version of R.L. Stine and Moore, who writes what I can only describe as torture porn. Horror means something different to each author and each has their own reason for agreeing to take part in this interview. What they experience may reveal that the ghosts of the past that haunt your mind can be some of the most terrifying ghosts of all.

And the house? The house enjoys entertaining visitors. I remember one of my English teachers talking about how locations can become characters in stories and in my adolescent omniscience I sat there rolling my eyes thinking, ‘Yeah, whatever’. So, anonymous English teacher, I get it now! The house in Kill Creek is my favourite character!

Told in third person from multiple points of view, you are granted access to each character’s thoughts, desires and greatest fears. At times the writing was so poetic I almost forgot I was reading a horror novel. Then there’d be a description of seeping wounds, crunching bones or goo oozing out of eyeballs, and I’d remember, sometimes almost cringing from the detailed descriptions of agony and torment. With some humour, action sequences, egos battling egos and mystery thrown in along with some good old fashioned murder, Kill Creek is pure entertainment.

Should you ever star in your own horror novel, there are some basics that Kill Creek teaches that you should probably keep in mind.

Horror Novel 101
1. If there’s a creepy basement with a rickety staircase, stay the hell out.
2. No matter what, stay together as a group.
3. If a house has a reputation for being evil, don’t think it’ll let you leave unscathed, if it lets you leave at all.
4. If there’s a creepy third floor room whose entrance has been bricked over, take note. There’s probably a reason and you probably don’t want to know what’s in there.
5. If someone who you know is dead is standing before you asking you to do something really weird, it’s probably not them and you probably shouldn’t do that really weird thing.

I did find that there was a section around the middle of the book that I felt was a bit long-winded and slowed the pace down at a time when I was eager to just get back to the house and get some answers. I found the themes of Moore’s novels kinda out there but in terms of relating those to her backstory I did understand where she was coming from. I found something to like about all but one of the characters (Adudel). I really had a fun time reading this book and will most certainly be on the lookout for future novels by this author.

Biggest disappointment: Looking up Last One Out Kills the Lights on Goodreads because Sam makes it sound like my kind of horror short story book, only to find it doesn't exist. Just to make sure I looked up the author's name and found they do exist! Except they're a romance novelist. ☹️

Favourite sentence: “That may be the most perverse thing of all: ignoring the horror, even as it happens around you.”

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Inkshares for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. This is the second book I've read by this publisher and both were home runs.

Thank You to NetGalley/InkShares for the opportunity to review this book..

Creepy, engaging, a bit gory, and an all around edge of your seat ghost story..I have never read anything by this author before so I was a little unsure but I enjoyed his writing style.. The book kept me interested and I wanted to keep reading far after I put it down.. Constantly thinking to myself what is going to happen next and being pleasantly surprised when some turn of events changed all my thoughts.. There was bits in there that you were like ok we get it but in the end it all kind of tied itself into a neat little bow as to why it was being mentioned.. I think the book left off in a way to suggest there could be more about this story.. I will keep an eye out because I will be sure to read it.. Recommend? Absolutely..

5 stars

The house on Kill Creek was built in 1859 near Lawrence, Kansas. Following the murder of the owner of the house and his mistress, several people tried to call the house their own, but moved out most often within a year. The house had become a bad place. In 1975 a pair of elderly twin women named Finch, one of whom was in a wheelchair, bought the place from the county. It had last been abandoned since 1961.

In 1982, Rachel Finch invited parapsychologist Dr. Malcolm Adudel to the house. His book was a best seller and the house was officially declared “haunted.” In 1998, following Rachel’s mysterious death, the property became once more owned by the county.

Sam McGarver horror writer and teacher at the University of Kansas receives an invitation. T.C. Moore also gets an invitation, as do Sebastien Cole and Daniel Slaughter. When they arrive at the library meeting place and suffer through an audacious demonstration, they are escorted to a 1975 VW bus to drive to the Kill Creek house. Four famous horror writers, Justin Wainwright and his videographer Kate are the six people who will spend two days in the house. Sam is highly suspicious of Wainwright’s motives. He doesn’t trust him at all.

