vanmeers 's review for:

Abnormal Statistics by Max Booth III

4.75

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This is my first time reading anything by Max Booth III but it will most definitely NOT be the last. This collection is full of the most intriguing, vile, shocking and well-written horror short stories that will absolutely stay in your mind long after you’ve finished reading it. It is rare for a short story collection to feature stories that equally entertain and shock you, but Abnormal Statistics, I suppose, is abnormal in that sense — there were no bad stories in it. 

I really enjoyed this a lot, but something I really liked about Abnormal Statistics too is that the author included an author’s note at the end talking about the inspiration behind each of the stories. I find it super fascinating reading about the various reasons why someone writes what they do, and the notes at the end only made the stories that much more impactful. There’s stories taken from the author’s own life (with the added horror element, hopefully lmao) but also stories inspired by real life horrific events which I did see the similarities when reading. All in all, it’s just to say, dear authors, please do invite us readers into your minds, it’s magnificent seeing the behind the scenes of it all. 

Overall, I had a great time reading this and I’m very thankful for having received an ARC of it through BookSirens, thank you!