Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

by, the, mark, west, and, were, they, shut, me, up, tracy, fahey, to, see, too, much, drowned, john, banville, then, there, none, agatha, christie, elemental, forces, edited, morris, death, in, summer, william, trevor, incubations, ramsey, campbell, cracked, mirror, chris, brookmyre, we, seen, among, living, tim, lebbon, favourite, writers, publishers, other, sites, of, interest, follow, blog, via, email,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (293), and (146), that (60), this (48), her (48), with (46), his (41), one (30), novel (29), but (27), from (25), has (25), for (23), reviews (22), are (21), horror (20), posted (20), there (20), story (17), into (17), she (17), which (16), more (16), when (16), they (16), who (16), have (14), out (14), characters (14), been (13), something (13), him (13), press (12), steve (12), mark (12), work (12), about (12), comment (11), crime (11), their (11), book (11), what (11), rating (10), bacon (10), leave (10), yet (10), house (9), west (9), plot (9), much (9), all (9), its (9), them (9), prose (9), life (9), john (8), than (8), not (8), rather (8), some (8), fiction (8), read (8), short (8), 2024 (8), will (8), was (8), stories (8), highly (8), tale (8), death (8), herself (8), annie (8), christie (8), books (7), novels (7), tim (7), another (7), like (7), these (7), would (7), always (7), after (7), years (7), world (7), were (7), you (7), see (7), little (7), first (7), series (7), recommended (7), off (7), email (6), reader (6), lebbon (6), campbell (6), enough (6), had (6), time (6), long (6), published (6), just (6), begins (6), over (6), genre (6), original (6), friend (6), old (6), written (6), strafford (6), quirke (6), other (5), black (5), simon (5), reading (5), body (5), does (5), feel (5), take (5), readers (5), part (5), across (5), dark (5), down (5), suspense (5), makes (5), chapter (5), relationship (5), very (5), say (5), writer (5), should (5), ending (5), quite (5), mystery (5), almost (5), deeply (5), style (5), voice (5), entry (5), incubations (5), character (5), through (5), october (5), several (5), events (5), trevor (5), comes (5), wife (5), help (5), version (5), can (5), banville (5), carrie (5), already (4), blog (4), follow (4), jones (4), tree (4), stephen (4), ramsey (4), morris (4), dean (4), great (4), manner (4), superb (4), such (4), fast (4), thriller (4), although (4), among (4), especially (4), clearly (4), way (4), masterful (4), felt (4), make (4), journey (4), well (4), seen (4), works (4), also (4), career (4), someone (4), found (4), times (4), whose (4), brookmyre (4), before (4), away (4), end (4), only (4), where (4), own (4), since (4), best (4), flame (4), author (4), feels (4), told (4), william (4), thaddeus (4), couple (4), forces (4), visits (4), mysterious (4), disturbing (4), too (4), really (4), then (4), come (4), agatha (4), detective (4), sign (3), now (3), new (3), posts (3), publishing (3), publications (3), british (3), paul (3), royle (3), gary (3), favourite (3), writers (3), older (3), totally (3), near (3), together (3), environmental (3), paced (3), living (3), aspect (3), storytelling (3), things (3), give (3), last (3), few (3), because (3), latest (3), friends (3), bethan (3), caves (3), earth (3), deep (3), seagrave (3), twists (3), writing (3), incredibly (3), kim (3), local (3), soon (3), actually (3), finds (3), murder (3), might (3), cracked (3), mirror (3), chris (3), difficult (3), fact (3), point (3), how (3), word (3), appear (3), lady (3), two (3), miss (3), unsettling (3), back (3), forward (3), edited (3), mother (3), leo (3), frightening (3), becomes (3), sense (3), enjoyable (3), town (3), nightmarish (3), trip (3), home (3), further (3), even (3), upon (3), mrs (3), care (3), head (3), least (3), rural (3), husband (3), request (3), longer (3), anthology (3), under (3), fine (3), ever (3), heart (3), here (3), elemental (3), same (3), sea (3), strange (3), hidden (3), woman (3), abandoned (3), wonderful (3), killer (3), being (3), red (3), worker (3), vanishes (3), whilst (3), none (3), most (3), never (3), final (3), isn (3), drowned (3), social (3), self (3), shut (3), website (2), name (2), required (2), write (2), view (2), report (2), content (2), log (2), subscribed (2), subscribe (2), stephenbacon (2), wordpress (2), com (2), account (2), create (2), address (2), your (2), via (2), marshall (2), llewellyn (2), probert (2), fantasy (2), society (2), publishers (2), kurt (2), shaun (2), gavin (2), ray (2), finch (2), nicholas (2), williams (2), james (2), mcmahon (2), david (2), conrad (2), delivered (2), cast (2), science (2), believable (2), fantastic (2), recommend (2), set (2), future (2), featuring (2), small (2), straightforward (2), contemporary (2), themes (2), climate (2), released (2), wake (2), recent (2), pandemic (2), get (2), pace (2), film (2), fan (2), find (2), writes (2), unique (2), viewpoint (2), offering (2), looking (2), chance (2), glad (2), did (2), meet (2), drawn (2), remote (2), island (2), many (2), learn (2), again (2), thing (2), protagonists (2), darkness (2), our (2), thrills (2), folks (2), psychological (2), turns (2), circumstances (2), characterisation (2), look (2), readable (2), demands (2), english (2), college (2), attends (2), meeting (2), church (2), course (2), discovers (2), could (2), problem (2), saw (2), stay (2), deceit (2), revenge (2), tone (2), satisfy (2), cosy (2), twist (2), imaginative (2), haven (2), anything (2), review (2), any (2), far (2), certain (2), gave (2), allow (2), publisher (2), bit (2), mind (2), headed (2), clever (2), elderly (2), razor (2), sharp (2), village (2), suicide (2), seem (2), unconnected (2), april (2), field (2), evidence (2), losing (2), weird (2), testament (2), parker (2), refreshingly (2), line (2), reality (2), element (2), trademark (2), humour (2), play (2), overriding (2), propels (2), alphafen (2), seems (2), unravel (2), taken (2), second (2), war (2), effort (2), began (2), visit (2), young (2), action (2), elements (2), thrilling (2), subtle (2), quality (2), though (2), setting (2), understand (2), why (2), literary (2), decision (2), past (2), iveson (2), baby (2), suggestion (2), move (2), quincunx (2), role (2), chain (2), deaths (2), summer (2), identity (2), letitia (2), davenant (2), wealthy (2), both (2), live (2), dog (2), superbly (2), day (2), comply (2), evocative (2), beside (2), strength (2), non (2), themed (2), close (2), editor (2), skill (2), every (2), next (2), violent (2), man (2), face (2), engaging (2), fails (2), mary (2), men (2), andy (2), married (2), childhood (2), days (2), round (2), eight (2), didn (2), happens (2), note (2), narrator (2), supernatural (2), melancholy (2), known (2), mister (2), despite (2), musical (2), attempt (2), reaper (2), creepy (2), tells (2), feeling (2), truly (2), offers (2), call (2), following (2), interesting (2), barton (2), worth (2), punch (2), slice (2), holiday (2), entity (2), grows (2), darker (2), school (2), scarecrow (2), festival (2), tensions (2), hugo (2), using (2), wrong (2), modern (2), particular (2), window (2), novelty (2), described (2), storyline (2), criticise (2), plotting (2), guests (2), met (2), realise (2), evening (2), delight (2), real (2), happen (2), historic (2), generally (2), enjoy (2), sometimes (2), ireland (2), complexities (2), 2006 (2), pseudonym (2), police (2), car (2), disappearance (2), recognise (2), completely (2), tracy (2), fahey (2), age (2), message (2), fears (2), becoming (2), 2017 (2), loading, comments, collapse, bar, manage, subscriptions, site, privacy, join, subscribers, free, enter, receive, notifications, undertow, tta, telos, tartarus, tales, abyss, spectral, screaming, dreams, pendragon, nightjar, mortbury, mortal, cinema, hub, magazine, hersham, gray, friar, ginger, nuts, filthy, creations, occidente, crystal, lake, cemetery, dance, messageboard, atomic, fez, ash, sites, interest, tony, richards, thomas, ligotti, thana, niveau, terry, grimwood, stuart, hughes, vernon, jensen, volk, strantzas, unsworth, clark, bestwick, jeffrey, hamilton, ross, warren, robert, mammone, rio, youers, rick, hautala, richard, russell, cluley, peter, tennant, norman, prentiss, nina, allan, neil, michael, smith, matthew, fryer, martin, roberts, samuels, mclaughlin, harrison, lawrence, dagstine, laird, barron, kealan, patrick, burke, joe, mynhardt, cooper, graham, joyce, fry, braunbeck, frank, duffy, ellen, datlow, winters, riley, lewis, wiliams, claire, massey, christopher, fowler, cate, gardner, benedict, barbara, roden, anthony, watson, allyson, bird, alison, littlewood, adam, nevill, hit, wonderfully, prescient, involving, sound, cannot, memorable, fairly, unfolds, draws, concerns, activism, parts, reminded, slightly, southern, reach, trilogy, jeff, vandermeer, lazy, comparison, riff, virus, strikes, strong, chord, global, endured, researched, behind, blistering, reaches, climax, fate, meaningful, hell, alternative, constantly, unexpected, unknown, reason, missed, think, larger, seized, boy, estranged, five, apart, network, arctic, activists, determined, protect, land, group, exploitation, rare, minerals, unleashes, horrific, contagion, rested, frozen, undisturbed, millennia, fleeing, terrors, emerging, rival, teams, undertake, perilous, foot, unpredictable, volatile, landscape, must, survive, importantly, stop, spreading, wider, december, 