Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Some stories were great, some were just okay. All of them are dark. It was a super fast read, and I found some new authors to check out!
All of my reviews can be found at https://damppebbles.com/
his is a gripping collection of shorts from some of the best writers out there and I couldn’t put it down. I received a free eARC of Afraid Of The Light but that has in no way influenced my review. (But I’ve since purchased a copy because it’s only 99p at the moment and all proceeds go to the Samaritans.)
I do enjoy a short story collection. They’re easy to read alongside a full length novel, and rarely do I finish one in one sitting. That was my plan when reading Afraid Of The Light. To dip in and out of the book over the course of a week or so. That was the plan. The plan was deeply flawed. Little did I know, when I picked this book up on a lazy Saturday afternoon during lockdown, that it was absolutely impossible to put down and I’d have it read in a few hours. This is an absolutely brilliant and engaging collection of devilish stories from some of the best crime writers out there. Some I’ve read before, some whose books are on my TBR and some I’ve wanted to read for a while.
I won’t pick a favourite as that’s actually really hard to do (because they’re all excellent) but standout reads for me were Adam Southward’s ARE YOU LISTENING?, which is the first story in the book and sets a high benchmark along with the tone for the rest of the collection. Dominic Nolan’s DADDY DEAREST, which had me wondering where the story was going only to drop a pretty hefty bombshell. And Heather Critchlow’s DROWNING IN DEBT, which has the most wonderfully satisfying ending. Other firm favourites include; SHEEP’S CLOTHING by Robert Scragg, which leads the reader down one path only to provide the most beautiful and well written twist. This one left me reeling a little! Jo Furniss’s TO EVIL OR NOT TO EVIL shows us a futuristic world where your thoughts and feelings are on display to all and it’s not only the people in your life you need to watch.
Would I recommend this book? Most definitely. I thoroughly enjoyed Afraid Of The Light and will be recommending it to everyone. There’s not a single dud in the collection and I couldn’t help but lose myself in this wonderful book. All of the stories offer something new and if you haven’t read any of the contributing authors work before, then here’s a perfect opportunity to get a sampler AND make a small donation to a wonderful charity which does so much for so many. Highly recommended.
I chose to read and review an eARC of Afraid Of The Light. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
his is a gripping collection of shorts from some of the best writers out there and I couldn’t put it down. I received a free eARC of Afraid Of The Light but that has in no way influenced my review. (But I’ve since purchased a copy because it’s only 99p at the moment and all proceeds go to the Samaritans.)
I do enjoy a short story collection. They’re easy to read alongside a full length novel, and rarely do I finish one in one sitting. That was my plan when reading Afraid Of The Light. To dip in and out of the book over the course of a week or so. That was the plan. The plan was deeply flawed. Little did I know, when I picked this book up on a lazy Saturday afternoon during lockdown, that it was absolutely impossible to put down and I’d have it read in a few hours. This is an absolutely brilliant and engaging collection of devilish stories from some of the best crime writers out there. Some I’ve read before, some whose books are on my TBR and some I’ve wanted to read for a while.
I won’t pick a favourite as that’s actually really hard to do (because they’re all excellent) but standout reads for me were Adam Southward’s ARE YOU LISTENING?, which is the first story in the book and sets a high benchmark along with the tone for the rest of the collection. Dominic Nolan’s DADDY DEAREST, which had me wondering where the story was going only to drop a pretty hefty bombshell. And Heather Critchlow’s DROWNING IN DEBT, which has the most wonderfully satisfying ending. Other firm favourites include; SHEEP’S CLOTHING by Robert Scragg, which leads the reader down one path only to provide the most beautiful and well written twist. This one left me reeling a little! Jo Furniss’s TO EVIL OR NOT TO EVIL shows us a futuristic world where your thoughts and feelings are on display to all and it’s not only the people in your life you need to watch.
Would I recommend this book? Most definitely. I thoroughly enjoyed Afraid Of The Light and will be recommending it to everyone. There’s not a single dud in the collection and I couldn’t help but lose myself in this wonderful book. All of the stories offer something new and if you haven’t read any of the contributing authors work before, then here’s a perfect opportunity to get a sampler AND make a small donation to a wonderful charity which does so much for so many. Highly recommended.
I chose to read and review an eARC of Afraid Of The Light. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
This is an anthology of crime fiction and most importantly: it is a collection of short stories done right! Each story is a mini novel, a full-blown, fleshed-out yet succinct tale and each one hit that sweet spot. I chose this anthology because it has a mix of authors whose work I’ve enjoyed and new to me authors, AND the proceeds go the Samaritans, so you can enjoy yourself and help others, bloody fantastic! I discovered it on Twitter when Meggy was promoting it and she later reviewed it, do check that out here. It’s hard to pick a favourite, they’re all really good, but one that stuck with me is Sausage Fingers by Victoria Selman. Other contributors are Dominic Nolan, James Delargy, Claire Empton, Phoebe Morgan and Niki Mackay. I would definitely recommend this one to crime anthology lovers!
