The Pram by Joe Hill ★ ★ ★
A couple moves to an old farmhouse in Maine in the hopes of a fresh start. The husband, Willy is given an antique baby carriage by a grocer so that he can wheel his purchases back home. This carriage speaks to Willy's deep desire to be a parent.

This story was weird and creepy. It takes an interesting point of view in terms of parenthood, or the lack of being a parent, from a man's perspective.

Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix ★ ★
Two people with complicated pasts go on a date. Everything seems to be going well, until the ankle snatcher makes an appearance.

This story was okay. It is unfortunately one of those short stories that would benefit from being longer. There is just a lot going on and I don't think 28 pages was enough time for the author to really hash things out.

It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman ★ ★

Amanda gets lost in the woods of the Ucatanani National Forest and her sister, Brenda is blamed for not keeping a better eye on her. Years later, Brenda goes to the forest alone, to explore and catch footage of all that she finds. The legend of the demon Opso who looks into the mirror and has no face stays on the top of her mind. What does Brenda find?

This story had its strange/scary elements but it took me FOREVER to get through. The story was not as intriguing as it could have been as Amanda has already disappeared at its beginning and the author pretty much tells you the end from the beginning...

In Bloom Paul Tremblay ★ ★ ★ 1/2
In Bloom is an ominous story that follows Heidi, a journalist who is back in her hometown, writing a piece about toxic algae blooms in the area. Heidi interviews a local who had a peculiar, and somewhat unbelievable, experience with the blooms in his childhood.

This was an engrossing and menacing story. I really enjoyed how the story flowed and how much the author was able to convey in so few pages.

Best of Luck by Jason Mott ★★★★★
Best of Luck follows Will, a man with very bad luck, and Will's best friend Barry who is lucky. Their friendship comes to a tipping point when Will holds Barry at gunpoint.

Best of Luck is by far the best story in this collection. It's a true horror story. It has its disgusting parts, but it also has social commentary about who is lucky, who is unlucky, and how they may just be connected. The best short stories always make me want to check out what else the author has to offer. I can't wait to pick up a full length from Jason Mott!

Big Bad by Chandler Baker ★
Big Bad is a story of marital strife, parenthood, and wolves??

I found this story to be very confusing and annoyingly convoluted. The author slowly reveals what is actually going on....and that was a choice. There was a lot going on in the story, it focused on the careers of the husband and the wife, their troubled marriage, their children, and then there's wolves and a really creepy guy who won't leave? I did not like how the story unfolded. The ending was unexpected, but it still didn't make me like the story in the end.

Overall Rating: ★ ★ ★
I found most of these stories to be just alright. I was excited to read this collection because I recognized most of the authors. I really love Jason Mott's Best of Luck. I will definitely be checking out more of his work. I'd say read Best of Luck and In Bloom, but the rest of the stories are meh.

Creature Feature Collection
Written by Joe Hill, Grady Hendrix, Josh Mallerman, Paul Tremblay, Jason Mott, and Chandler Baker
Read by: Various
Book 249, 258, 259, 260, 264, 265/200
Genre: Horror
Format: Audio/Digital, Short Story Collection
Pages: 58, 29, 52, 35, 29, 59
Published: 2023
Rating: 8/10
Horror: 👻👻
Narration: 8/10

"Most myths have one foot in a reality so distressing mythic decorations are necessary to hide a greater horror, even as they keep the story alive."

Short Story November #8

Creature Feature is a super fun collection of stories from great creators!

The Pram by Joe Hill - 8.5/10 - Spooky and disturbing. With an ending twist I did not see coming. The stressed-out-dad-trope is one that is always relatable to me.

Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix - 8/10 - Creepy as only Hendrix can deliver. This was devoid of the humor I expect in his books, but was none-the-less enjoyable.

It Waits in the Woods by Josh Mallerman - 8.5/10 - A Blair Witch-y storty chock-full of suspense. I really enjoyed this one!

In Bloom by Paul Tremblay - 7.5/10 - A creepy and interesting Swamp Thing-esque story.

Best of Luck by Jason Mott - 7/10 - This was pretty interesting and I quite enjoyed the ending twist.

