If you like your stories dark and twisted this is the book for you. It is a collection of short stories that can give you the creeps but you can’t stop reading.
Thanks for the read NetGalley!

Enjoyed this collection from Ronald J Murray. I Have Swallowed Sin was my favorite story, but they were all great. Enjoyed the characters, plots, and pacing. #WheretheDeadDontDie #NetGalley

This is a collection of seven dark stories, to be honest they are not that dark. Well not atleast for me. For a newbie to dark lit, they might be. But given that I have read much darker stuff than this it felt little meh to me.

1. Jealousy
This was little confusing to be honest. But it was also one of the stories that I liked. In about 10 subparts, the story is longest among all. It is well written and keeps one guessing what's going to happen next.

2. A letter to my future corpse
Important things are often lost because we've lost ourselves in them. This story is like a fever dream. It was an okay read for me.

3. I have swallowed sin
A person suffering from hallucinations or delusions tells us this story. It was a good one with a twisted end.

4. In the labyrinth
Story of a man drawn by his sexual desires, where he ends up because of that is another story. This was little twisted and dark which read like a cult classic.

5. Cornelia
Cornelia would be one of the best story from the collection apart from jealousy. It was really good. A man gets hit by a car, and finds himself in a strange house where a woman Cornelia cares for him. The ending was totally good, yet quite predictable I didn't really mind that.

6. The incident at shore run road
This was another story that I totally enjoyed. August finds a journal which makes her dad Alvah angry especially as this journal is definitely not a normal one. This was definitely a good story but had scope of being even better.

7. To taste her flesh
Another story which was good enough where a friend is coping up with loss of his best friend whom he loved dearly. He could go any lengths when she was alive, so her death almost brings him to the edge.

Overall these are good stories but there was something missing in all Stories, even the stories that I liked didn't leave any lasting impact. They didn't shock me like the title suggested they will. In some stories I couldn't even understand what was going on.

Thank you Netgalley and RDS publishing for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This uses the psychological horror element perfectly, I enjoyed each concept and well the horror was in each story. I enjoyed the idea of different subgenres and that the writing was super well done. I’m glad I got to read this and hope to read more.

3.6 star average between the stories!

Where the Dead Don’t Die is a collection of 7 horror short stories that revolve around themes of loss, relationships, mortality, family, and lust. Like all short story collections, the stories vary in quality, but I enjoyed more than I disliked!

The strongest story for me was the opener Jealousy which follows a man who feels things are off in his world and has weird visions. The remaining stories I particularly enjoyed included Cornelia (a man wakes up in a stranger’s house after getting into a car accident) and The Incident at Shore Run Road (a girl sneaks her dad’s journal when she feels he is hiding something). All of the stories were well written and engrossing and I would definitely pick up more from this author.

Overall this was a successful short story collection that I would broadly recommend to horror readers!

Thank you to NetGalley, RDS Publishing, and Uncomfortably Dark for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I found Where The Dead Don’t Die to be a disturbing and suspenseful collection of short stories. To compare it to a singular thing would be to do it an injustice. Murray proves that he can write so many different aspects of horror, it was Lovecraftian and Ian Reid like. I’ve never seen Saw but some scenes feel like it would be straight out of the films.

I got enjoyment out of reading some of the stories aloud as if I was telling a campfire story and others I believe would make for haunting short animation.

It does include some potentially triggering themes so I would procceed with caution.

Shout out to my bestie NetGalley for this one.

I received an e-ARC from netgalley in exchange for a review.

