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A review by raechel
The One That Got Away: Women of Horror, Volume 3 by Jill Girardi
4.0
Disclaimer: I won an ebook copy through a contest online.
This is a great mix of horror stories! There's a real gamut of variety in horror, including some sci-fi horror, erotic horror, Lovecraftian-themed, haunted house, psychological, and more! My biggest criticism is that 30 stories is a lot for an anthology, I think it could have been trimmed down a bit. I don't read a lot of anthologies because I typically want more out of them. But this was still a great anthology featuring a ton of awesome authors!
Heavy Metal Coffin - a very cool look at relationships, obsession, and passions.
Bodiless - this reminded me a bit of a Shirley Jackson story, I really liked it.
Minor Malfunction - a cool slightly sci-fi transhuman story.
The Incident on Asteroid 4 Pandora - this felt a little heavy-handed in the beginning, but what an ending! I don't read enough sci-fi horror.
The Lady Crow - gave me Tim Burton vibes.
The Recliner - a surprisingly spooky story about an evil chair and a boy trying to save his mom.
Call of the Tide - some Lovecraftian vibes here and a lot of unspoken tension between husband and wife.
Date Night Ablaze - this one was pretty cool, the lead woman is someone I would not want to mess with.
Shell - another Shirley Jackson-esque story, so good!!
From Scratch - not for the squeamish.
Invasive Species - this one reminded me of a B-movie horror film from the 80s in a good way.
Josephine - the erotic horror story of this collection, which surprised me, but I really understood what the author was going for & got serious chills.
Lure - such a fantastic, layered story.
The Thrill of the Hunt - creepy narrator and revenge.
Simba of the Suburbs - kids are just creepy.
Rippers - this one was a little too frantic for my liking, but I liked the story the author was telling.
Liked - honestly one of my personal fears and the author did a great job exploring it.
The Lady of the House - another story that had Burton vibes, I liked the history playing out.
Should Have Gone to Vegas - bizarre but I loved being surprised and horrified.
Atla's Journey - I think the structure of this story could benefit from some work, but witch stories are always interesting!
Nightcrawler - absolutely creeped me out, great pacing!
Little Sally Ann - haunted house AND a creepy kid!
Bramblewood - one of the creepiest stories in this collection!
Cold Comfort - I didn't quite get this one but still an interesting read.
Kiss - So creepy! Reminded me of an old Poe story.
The Last Thread - another sci-fi/horror with a surprising ending!
Piano Keys and Sugar - like a paranormal Hansel and Gretel retelling.
The Letter - Unexpected and left me wanting more!
Dear Meat - ughhhh gross and creepy!
The One That Got Away - one of the two second-person narrations, cool and creepy and low-key threatening.
This is a great mix of horror stories! There's a real gamut of variety in horror, including some sci-fi horror, erotic horror, Lovecraftian-themed, haunted house, psychological, and more! My biggest criticism is that 30 stories is a lot for an anthology, I think it could have been trimmed down a bit. I don't read a lot of anthologies because I typically want more out of them. But this was still a great anthology featuring a ton of awesome authors!
Heavy Metal Coffin - a very cool look at relationships, obsession, and passions.
Bodiless - this reminded me a bit of a Shirley Jackson story, I really liked it.
Minor Malfunction - a cool slightly sci-fi transhuman story.
The Incident on Asteroid 4 Pandora - this felt a little heavy-handed in the beginning, but what an ending! I don't read enough sci-fi horror.
The Lady Crow - gave me Tim Burton vibes.
The Recliner - a surprisingly spooky story about an evil chair and a boy trying to save his mom.
Call of the Tide - some Lovecraftian vibes here and a lot of unspoken tension between husband and wife.
Date Night Ablaze - this one was pretty cool, the lead woman is someone I would not want to mess with.
Shell - another Shirley Jackson-esque story, so good!!
From Scratch - not for the squeamish.
Invasive Species - this one reminded me of a B-movie horror film from the 80s in a good way.
Josephine - the erotic horror story of this collection, which surprised me, but I really understood what the author was going for & got serious chills.
Lure - such a fantastic, layered story.
The Thrill of the Hunt - creepy narrator and revenge.
Simba of the Suburbs - kids are just creepy.
Rippers - this one was a little too frantic for my liking, but I liked the story the author was telling.
Liked - honestly one of my personal fears and the author did a great job exploring it.
The Lady of the House - another story that had Burton vibes, I liked the history playing out.
Should Have Gone to Vegas - bizarre but I loved being surprised and horrified.
Atla's Journey - I think the structure of this story could benefit from some work, but witch stories are always interesting!
Nightcrawler - absolutely creeped me out, great pacing!
Little Sally Ann - haunted house AND a creepy kid!
Bramblewood - one of the creepiest stories in this collection!
Cold Comfort - I didn't quite get this one but still an interesting read.
Kiss - So creepy! Reminded me of an old Poe story.
The Last Thread - another sci-fi/horror with a surprising ending!
Piano Keys and Sugar - like a paranormal Hansel and Gretel retelling.
The Letter - Unexpected and left me wanting more!
Dear Meat - ughhhh gross and creepy!
The One That Got Away - one of the two second-person narrations, cool and creepy and low-key threatening.