Big Bad by Chandler Baker - 9/10 - Loved Baker's take on the Werewolf story! I was hooked throughout!

This series was so fun. I read them over the course of two months and enjoyed almost all of them. My personal favorites were “The Pram” and “In Bloom,” but I also had a lot of fun with “Ankle Snatcher” and “Big Bad.” I found “Best of Luck” too derivative of Stephen King’s “Fair Deal,” and I didn’t like “It Waits in the Woods.” I would recommend skipping that one completely. Otherwise, fun collection. I would use “Ankle Snatcher” in my high school English classes.

Enjoyed six stories a lot.

Enjoyed this short story by Joe Hill. Despite being a short story, the characters were well developed, and the story was great, with great pacing. #CreatureFeature #NetGalley

Read and enjoyed several novels by Grady Hendrix, and it turns out he writes great short stories too. Enjoyed this short story, with tension, and great characters.

Enjoyable short story from Josh Malerman. Read several of his novels, which were all great, and his short stories appear to be great too. Enjoyed the characters, and the journey.

I've enjoyed Paul Tremblay novels, and after reading this sort story, just as good. I enjoyed the characters, well developed. Also enjoyed the story and pacing.

Enjoyed this short story by Jason Mott. First time reading him, and will definitely need to find more by him.

First time reading Chandler Baker, and enjoyed this short story. Enjoyed the characters, plot, and pacing. Will need to read more from Chandler Baker.

Really good collection of short stories.

I much preferred some to others (I’d say The Pram was my favourite), but they each did a good job at setting the scene for the stories despite some being very short.

I do personally feel that some of the books would’ve been better told as a longer novel like the ankle snatcher as I feel it went a bit too quickly.


The eeriness of the collection as a whole though was really good and perfect for a spooky read!

Most these stories didn't truly stand out to me, which was a disappointment since I love so many of the authors.
Best Story was Big Bad. It a short little mystery to unravel and I love the ending. I will be checking more of Chandler Baker's work.

Overall, I gave the collection 4 stars. I had a good time reading all of the stories. Below I've included my individual reviews for each story.

1. The Pram Joe Hill
4 stars

This is a solid short story. It contained familiar tropes but it was well done and entertaining. I'd highly recommend the audiobook on this one.

This is the first thing I've read from Joe Hill. I can definitely say I liked his writing and will obviously be reading more.

2. Ankle Snatcher Grady Hendrix
3 stars

This was an enjoyable read overall but I do think the story should have been longer.

It could be that I'm just not used to reading Hendrix in a shorter format. I definitely prefer his full length novels for sure. This had the typical Hendrix humor and a bit of gore to keep things interesting.

Things just seemed to move too fast and the conclusion felt rushed.

I'd still recommend this quick, creepy read for those who want something to read before bed. Just don't forget to turn on the lights.

3. It Waits in the Woods Josh Malerman
5 stars

So far, this has been my favorite story in the collection. I both listened and read the ebook.

This short story packs a punch in a small amount of time. It's engaging and suspenseful. The writing kept me at the edge of my seat. It's one of those stories where you just want to know what happens next. The story felt complete and I was satisfied with the ending.

I won't say anything about the actual story except that it's well written and perfect for reading by yourself at night. Or listen to it, the narrator does an excellent job.

4. In Bloom Paul Tremblay
3 stars

I liked this story, for the most part. The premise is good, it's well written. I just think the story should have been longer. There was just a bit too much background. Most of the action we get is a flashback and the story ends a bit too abruptly for my taste.

It's not a bad story, I just would have liked more of it. The author spent time on character background and the build up for the creature only to end things very abruptly. I'd love it if the author made this a novella. I just want to know what happens next.

5. Best Of Luck Jason Mott
5 stars

This one was the last story I read in the collection. What a great story to wrap things up. This gave me everything i look for in a short story. Writing that pulls you in, an intriguing premise, a mystery or tension, and an ending that wasn't super predictable.

Both characters in this were interesting. The story was well written and kept me guessing until the end. The ending was the perfect cherry on top of a blood soaked cake.