Individually, and while they are alone, each of the people in the house have “experiences.” People that aren’t there – or are they? Vines that clutch at the feet. Pictures that change. Brick walls that are there – or are they? Hallucinations? Misperceptions? To a person, they believe they had imagined the strange events.

Over a plate of cold cuts in the kitchen, the group begins to share their experiences. When the lights go out, Wainwright, Sebastian and TC go down to the basement to look at the generator. TC and Sebastian see the Finch sisters. Are they really seeing them, or is it a yarn they are spinning? More strange experiences occur. As they go to bed that night, they individually begin to experience visitations from people in their past. And then it’s over; it’s time to leave the house on Kill Creek. As they get ready to leave, two sheriff’s officers show up to give Daniel devastating news.

When Sam gets home, a story literally pours out of him; he has 1,000 pages almost before he knows it. He is obsessed, ignoring all else in his life. He has strange experiences. He is ignoring all else in his life, including showering and sleeping. He receives a visit from his editor. It seems TC is writing the same – or similar book as him. No one has heard from her in a long time. At her home in Los Angeles, TC is also having “hallucinations” from her past, as is Sam. Together they go to Chicago to visit Daniel. They learn they were all writing the same book. From there the three travel to New York to visit Dr. Adudel. After some dancing around, they find Sebastian there. Along the way they pick up Wainwright.

They decide to travel back to Kill Creek to knock down the brick wall to the third floor. From there things go badly weird. Apparitions are seen, voices are heard and murders are committed. It’s a fast-paced ride to thrilling action and dare I say it – it’s fun.

This novel was both well written and plotted. The suspense began immediately and continued throughout the book reaching a peak when they return to the old house. The book is so well paced that the reader is almost lulled into reading a sedate story when all of the sudden things turn serious – very serious. I liked the characters. Wainwright and TC were a little off-putting at first, but they quickly grew on me. There was enough background information given about the major characters to flesh them out but not so much that it intruded on the story in any way. I don’t give horror stories a five star rating very often, but I had to give this one the rating. I loved it! I strongly recommend this novel for any aficionado of the horror genre or thrillers. This is my first Scott Thomas novel, but it won’t be my last. I immediately went to Amazon to look for other books of his.

I want to thank NetGalley and Inkshares for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book to read and enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkshares for giving me an eARC of Kill Creek by Scott Thomas. This book was absolutely fantastic! I guess, first, let me explain a little about the plot. Four authors go to a haunted house for an online interview and craziness ensues. Twist and turns abound. Each character was unique and interesting. The ending was absolutely perfect. My heart was broken and molded back together and then rebroken. *sigh* I need more horror from this author. NOW.
I am a huge fan of the horror genre and have probably read most of the “haunted house” horror that has ever been written. I devour haunted house horror. So I feel like I can safely say, if I’m not an expert in this subject, I’m pretty darn close. I am not lying when I say THIS IS THE BEST HORROR BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. I know that’s a big statement when there’s Stephen King, Anne Rice, Peter Straub, Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, and the list goes on and on, but I loved this book! I have never read anything quite like this book. It has everything that I look for in a good book—interesting characters, plot turns, setting. Oh my goodness, does it have a creepy setting! I can’t say enough about this book. I have never been so scared in my life! Stephen King, eat your heart out. There’s a new horror master in town.

Very good suspense book. One man brings 4 horror authors together to a hunted house for a interview to be broadcasted via the internet. This books builds as it goes along. It will keep you glued to the pages because you want to know what is the secret of these authors, the house and the person who brings them all together. Very good book with a haunted house for extra measure. If you are a horror fan, this is a must read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas was received direct from the publisher. This is an author I had never read before but the book topic sounded very interesting to me. Haunted house books are generally either good or overall tediuos. A good haunted house book is hard to beat, where in a tediuos one is torturous to the reader. This one, moves along but about halfway through it is not really a book about a haunted house. I will not go into the plot except to say “writers will write.” With that being said, this one is not a classic but it was not tedious either, so my initial statement is not 100% accurate by my own account. if you like haunted house stories, or stories and writers and the craft, give this one a try.