2023, spend, good, warmth, root, midst, lurks, around, particularly, touches, societal, prejudices, gender, politics, toying, expectations, relating, issues, mechanism, solely, provoke, chills, page, turning, shocks, excels, sixth, others, filled, commanding, ability, pitch, extraordinary, assured, those, craft, effortless, know, hard, power, morgan, lecturer, councillor, protest, hall, proposed, construction, golf, area, fight, breaks, rescued, handsome, freddy, medwin, whom, enjoys, romantic, dalliance, student, anyone, disaster, took, photos, fights, step, ahead, blackmailer, spiral, maelstrom, twisted, march, fun, probably, neither, lovers, advocates, american, disappointed, curate, egg, bad, greatest, trick, spoiled, dramatic, marketing, hesitant, fear, spoilers, suffice, blurbs, prospective, tries, avoid, quotes, guess, big, shouts, splicing, huge, disservice, established, trusted, mouth, succeed, large, amount, fleetingly, bearing, main, lags, telltale, signs, descriptions, suggest, direction, wasn, however, try, applauded, unusual, scottish, penelope, coyne, penchant, solving, crimes, sleepy, glen, cluthar, corpse, confessional, booth, strangled, meanwhile, california, johnny, hawke, weary, lapd, cop, investigating, possible, hollywood, screenwriter, blend, marple, harry, bosch, slowly, paths, converge, embark, case, aren, impossible, overstate, impact, influence, scene, won, awards, terrific, dazzlingly, early, displayed, obvious, influences, lovecraft, arthur, machen, carefully, honed, distinct, created, mythos, allowing, heard, came, teenager, looked, annual, quick, scan, bibliography, titles, classics, top, game, shows, touch, annals, doll, ate, britain, finest, exponents, fitting, central, parents, driving, instructor, company, between, nightmare, blurred, laced, albeit, due, linguistic, confusion, impending, threat, enlightening, leaves, experience, airport, disconcerting, troublesome, family, meal, grotesquely, council, images, grip, awakened, ancient, alpine, legend, slumber, returned, england, memories, promote, unity, forgiveness, settlesham, twinned, germany, schoolboy, pen, pal, correspondence, hanna, weber, decades, continued, distance, adult, decides, hannah, hometown, nannies, interviewed, subsequently, rejected, pettie, damaged, waif, children, updates, simple, minded, albert, happened, promise, better, foolish, insight, clarifying, opposing, perspectives, spoil, tragic, unhurried, each, savoured, stunning, possessing, fashioned, dreamlike, vividly, economy, words, regarded, circles, yearning, celebrated, sudden, reconsiders, takes, himself, contact, formidable, ferry, meantime, law, suggests, employ, nanny, reluctantly, agrees, sets, eventually, results, third, occurring, inevitable, promises, three, essex, georgina, rosie, keeping, maidment, zenobia, crafted, opening, quarrelled, extremely, trivial, letter, received, luck, fully, intendeds, ignore, benevolent, nature, urges, picked, accident, attracted, cover, monochrome, picture, upturned, grass, empty, deckchair, familiar, excellent, collections, impulse, tried, length, abcs, going, stewardship, suggesting, market, vibrant, willingness, bring, public, breadth, highlights, diversity, destroying, notion, tired, offer, gore, violence, aimed, narrow, demographic, matter, sub, prefer, surely, year, maclean, gangster, fortune, teller, warned, murdered, verity, holloway, reminds, king, mean, compliment, mancino, steals, box, priest, urged, throw, regret, newton, full, portents, visions, alice, struggles, deal, idea, davidson, sweet, apocalyptic, reflects, brought, loved, brevity, count, sarah, langan, journeys, nice, woe, daughters, canaan, tower, plethora, doppelganger, ballet, jim, horlock, enjoyably, delightful, piece, tremblay, telling, disappears, pinned, door, neighbours, hauntingly, beautiful, support, restless, spirit, dead, mutually, beneficial, reveals, whereabouts, graves, moving, schow, details, search, gruesome, serial, tweezers, unmistakable, flair, originators, splatterpunk, verrone, satire, theatre, shot, slime, tutorial, meat, flag, unmarked, eat, rest, knox, heartbreaking, humorous, stephanie, midnight, shopping, mall, failed, greeted, grim, interests, laurel, hightower, mel, stack, government, nuclear, facility, shift, fellow, favourites, touching, lovecraftian, ease, thalassophobia, luigi, musolino, tullio, wakes, morning, coming, dreadful, illness, generation, recently, experienced, covid, reliable, blending, startlingly, intense, gang, thugs, merseyside, highlight, gwendolyn, kiste, catherine, girlfriend, veronica, supermarket, progress, caught, guard, passages, knew, jack, lent, plague, brief, introduction, poppy, brite, kicks, shady, place, docks, undergoing, operation, pay, medical, treatment, ordinary, procedure, lose, understands, visceral, gut, commence, proceedings, uncanny, asked, ruth, university, pet, sit, france, depart, tell, follows, suspenseful, deceptively, layered, christina, henry, involves, goings, food, restaurant, progresses, major, folk, order, attend, high, spoken, incident, aaron, dries, son, finn, viewpoints, scarred, physically, mentally, guy, nobody, wants, anymore, peeler, fifth, abc, containing, practitioners, sixteen, commissioned, four, selected, open, submission, remarkable, cinematic, television, adaptations, utilise, rewritten, 