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vondav's review
5.0
As the nights are drawing in, there is nothing better than curling up with a good book. Dark Satanic Mills is one such book. We have all grown up with stories about monsters and urban legends, stories that have you looking over your shoulder, long after you have finished reading it. So, find a comfy chair, dim the lights and get ready to read 11 short stories that tick all the boxes.
Here are a few of my favourites:
Tools of the Trade by Paul Finch: Adam an investigative journalist has a meeting that if the information got out, will put a lot of people in a state of frenzy and will net him millions. Dick, a lowly council worker has a passion, he loved the paranormal. Whilst doing a séance in an unused hotel, he comes across an item that could solve one of the oldest cold cases ever. The story picked up intensity the moment they went into the hotel, being an abandoned building, you get the unexplained noises and the shadows that grow without light source. From the start all they had in mind was the amount of money they would make, at the end they had other plans with the items.
The Lies We Tell by Charlotte Bond: Cathy had a regular family, 2 children and a hardworking husband. The one golden rule in their house was no lies. In control of her life, she got what she wanted, but a constant clicking noise was threatening to ruin her life. Cathy was an ambitious working mom, although quite selfish. The persistent clicking noise was constant throughout the story and played with your imagination. One thing that gets you thinking is how many little white lies are told in a 24hrs.
Sleeping Black by Marie O’Regan: When Seth inherited a large Victorian house from his grandfather, a chimney sweep by trade, but as this is the 20th century the chimneys are cleaned by machinery. Whilst this is a ghost story, it explains the horrendous conditions that young boys went through cleaning the chimneys in Victorian times.
/d’ʒʌst/ by Carole Johnstone: When pairs of hands are left with notes written using the International Phonetic Alphabet, DCI Rafiq is at a loss. She has no idea who the victims are and had not a clue what the notes mean. Calling on the help of James Gavin and expert in IPA, she is involved in a cat and mouse situation. Not only had she a serial killer to catch, she was also trying to sort out her personal life. Before I read this story, I had never heard of IPA and I had to google all about it. Whilst the murders played a part in the story, the notes and DCI Logan’s life where the reason behind the story. The way the notes were explained added to the story, but for me I loved the twist at the end, where the killer was revealed and their reasonings behind the murders.
Great British Horror #1 was such a good read, I did wonder how it could be topped. But Steve Shaw has surpassed himself. A good choice of authors with a variety of stories. A must read for horror lovers. I for one hope there will be a Great British Horror #3
Here are a few of my favourites:
Tools of the Trade by Paul Finch: Adam an investigative journalist has a meeting that if the information got out, will put a lot of people in a state of frenzy and will net him millions. Dick, a lowly council worker has a passion, he loved the paranormal. Whilst doing a séance in an unused hotel, he comes across an item that could solve one of the oldest cold cases ever. The story picked up intensity the moment they went into the hotel, being an abandoned building, you get the unexplained noises and the shadows that grow without light source. From the start all they had in mind was the amount of money they would make, at the end they had other plans with the items.
The Lies We Tell by Charlotte Bond: Cathy had a regular family, 2 children and a hardworking husband. The one golden rule in their house was no lies. In control of her life, she got what she wanted, but a constant clicking noise was threatening to ruin her life. Cathy was an ambitious working mom, although quite selfish. The persistent clicking noise was constant throughout the story and played with your imagination. One thing that gets you thinking is how many little white lies are told in a 24hrs.
Sleeping Black by Marie O’Regan: When Seth inherited a large Victorian house from his grandfather, a chimney sweep by trade, but as this is the 20th century the chimneys are cleaned by machinery. Whilst this is a ghost story, it explains the horrendous conditions that young boys went through cleaning the chimneys in Victorian times.
/d’ʒʌst/ by Carole Johnstone: When pairs of hands are left with notes written using the International Phonetic Alphabet, DCI Rafiq is at a loss. She has no idea who the victims are and had not a clue what the notes mean. Calling on the help of James Gavin and expert in IPA, she is involved in a cat and mouse situation. Not only had she a serial killer to catch, she was also trying to sort out her personal life. Before I read this story, I had never heard of IPA and I had to google all about it. Whilst the murders played a part in the story, the notes and DCI Logan’s life where the reason behind the story. The way the notes were explained added to the story, but for me I loved the twist at the end, where the killer was revealed and their reasonings behind the murders.
Great British Horror #1 was such a good read, I did wonder how it could be topped. But Steve Shaw has surpassed himself. A good choice of authors with a variety of stories. A must read for horror lovers. I for one hope there will be a Great British Horror #3
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