Kindle Edition Amazon Category:  Horror Publisher: Studio City ISBN-10:  B003K16OHO Type: Fiction Pages: 162 Copyright: April 30, 2010 ISBN-13: 9781452374864 Short stories of horror and suspense in the deep north woods. Welcome to the deep north woods. Here you'll meet: A father whose intense longing for his dead son lead to disturbing consequences. A group of college students tubing down a river through a burnt forest who encounter terrifying creatures. A man seeking redemption for a sinful past through the skill of a tattoo artist. A Cambodian-American teen who will fit in with the locals at any cost. A woman who finds a bizarre solace in a rare pearl. These, plus a dozen other stories from the febrile imagination of Joel Arnold will keep you up long into the night with over 50k words of horror, suspense, and mystery. Includes the award winning stories 'Mississippi Pearl' and 'Some Things Don't Wash Off.'

Red Adept Reviews
Plot/Storyline: 5 Stars

The plots of each of these stories were unique and intriguing. While my favorite was the title story, "Bait", there was not one that I didn't like.

There was a common theme throughout many of the stories of dealing with loss and depression. There was also a common setting to a few, a bar that seemed to draw the most unsavory of characters.

With everything from supernatural beings, to devils, to dead men rising, these stories had something for every horror fan.

My second favorite was "Groundskeeper Hank". That one had a kind of evil "Forrest Gump" in it. Also, "Swallowed" was terrific, being the more realistic of the stories.

Characters: 4 1/2 Stars

The character development was very good within the short story form. My only complaint was that many of them seemed like the same character with different names. This was not true of all of the stories. It was just that too many of them featured a sad father who had either lost his wife, son, or both, or was in the process of doing so.

Writing Style: 4 3/4 Stars

While the writing style was excellent through most of the stories, there were a few that appeared to have been written prior to the author reaching his peak of talent. Obviously, Mr. Arnold has mastered the art of the short story form. He packs a huge wallop within very few words and pages. He knows how to draw a reader in from the first sentences and keep them enthralled throughout to the mostly bitter endings.

Rating: R for Language, Violence, Blood & Gore, Explicit Sex Scenes