05/30/2026 - Danielle's Dark Corners

Happy Saturday! Today’s reviews have such a good range! An Uncomfortably Dark Horror release/preorder, a book with some solid comedy attached, and a page-turning psych thriller with some heavy horror elements. Enjoy!

CANIS LUPUS HUMANUS

by PJ Verfall

“We are above you all. We rule what we survey, and we survey everything.”

Gritty but smooth. Fast paced but easy to follow. Page turning but never wanting it to end. Original take on a classic monster. Violent and depraved but positively palatable to many. Question humanity but also the beasts. Just a few things I would say if someone asked me to describe this book. And phenomenal, this book was phenomenal.

Verfall is a new-to-me author when it comes to reading his work, and that’s really a shame because he is damn talented. This isn’t typically a subject/genre that I gravitate towards, which is ridiculous, because every time I read one, I'm reminded how much I enjoy them. Verfall told a hell of a story to remind me yet again how much I enjoy a solid “coming to werewolf” story with a lot of twists and uniqueness.

This one gets violent and graphic at times, but it reads really well, so while there are some content warnings, there are more people than not that I would totally recommend this book to! Especially if a story like this is your preference!

It’s available on Godless now and available for preorder on Amazon with a release date of June 2^nd.

Synopsis:

Walton McCoy is a young man who has done everything right in life. He’s ready to take a chance on himself and see the country to find out where he belongs in this world.

Before he can leave, a night of passion and a simple scratch change his world forever. Now he must control himself while running from hunters who know all too well what you do with a beast that’s gone mad.

Uncomfortably Dark, and the author of the twisted "Faceless" PJ Verfall, ask the question, "What do you do when the wolf inside you slips its leash?"

Content Warnings include some sexual violence, murder, and gore.

Available now on Godless.

Preorder on Amazon. (releases June 2nd)

THE GREAT DICK: AND THE DYSFUNCTIONAL DEMON

by Barry Maher

“In every life there are a number of What the Fuck moments; some just more What the Fuck than others.”

What an absolute delight this book was! I had no idea what the heck I was getting into, and I was beyond thrilled once I delved into the story! It’s a long one at almost 500 pages but it’s such a page turner that it could have been 1000 pages, and I would have binge-read it so fast. It was witty and funny but also so many solid horror elements and even supernatural ones which worked really well.

This is a new-to-me author and Meher really nailed a book that is truly just an entire vibe that’s so hard to explain but something I can't recommend enough to so many readers! It’s really well written and has parts that made me chuckle, along with parts that made me cringe. Really engaging and fast paced while still keeping a smooth enough pace for readers to grasp and enjoy to the fullest. Definitely recommend!

Synopsis:

Winner of a Literary Titan Book Award.

Wickedly funny dark humor supernatural thriller that blends a riveting murder mystery with an occult horror novel.

“What a page turner! Witty, literate, scary, sexy, and powerfully evocative.”—Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author

It’s 1982. Steve Witowski, a failed songwriter on the run from the law, finds himself caught in a supernatural thriller after an apparently innocent act of heroism—saving a woman from a vicious assault by a seemingly unstoppable wino. The woman, Victoria, is just part of a mystery Steve can’t unravel. Even as he’s looting the decomposing dead for the secrets of a self-proclaimed sorcerer. Even as he plummets into a nightmare of fire and blood and murder. Even then, Steve remains certain the sorcerer’s spells, the occult rituals—the supposed demons and supernatural horror—are simply delusion and fantasy. Steve is wrong.

Victoria, who has just bought a dilapidated church with a haunting past, entangles Steve in a deadly game of dark magic and rituals. As, unknown to him, the demon grows desperate, Steve plunges deeper into a world of crypts, grave robbing, and long-forgotten secrets, all while trying to escape his own haunted past. But when the face of the man Steve killed appears on his arm, the line between reality and nightmare begins to blur.

This supernatural novel will leave you on the edge of your seat, with wickedly funny dark humor and, ultimately, pulse-pounding suspense, as Steve and Victoria navigate a twisted adventure full of occult horror, supernatural suspense, and shocking revelations.

"An enormous amount of fun. Wholly fresh and original. Wickedly funny . . . The Great Dickis a hot, sweaty, magic- and murder-infused rollercoaster of a story that takes you in every direction except the one you're expecting . . . I loved it."—David Moody, author of Hater and Autumn

Available on Amazon.

THEN WE'LL BE SAFE

by Jes Hart Stone

“Look, you little jerk, I know you’re freaked out, but it was an accident. You didn’t know the kid was back there. Now, if you don’t get a grip, I’m gonna walk right out that door, and you’re gonna face this all on your own. I don’t need you. You need me. So, make up your mind.”

This book is deep! It’s not only deep, but it’s super engaging and readable to the max. It’s faced paged and I couldn’t swipe my Kindle pages fast enough to see what would happen next. The synopsis states that this is as if Thelma and Louise were from Canada, and I couldn’t agree more. The characters are done really well and while it’s more of a psychological thriller with heavy horror elements, it’s weird how you’re rooting for what feels like the bad guys in some of the parts.

It’s definitely one of those “good for her” books which I do enjoy, and this one was done REALLY well! It plays heavily on childhood trauma, and that is a tough subject, but Stone tackles the subject in a fantastic way. I had a really good time reading this book and recommend it to all horror fans. It’s a solid read that I don’t think will disappoint.

Synopsis:

Set against the stark beauty of 1970s British Columbia, Then We’ll Be Safe is a gripping psychological thriller about childhood pain, abuse, and neglect, and about the lies we tell ourselves in our desperate need to be loved.

Crystal Lynn Harsh takes revenge on her mother’s abusive boyfriend’s fingers with a pair of tree loppers. Majorca Fairhaven catches her boyfriend cheating and sends his car sinking into a lake. Two teenage girls. Two violent turning points.

Strangers from opposite worlds, they form a fierce bond while fleeing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Their path takes them along the notorious Highway of Tears—one of Canada’s most dangerous and isolated stretches of road—where hitchhiking becomes survival and survival becomes something darker.

As their crime spree escalates, the wilderness itself turns hostile: poisonous insects, predatory wildlife, and the psychological weight of what they’ve done. Their only hope is to reach Crystal’s grandmother’s home—because then, they believe, they’ll finally be safe.

Meanwhile, the RCMP’s first female constable fights both institutional prejudice and her own doubts as she risks everything to save them.

If Thelma & Louise were Canadian, this would be their story.

Available on Amazon.