I don’t really know when or how I got to this shindig, but it’s been the most awesome party ever.  Last thing I recall, I swerved to avoid hitting a deer on the highway, but now here I am.  And I’m running into people I haven’t seen in forever, including my best friend from junior high school, David…  We’d fallen out of touch ever since my family moved halfway across the country from Providence, Rhode Island.  Hell, I heard he was really sick, like REALLY sick – cancer or somesuch, but he looks incredible. Glowing. So I guess the rumors were wrong.

David’s a real hottie now, with his brooding dark eyes and brown hair that sort of swoops over his right eye.  And he’s really into me, it’s written all over his face.  Plus, we’re blissfully chill together. It’s not like we have to say much of anything, especially with my favorite band playing on the radio, Talking Heads piped into all of the rooms in unison.  When we first ran into each other, we were both joyfully surprised, and the awestruck silence never really wore off as we continue to drink one another and the party itself in.  Everything here is just so dreamy, it’s unreal.

Just like heaven.

There’s a little kitchen with an island and we’re toasting champagne and cutting up this huge sheet cake that’s part white, part, chocolate, part yellow.  I even got a corner piece of the white cake covered in icing roses, and all pink so they won’t stain my tongue weird colors!  In fact, there’s no blue or black icing at all.  The message on the cake is a little weird, just a reminder You Are Loved, but it brings all the warm fuzzies all the same.  It’s almost too pretty to eat, but damn is it some good cake – perfectly spongy and not to dry.  It’s all just so sweet.

Truly heaven-ly.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” David asks.

“Yes.  Everything is so perfect, I never want to leave,” I reply.  “This is the best, most exciting party ever.”

“You don’t have to go anywhere,” he replies.  “We can just hang out here and have fun forever.”

We wander back out into the front room with our cake and champagne, which never seem to be depleted.  I have a nice buzz from the fizzy alcohol, but am not feeling especially tipsy or out of it.  Just warm – I can feel it rising to my cheeks.  We adjourn to the sofa, which has been left vacant as if waiting specifically for us.

Heaven sent.

The house itself reminds me a lot of my childhood home.  Same avocado 1970s décor.  Same wood paneling.  Same orange and brown stripey floral motif sofa, though this one isn’t near as scratchy as I remember that fabric being back in the day.  And the cushions have just the right amount of fluff – you don’t sink too far as you sit on them.  It’s all just so warm and inviting and strikes all of the nostalgia chords in my heart for simpler times, when David and I would just hang out.

He smiles as he wraps his arm around me.  Feeling safe, I lean my head on his shoulder as we watch the sun set over the far horizon from the bay window in the living room.  The scene is a spectacular picturesque pink and purple show streaked with light and just the right number of wispy clouds to draw out the colors as the fading sunlight shimmers behind the silhouetted evergreen trees.  It would make a wonderful painting.  Absolutely breathtaking.

Straight out of heaven.

I glance over from the sunset to meet David’s gaze.  My eyes lose themselves in his, falling into a soft focus.  He is just so dreamy.  His skin is clearer than I remember.  And his brown hair is still so perfectly flipped over his right eye in a cute coy way that doesn’t seem at all out of place.  I admit I had a crush on him in junior high, but it was nothing like this.  This is that fantasy on steroids. Beyond my wildest dreams. We lean towards one another and he whispers in my ear.

“May I kiss you?” he asks sweetly, the scent of champagne and cake wafting from his warm and inviting lips.

“Please do,” I sigh.

Our lips meet, slowly at first.  Tenderly.  The trepidation soon dissolves and the kiss becomes more intense, harder and then wet and sloppy, tongues exploring one another in the dark recesses of our joined mouths.  I close my eyes and succumb to the moment…

I seem to have arrived at a really happening house party.  And there are people here I haven’t seen for years, including my best friend from junior high, David!  We’d fallen out of touch since the move and I heard he had cancer or the like, but I guess the rumors were wrong…

Here’s the song Heaven by The Talking Heads that inspired this creepy little story. If for some reason the YouTube doesn’t load in window, follow the link here.

And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website.

Episode of Dexter, Original Sin felt very much like an episode of the original series. And I mean that in the best way possible.

The story

This episode picks up where the last one left off. Dexter is coming down from his post kill high, and looking for another victim. He finds one in Tony Ferrer, a violent loan shark who murdered an innocent woman over a loan taken out by her son.

While Dexter does his due diligence, Deb deals with high school girl problems. She wants to be the captain of her volleyball team. But as with most things in high school, this is a popularity contest. To get a leg up on her opponent, she tells the team that she can score cocaine for a movie night at her house. Dexter agrees to help her if she can get Nurse Mary’s earrings back from her friend Sophia. He makes homemade cocaine with a recipe I’ll not be listing here.

Don’t do this, kids. This is how teens (and people in their twenties) die.

The episode finishes with Dexter catching his prey, first menacing the loan shark with jai alai balls. These balls move so fast that Dexter manages to cut Ferrer’s cheek in a way that will be very familiar to long-time viewers.

What is not familiar is Dexter’s means of body disposal. While I was thrilled to see Ferrer fed to the alligators (they are big swamp puppies and deserve a good meal) they don’t always eat a whole body. And part of Ferrer remains, floating to the surface. So that’s two kills so far, and two obvious pieces of evidence left behind.