6. Big Bad Chandler Baker
3.5 stars

This was definitely an entertaining story but it didn't blow me away.

If the big bad was supposed to be a twist, the author didn't really do much to hide it. I think that doing so would have made the story more interesting. Sometimes, the story felt a bit messy because there were different things going on at once. The wolves coming out of forest, weirdness with the mom, the dad being suspicious, and the stranger.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I'd read from this author again.




Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

These short features were such a fun, October set that I definitely needed. Some of them were better than others, but that's always to be expected with short stories from various authors. Regardless, I had a great time with these!

The Creature Feature stories from Amazon are a very solid and overall fun group of horror stories. They live up to the name of the series in very interesting ways.

The Pram by Joe Hill is my favorite of the bunch. This one gave me folk horror vibes and I absolutely loved it. It’s a sad and very creepy short.

Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix is another very good story. This one tapped into some of my childhood fears (I hate the thought of letting my feet dangle over the edge of the bed in the dark even today). This story has some gnarly body horror and while the end wasn’t what I expected, I still really enjoyed it.

It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman This was my least favorite of the stories. Great concept and some creepy moments but it felt like a rough draft with too much repetition and not enough tension.

In Bloom by Paul Tremblay - I loved it. Tremblay’s signature “ambiguous horror” and interesting use of story structure is on display here and I love the cosmic horror-ness of it.

Best of Luck by Jason Mott was excellent! Body horror! Strong recommend. Go in blind.

Big Bad by Chandler Baker - This story had a lot of heart (and heartbreak). Characters are fleshed out and an interesting take on a particular monster.

An excellent selection of six short stories written by some well known writers of suspense and horror.

1. Joe Hill. The Pram. A simple matter of an old pram creates horror you cannot even imagine. I loved this one!
2. Grady Hendrix. Ankle Snatcher. If you have ever been afraid of what might be under the bed then this one will give you nightmares.
3. Josh Malerman. It Waits in the Woods. A faceless imp, a spooky forest, and a brave girl - tense and creepy but it left me with unanswered questions.
4. Paul Tremblay. In Bloom. Environmental horror. Toxic bloom on a lake brings forth the unknown. Scary,
5. Jason Mott. Best of Luck. A story about good and bad luck with a horrific character called Henry. An excellent ending.
6. Chandler Baker. Big Bad. The setting is a family home where Sam, his wife Rachel, and two daughters, June and Odie, live what seems at first a perfectly normal life. But things start to happen which give a hint of the horror to come.

With these authors, you can't go wrong! Horror is the perfect genre for short stories and all of these nailed it. I haven't read anything by Chandler Baker before but I will definitely be checking out more of her work.

Some well known authors offer up some of their darkest imaginings in these spooky tales offered from Amazon. Each tale is wildly inventive, and completely immersive. I reviewed each story individually on Goodreads.

This collection of short stories from some of today's most popular horror writers was a good way to sample the work of authors I haven't read from before. If you're looking for something quick to read in one sitting, then these stories are perfect.

My favorite stories were definitely "It Waits in the Woods" and "Big Bad", while I would say that "In Bloom" was the weak link and one I would probably recommend to skip. Overall though, a good collection that I would recommend as a whole.

One of the best series of short stories for Spooky Season. Each one is creepy, unnerving, and an absolute blast in their own way. From the heartbreaking, terrifying The Pram to the Swamp Thing like creature with toxic gas to boot. Each one brings a certain kind of innate fear to life, you can't wait to read the next one! The Ankle Snatcher and Best of Luck are my favorites, simply because they kept me reading until the end without catching my breath, I had to get to the end. This is the perfect compilation of reads for Halloween!

I did not find these books to be overly creepy, but they were fun quick reads. I appreciate these sets that Amazon puts out as they are a fun way to break up longer books. Was really happy to get a sneak peek at these!

This collection of short stories was a lot of fun and perfect for the Halloween season! Some were scarier than others, but I thought all of them were a lot of fun (and did a good job of introducing me to some new authors).