A really good Haunted House Book with a twist. Very enjoyable, well written, highly recommended.

Haunted house stories are my favorite, so this book was the perfect read for Halloween. There are some genuinely scary moments in the second half, though it does deform a bit into a gory scenes sewn together without only a vague thread of plot. That’s a shame, really, since most of the novel is intriguing and disquieting, especially the middle section, where we see how the main characters’ lives have unraveled.

The reveal of how the house came to be is a bit forced. The whole Adudel story-line is forced, actually. I understand that *SPOILERS* he is necessary to spread the rumor of the house, but even that plot point doesn’t quite satisfy. It is more like the author was searching for a new take on the haunted house story and decided to run with the whole house-draws-strength-from-people-talking-about-it thing. It doesn’t really convince the reader and it is not nearly as frightening as it should be.

It was a fun, quick read, though, so if you are looking for a new take on the haunted house idea, albeit not the best new take, this is one to consider.

Four horror writers receive an invitation to participate in a 2 day interview in an old abandoned house at Halloween which will be posted on the internet. They are promised it will go viral, and they could all use the publicity.
Each writer has their own particular style, each has their own particular secrets.What could possibly go wrong? It's just a house right? This started as a slow burning subtle kind of horror. The type that gradually pulls you in deeper and never lets go. I love haunted house stories and I highly recommend this one if you do too! 5 out of 5 stars from me.

I'm a wee bit hard to please when it comes to ghost or haunted house stories, so I'll admit that I didn't have much hope when I started this book. Happily, it hit all the right spots for me. I really liked the idea of how this house became haunted. Also that freaking ending was killer! I kinda hated/loved it. Yeah, this is definitely a book I'd recommend and I look forward to reading much more from this author. I'm kind of curious if he had certain authors in mind when he was writing about his characters. My thanks to Inkshares publishing and Netgalley for letting me read and review.

Beware, you may not sleep well after reading Kill Creek!

Kill Creek begins with four horror novelists agreeing to a live-streamed interview in a long abandoned haunted house in Kill Creek, Kansas. The interviews are held on Halloween night and the novelists stay overnight within the house. All the novelists have different styles from a Stephen King-type horror veteran to a R.L. Stine-type Young Adult horror novelist. To say much more about the plot would spoil it. However, the aftermath of the interview is the best part of this excellent book.

Kill Creek is definitely not for the faint-of-heart. There is a lot of violence. However, the story is very innovative. It is clear that the author has a love of all things horror. There is even a section that echoes a scene in the movie, Murder by Death. The book is both intelligent atmospheric horror and plain scary. Think of the first Saw movie. I finished reading Kill Creek at night on my Kindle with all the lights off and no one else awake in the house. I couldn’t fall asleep until dawn! However, I also just couldn’t stop reading! I love the insertion of a mystery within the horror genre. Kill Creek is highly recommended. 5 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, Inkshares, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy.

As this is the time of year to devote one's time to reading tales of a supernatural nature, I have therefore been joyously engaged and indeed engrossed with the reading of several short story horror compilations recently. However in comparison to the short story format it is the novel that affords the author the opportunity to develop character, plot and indeed explore the essence of the horror genre. In this homage to the traditional horror/supernatural tale Scott Thomas in his debut novel aptly displays the skills and techniques to be found in the works of the established authors of this field with satisfying results.

The plot is of a traditional nature, four horror/supernatural authors of varying styles (literary classical, main stream, teenage Christian, erotic sadistic) are invited to spend Halloween night in a archetypical (for me as a UK reader) mid western American abandoned haunted house resonant of numerous horror films. Of course all feign a reluctance to go but due to a need to bolster their careers they end up spending the night there which will have deadly consequences for them all.

