A review by mbmartin42
The Darkest Night by Lindy Ryan

challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

To be honest I have a love hate relationship with short story collections as I usually struggle to stay interested enough to finish one in entirety. Even though there were a few here that I didn’t love, there were definitely more hits than misses within The Darkest Night for me.

Through the central themes of grief, loss, death and melancholy memories tying this collection together combined with the setting of each story in the cold and frozen place around the Holidays, this was the perfect read for the season.
Plus, with a ton of big names in horror story telling included here, there’s a little bit of something for everyone within these pages from dark fantasy & Grimm’s retellings to the darkly humorous to pure horror, blood included.

So many good tales but a few of the standouts were…
🚪Children Aren’t the Only Ones Who Know Where the Presents are Hidden by Josh Malerman
A woman who hates the holidays must confront the past when a mysterious door appears in the desert.

⛄️Thaw by Rachel Harrison
A couple retreats to a secluded cabin for the holidays but it takes a sinister turn. And hey, is that snowman getting closer?

📦Mr. Butler by Clay McLeod Chapman
A man’s childhood best friend appears on his doorstep and won’t leave until it gets what it wants.

🗡️Father’s Last Christmas by Lee Murray
In this perfect gory medieval fairy tale an ailing king must choose his successor depending on the quality of the gift he’s given by each of his children.

❄️Winter Blue by Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon 
On the way to visit Grandma & Grandpa, a father and daughter run into a woman who has been mysteriously attacked.

🥛Eggnog by Kristi DeMeester
Let’s just say revenge is best served in a chilled glass of holiday cheer during a woman’s first outing postpartum to her husband’s office Holiday party where she meets an obnoxiously beautiful woman who introduces herself as his work wife.

🔮The Ladies’ Society for the Dead by Darcy Coates
A group of women gathers annually on the winter solstice to trade ghost stories and hold a seance.