I was quite excited to check out this horror short story collection, but unfortunately I found myself bored or underwhelmed by most of these short stories and wasn't able to find anything particularly intruiging in most of them. Most of the stories tend to follow pretty obvious horror tropes (lovecraftian cult, hungry haunted house, crazy cannibal killer), featuring women getting assaulted (and in general nearly always as victims), men being horrible (or sad), obvious and predictable twists and concepts that just weren't explored as deeply (or as darkly) as they could have been and thus a lot less horrifying. The only story I actually enjoyed in here was "A letter to my future corpse", a haunting story about recovering from abuse and trauma, a short story that was gross and sweet at the same time and included really fascinating descriptions of art. In general I feel like this short story collection suffered from trying to explore dark themes in it, without daring to actually dive into them. This is particularly true for "To taste her Flesh", a short story which features a haunting that attempts to tempt the MC into doing some truly despicable things (such as sexually assaulting the husband of his unrequired crush who recently died), but didn't dive deeply enough into the horror of such an act for the perpetrator, which cheapened it considerably to me. I also felt the same way about "In the Labyrinth", which also features a weird tentacle (which read as non-consensual to me) sex scene and the ritualistic murder of the MC's wife, but doesn't truly dive into the why, which could have added to this short story.
All in all unfortunately this was not a horror collection I enjoyed.

I took some notes on each short story with trigger warnings as I was reading, which you can read here. Spoilers ahead:

Jealousy - a relatively disjointed story, jumping around in time repeatedly, the twist was preeetty obvious and to me it felt all in all rather boring, i did like the idea of a haunted bathtub and the fear of the drain was an interesting concept, but unfortunately that did not play as much as a role as I hoped it would, 2/5 tw murder, cheating

A letter to my future corpse - about recovering from abuse and trauma, cool art descriptions, gross and fucky and sweet, 4/5

I have swallowed sin - a haunting of a mentally ill person, not sure if the writing style wanted to give the impression of a child or a person with intellectual disabilities (mc was at least 16 years old), but it didnt sit right with me, the horror did not work for me either as it was just too vague and underexplored, 1/5 tw murder, ableism

In the labyrinth - weird lovecraftian erotic horror devoid of any real eroticism (featuring hot women w big tits getting fucked by our clueless stupid mc & the eldritch horrors) & his wife dies for manpain of our MC, really quite bad & not at all innovative, felt very 80s horror in its everything and so just wasn't at all interesting to me, 1/5 tw abduction, murder, rape (potentially, maybe just fucked up monster sex)

Cornelia - a man is kidnapped by a crazy cannibal killer and his wife, features women as victims and sex objects, misery but waaaay worse, 2/5

The incident at shore run road - a hungry house and the family it devours, okay, creepy if nothing special, 3/5, tw murder, suicide

To taste her flesh - a man grieving the loss of the woman he had a unrequited crush on confronts her surviving husband spurred on by a ghost, could have been fun if the author delved into the darkness instead of just hinting at it and hiding, tbh if you include an attempted rape from the rapists pov it has to make sense from a character perspective and here it absolutely did not, 2/5 stars, tw suicide, rape

DNF at 75%.

I really couldn’t get into this,I just didn’t care for the majority of these stories. The ones that I was intrigued by would end abruptly and I felt so underwhelmed.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review!

I was excited that the book encompassed a bunch of short stories, as sometimes long books fail to hold my attention. While the topics in the stories aren't something I would typically read, I still thought they were quite interesting. Some fell flat (In the Labyrinth went on for way too many pages, while I was hoping to read more of I Have Swallowed Sin) but overall, I enjoyed the stories and thought it was a great, quick read! I feel like the book started out strong with Jealousy and then got weaker as the book went on, but I would still recommend this to anyone interested in horror/thrillers as they were fun reads that kept me questioning what was going to happen next.

Ronald J. Murray is a new author for me, and I am delighted to have been introduced to his words. I truly enjoy collections and anthologies. I find a collection to be a great way to experience different facets of an author's voice all at once. Where the Dead Don't Die is a collection of short stories and novelettes, all with elements of betrayal. I found it extremely easy to get used to Ronald's style. Lyrical and beautiful, without being flowery. That's not easy to do, and he did it superbly. These tales were all dark and filled with tension and dread. A little bit about each story...

Jealousy- A captivating, psychological, mind-fuck of a story! It's unhinged and off the wall. Is it mental illness? Intense deja vu? Something else? The answer was actually worse than what I expected, well played, Sir!

A Letter to My Future Corpse- This story went DEEP! Beautifully written with lyrical prose that flowed effortlessly. It was meaningful and filled with pain. Quite an amazing reading experience.