1943, changed, bleak, palatable, stage, audiences, rene, clair, 1945, unfamiliar, surprise, claustrophobic, futility, inevitability, possibly, effect, during, spectre, thrill, ultimate, edition, sealed, document, inside, printed, once, solve, made, adds, charm, accentuates, clumsiness, fought, against, tacked, awkward, similar, exposition, dump, psycho, famous, pretty, become, touchstone, western, pop, culture, given, various, disguising, wrongfooting, solution, shock, poor, unfortunate, victims, accused, padding, unnecessary, detail, churlish, nearly, fifty, accomplished, 1939, widely, acknowledged, bestselling, easy, seemingly, travel, coast, devon, lies, solitary, employed, housekeepers, host, owen, nowhere, quests, quicky, dies, suddenly, plunging, remaining, executed, tune, nursery, rhyme, adorns, walls, room, absolute, satisfying, precise, unpretentious, curious, masterpiece, unsympathetic, eyes, white, shades, daughter, phoebe, evolves, uncomfortable, territory, progression, admire, curmudgeonly, uneasy, adore, fans, historical, glacial, pacing, chalk, studies, unsatisfied, flawed, 1950s, political, religious, backdrop, snippets, bygone, examinations, human, secondary, compelling, certainly, drives, benjamin, six, followed, dropped, featured, alongside, younger, fourth, snow, lock, spain, christine, falls, loner, encounters, englishman, claims, fled, thrown, called, inspector, dispatched, dublin, investigate, amiss, hiding, ally, pathologist, tight, knot, buried, resentments, seventh, stand, alone, share, qualities, likeable, immensely, gobble, plots, dizzy, rattlesnake, location, places, hitchcock, rear, coupled, vulnerable, teen, flo, liked, background, realistic, plausible, love, mixed, dangerous, adventure, plenty, herrings, subplots, keep, fizzing, along, denouement, footed, reads, lot, claim, often, perfect, beach, sink, teeth, christmas, break, appeal, whodunit, recuperating, attack, riccioni, moves, norfolk, coastal, weeks, hoping, sun, air, aid, recovery, daily, gentle, exercise, attention, turn, towards, community, miller, quickly, notices, suppressed, emotions, people, girl, goes, missing, curiosity, residents, secrets, revealed, triggering, reaction, leads, madness, november, absinthe, imprint, award, winning, irish, less, captivating, novella, packs, 107, pages, different, levels, commentary, middle, masterfully, triumphant, feminist, battle, cry, within, framework, narrative, humility, deprecating, disappointment, mundane, embarks, empowerment, right, cheering, efforts, reverse, standing, effects, inequality, relevant, sanity, vomits, crow, growing, stature, concentrate, research, captivated, marie, rua, neill, otherwise, lemanagh, husbands, defied, patriarchy, 17th, century, inner, volume, liberated, forced, sideways, researching, lives, women, escape, toxic, office, welcome, respite, physical, woes, lack, everything, started, having, intrusive, thoughts, authoritative, defiant, doctor, dismisses, merely, symptoms, menopause, ushering, pamphlets, hrt, occasion, 50th, birthday, single, put, lumps, hollow, throat, battered, feelings, increasing, insignificance, cancer, frustration, amplified, twin, sister, julia, newly, promoted, gifted, child, january, 2025, bio, onwards, skip,

Text of the page (random words):
p a black crow the voice in her head is growing in stature her body feeling like it is no longer her own she forces herself to concentrate on her research becoming captivated by marie rua o neill otherwise known as red mary of lemanagh who saw off 25 husbands and defied the patriarchy of the 17th century as annie s inner voice grows in volume she finds herself becoming liberated by its message the superb they shut me up is published by ps publishing under their absinthe books imprint tracy fahey is an award winning irish writer whose work is never less than captivating and this novella packs a real punch into its 107 pages the story works on several different levels part body horror part psychological fantasy part social commentary on middle age and they shut me up masterfully offers