A Sliver of Darkness

Product Information

There were a couple of other stories that leaned more to the horror side of things and those were not my favorite. In Gloria we are reunited with a couple of characters we previously met in Tudor’s other books, The Taking of Annie Thorne and The Other People. I have read quite a few short stories or story collections by various authors and often there are a fair number of bad stories in each but for me, this book contained nothing but good solid work.

Each story was complex and atmospheric, and it didn’t take much for me to envisage myself in the protagonist’s shoes, it’s safe to say every story was fully immersive. Tudor engineered a consistent set of nearly a dozen terse tales that keeps the reader engaged throughout the course of the book. In “Gloria,” a strange girl at a service station endears herself to a coldhearted killer, but can a leopard really change its spots? Even good old Uncle King and his masterpiece "Fairy Tale" failed to rescue me from my recent bout and has sat, barely started, on the shelf.I love I’m not Ted (1509), he’s in the Elevation Department but he doesn’t know why … this is very clever and again I hoot with gleeful laughter! I loved her debut novel, "The Chalk Man" and the three novels she has had published since then have been getting better and better. The Block reminded me of Stranger Things but that could be I was reading as my husband was watching it?

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for sending me an ARC of A Sliver of Darkness in exchange for an honest review. A Sliver of Darkness contains 10 different horror short stories with all sorts of evil lurking in the corners. Imagine the scene – A man with the most soulful, baritone singing voice, a stunning dancer who loves him beyond measure.Runaway Blues is a classic tale of misdirection, as a couple intent on learning more about the latest jazz sensation in the Blue Flamingo club, their favourite Friday night haunt, decide to sneak into his dressing room to peak into the hat box that accompanies him everywhere. J. Tudor's novels so far, I was alarmed by the news that the author lauded as "Britain's female Stephen King" was about to publish her first ever collection of short stories, in a compilation bearing the most applicable of titles, A Sliver of Darkness.

I always enjoy when an author includes these types of insights into their inspirations, or connections, to each story. If you are a fan of short stories, a fan of Tudor and looking to try something new - look no further! In Dust we are welcomed to the Villa de las Almas Perdidas in Gran Canaria where the Calima wind blows through every crevice.Those who are familiar with Tudor's oeuvre, her landmark novel The Chalk Man that put her on the map of the global crime/horror fiction reality and other works such as The Taking of Annie Thorne or her latest, The Burning Girls, which is going to be adapted into television with the airing date being undisclosed so far, know her skills in creating both compelling, chilling storylines and well-rounded, three-dimensional characters who live and breathe on page. They were all well-formed, and like with all short stories, I did end up enjoying some more than others even though every single one was either a 4 or 5-star rating on its own. Also a quick shout out to my favorite pun in the book: in reference to a power-rationed cities, the character refers to the inhabitants as the "have-watts and the have-nots. They are spooky, chilling, with elements of horror, the deranged, menacing and creepy, the bizarre, and on occasion, shot through with the darkest of humour.