I Have Swallowed Sin- Medicine is good for you, except for when it's bad. You should take it, but not take it. No, definitely take it, but ignore the ghost, or listen to the ghost because maybe it's not a ghost. You know what, just pace the floor, that will work.

In the Labyrinth- Probably my favorite in this collection. Lovecraftian and sexy. Deftly executed!

Cornelia- Poor Brennan is in a bad accident on a snowy mountain road. His salvation comes from a man and woman that live deep in the woods. Think Wrong Turn, but spicy.

The Incident at Shore Run Road- The mysterious room # 206. What lies behind its door?

To Taste Her Flesh- Deliciously fucked up, and I loved every word!

Where the Dead Don't Die is an amazing collection filled with lyrical prose, and some truly horrific acts of betrayal. Highly recommend!

This psychological horror collection of short stories is bound to make your skin crawl with atleast one of them... i am not the one usually for anthologies but i ate this one up. The fast paced stories take no time in setting up things and take you within uncomfortable spaces pretty soon.

With themes of love, lust, betrayal and erotic intertwined with supernatural and dark recesses of human psyche, each story needs to be savoured on its own with their different plots and characters. The smooth writing style and easy flow, the stories move fast enough to keep you hooked as they navigate through. My favourite has to be Jealousy and I have Swallowed Sin

A perfect read for horror fans who like things fast paced and be creeped out for all the right reasons.

Thank you NetGalley and RDS publishing for the eARC in exchange for an unbiased review

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

3.5 stars! Rounded up

You know what? I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. The dialogue and characters don't get to be that fleshed out because there are 7 short stories, but damn, I was entertained and would honestly read full stories of some of these.

Really enjoyed them and the different vibe and horror I experienced!

This book was more of a hit or miss for me. Some of the stories were really great others weren't for me.

1. Jealousy: 5/5 stars
I'm really grateful that this book started with story. The whole idea and the storyline was amazing and the plot was compelling and captivating. The story had so many twist and turns that I never guessed the ending.

2. A Letter to My Future Corpse 2/5 stars
The idea of this story was good but for my liking it wasn't elaborated enough therefor it wasn't catching my attention enough. This story could easily get more stars from other readers if this is exactly their type of horror story.

3. I Have Swallowed Sin 2,5/5 stars
This story was captivating and did get me excited for the ending. Although the ending itself kinda disappointed me. That's the reason why it's only 2,5 stars.

4. In the Labyrinth 3,5/5 stars
Another story were the idea and the plot both were compelling. It's not my type of horror story but it was well written, therefor it was even for me enjoyable.

5. Cornelia 5/5 stars
Wow wow wow. This was my favorite story of the book. It was interesting throughout and I couldn't put it away for even one second. I had to finish it as fast as possible and wasn't disappointed even once, This story makes me want to read more books of this author.

6. The Incident at Shore Run Road 2/5 stars
Another story that wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it and to be honest I also didn't understand the concept. Although I have to respect that it is well written and the wording was great.

7. To Taste Her Flesh 3,5/5 stars
Also a great plot but I wished for more. The beginning and the ending were great but the middle was hard for me to get through.


Combined it get's a rating 3,36 stars so I'll either round it down to 3 stars or up to 3,5 stars if it's possible for the different apps.

Jealousy: It took a little while to get there, but the story was good. Riley has to figure out why Anastasia won't talk to him and left him out of the blue.

A Letter to My Future Corpse: This one took me for a ride. It takes a look on how you deal with things within your own mind and it kind of leaves you open to how you want to interpret it.

I Have Swallowed Sin: This story leaves it up to you to decide what is really going on. Quick and to the point, but leaves you thinking.

In the Labyrinth: I'm not sure what else to say, but, don't be a Mitchell.

Cornelia: Oh man, this one hits hard; finding a bear would have been a much preferable option.

The Incident at Shore Run Road: Sometimes legends are better left unread.

To Taste her Flesh: This one show that we all deal with grief differently and sometimes it manifest in a bad way.

The story writing is good, I just feel the author or at least the anthology side of his work wasn't for me, but I'm glad I read them.