up a triumphant feminist battle cry within the framework of its supernatural narrative annie is an engaging character her humility and self deprecating humour is a delight and we recognise her disappointment at life s mundane journey especially us of a certain age but as she embarks on her journey of self empowerment we are right beside her cheering her on in a world where despite efforts to reverse the long standing effects of inequality this is a message that s as relevant now as it s ever been highly recommended rating 5 out of 5 posted in reviews reviews leave a comment to see too much by mark west posted on november 22 2024 by steve bacon whilst recuperating from a recent heart attack social worker carrie riccioni moves to her friend s holiday home in norfolk coastal town seagrave for a few weeks hoping the sun and sea air will aid her recovery with little to do other than daily gentle exercise carrie s attention begins to turn towards the small community of miller s point where she quickly notices the tensions and suppressed emotions of the people who live there when a young girl goes missing carrie s curiosity becomes a problem to one of the residents and hidden secrets are revealed triggering a chain reaction of events that leads to death and madness this is the seventh suspense novel by mark west and published by the book folks all of the novels are stand alone stories and yet they all share the same qualities likeable protagonists immensely readable prose that you just can t help but gobble up just one more chapter thrilling suspense plots with more twists and turns than a dizzy rattlesnake and a great sense of location you really do feel like you recognise the places described this one had elements of hitchcock s rear window coupled with the lady vanishes as carrie can t help but look into the disappearance of vulnerable teen flo there was something about carrie that i really liked and her background as a social worker felt realistic and plausible i d love to see her mixed up in another dangerous adventure again in the future there are plenty of red herrings and subplots to keep the pace fizzing along and the denouement completely wrong footed me as someone who reads a lot of crime thriller this is something that i can t claim happens that often to see too much is a wonderful read and i had a great time with it i d say it s the perfect beach novel or something to sink your teeth into over a christmas break and it will appeal to readers who enjoy thrills suspense and a modern take on the whodunit genre highly recommended rating 5 out of 5 posted in reviews reviews leave a comment the drowned by john banville posted on october 28 2024 by steve bacon one evening in rural ireland a loner comes across an abandoned car in a field there he encounters an englishman who claims his wife has fled the car and thrown herself into the sea the police are called and detective inspector strafford is dispatched from dublin to investigate the woman s disappearance but there is something clearly amiss several of the characters appear to be hiding something and strafford has to call on his old ally pathologist quirke to help unravel the tight knot of complexities and buried resentments the quirke series of crime novels first began in 2006 with christine falls published under the pseudonym benjamin black six further books followed after which banville dropped the pseudonym and published april in spain using the name john banville which also featured alongside quirke the younger police detective st john strafford since then there has been the lock up and snow the drowned is the fourth entry in the quirke strafford series i adore these books sometimes i come across reviews of them clearly written by fans of historical detective fiction and they generally criticise the melancholy tone and the glacial pacing of the plot which is to miss the point by a long chalk these novels are literary character studies featuring unsatisfied and deeply flawed men with 1950s ireland and all the political and religious complexities that come with that as its backdrop they are snippets of life from a bygone time they re superbly written character examinations of what makes us human the detective aspect is almost always secondary sometimes the mystery isn t at all that compelling it s certainly not the thing that drives the storyline in this particular novel there s a character whose past would generally make him deeply unsympathetic and yet banville s skill as a writer allow us to feel for him to see the world through his eyes and to realise that things are not just black and white there are shades of darkness in all of us strafford s relationship to quirke s daughter phoebe