Josh Malerman is a master weaver of stories--and in this spine-chilling collection he spins five twisted tales from the shadows of the human soul:
A sister insists to her little brother that "Half the House Is Haunted" by a strange presence. But is it the house that's haunted--or their childhoods?
In "Argyle," a dying man confesses to homicides he never committed, and he reveals long-kept secrets far more sinister than murder.
A tourist takes the ultimate trip to outer space in "The Jupiter Drop," but the real journey is into his own dark past.
In "Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM)," a trendy married couple buys the latest home gadget only to find themselves trapped by their possessions, their history . . . and each other.
And in "Egorov," a wealthy old cretin murders a young man, not knowing the victim was a triplet. The two surviving brothers stage a savage faux-haunting--playing the ghost of their slain brother--with the aim of driving the old murderer mad.
Do you like weird fiction? Strange Tales? These novellas are not necessarily horror, but they do bite when you least expect it.
I loved three out of the five stories.
In my three favorites, a little girl terrifies her baby brother with frightening pranks and her insistence that half the house is haunted. Is she just evil or can she see what others can't?
A loathsome married couple's incessant need to brag and show off their status will be their undoing when their past can not be washed away.
A family man on his deathbed shares a jarring secret that blindsides his loved ones as they gather to say goodbye.
There is some supernatural horror in the mix but the majority of these stories rely on psychological scares and surprising twists.
My thanks to Random House/Ballantine/ Del Rey Publishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment