I was lucky enough to review After Sundown from Flame Tree Press in 2020 and was impressed by the sheer scope and quality of the stories selected for inclusion. I was introduced to authors I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise and enjoyed most of the stories included. A rare thing for a short story collection. So, when I had the chance to review the latest collection, Close to Midnight, I jumped at it.
There wasn’t an overall theme for the stories that I could identify, which I didn’t mind. It meant I had no preconceptions before reading, so I enjoyed the story for what it was. For example, Souvenirs by Sharon Gosling, was an enjoyable story about an elderly man reminiscing over his life as he travels up the country to move into a nursing home near his daughter. I felt his sense of injustice at downsizing his whole life into a small room and was disgusted at his daughter’s manipulation. She pretends to take him to dinner, only to stop at an antique emporium, so he could get rid of more stuff. The story was so well-written that I didn’t question the lack of horror until the ending hit me. I loved it.
Another favourite, Remains by Charlie Hughes, is a clever piece which plays on the typical ghost story where the ghost is not the horror element. I appreciated how the story built our sympathy towards the ghost, so we feared for her even though she was already dead. Remains focused on the horror people commit to others, as does The Operated by Ramsey Campbell, which explores how much torture a person can take before betraying a friend to make it stop.
The stories don’t fit into one genre either. Jenn Ashworth’s Flat 19 blends science fiction with horror when Eve clones herself multiple times so the clones can do her work and look after a family while she has a much-needed break. Collagen by Seanan McGuire leans towards cli-fi, exploring the effects on the environment of everyday chemicals we use in our quest to appear youthful.
Some stories worked better than others for me, but a short story collection where every story hits the mark is rarer than a unicorn. Overall, the majority did. They were clever and thought-provoking, like my ultimate favourite story, The Nine of Diamonds by Carole Johnstone. The protagonist gets a job with a company called The Nine of Diamonds which specialises in cursing people. Their clients have vendettas against individuals, and The Nine of Diamonds puts employees on the case to cancel restaurant reservations, bombard them with junk mail and post negative things about them on social media and dating websites. Little things that, over time, wear a person down. I can’t tell you too much, or I’ll spoil it for you, but it was everything I wanted in a short story, realistic characters, a compelling backstory pushing the story forward and a truly satisfying ending. It’s worth the price of the collection alone. Highly recommended.

Every story in Close to Midnight is good, some are exceptional. I say this because often in anthologies some of the stories are blah, or cliched, but this book has no disappointing tales. One story made me cough out a big guffaw at the ending--I won't say which because I'm not into hurting writer's feelings--but most were spine-tinglers or sad. Sadness is its own form of horror.

They saved the best for last. I thought the final two stories were the most outstanding in the anthology. Laura Mauro's The Spaceman's Memory Box was so beautifully written that it could have just as easily fit into a
literary anthology as into a horror anthology. It's both frightening and heartbreaking.

The last story, Rise Up Together, by Adam L.G. Nevill, was truly horrifying. claustrophobic, and thought provoking. What is that shuffling parade of shadows in the night?

Thank you much to Flame Tree and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an eARC of Close to Midnight.

Close to Midnight is an anthology of horror stories. These stories are great! Horror is a very hard genre for me because most of the time the stories are just meh. But these were awesome!

I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Well rounded bunch of horror stories all wrapped up into this anthology. Creepy, thought provoking tales of loss, the unlucky and all things scary. Loved all the short stories and it has opened up my eyes to some new horror writers I want to read more of.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

Another well constructed anthology from Mark Morris, drawing on a variety of established and less established authors. The theme is loose enough to not be a constraint - predominantly that of loss, which can manifest in many ways. We have creepy tales, grotesque creature / body horror, suspense, science fiction-influenced… Inevitably there are some weak links, but more than enough great reads to warrant picking up the collection.

My personal favourites:

Sharon Gosling - souvenirs
Adam LG Nevill- rise up together
Muriel Gray - Best Safe Life For You
Carole Johnstone - the nine of diamonds

20 horror stories to keep you up late into the night. Shocking, creepy, some terrifying. You'll love to read this book, but will think about it long after it's over.

I loved it. Fantastic series of stories that had me gripped the whole way through. Super creepy yet brilliantly short with everything needed for a good horror!