The novel's main character is best-selling horror author Sam McGarver who is haunted by his past and in particular one horrific secret, and indeed secrets hidden by the authors and the house is a consent theme of this slow burning and well crafted story which builds up nicely to the inevitable page turning final scenes of horror and gore as the forces of darkness prevalent in the house are confronted. The origins of the "entity" are somewhat enigmatic and the ending leaves a number of questions (for me anyway) unanswered and alludes to the possibility of a sequel which would be appreciated by this reader. I liked how some of the chapters were given date and time headings giving the impression of actuality and also factuality.


So to summarise, I would recommend this book if you like a traditionally based supernatural tale which will have you engrossed and wanting to read further to see how the story progresses. This is certainly the right time of year to read this as the winter nights are approaching and these nights grow longer..

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. - H.P. Lovecraft

It was perfect timing for me to be reading and finishing this book - the night before Halloween. I enjoyed this creepy ghost/haunted house book. I don't find too many of this genre of story that I REALLY like but this is one of them.

Four horror authors are approached by an internet tycoon whose website specializes in horror and fantasy. He wants to do a live video streaming event while he does a group interview of the four of them. And to top it off he wants to go to a "haunted house" outside Lawrence, Kansas - a house with a troubled history - and spend the night and conduct the interviews.

The four authors are totally different. One is older, has written tons of books in the literary horror subset. One is a woman, goth, that writes shock-and-awe in-your-face bloody erotica. One is mild mannered, Christian and writes "lite" horror for teens. And the final author has written a few mainstream horror books, is a college professor also, and has had writer's block for the last few months.

I loved the group dynamics of these authors and their interviewer (oh, and there's a camerawoman too).

Rather than stopping where many horror books normally end, this book keeps going and just keeps getting better.

My favorite books of this genre are GHOST STORY by Straub and THE SHINING by King. This story doesn't top theirs but then it's a different story. And I liked it a lot.

I received this book from Inkshares through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book didn't turn out to be quite what I was expecting. As the story goes we have four horror authors of differing varieties that are brought together to be interviewed in the legendary haunted house of Kill Creek. That right there is enough to intrigue me. And this book did well enough until about the 48% mark and I realized that they are already leaving the haunted house with only a few bump scares and STILL we have more than half the book to go. That's when I knew this wasn't going in the direction I was hoping for.

I didn't find any of the characters all that interesting and I actually really disliked the one female horror author. She was constantly crass and vulgar to the point of silliness. I just didn't find her to be believable never mind likable.

I will say that the ending was decently gory (if you like that sort of thing) but the second half of the book dragged on so long that the gory payoff didn't really satisfy because I was already too bored.

Scott Thomas can write well it just so happens that this story wasn't for me. I'd still be curious to see what else he can come up with though.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one started off with 100% creepy factor. I was hooked and silently wished I wasn't because there are sometimes I'm just wanting to read and be happy as opposed to on edge and looking over my shoulder to make sure there is nothing in the shadows. This one definitely delivered, leaving me on the edge of my seat for the first half...

And then the second half came along and all of that awesomely talented suspense writing gave way to a lag that could only be redeemed by death, blood, brains, running eyeballs, and all that good stuff. Yeah, I get that is what a lit of horror is -- but this author didn't need to use any of that if the first half of the book. It was pure genius and shows massive skill that just doesn't seem to be around anymore.

Am I disappointed, not really. I guess what I am is sad that the same powress couldn't extend throughout the rest of the story. It was soooo good.

That said this book is definitely a great horror read. It keeps you guessing, which is a great thing, and is at moments, scary. So if horror is your thing, this book is for you.

I don't often read horror these days, but this one looked like it might be good. It's a haunted house story of sorts. Four famous horror authors agreed to an interview, which turns out to be a sort of publicity stunt, taking placing a supposedly haunted house. Again, it was not the type of book I would usually read, so maybe I am not the best judge, but I thought it was just okay. It wasn't really very scary, maybe a little unsettling at times. The story itself, though, didn't really grab me. I felt like a few things were a little predictable while others were unexpected, but overall it was a little bland. 2.5 stars rounded down to 2.