I don't know exactly who the target audience for Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix is, but I'm definitely part of it. When I was a teenager I worked part time at a used bookstore and wound up meeting my husband there. I also read a lot of horror novels.
The books that Paperbacks from Hell talks about are the same books I was shelving and reading back then. I think I probably owned about half of the books mentioned and read quite a few of them. This book brought back all sorts of memories of the books I enjoyed and couple that scarred me for life.
I can tell you exactly where I bought Death Tour, in a little used book shop next to a consignment store that my mom was taking clothes to. I spent that night at Grandma's house, terrified by what I'd just read. I found the book again years later and reread it. As an adult, it wasn't nearly as scary as I remembered and I think that's what finally got it out of my head.
I can also tell you exactly where I saw a copy of The Mall, at a different used bookstore in town. I don't know if I bought it, or if I ever actually read it, but that cover haunted me like you wouldn't believe. (Especially looking at it now, since it's not scary.)
Paperbacks from Hell was a fun walk down memory lane and I wound up calling my mother more than once to see if she still happened to have a specific title. I also wound up bringing home a huge stack of cheap books from the humane society's thrift shop. Paperbacks were three for a dollar and I grabbed up everything I could remember seeing mentioned. Sadly, there weren't any of those great Zebra covers with the skeletons.
Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with a review copy. All opinions are my own.
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