I totally LOVED this book - great bite-sized stories and lots of new authors I will definitely be looking up very soon. A fabulous read.
This collection preceded the volume of Christmas stories I recently read. And it was much better. A variety of plots, and not all murders. Each of these short stories was a winner, and I am likely to investigate longer works by many of these authors.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
“Afraid of the Light” is a collection of 14 short stories from leading crime fiction authors with all profits being donated to charity.
I find short stories a bit hit and miss usually if I’m honest. I don’t mind novellas so much as there is more time to get engrossed but sometimes short stories just feel too short and I don’t care enough about the characters. “Afraid of the Light”, however, is a very good collection and makes the most of the short story format.
It is a slightly odd collection as I felt like the first couple of stories were more supernatural type stories than they were crime fiction but they still worked as short stories and the rest of the collection was more traditional crime fiction.
Even in a short story format I’m drawn to a twist so one of my particular favourites was “Sheep’s Clothing”. I absolutely loved that one. I was also quite fond of “Sausage Fingers” and “Planting Nan”. There’s some great little characters that have been created for these stories and I’d love to see some of the ideas fleshed out into a longer format but some of them, “Sheep’s Clothing” included, definitely work best in the short story format.
I’m so glad my friend recommended this collection to me as it has been perfect for me right now. I’ve had a cold and also been doing some revision during my lunch hour at work and by the end of the day my brain power and capacity have definitely reduced and it’s been so nice to not have to focus on lots of details or remember character interactions from one day to the next.
Every story was well written. I’ve mentioned there were some I preferred to others but that’s more to do with the plot of those stories rather than anything wrong with the writing on any of the others. Reading this collection has also made me want to find out more about some of these authors and look into reading some of their other work because if they can achieve work like this within limited page numbers I’m excited to see what they can do with a full length book.
Read via Pigeonhole.
Amazing collection of short Psychology/dark thrillers. Each one was well written, made you think afterwards. Some were gross, some dark humoured, some creepy. Really enjoyable read, will be keeping eye out for these authors in future.
Amazing collection of short Psychology/dark thrillers. Each one was well written, made you think afterwards. Some were gross, some dark humoured, some creepy. Really enjoyable read, will be keeping eye out for these authors in future.
3.5 rounded up.
I'm not a massive fan of short stories, but this small collection was fun. Loads of good ideas, some very creepy one without being gory.
I hated one of the stories though, set in prison with a gay relationship - I wished people would stop stereotyping things they most likely don't know anything about.
I'm not a massive fan of short stories, but this small collection was fun. Loads of good ideas, some very creepy one without being gory.
I hated one of the stories though, set in prison with a gay relationship - I wished people would stop stereotyping things they most likely don't know anything about.
This is a fantastic collection of short stories. One of the best I have read in a long time.
Short stories are difficult collections to review as you can have some truly brilliant and some truly awful. Thankfully, this anthology is all great.
I particularly loved the penultimate story by James Delargy as it was dark and twisty, like the others, but oh so funny too! Dark dark humour, which I love.
Also of note are the stories by Phoebe Morgan, about a son suffering night terrors; NJ Mackay, about a bereaved brother; Victoria Selman, about a strange series of murders; Dominic Nolan, about a lifelong criminal (Dominic also wins the award for best twist!); and Robert Scragg, which essentially looks at cat-fishing (and comes a close second with best twist).
The length of the stories is perfect too - I often find short stories can be too long but these are generally bite sized and super tasty.
What is even better about this is that royalties from this anthology go to the Samaritans. A worthy cause and great reading material so there's nothing to lose!
Thanks so much to The Pigeonhole for bringing this great anthology to my attention and letting me read along with a fabulous community of readers.
Short stories are difficult collections to review as you can have some truly brilliant and some truly awful. Thankfully, this anthology is all great.
I particularly loved the penultimate story by James Delargy as it was dark and twisty, like the others, but oh so funny too! Dark dark humour, which I love.
Also of note are the stories by Phoebe Morgan, about a son suffering night terrors; NJ Mackay, about a bereaved brother; Victoria Selman, about a strange series of murders; Dominic Nolan, about a lifelong criminal (Dominic also wins the award for best twist!); and Robert Scragg, which essentially looks at cat-fishing (and comes a close second with best twist).
The length of the stories is perfect too - I often find short stories can be too long but these are generally bite sized and super tasty.
What is even better about this is that royalties from this anthology go to the Samaritans. A worthy cause and great reading material so there's nothing to lose!
Thanks so much to The Pigeonhole for bringing this great anthology to my attention and letting me read along with a fabulous community of readers.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated