Thank you to Random House Ballantine, C.J. Tudor, and Netgalley for the digital arc of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

A Sliver of Darkness is C.J. Tudor's first collection of horror and thriller short stories. Even though I don't read a lot of short stories, I jumped at the chance to get an arc of the collection. The introduction of the book, which is written by Tudor, gives a glimpse into her life during covid and the reason for the release of these short stories - instead of a novel. Her forthcoming novel, The Drift, she calls her "passion project", is being released on January 31st, 2023.

A Sliver of Darkness contains eleven short stories, in a wide range of horror and thriller genres. Quite a few have a comedic element, along the lines of satire and black comedy. A couple stories feel geared more towards preteens (think R.L. Stine), though that doesn't make them any less enjoyable for adults. The (reading) length ranges anywhere from ten to forty-five minutes, with most averaging about fifteen to twenty-five minutes.

Story titles and a very brief description are as follows:
- End of the Liner - think Snowpiercer on a cruise ship
- The Block - an abandoned building in a slum neighborhood and kids looking for trouble
- Runaway Blues - a tribute to Stephen King
- The Completion - real estate - how far would you go to make that sale?
- The Lion at the Gate - high school kids, a shortcut, and graffiti
- Gloria - a secondary character from a previous book
- I'm Not Ted - a man who's name isn't Ted
- Final Course - a dinner party in the country
- The Copy Shop - a copy shop
- Dust - a remote hotel in the desert
- Butterfly Island - an overnight stay on a remote island

My favorite story is Gloria. I would LOVE a novel featuring Gloria, a full length one or one just filled with short stories like this. I absolutely loved her character and all the little details that went into the things she did. Other stories I really enjoyed include: End of the Liner, The Completion, and Final Course. The Copy Shop probably has the least scary premise, yet for me it was the most disturbing. (It's also the shortest) I can see at least half of the stories working as full length novels. The time seemed to go by quickly. I would finish one story and go right into the next.

Overall, I think this is a good first collection of short stories from C.J. Tudor. I didn't love it as much as I've loved her novels though, with the exceptions of End of the Liner and Gloria. It's good, it's just not quite up to the standards I've grown to expect from C.J. Tudor. Though I applaud her for putting something out during what must have been a tough time for her. I still think this is a worthy read. There is something here for everyone. And if you are a die-hard C.J. Tudor fan like I am, then you won't want to miss it.

3½ stars rounded up to 4 stars
Recommended for fans of: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Action, Black Comedy, Fiction

A strong collection of short stories! While some were stronger than others, it was an overall fantastic reading experience. It felt a bit Stephen King-esque in a good way. It was weird and good and I have thought about it often since finishing

I still remember the eerie twin girls from the Burning Girls and creepy stick figures from the Chalk Man. I went into reading this story collection with great expectations of feeling similar eerie-creepiness, and I was not disappointed!! The Copy Shop is my most favourite story. The others were also good, they did not fall short by any means. Hence the full stars!! If you enjoy well rounded stories, with mystery and horror, this collection of 10 stories is a must read.

Thank you Random House via Netgalley for the arc.

I love short horror/thriller story collections, and this definitely delivered.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

It’s been over a year since we last got a CJ Tudor release, but she’s always worth the wait!

This time it isn’t a novel, but a collection of short stories, and honestly guys, each one is better than the last. Every story I finished I thought “this is it, my favorite in the collection”.

Literally every story is my favorite. They’re all so beautifully chilling, the horrors each ranging from the monstrous to the supernatural to the much more human kind of monster.

If you’re in need of beautiful prose and stories that will freak you out and stick with you for days, grab this one immediately!

#asliverofdarkness:⁣
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Thank you @randomhouse for the gifted copy!!⁣
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Spooky season may be over for some of you.. however, many of the stories from A Sliver of Darkness continue to stay in my head all through the holiday season. ⁣
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I love CJ Tudor. Just a bit of a disclaimer. CJ Tudor is the reason I believe the things that go bump in the night are more sinister than one can imagine. I honestly was not expecting to get as intimate with the author and truly gets to know them better while reading these short stories. Before each story, there is a little introduction with information on kind of how the story came about. From there we get to really understand the author as a person and their headspace. While it was really great to learn about the author on a personal level, it also amplified the fear factor for the stories.⁣
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Every story is creepy in its own way and many of them kept me up at night. But, honestly, the very first story really stuck out to me and I still have nightmares about it. One sentence, four words haunted me for the entire read. “They took my smile”. The fact that I’m STILL thinking of this story and that line is a testament to how powerful C.J. Tudor’s imagery is.⁣
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Overall, another solid hit from a solid author. It was a different side of Tudor I hadn’t seen yet, but still with the creepy/unsettling plot that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Thank you again @randomhouse for the copy. A Sliver of Darkness is out now!

great collection of short stories by CJ Tudor and a look into her writing process. Recommended for both fans and people new to her writing.

This collection of short stories was just what I needed during the month of October....I had a hard time finding anything that I truly enjoyed this month and this was a good pallette cleanser.

To start, I've become a bit of C.J. Tudor fan, despite never giving any of their books more than 4 stars. I think she has really great ideas and I love their writing, there's just always been *something* missing for me. Unfortunately, this was not the collection that turned that around for me.

Overall, I think this is an OK collection. I would have preferred a collection of 3-4 novellas instead of short stories. In particular, I would love to see End of the Liner, Runaway Blues, The Block and The Lion at the Gate a little more fleshed out. I think End of the Liner in particular was a really cool idea and there could be a full novel based off only that story.

I do still recommend this book, especially if you've enjoyed other work by this author. I will definitely be continuing with their work, this just wasn't my most favorite thing I've ever read.

All in all this was a pretty fun read! I'm a huge fan of C.J. Tudor's full length novels and was excited to delve into this collection. There were a few stories that left me wanting more, and others that definitely wrapped up nicely.

I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a horror collection, but it is definitely a great fit for fans of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. Admittedly, I find myself not enjoying short story collections as much as I'd like to. I prefer being able to become fully immersed in a book, and found that once I finished up with a story, I wasn't as quick to start another knowing it would be too brief.

That being said, the characters and stories were hashed out nicely and my favorites were End Of The Liner, The Block, Runaway Blues, I'm Not Ted ( which felt like a big nod to The Twilight Zone) and Final Course.

I also enjoyed the introductions and notes before each story to really appreciate her thought process.

Thank you NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC
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Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The cover of this book really grabbed my attention, so I had to request it! This is my first book by CJ Tudor and I really enjoyed her style of writing. Before each story, she gives a preview of her thoughts on how she came up with the idea for that particular story, which I loved reading! I’ve never come across a book where an author has done that, so I thought that was pretty interesting. All of the stories were vastly different topics, but each had a twisty thrill at the end of them. The ones that I really enjoyed and left me wanting more were:
• The Block
• Final Course
• I’m Not Ted
• Dust
• Butterfly Island

If you’re looking for creative, twisty, thrilling short stories..I highly recommend this book to you!

good book and really enjoyed the characters and their journey. I liked the romance.. I enjoyed how the characters grew in the book and what happened.

Review of A Silver of Darkness by CJ Tudor

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So yet another book I went into totally blind, didn’t read the synopsis, and only requested because of the author. I was confused the first few pages so I did have to check and this one is a collection of short stories. I’m not usually a fan of short stories but I loved this so much. These were spooky and great horror. I also loved the introductions to each where she explained where she got the idea. My favorite was hands down Runaway Blues, but I also loved End of the Liner and Gloria.

Quick synopsis: there are 11 thrilling scary stories!

C.J. Tudor knows how to write a creepy, atmospheric story and her newest collection of short stories is no exception. The perfect book to cozy up with on a cold, dark winter night. I also really liked the authors insight before each shorty story! It was fun to read where she found her inspiration and overall thought process. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thriller/Horror

What a wonderous collection of short stories!

I applaud Tudor for mixing it up a bit. She has always reminded me of Stephen King and this collection only makes that comparison more apt. Each short story begins with an introduction about how C.J. came to write the story or what triggered it and these introductions enhance the reading experience.