I was quite disappointed in this collection of short stories. This promised to be 'Uncomfortably Dark' unfortunately I was 'Uncomfortably Bored'. There were two stories of the seven that have made me rate this 2 stars instead of a 1 star. The writer did a 3.5 star job on the writing however it was not enough to pull this book up to 3 stars.

I read this as an ARC. It is now published.

I will post a review on my TikTok account tomorrow.

Ronald J. Murray, is a brand new author to me. I have never read one of his books and I am very grateful to be able to receive a copy of this book to read and review, for free. The writing was easy to understand and he goes into enough detail that the reader knows what's going on without going on and on. I look forward to reading more of his books.

This book is a collection of short horror stories, some are psychology terrifying and others are just supernatural stories. As a horror fan these are the types of stories that you can never grow old of. This book is 100 pages long and tells seven different stories all of which fall into subgenres of horror. For this reason I believe that every horror lover can find one story they would enjoy.

I rated this book a ⅗ as I really enjoyed it and felt it was written well, but I did not feel their was much uniqueness to his ideas and concepts. I feel that some of the stories in this book could have been a tad longer. It fell flat for me as this book was nothing overly special and I feel like I’ve read horror like this before.
This is a safe, easy-to-read book that I recommend to everyone, as I think it will suit every horror lovers interests.

Strong writing but the stories didn't hit.

This feels like an early attempt from a writer with a lot of promise. The style of writing was compelling and richly detailed. Ronald does a good job at creating creeping dread, and intentionally obfuscating a story to imitate how the character is feeling.

However, the first two stories especially, seemed to use women's pain as the launch point for our male main characters' action. That doesn't resonate with me. Overall I wanted the stories to be more creative.

Thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing | Uncomfortably Dark for the ARC opportunity.

There were a couple decent stories in this collection. Unfortunately, most of them were hard to read. The writing style was confusing, awkward and I couldn't get into them or really even figure out what was going on.

7 short spooky stories focusing on relationships, grief and abuse with elements of psychological and supernatural horror. Overall, the book itself was average, and I found myself being somewhat confused by a couple of stories as I couldn’t figure out what was occurring in a dream/flashback/reality (I’m unsure if this was the intention as the characters also appeared to be confused as well).

The standout stories for me where:

Cornelia - this reminded me of Misery by Stephen King at the beginning as it involved a man getting into a car accident in the snow and being taken care of by strangers. It ends up being a creepy cannibal story however!

To Taste Her Flesh - a guy is heartbroken as the girl he is in love with has committed suicide, seemingly due to her struggling relationship with her boyfriend. Another friend of his starts to ‘mimic’ this girl and encourages him to kill the boyfriend. There is torture involved and an almost rape scene which was unexpected 😵‍💫

I do look forward to seeing what this author produces in the future!

Thank you to netgalley and Uncomfortably Dark for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! ✨

To start I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC. This review will be spoiler free.

An upcoming horror anthology by author Ronald J. Murphy that contains 7 stories with a variety of different tastes. My favorites being 3. I Have Swallowed Sin and 6. The Incident at Shore Run Road. I am unfamiliar with Murphy’s previous work so I was not privy to his personal style and brand of writing going into this read and I’ve since come to the conclusion that I’m not the target audience for this type of work. I love horror and I don’t shy away from gore but this work in particular made me question why the author wrote this.

I felt that the plots were often unconvincing and that the dialogues were very flat. I realize in hindsight that the respective premise of each story was not at all the issue rather the execution. Some stories contained too many details that made them drag on longer than I felt necessary while others could use a few more details as they left me baffled thinking I missed something important when I struggled to understand the ending. I was also not a fan of the parts in certain stories that heavily featured gore of female anatomy. The placement of it just didn’t always seem necessary and I sometimes felt that the purpose of its inclusion didn’t go beyond just wanting to include it. I would read these parts and be completely taken out of the story thinking “….ew.”

Still, there were a few stories in there that I enjoyed and would actually love to see more flushed out and adapted on screen (The Incident at Shore Run Road in particular). I think this book has a huge audience out there — It just, overall, wasn’t that enjoyable for me personally.