When it comes to reading, few things are better than a great short story collection, especially if it comes from the horror genre. The amount of creativity that this genre offers is astounding, and short story collections are where I find it truly comes out. It doesn't matter if the book has been written by one person, or if it's a collection of different authors' contributions.

Above is why I got so excited when I saw the Creature Feature Collection listed on NetGalley. Well, to be honest: It wasn't just that. I also quickly noticed that three of my favourite authors, and one I also like, had contributed stories towards it. That got me truly excited.

The Creature Feature Collection is another short story collection from Amazon, which is free to borrow for Prime members but will only set you back about $14 if you plan to buy them all. It is comprised of six different stories, written by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son), Paul Tremblay, Josh Malerman, Grady Hendrix, Chandler Baker and Jason Mott. Together, they offer around 3-4 hours of reading or so. I was able to read everything in one morning, starting around 5am and ending at 10:15am, with some breaks in-between.

The stories are, as follows:

The Pram by Joe Hill: After suffering a miscarriage, a couple decides to leave Brooklyn for the quieter Maine countryside. Upon going to see a farmhouse, they see members of a strange cult but think nothing of it, and go on to buy the house. Then, shortly afterwards, the husband goes to the store and realizes he can't walk home with all of his groceries. In assistance, the shop proprietor loans him an old pram (baby carriage), which is covered in mold and clearly very old. Upon using it to transport his groceries, the man senses something that shouldn't exist.

It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman: A fourteen year-old girl disappears in a Michigan forest/park, after sneaking out there to have some beers by herself. Her family searches for her, as does the community, but she's not found. Three years later, her sister decides to venture out into the woods to find out what happened to Amanda, after hearing about another young woman having disappeared. She goes out in search of her sister, but also to find out if she was taken by a creature who's been said to walk the woods in search of his missing face, and the bridge that leads to him.

In Bloom by Paul Tremblay: Easily the weirdest of these stories, this one centres upon a female reporter who's doing a story on algae in the nearby water systems and its effect on people. To further her story, she finds a man who's willing to talk about something similar that happened in 1983, but made little sense. In listening to his story, she hears a tale of weird and wonder, and finds that the truth may be stranger than fiction.

Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix: Before his father is hauled away for murdering his mother, a young boy is told that he must watch out for the Ankle Snatcher: a creature that lays in wait under one's bed and will drag them underneath, to their death, if they step out of bed without turning on a light first. As such, the now adult man has never not turned on a light before getting out of bed. Then, he meets a young woman who he's quickly falling in love with, and invites her back to his place.

Best of Luck by Jason Mott: A man who's had nothing but bad luck watches his friend have the exact opposite, leading to great fame, an expensive custom house and lots of fancy things to fill it with. He then confronts his best friend, with a shotgun in hand and the idea that his friend has stolen all of his luck.

Big Bad by Chandler Baker: A man tries to protect his family from encroaching wildlife, following a mudslide, as well as a threat that lurks even closer.

If I were asked to rank these stories, I'd do so as follows:

Big Bad by Chandler Baker: This was the first one I read, and it was a really nice surprise. I'd like to read more of her work.

It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman: This is one of my favourite authors, and he's returned with another interesting and immersive story. This one will have you scared of going into the woods.

The Pram by Joe Hill: It was perhaps overhyped for me, as it's seemingly the highest rated story in this collection. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it took a while to truly get going and had a so-so ending.

Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix: I'm usually hot or cold on Grady Hendrix's books, but this is the best thing he's written in my opinion. This is a good, dark story.

In Bloom by Paul Tremblay: As I said above, this was the oddest of all these stories, and I didn't fully connect with it. It's good, but not great. At least it has a de facto ending, though, and isn't left open to interpretation.

Best of Luck by Jason Mott: While it's still a good story, I simply didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. It doesn't stand out as much.

Overall, Amazon's Creature Feature Collection is a slam dunk. It's a collection of good to great short stories, all of which are worth reading and better than average. I gave five stars to Chandler Baker's, and four stars to most of the others. The one I rank lowest ended up receiving a three, which is still a good score. Combined, this makes it a four out of five on average, but I'd honestly give it a four point five if someone put a gun to my head.