There are a few stories that fall into the horror genre and The Block is so spooky and scary that I'm creeped out by it even a few weeks after reading. The other stories run the gamut mostly between altered reality/sci-fi and dystopian. I loved almost all of them.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

4 Stars!!

CJ Tudor writes some awesome stories!!! I loved all of the short stories along with the introduction that give you insight into the inspiration for the stories.

I especially enjoyed seeing more of the world in which all of the stories live. I loved seeing a character from a novel make an appearance. I'm also very excited to see what's coming next for full length novels!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and CJ Tudor for providing me with an ARC.

I am typically not a short story kind of person, but this just proves that Tudor can write anything and I will read and enjoy it.

Each story starts with a little intro in which Tudor shares her inspiration for the slice of horror to follow. I loved reading these and seeing how small an idea can start, only to become something large and incredible.

If you’re in the market for bite-sized bits of thrill, or just a Tudor fan, I think you’ll really like this one.

This is a delightful compilation of short stories— think along the lines of some of Stephen Kings— with undertones of horror, thriller, suspense, and strange. The thing I really appreciated about this book was that you could binge several stories at once, or break them up into quick reading sessions.

I do not wish to give away spoilers, but i will say that this is a fantastic read for anyone who loves horror/dark stories. Some of the stories are somewhat predictable, and others you aren’t really sure where it’s going. With that said, the predictability of some of the stories did not take away from the entertainment value offered by this author. Many of the stories are good, but I think maybe “The Block” was my favorite, as it gave me that great suspenseful “something bad is going to happen” feeling.

Though I received a free ARC from the publisher, I will be buying a hardback edition for myself— and an additional copy for my husband. If you’re a fan of Stephen King, or horror stories in general, you can’t go wrong with this purchase.

Quote: "Sometimes Fact Is More Disturbing Than Fiction"

C.J. Tudor has written a selection of quite a few deliciously innovative and seriously fun, short horror stories where there is something for every horror lover if not the entire collection.

I am normally not a big fan of short stories but found these to be an exception to the rule as I was delighted and wished there were many more to come when I finished the book. Before each story Ms. Tudor gave an introduction of how the story initiated in her clever mind and I appreciated learning how a thought became a conception and then a process to writing a story. I was amazed that I enjoyed all the stories although some more than others but all in all they were all very good! A few of my favorites were "Butterfly Island, The. Lion at the Gate,⭐ Gloria, I'm Not Ted⭐, Final Course⭐, and End of the Liner⭐" which was the first story in the book. So, you can see that I can only imagine that any reader will definitely find a few or more favorites among the collection. They can be creepy, eerie or. humorous as well, all carrying a great horror vibe within all the mix. I highly recommend reading this set if you enjoy horror even a little bit as I'm pretty sure you will enjoy the whole collection. I'm so looking forward to reading my next book by this author and have really become a huge fan of her writing ability and style.

I want to thank the publisher "Random House Publishing - Ballantine" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have give this terrific collection of stories a rating of 4 1/2 "FUNTASTIC AND CREEPILICIOUS" 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

4.5/5

A Sliver of Darkness is a collection of short stories written by the fabulous C.J. Tudor, and while I rarely actually read short stories, I knew I had to read these. 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. My favorites were Runaway Blues, Gloria, Final Course (which had great horror vibes), and The Copy Shop with a couple of others not too far behind. There are a total of 11 stories in all, and each one starts with an introduction from Tudor. This idea of including where each of them came from was completely brilliant, and I loved hearing how each one came to be included in this book.

There is really something for everyone in A Sliver of Darkness and I loved the mix of horror and mystery, as well as the dash of revenge for good measure. If you listen to the audiobook it is narrated by Richie Campbell, Dakota Blue Richards, Roy McMillan, Richard Armitage & Adam Sims, with the introduction to the book and intros to each story read by the author. I LOVED getting to hear Tudor read these herself, and I think it gave the stories a more personal quality by her going this route. I also enjoyed each of the different narrators, and I would highly recommend listening to the book even if it's just to hear Tudor. A few of the endings confused me a little, so I was happy that I was in a buddy read for it. I think this would actually make a great pick for a book club because there is definitely a lot to talk about! If you enjoy short stories and the dark mind of this author, then I highly recommend giving it a read or listen.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.