Close to Midnight
edited by Mark Morris
published by Flame Tree Press
publication date: October, 2022
320 pages
The anthology begins with WOLVES by Rio Youers, a decent story about a close-knit community that has been 'guarded' by a family for generations. But then a murder happens, which causes the protagonist to start seeing visions of giant wolves above the town. But could they be real?; Jenn Ashworth's FLAT 19 is a sci-fi horror story about a woman who hires a company to make a dummy/clone of her so that she can take a time off while the copy of her does the heavy work for a while. But, her personality is also copied into the mannequin, and her survival instinct works tragically against her; Ramsey Campbell's THE OPERATED is again, one story that feels familiar in its format, that is not to say that it is a bad one, but rather it's one of those that are not much written anymore. A man with cancer goes for a secretive new treatment that will heal him completely. However, the cure has some secondary effects, and the way to get rid of it, it's by taking advantage of others; Philip Fracassi's AUTUMN SUGAR is about a couple whose child goes to the woods searching for his dog, however, he doesn't come back. The couple have an argument and keep delaying searching for their son, until it's too late; Sharon Gosling's SOUVENIRS is about a daughter trying to get his dad to a retirement home and making him let go of all his stuff. However, some of his 'souvenirs' have more than sentimental value because they are part of his memory and some of those memories are not too jolly; Muriel Gray's BEST SAFE LIFE FOR YOU is a story in a classic Stephen King fashion about a couple who buy a security system after their son was mugged, and the police did nothing even when they even had video footage. The company is a sketchy one and all you have to do is keep the checks coming, and your house will be safe. But, if you don't pay, the consequences will be bloody; Charlie Hughes' REMAINS is a competent story about a dead woman who haunts a train station waiting for her killer's comeuppance while trying to scream for help to any passerby; Jonathan Janz' ROOM FOR THE NIGHT is about a haunted man that wants proof that he's not crazy by paying a young neighbor to sleep in his bedroom and tell him after if he saw anything. This story feels like good old classic horror; Brian Keene's THE FLOOR IS LAVA takes the title's fun game reference to an extreme when an old man starts having panic attacks after having visions of lava instead of floor. And that phobia turns for the worse when he realizes that was only the 'first stage'; Carole Johnstone's THE NINE OF DIAMONDS is a smart suspense tale about a woman getting hired by a strange company that deals in 'justly' tormenting people. It has great Twilight Zone vibes; Stephen Laws' THE TRUE COLOR OF BLOOD is about, well, blood-ties, but ones that come from a murderer. Will they pass on to their children?; In Alison Littlewood's IN THE WABE a mother loses her child in a park and soon realizes that someone or something has taken her to 'the other side'. In getting her daughter back, she will transform into somebody else; Laura Mauro's THE SPACEMAN'S MEMORY BOX is about a child's game in which they have to break into a house and steal a strange object. While the story has little horror or suspense, it's also a contemplative take on growing up and letting go of fears; Seanan McGuire's COLLAGEN is an intelligent story about environmental change, but takes the title's word as its axis for the preservation of the future, with echos of modern pandemic times; Alison Moore's WELCOME TO THE LODGE is about a woman who signs up to a strange clinic because she has upsetting nightmares and wants to get rid of them. Eventually, she, the patient, will become a prisoner of her mind. One of the highlights of this anthology; Adam L. G. Nevill's RISE UP TOGETHER is another highlight suspense story of this anthology: a man goes to visit an old friend in a strange town where almost all the residents are old. He has problems adjusting to the very strict behavioral rules and turns into a bit of a rebel, but his actions will cost him dearly. An author to watch; Carl Tait's THE FORBIDDEN SANDWICH - one of the better tales in this anthology - is about a man who discovers that a sandwich gave high intelligence to a former physicist who was very successful some years ago, but that is now ailed by dementia. The protagonist searches for the same secret ingredient that will give him an advantage in art, but the secondary effects prove to be too great a risk; Steve Rasnic Tem's BAGS is yet another tale about a sons-and-parents relationship in which the protagonist deals with his father's sickness. The regrets turn into a creature that haunts him even after his father is gone; Evelyn Teng's GOING HOME is about a fantasy world in which a couple fight against an undying curse that befell on their little son without him realizing it. It's a bloody tale, but one that makes good use of its twist; Conrad Williams's I PROMISE is about a young man who can't quite deal with his father passing away, and then his body begins to exude some strange smell and his skin becomes too dry. Yet, his father's promise of always staying with him proves to be quite literal. ~

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. Close to Midnight is a unique blend of horror-themed stories, somewhat rooted in realistic situations. The mind can cause horror from trauma in some of the stories and these stories are not the typical horror. This is a strong compilation of writers on subjects ranging from doorbell cameras to dead father's attempting to come back to life. I recommend it for anyone who would like to read horror that is edgy and new.

An anthology of ground breaking horror stories with enough twist and turns to make you wiggle under your bedsheets.
Loved the book and highly recommend it.

This is a great collection of short horror stories. Loved the twists in some of the stories. There were a few stories I didn't care for, but overall it's a solid collection.

Close to Midnight is the third instalment to a series of anthologies centred around horror short stories.

I loved the introduction- it brings up a huge dialogue about the horror genre in general. Even if it’s short, it certainly is thought provoking. A wonderful start.

I found it to be a very well thought out anthology; subject and author wise. They all blended very well, while each being very diverse. Twenty short stories that include cult horror to security systems and body horror.

Wolves is a hard hitting start for this anthology-it grabs you by your hand and just takes off running. My favourite so far has been the second one, Best Safe Life For You. Each story has been a wonderful slice of the author’s potential- they leave me wanting more from everyone. The anthology blended and flowed very well.

A list of horror enthralling stories each narrating a twine twisting narration, which would make reader think twice stepping out of bed.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press, and Netgalley.
As always, this was a mixed bag of tricks!
I didn't notice a "theme" this time.
I was down with that! Don't expect me to be giving you an update on every story.
Lisa Noell don't play that.
Truth is that I liked more than I didn't.
Flame Tree has some good shit going on.

Close to Midnight

[Blurb goes here]

Some of the stories are good, good enough to buy the book, most of them with plot twists, some of those twists lost, since while reading, you already know where the tale is going. There's one important note to point out. All of the tales are unique, they have nothing to do with the usual suspects (vampires, zombies, and the like.) That, I enjoyed to no end. Some will stay with you, some are forgettable. But as far as anthologies go, this is a good one.

Thank you for the free copy!

I probably would have read this anthology anyway (I liked the other ones the editor’s put together), but there was an ulterior motive too. I submitted my own story for this collection and was rejected, so I wanted to see who made it in.
Well, unsurprisingly, more known predominantly British names. And also, unsurprisingly some very good fiction. Bleak, dark and all that (the main theme here is loss, so of course), but very good. I’ve been bested fair and square 
So many terrific stories the titles of which I am, of course, now forgetting. Many recognizable names, a few that were new to me but just as good is not more so than the rest.
Due to the stygian thematical darkness of this anthology, it might be best to dip in and out of as opposed to taking a dive in outright, but that’s up to reader’s discretion.
Certainly worth checking out, especially for genre fans who appreciate their horror psychological and literary. Thanks Netgalley.