evolves and we are taken into uncomfortable territory with the novel s progression i admire quirke even if i find him a little too curmudgeonly and yet i really like st john strafford and enjoy their uneasy relationship john banville s prose is an absolute delight he writes with a deeply satisfying style precise and yet unpretentious this is what real storytelling is when the author demands we follow him on the journey not because we re curious about what might happen in the story but by the fact that we care about what will happen to his characters the drowned is yet another masterpiece of historic fiction and comes highly recommended rating 5 out of 5 posted in reviews reviews leave a comment and then there were none by agatha christie posted on october 28 2024 by steve bacon agatha christie s 1939 novel and then there were none is widely acknowledged to be the bestselling crime novel of all time and it s easy to understand why eight seemingly unconnected guests travel to a remote island off the coast of devon upon which lies a solitary house where they are met by a couple who have been employed as housekeepers their mysterious host u n owen is nowhere to be seen and the quests quicky realise that not one of them has actually met him or here on the first evening one of the guests dies quite suddenly plunging the remaining characters into a nightmarish plot of murder and deceit they are being executed one by one in a manner in tune with the childhood nursery rhyme that adorns the walls of their room this novel is so famous it has pretty much become a touchstone of western pop culture at least in the crime genre agatha christie herself described the novel as one of the most difficult to write given that she had to account for all of the various twists in the storyline whilst at the same time not just disguising the identity of the killer from the reader but also by totally wrongfooting the reader so that the final solution comes as much a shock as it would have to the poor unfortunate victims of the killer like most of christie s work there is little in the way of characterisation she could never be accused of padding out her novels with unnecessary detail but it seems churlish to criticise when what makes christie s stories work so well is her masterful plotting in fact nearly fifty years since her death i have yet to read a mystery writer more accomplished in their plotting than agatha christie this version of the novel the ultimate mystery edition has the novelty of that its final chapter is delivered in a rather interesting manner via a sealed document inside the printed book and by email once an attempt to solve the crime has been made in the e version this novelty adds little to the book s charm if anything its final chapter accentuates the very clumsiness that christie herself fought against it feels almost tacked on even though it quite clearly isn t although it does come across as a bit awkward similar to the exposition dump at the ending of psycho and then there were none is a truly remarkable novel and there have been many cinematic and television adaptations over the years but most of these utilise christie s rewritten 1943 version which changed the rather bleak original ending into something more palatable for stage audiences and the superb rene clair film from 1945 so to readers unfamiliar with the original story the novel might come as something of a surprise and it s a very claustrophobic book with an overriding sense of futility and the inevitability of death possibly the effect of it being written during the second world war the spectre of death feels very close i ve read this several times over the years and it s a novel that never fails to thrill highly recommended rating 5 out of 5 posted in reviews reviews leave a comment elemental forces edited by mark morris posted on october 23 2024 by steve bacon elemental forces is the fifth entry in flame tree press s abc of horror series edited by mark morris containing original non themed horror stories from some of the best practitioners of modern dark fiction this particular book has sixteen commissioned stories and four of the best that were selected from an open submission window following a brief but interesting introduction by the editor poppy z brite kicks us off with the peeler in which barton visits a shady place down near the docks undergoing an operation which will help him pay for an old friend s medical treatment but this is no ordinary procedure and what barton is set is lose is worth far more than he really understands this is a visceral gut punch of a story and a fine way to commence proceedings the entity by nicholas royle is a subtle slice of the uncanny in which the