What worked

This episode shone because of the attention to detail. For instance, when Masuka makes Dex a fake ID, he could have put any name there. He could have put Joseph Smith or Jack Torrance. Instead, he picks the name Patrick Bateman. Of course, this is the main character of the astounding novel American Psycho. But they also chose a famous psycho who just happens to have the same first name as our actor. It’s just that extra level of thought that makes it so much richer.

I also love, but also hate, that Deb’s friend Sophia has a crush on Dexter. She seems like a good young woman, a loyal friend to Deb, and just a kid with her head on straight. And, well, we know what happens to women who get involved with Dexter. RIP, Rita. I hate to say it, but I don’t predict that Sophia will survive the series. And that anticipation makes every scene with her in it more tense.

We were also introduced to one of the original series characters that had been missing, Maria LaGuerta.

LaGuerta was a mixed bag for me in Dexter. She was certainly using her position of power to sexually harass Dexter and abuse Deb. She also seemed more concerned with climbing the political ladder than actually helping people.

I actually loved LaGuerta’s story arc through the series, because we saw her go from this selfish, politically motivated person to someone who legitimately puts herself in harm’s way to protect people. She goes from being Deb’s personal antagonist to her pseudo-mentor. So, I am thrilled with the way she’s being portrayed in Original Sin.

Yes, LaGuerta is more than willing to jump in front of a camera and run her mouth if it’ll help her get something she wants. But what she wants is for people to actually care about victims who don’t happen to be white. What she wants is to be in a position of power so she can start changing things for the better.

Which is fantastic! I can’t wait to see what she does.

Finally, I want to shine some well-deserved light on Patrick Gibson. He must have watched every episode of Dexter as many times as I have because he has Michael C. Hall’s physical mannerisms down pat. The way he moves is so similar, it’s uncanny. And that is a wonderful touch that I cannot help but admire.

What didn’t work

The only thing I didn’t enjoy about this episode was small. In the middle of the episode, Dexter is making dinner for his family. And it’s an almost shot-for-shot rendition of the original intro.

Now, this sort of thing was clever at first. But we’re three episodes in. We can knock it off now.

So far, Dexter Original Sin has been a lot of fun. This episode exemplified why Dexter is so well-loved. A bad person suffers the consequences of his terrible actions.

And I think that’s beautiful.

“Skin to skin. Blood to blood. Heart sister to heart sister.”

In Lucretia Grindle’s The Devil’s Glove: Salem Book 1 (May 2023), readers are transported to the chilling precipice of the Salem Witch Trials. This meticulously researched novel blends historical accuracy with supernatural elements. Grindle crafts a captivating tale of fear, mistrust, and the enduring power of human connection.

Set in the remote Puritan village of Falmouth, on the eve of the infamous trials, the story unfolds amidst the clash of cultures. A war is brewing between the English settlers and the existing Native American community, fueling suspicion and resentment. Grindle masterfully explores the themes of colonialism, othering, and the enduring human need for connection.

The Plot.

In 1688, on the eve of the Salem Witch Trials, we meet Resolve Hammond. A young woman with the unsettling gift of seeing beyond the veil of reality. When Avis Hobbs dies, Resolve’s mother, a healer with deep ties to the local Native American tribe, suspects foul play.

Despite the growing tension between the villagers and their Native American neighbors, Resolve’s mother remains silent, fearing accusations of witchcraft. But Resolve, privy to unsettling visions, senses a sinister truth. Who would poison Avis, and why does Avis’s daughter, Abigail, seem eerily pleased?

As the village descends into paranoia and the threat of war with the neighboring native community looms, Resolve must confront her unsettling gift and use it to uncover the truth, even as the men in power manipulate events for their own gain.

Highlights.

Lucretia Grindle is a wordsmith. I rarely find myself stopping to reread sentences and passages just because once was not enough. The prose in this book is unrivaled. Beautiful metaphors and turns of phrase adorn every page. I was so pleased to be reading on Kindle, highlighting line upon line, “murmur piles upon murmur like rotting leaves”, “feel for the flutter of the soul at the neck” and “the kitchen is a cave of shapes” are just a few of my favorites.

The research that Grindle must have completed for this novel must also be noted. This is not only obvious with the inclusion of real people but also in the immersiveness of the setting. Details so small you might miss them are dropped like rain throughout the chapters, each contributing to filling the bucket that is 1688 New England.

Drawbacks.

There are no drawbacks to The Devil’s Glove in so far as the plot, characters, and writing are involved. I did find some repeated metaphors and spelling errors; this however is not a problem with the story or the author but an editing issue that takes nothing away from the story or prose.
Not so much a drawback, but perhaps a misrepresentation was that The Devil’s Glove would tell the story of a mother and daughter who are suspected or accused of witchcraft. This is not this book. Although there is deep distrust between the Hammonds and the Puritan townsfolk, there is little in the way of actual accusations until the novel’s end.

The Final Take.

The Devil’s Glove is an exquisitely written novel that was a pleasure to read. It is reminiscent of Outlander with splashings of A Discovery of Witches. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of the sequel, This Work of Darkness. I will be beginning this as soon as this review is posted. After reading the last lines of The Devil’s Glove there is no way I’m wasting a second to find out what comes next.