Six creepy stories that you probably won't want to read on your own at night! The ending of one of them actually made me gasp out loud. That was my favourite, though I didn't love all of them.

I did not realise that this book collection was linked to another series, but this did not stop my enjoyment of the short stories.

There are 6 spooky short stories that are very different to each other. The policewoman who can see death, the Professor who goes to Coruna on holiday, a twist on the cat woman, the scary ghost story set in Cornwall that was terrifying, Jocelyn the 40s bomb shell, and the creepy horror when a good woman meets a deplorable man.

The stories are creepy and the book itself is a quick read. Pull up the chair, pull down your blinds and enjoy some good old fashioned ghost stories.

Having read the first book of the series, I was interested in seeing what these short stories held. I seem to be in the minority but I was rather disappointed. The best story was 'She Saw Three Ships'; a great story about wreckers (people who would lure ships onto rocks, murder the crew, and then plunder the cargo) which had shades of Jamaica Inn. The rest were so-so.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Oneworld Publications, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

My thanks to OneWorld Publishers for an ARC via NetGalley of this fun and spooky collection of short stories.

I am not particularly a reader of short stories, preferring novels where characters and plot are developed at a more leisurely pace. Yet I enjoyed these and they made me more determined to read The Essex Witch Museum series as soon as possible.

I was a bit concerned in advance that not having read any of the other novels that I might feel lost but the collection worked fine and provided a taster of Syd Moore’s style.

A perfect treat for Halloween!

Syd Moore's The Strange Casebook is a quick read to get you in the mood for Halloween! This collection of six short stories is fun and spooky; it also stands alone so that if you haven't read the other Strange novels, you won't lose out here.

Opinions differ on which stories in the collection are the "best." This of course depends on your preferences as a reader. If you like a longer, fully detailed story, reminiscent of a Victorian ghost or horror story, then you might enjoy "Madness in A Coruna" and "The House on Savage Lane" most, while "Snowy" might appeal to readers who like quicker, more modern-sounding reads. While I enjoy both styles, my personal favorite from the collection is "Snowy": it's a lovely take on the old cat lady stereotype and also has a bittersweet ending. I wasn't particularly enthralled with "Jocelyn's Story" simply because the narrative voice seemed forced, whereas characters' registers in other stories, like "Madness," felt more natural to the characters and stories.

"She Saw Three Ships" is a Strange story, and this is one I really liked. For me, the title is a tongue-twister, while the story itself is a nice twist on the figure of the wrecker. Plus, the setting made me want to read a Daphne du Maurier! I also enjoyed "Madness in A Coruna" which had a light Lovecraftian undertone. The title "Death Becomes Her" is a nice play on the plot of the story, although I did predict the ending fairly quickly, and thought the story was a bit abrupt.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of typological and formatting errors, but that might be because I read the Kindle version. These did impact the readability of the stories for me, since the sporadic comma usage broke up the narrative when it shouldn't have. However, the editing isn't bad enough that you won't enjoy this collection!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Oneworld Publications, Point Blank and the author, Syd Moore, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Strange Casebook in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
This book offered six short, spooky stories. They were a good quick read. Each was well thought out and written and will keep you enthralled.
Well worth a read.

The perfect book for Halloween! A collection of short stories unusual and spooky.
The book was engaging and entertaining and I couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Oneworld Publications and Netgalley for this ARC

Looking for another Halloween read for the month, I picked this up not realising it was connected to an established series by the same author – it didn’t matter one bit. Six standalone short stories are featured in this collection and they were firing on all cylinders, which I’ve found is rare in most short story collections. With memorable characters in each tale, every story takes a different approach to the paranormal and peculiar so it never feels repetitive.

Standouts were the sublime Snowy which was unexpectedly moving, and The House on Savage Lane for having a rather classical horror story feel, and giving me a dark chuckle.

This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With thanks to Netgalley and Oneworld Publishers

I haven't read any of the Essex Museum Mystery series by Syd Moore and was unsure what to expect from this. However, if you haven't read any, don't worry - there's no prior knowledge needed. What start off as weird, odd little tales that you have no idea where they're going, it often seems they stop abruptly, much sooner than you had anticipated - much sooner than you would expect to be able to wrap it up nicely - even for a short story. But it does end, and in most cases, there is one final line of the story that wraps things up nicely while simultaneously making you question everything and make you wonder what the hell you've been reading. Weird and, yes, definitely strange, these stories are turned on their heads to bring the wonderful and supernatural to life in just a short snippet of a story. I am definitely going to dive into more of Moore's work!

The Strange Casebook is an enjoyable collection of six paranormal and fantastical short stories, with the stories all short enough to read one in a sitting quite easily.

This is from the same world as the Essex Witch Museum Mystery series, none of which I've read, but I could still like the short stories, although I'm sure I will have missed the background of the characters in the stories, so if you have read the series, I'm sure you'll really get a kick out of them.

The Strange Casebook by Syd Moore is due to be published on 31st October, which is very appropriate, as these are quite spooky! Here's the pre-order link from Amazon!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and OneWorld Publications (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile for more reviews.

These short stories are based on the Essex Witch Museum series and feature some of the characters that Rosie and Sam have either met or learned about in their work on the museum. This is such a fun series, who doesn’t love stories about Salem and witchcraft, and this short story compilation is a nice holdover until the next book is released

Six stories that are creepy and strange to get you in the mood for Halloween. They were all well done and I enjoyed them all. I hope to read more by Syd Moore.