The writing is really good, there were almost no errors, and the stories are all pretty memorable. As such, this is an easy one to recommend.

This review is based on a copy of the book we were provided with. Receiving a free copy from NetGalley and Amazon Publishing did not sway our opinion.

The Ankle Snatcher Gary Hendrix
Oh this was fun! Remember those 8ld tales your folks always told you to keep you in bed at night? The old Boogyman. Waiting in the closet, the dark hall, or under the bed. Maybe they weren't just stories to scare us....
I swear it even made me a little nervous as I read it at night, lying in my bed, wondering about that monster that lived there when I was a kid.
Well done, sir. Well done.

Josh Malerman
It waits in the woods.

Pretty good tale of a missing girl, stolen by a legend, a myt,lh, and the sister who never forgave herself the brief moment she looked away.
I wasn't expecting to like this much. I'm not much for trolls hiding under bridges but Malerman again surprised me by telling me a heck of a story.

Paul Trembly
In Bloom

Interesting take on the classic monster from the deep tale. A theory on how one day, one day soon, nature will morph into a lifeform all its own we will pay for our carelessness.
Not a bad story at all.

Big Bad
Chandler Baker

After soany years and tired tropes, I no longer like werewolf stories. Sombere I find myself with am author I was not familiar with in a series of monster stories I'm reading for the holiday.  Oh well....so I read expecting the same old, same old.
Oh but what a pleasant surprise!
This is not o ly different but down right original and amazing!

Odie loves her mom more than she does her dad. She doesn't know why, but she fears him and thinks he doesn't love her or worse...will one day kill them all.
But he's not who carries a secret. Her father likes order, things to go as planned and this night nothing does.

I can't recommend this enough. Chandler Baker is amazing and as soon as I'm done this review I'm looking for her other works.
I think I'll never prejudge an old horror trope again. You never know what precious gem is hidden in the murky darkness.

The Pram
Joe Hill

No one really talks about how a father handles a miscarriage. Usually we focus on the mother, as is natural. But what is he feeling? Anger at God, his wife, the universe?
In this creepy tale, that anger and resentment is nutrition for something ungodly, something that wants to be born and set free.
Joe Hill didna great job with this. Not your conventional monster story, but then I always thought he wrote a heck of a good short story. Sometimes they are much better than his full novels, but that's just my opinion.
Recommended for a nice pre- Halloween read.

Best of luck
Jason Mott

Did not see any of this coming! Never read this author before, but if this is a sample of his talent then I will be fixing that oversight quickly.

Think good luck and bad luck are just random? The universe dealing what it will, to who it will? You may change your mind after reading this grisly little tale.

Another recommendation for this spooky season and I suhgest you just get all 6 in the Creature Feature series and go scare yourself.
Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read these earcs in exchange fory honest and unbiased opinion

EACH STORY IS REVIEWED SEPARATELY ON GOODREADS. Here are all the reviews together.
Overall rating: 3.5~3★
=======
Creature Feature Collection (Amazon Original)
Various authors – reviewed individually (2023)

THE PRAM – Joe Hill
4★
“Sometimes when you needed a break, the world threw you a rope.”

Willy and Marianne have been through a miscarriage and Covid and he is desperate to get her out of the city into some fresh country air. Working from home since the pandemic, they can move to Maine, where she grew up.

As Sally, the real estate agent, shows them around the Maine farmhouse they’re visiting, she chatters on about room for the kids, and Marianne visibly crumbles.

“Marianne accepted Sally’s hug and smiled in the face of Sally’s indignation on their behalf—as if there were somewhere they could lodge a complaint about Marianne’s miscarriage. By the time they came back downstairs, Sally and Marianne were laughing about something, and when Marianne caught Willy’s eye, her gaze bright and wicked, he felt a rush of gratitude.”

That’s when Willy makes the remark about the world throwing him a rope. He can look forward to the future now.

They ask about the old-fashioned folk they've seen and are told the locals call them the Sin-Eaters. What?

“The Covenant of the Sorrowful Leaf, that’s their real name. They worship in groves instead of churches.”

Willy discovers a beautiful path through the trees that is a shortcut between the farm and the store in the village. He loves its peaceful, churchlike feel, with branches overhead forming a “dim, witchy tunnel” and thinks the Sin-Planters probably had a point about wild spaces being holy.

Not only that, he can blow off steam without upsetting anyone.

“Alone, in the woods, with no one to judge him, he could help himself to all the resentment he liked. Striding along the bridle path, he could admit it felt good to marinate in an unfocused and unmoderated rage.”

I’d read only the beginning of a Joe Hill novel before and knew it wasn’t for me, but I figured I’d try a short story instead. I really enjoyed this one – until the last couple of pages. It didn’t go in the horror direction I expected, but I can’t say it was exactly unexpected either.

I like his writing. I’ve always enjoyed his father’s (Stephen King’s) writing (when it isn’t horror), so I hope Joe has written, or would consider writing, some ‘straight’ novels, too.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for this #CreatureFeature Collection copy for review. This is the first of the six stories in the series.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5845131975
==========
ANKLE SNATCHER – Grady Hendrix
3★
“They never asked me a single question about Tess or what happened last night. They had no interest in me or anything I had to say. I wasn’t a person. I was a crime. Every time they left me alone, my lungs filled with panic and I started to drown.”

This is a bedtime story, a particularly gruesome one. You know – the kind people tell to scare you out of your wits about the thing in the closet, the monster under the bed.

This guy’s dad had warned him to keep the lights on, but he didn’t believe it. Now he does.

“I thought about fire, but I didn’t want to burn the building down. I could shoot it, but the background check took three days in this state. If I had my phone I could look up personal security stores and see what I could take home today: Tasers, pepper spray, stun guns. Maybe a clerk who loved the Second Amendment more than his liability insurance would sell me something under the counter.”

Keep your lights on!

This is not one for the likes of me. A bit too yucky.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for this copy for review from the #CreatureFeature Collection.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5845134142
==========
IT WAITS IN THE WOODS – Josh Malerman
3.5~3★
“Most myths have one foot in a reality so distressing mythic decorations are necessary to hide a greater horror, even as they keep the story alive.”

This does read like a myth or possibly a folktale to discourage children from wandering too far from home, but it isn’t from the early days of North American history.

“Unsettling stories started coming out of Central Michigan’s Ucatanani National Forest in the late 1970s. They were the kind of spine-tingling tales sprung from grade school field trips and carried on campfire smoke.”

People disappeared where they apparently crossed a white and yellow bridge in the National Forest. But where was the bridge? Nobody ever seemed to know.

Brenda’s sister is missing, and the hunt for her has been unsuccessful – so far – but Brenda is determined not to give up. She knows the old Opso myth and thinks there must be some truth to it, because it has such specific elements.

“From a storytelling perspective, elements of the Opso myth were just odd enough to be taken seriously. Who would’ve come up with the bridge? And why? Why not a secret cave? A more interesting tree house? A disturbing hole in the forest floor?”

Needless to say, her quest gets pretty scary, but thankfully it isn’t as grisly as some of the stories in this collection. It does read more like a cautionary tale than a true horror story, which is fine with me, but I do enjoy more suspense. I think it would have worked better as a modern serial-killer-in-the-woods story.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy of the #CreatureFeature Collection for review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5845135880
==========
IN BLOOM – Paul Tremblay
2.5~3★
“From the apex of the Bourne Bridge, almost 150 feet above the Cape Cod Canal, the undulating, fluorescent-green water bullying the shores looks alive. “

Blue-green algae is nasty stuff. Farmers in Australia are notified when there is too much algal bloom in creeks and rivers, making the water unsafe for people or livestock. This story takes it to a popular summer spot in the northeastern part of the US.

People live there year-round as well, and where this story takes place, there is no sewerage system, only septic tanks, and because of the algae, the government is cracking down and demanding expensive systems that treat the waste water.

“For the already fiscally struggling population who lived on the Cape year-round, the climate projections were as dire as the economic reality. Between the new septic system, skyrocketing real-estate taxes, and their increasing medical needs and costs, Heidi’s parents couldn’t afford to stay. They sold the place while they still could.”

