The Hunted: Welcome to Whitebridge
Thrill of the Hunt Anthology Book 3
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
October 1, 2017
381
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Sins of the Father: Miranda Nading: 4****Stars
Silas Yenet’s mother disappeared years ago and he was raised by his grandmother Wilhelmina. He never knew who his father was and he loved his grandmother dearly until the night of the soltice when a thin place in the world opened and allowed the shadows to enter. It is on this night that he learns who his father is and what his grandmother is, and she is not the person he has loved all his life. Whitebridge holds secrets and they include disappearances like Silas’ mom the sheriff’s father and many others. Something is wrong in whitebridge and the sheriff Dani is investigating what it is which could be trouble for her.
Hunted: L.E. Perez: 4****Stars
Dani Lyon the sheriff of Whitebridge since her father disappeared is investigating disappearances that always seem to occur around the summer soltice. The day before the soltice the body of Timothy Belladon who disappeared twenty years ago is found dead but not looking a day older than when he disappeared. Dani decides to see Ariane Namaquet the oldest resident in Whitebridge for answers and what she finds out is enough to send her daughter Charlie away in the care of the town doctor.
The Soltice: Valerie Willis: 4****Stars
Bastion Holidae has not been able to contact his grandmother Claudette Yenet in nine months and he has been unable to find the town she lives in Whitebridge. When Bastion’s mom died he begged his grandmother to let him come to live with her but she refused and he went into foster care. In spite of that they spoke every week until nine months ago when the calls stopped. After finding his mother’s diary he begins to investigate Whitebridge and discovers the phone number of the town Sheriff Dani Lyon. She agrees to meet him and advises him that a bridge leading to the town appears only one day a year on the soltice, the only day that access is capable.
The Devil has Two Faces: Vanessa Valiente: 3.5***’Stars
Ian Cordero left Whitebridge and his parent after the death of his twin brother Damon in a car accident. Damon was thrown from the car but his body was never discovered and with his loss Ian left for Nevada and his pursuit of gambling. It was Ian’s bloodline that guarded the woods and the thing that lived there, the Watcher. When he received a letter from the only girl he ever cared about Diane to return to her and Whitebridge that was exactly what he did. He loved Diane and things were going good for them but then something happened that put everything he believed in into doubt.
When Death Calls: Tawa Witko: 5*****Stars
Josh decided to take his girlfriend Sally on an adventure to Whitebridge in spite of all the stories they heard about the place. Josh was excited but Sally was apprehensive. Sitting outside a little coffee shop they were stopped by Billy Bane a resident of Whitebridge and considered by most of the town to be crazy. Billy offers them a cottage in the woods for the night and when they see the cottage they are sold on the idea. Unfortunately, all the stories that they heard turned out to be true when they see a large horse who doesn’t seem to want them to leave. This story really had me on the edge of my seat.
Lure: Kristin Durfee: 4.5****’Stars
Sixteen year old Andrew (Drew) Warner is an army brat moving from place to place wherever his mother is stationed. New friends, new town and always starting over. In his newest school he is dared by some of the boys to spend time in the woods and if he makes it through the night they would pay him. The money was not the reason he stayed it was to prove he was not afraid. It was while in the woods that he saw a bridge and somehow his feet took him across.
Alice like her mother is a witch and a member of The Others. The Others are responsible for keeping he town alive and the only power Alice has is the power of the Lure. She is able to lure creatures and Drew is the one she is after. A sacrifice is needed and it is her turn but things don’t go the way they should, she is having second thoughts about being responsible for Drew’s death. Does she let him die or does she change her mind?
Doppelganger: Kim Plasket: 4****Stars
Valerie knows all about Whitebridge and all it’s secrets. She has been in limbo not dead and not alive and unable to change anything around her. She watches as crazy Billy walks around mumbling to himself and she is aware of the entity with a desire to kill men. Is the entity part of her? She waits till she returns but will she? She never knew exactly how she split in two but somehow it was fueled by rage and hatred and that was when the entity was born.
The Heart is a Strong Muscle: Racquel Henry: 5*****Stars
Just when I thought I had read it all along comes this story that made some of the others tame in comparison. Isabel lost her parents in a plane crash and at the age of seventeen she decided to leave Orlando and find your grandparents, the grandparents her mom and dad told her were dead. She now entered into the town of Hell, Whitebridge where her parents had grown up and where her grandparents now lived. As soon as arriving she felt something sinister existed there and her grandparents gave her the creeps. Her grandfather is the doctor and when she accompanies him to the hospital where he has to perform heart surgery she finally learns about the horrors that her parents ran from. Believe me what happens in this hospital will make your skin crawl.
The Hunter: J. Nichole Parkins: 4****Stars
It has been two years since Marsha Winters found the love of her life laying dead under an oak tree in Whitebridge with her body torn apart. After years of grieving she has finally decided to seek revenge and return to the very place where she lost Abigail. Unfortunately, Marsha had no idea of the evil that truly existed in this Hellish town but she would soon find out for herself. In spite of warnings from some of the towns people she was determined to see Abigail’s killer dead, only what really killed Abigail was beyond her imagination.
What Lurks Within: Arielle Haughee: 5*****stars
This is Billy Bane’s story the same Billy we have read about in some of the previous stories. Billy is the one responsible for the disappearances in town and for the deaths and it all started almost one hundred years ago with the death of his sister. A demon has taken possession of Billy and the only thing he has managed to keep from the demon is the name of the woman he has always loved, Marion. The story is both Billy’s and Marion’s and she is the one determined to destroy the demon and free Billy. Everything comes to a head when Billy is ordered to bring the demon a child but Marion has some tricks up her sleeve. Can Marion actually free Billy? Can the demon be destroyed?
It Comes at Night: Emily Geary: 3.5***’Stars
Cora has nightmares and they involve a man chasing her and promising to murder her. It has gotten to the point where her nightmares seem to be entering her reality because cuts to her feet from running and a scar on her face in her nightmare appear when she wakes up. Her friend Austin is the one person she is able to rely on and it is Austin who does her shopping so that she can minimize the amount of time she has to leave her home. One night when he stays over she faces the truth of their relationship and the truth of her nightmares.
Return to Whitebridge: Laura Stapleton: 4.5****’Stars
Callie Horton’s mom was killed and she was cursed by the women of the coven in Whitebridge. Everytime she tried to warn people about the town and what awaited them she was mocked and ridiculed because that was the curse noone would believe her. After twenty years of banishment she has finally figured out a way to put a stop to the disappearances and killings and it was totally opposite of warning people against entering the town. Her brother Roger is one of the peope who has supplied sacrifices now she goes to him warning that she will change everything and if it means his death so be it. Of course one of the perks of living in Whitebridge is the fact that you don’t age since it is a town that only appears once a year. Callie’s plan is a surprise to everyone but is it a success.
Of My Blood: Kelly Abell: 5*****Stars
Jayla Nantuk never knew about her heritage or her past since she was adopted. When she is contacted about having received an inheritance from her grandmother she finally decides to find out who her parents were and where she came from. In addition to the house she was left a hefty sum of money and a one eyed cat she calls Jack. The cat is not ordinary because it understands what she says and knows more about her than even she does. A letter she finds written by her mother answers many of her questions. She comes from a family of witches and it was something her mother tried to keep her away from. Her warning to Jayla is to run but that is not something Jayla is willing to do because she suddenly has the answer to what needs to be done. Jayla is The Exalted, the one who will keep the town and coven alive for an eternity. Powers beyond anything she could ever have imagined could be hers but it all depends on whether the upbringing her mother hoped for her taught her right from wrong.
This was a wonderful collection of stories by some amazing authors. Each author wrote about Whitebridge and some characters made an appearance in more than one story line. I rated each story individually but overall the entire collection was wonderful and worth reading. Whitebridge is definitely a town filled with horrors and some of the stories really should be read in the light of day.
If I were rating this anthology as one book I would give it five stars it was well deserving of it.