A very enjoyable collection of spooky short stories. I'm not familiar with the Essex Witch Museum series, but i found lots to enjoy here and will be checking the other books out now I've discovered Syd moore!

This is a collection of spooky and strange short stories with stories and characters connected to Rosie Strange and Sam in the Essex Witch Museum series. You do not need to have read the series to enjoy this selection of tales, so apt for autumn and this time of the year. In Death Becomes Her, Stacey Winters, a police officer, has been burdened with a gift from childhood, but no matter how hard she tries, death is hard to cheat. In Snowy we meet Norah and her cats, and the theme of reincarnation. In Madness in A Coruna, a semiotics academic celebrates the disintegration of his marriage to young Sheila by visiting his friend Xose, only to find himself witnessing a public suicide, encountering a strange and vindictive creature, and truly experiencing Madness in A Coruna. In She Saw Three Ships, Ethel-Rose Strange has arrived early to Cornwall, to ensure all is ready at Lilia Cottage, she insists on staying at the cottage for the night despite opposition. It is the Feast of All Angels, a night to beware of as Ethel-Rose is to discover to her horror. In Jocelyn's Story, Rita is obsessed with Betty Grable, and her legs in particular. The House of Savage Lane is a tale of horror for the innocent and good Cordelia when her path crosses that of a deplorable man. This is a short book, and none of the stories are very long, but nevertheless they manage to be scary and creepy. Perfect for this time of the year. Many thanks to Oneworld Publications for an ARC.

This collection packed a punch with it's strange and unusual tales. There's a bit of something for everyone and each story is so different from the last. My personal favourites were She Saw Three Ships & Jocelyn's Story. I won't give away any details because I think you will enjoy it more if you go in a little blind. But take it from me, you won't be disappointed

I'm grateful to the publisher for an advance copy of The Strange Casebook via NetGalley.

These are short stories which mostly, though not all, take place in the world of Moore's Essex Witches novels - supernatural thrillers focussed on Rosie Strange and her family's museum in the village of Adder's Fork, Essex.

If you've read and enjoyed those books you'll have the chance to spot how the stories fit in to that world - either featuring moonier characters, member of Rosie's family, forming testimony given to the Museum or just appearing in Adder's Fork itself.

Death is a common theme here.

Death Becomes Her focuses on a policewoman we have seen before, and perhaps explains a bit about her.

Snowy is a gentle hymn to death and loss and perhaps - perhaps - to consolations beyond.

Madness in A Coruña is probably the longest story in the book, and is an effective and creepy ghost story, perhaps with an MR Jamesian bent. An unwary traveller to the Spanish city (yes, the same as in the poem by Charles Wolfe) discovers mysteries there. The city seems to be guarded against something. But is it guarded well enough? As this story came to a climax I found myself sitting forward and gripping my Kindle so tense did it get.

She Saw Three Ships is a delight, a whole story featuring Ethel-Rose and taking place in that most ghost haunted, uncanny of English counties, Cornwall. What happens when the locals make you unwelcome on the eve of a creepy local festival? Well, you dig in and see what peahens, obviously. This slice of folk hour is calculated to raise a shiver as Hallowe'en approaches.

Jocelyn's Story and The House on Savage Lane, are a different kind of story, the sort where the revelation of what is really going on is what drives the horror (even if you'd begun to guess as I did for the second, not the first) so I won't say much about them. I did, though, find Jocelyn's Story to be genuinely strange and unsettling, a different sort of horror. The House on Savage Lane was a bit more conventional but still had a couple of effective twists.

So, great stories - whether read while you wait impatiently while you wait for Strange Tombs, or if you just want something a bit creepy for the lengthening evenings.

This was a nice spooky read indeed. It definitely matched the autumn atmosphere and my spooky mood. I couldn't forget myself into it as much as I expected, though.

First of all, I have to state, that this is a very eloquently written book (all stories included), and I loved it! I loved the author's style, and that's why I would be up to reading anything else written by her anytime! I could feel the difference between the characters throughout her writing, it really felt like reading different narrators.

As for the stories, there were very good and average ones as well. At least for me. There were some very weird ones, ones that I didn't really see the point of or I got bored by getting halfway through. On the other hand, I found some very great short stories as well, ones that had a meaning beyond being spooky just for the purpose of being spooky, and ones that really gave off a 'scary-tale-by-the-firelight' vibe.

As a summary, I would say that if you want a fast autumn-mood read, this book is for you!

This is certainly an interesting story. A fun loving duo. I have t read the previous books, so the main characters are new to me.

The were quiet entertaining. I Sam is a geeky kind of a gentleman, shy but still an admirer of the female form. Rosie was a definite strong female lead, a dry wit dripping of sarcasm. Put them together is great but a little awkward. But they still manage to work together. Recommend to anyone looking for a sweet subtle read.

I received this ARC for a honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC an exchange for an honest review

The Strange Casebook by Syd Moore is a enjoyable spooky quick read.

The Strange Casebook is six short stories, well written and crafted. These short stories are perfect for readers getting into the spooky mood for Halloween. My favorite story of this collection had to be "Snowy" not because it was scary per say, but because of the meaning and ending to it. My 4 star review comes from not particularly enjoying all six stories. Some of the stories were a bit weird to me.
I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys spooky reads!

Excellent! A really good collection of short stories . This book would be per for hallowe'en.
Review will be on my blog two weeks before publication.