Heidi is a journalist, with no thought of giving in to the pressure from her parents to move to Florida with them. Instead, she decides to visit the Cape and investigate the story.

She is given the name of a man who will give her the “definitively bizarre account” of the bloom tragedy in 1983. She meets Jimmy Lang in a café, where he gives her the story of his life, beginning in childhood, growing up with his baseball fanatic father.

That part is the pretty straight-forward history of an unathletic son who can never please his father. It does eventually get to the bizarre tragedy, and I’m sure that will appeal to creature-feature readers.

I think I would enjoy something else by the author, but this didn't grab me.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy for review from the #CreatureFeature Collection.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5845136827

==========
BEST OF LUCK – Jason Mott
4★
“‘You ever hear the one about the man with the bad luck?’

‘Can’t say that I have.’

‘You mind if I tell it?’ Will asked.

‘Considering the circumstances,’ Barry replied, ‘I’m open to lightening the mood.’”

The circumstances are that Will has arrived with a shotgun, planning to make his old friend Barry pay for stealing all of Will’s good luck. Barry has everything – wife, kids, success, and all the trappings that go with it.

Will has lost everything he ever began to have. His was a life of one step forward, two steps back, and he’s convinced it’s Barry’s fault. Will tells a long story about a farmer who goes away and entrusts his farm to the care of a friend, but things aren’t good when he comes back.

I have heard similar sorts of stories, and I think this one is told well. Barry laughs with Will and then really looks at him.

“Sweat glistened on Will’s brow, and for the first time tonight, Barry was able to really get a long look at his friend. He had always been tall, tall and lean. But now his leanness had morphed into something else, something more hollow and yearning. He was thinner than he should be. His eyes were sunken to the skull, and his teeth were silhouetted in his cadaverous cheeks. He looked like loneliness and hunger given form. Like the two things could throw on a pair of jeans and a shirt and shamble through the darkness of the world and come hold a gun on you in the late hours of the night.”

Where it goes from there is as horrifying as I imagined, but the twist was certainly not expected. Good story and good writing!

Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy from the #CreatureFeature Collection for review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5845137903


==========
BIG BAD – Chandler Baker
4.5★
“‘Ah, didn’t mean to startle you there.’ Behind thick lenses, the man has filmy eyes. ‘My name’s Harold. I’m your Airbnb guest, here to stay in that cute little house you’ve got there in the back.’

The man wears a flannel shirt and work boots, not the look of their typical renters, who tend to be upscale nature lovers with REI memberships, looking for an excuse to drink craft beer and build a fire.
. . .
Another blip of anxiety pings Sam. He is tall and rugged, but this man, Harold, is built like a lumberjack. ‘You must have gotten the dates mixed up. It happens.’”

Sam’s wife, Rachel, is giving a university presentation and isn’t home yet. She became more well-known in their field than he did, and he’s resentful. There are two little girls, a reliable big sister and a tantrum-throwing little one.

So who is this guy Harold and why isn’t Rachel home yet? This takes place in Eugene, Oregon, after an enormous mudslide of some kind that has wrecked a lot of places, so motel rooms are at a premium, and Harold is insistent... and kind of creepy.

Harold asks whether they’ve had trouble with wildlife moving into the populated areas, especially after this latest event. Some, admits Sam.

I thought I knew where this was going, and then I didn’t, and then I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The tension builds up chillingly and the characters interact well together, as we gradually see what’s happening.

“June is always the careful one, the scaredy cat, the one who warns Odie not to climb so high in the tree. But tonight, June feels her sister’s fear coursing through the creases in Odie’s palms, and she knows that love can be just as terrifying as fear.”

Excellent horror story I’m happy to recommend. It’s one that doesn’t rely on grisly descriptions to be scary, although there is some blood, of course. It’s suspense that always gets to me.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for this copy from the #CreatureFeature Collection.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5845139045

I loved this book! Full of great, fun spooky writers - Tremblay and Hendrix being some of my personal favorites - this book is chock-full of great spooky stories. I recommend it to anyone who likes a spooky thrill!