narrator tim is asked by ruth an old friend from university to pet sit for her and her husband whilst they take a short holiday the house is in rural france and before the couple depart they tell tim that the house has an entity what follows next is unsettling and suspenseful told with royle s trademark prose deceptively straightforward and yet layered with disturbing suggestion with such a wonderful ending christina henry s nobody wants to work here anymore involves strange goings on at a fast food restaurant the setting feels refreshingly original and the story grows darker and darker as the story progresses the scarecrow festival by tim major is an enjoyable slice of british folk horror in which andy visits his old school friend gavin in order to attend the village s scarecrow festival but tensions are high because they haven t spoken for 27 years following a disturbing incident at school the wrong element by aaron dries tells the story of hugo and his son finn using both characters viewpoints who are scarred physically and mentally by hugo s ex guy dark and disturbing mister reaper by annie knox is at times heartbreaking frightening and humorous when stephanie comes round near midnight in a shopping mall after a failed suicide attempt she is greeted by her version of the grim reaper only this one has her best interests at heart i found laurel hightower s the call of the deep to be incredibly creepy mel works at the stack a government nuclear facility and her shift begins as a fellow co worker vanishes in mysterious circumstances this story was one of my favourites touching on lovecraftian themes and it did little to ease my thalassophobia luigi musolino s the plague tells the story of tullio who wakes one morning feeling like he is coming down with some dreadful illness to a generation of readers who have recently experienced the covid pandemic this one is truly frightening the always reliable paul finch offers jack a lent blending crime and horror into a startlingly intense tale about a gang of violent thugs from merseyside another highlight is gwendolyn kiste s the only face you ever knew in which catherine s girlfriend veronica vanishes one day in a supermarket the progress of this tale caught me off guard with some incredibly creepy passages of prose they eat the rest by jim horlock is one that didn t quite work for me although it s an enjoyably delightful piece of body horror paul tremblay s the note is mysterious and evocative telling the story of what happens to a couple when the wife disappears after reading a note pinned to the door of a neighbours abandoned house unmarked by tim lebbon is hauntingly beautiful with enough about the story to support a much longer work in which the restless spirit of our long dead narrator visits an elderly man whose mutually beneficial relationship reveals the whereabouts of hidden graves this supernatural tale is wonderful melancholy and deeply moving red meat flag by david j schow details the search for a gruesome serial killer known as mister tweezers told with unmistakable flair by one of the originators of splatterpunk pc verrone s a review of slime tutorial the musical was another that didn t quite do it for me despite it being a well written satire on musical theatre shot through with some razor sharp prose in will maclean s the doppelganger ballet a violent gangster visits a fortune teller only to be warned that he will soon be murdered by a man with the same face as him an enjoyable revenge thriller written in an engaging style when i say that eight days west of plethora by verity holloway reminds me of stephen king s the dark tower i mean it as a compliment mancino steals a mysterious box from a priest and is urged to throw it into the sea when he fails to comply a series of strange events make him regret his decision kurt newton s the daughters of canaan is full of portents and nightmarish visions as mary alice struggles to deal with the idea that she can see dog headed men hidden among society does she have a role herself to play in this a house of woe and mystery by andy davidson is short and sweet an apocalyptic tale in which a woman reflects on her life and the events that brought about the end of the world i loved the brevity of this one which makes every word count sarah langan s i miss you too much is a disturbing story about a married woman who journeys back to her childhood home to care for her mother in the last few days of her life this is a well written tale unsettling and with a nice ending and is a fine way to round off the anthology this anthology is further evidence that flame tree press s abcs of horror is a series that is going from strength to strength under the stewardship o...