It is tough rating an anthology of short stories because each one if of course it's own story.
However, I felt underwhelmed at the end of most of these stories. They just felt unfinished or like something was missing. They felt more like unfinished ideas of horror stories rather than short stories.

However, some of the stories were great and I enjoyed them. So it's a good book to have if you want a quick read hear and there.

Found a copy at the library to complete this review as my ARC was archived before I could download previously.
Good timing to read this spooky book as we near October and Halloween season!
While I appreciated the new take on horror this allowed I did feel that the stories ended abruptly and left me feeling as if the story was incomplete/ cut-off/ unfinished. This is a typical feeling with many short story collections and not just The Truest Sense by Laura Keating but I do wish the ending of some of the stories weren't so open-ended.
I enjoyed the vibes the story collection provided especially as we near the Halloween season but while the stories themselves started off nicely and hooked me as a reader, the endings fell short of satisfying.

This is a hit or miss collection of fifteen horror stories. A few of them really do grab you and take you for a ride, but I found that the majority of them were either a bit tough to follow or didn't have a very satisfying conclusion. While it didn't land for me, there's enough here that readers of all stripes should be able to find something that works for them throughout.

3.5 stars

The Truest Sense by Laura Keating is a collection of horror stories.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Cemetery Gates Media, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 
My Synopsis and Opinions:
As always, I will rate each short story on an individual basis.  Here we go:


Final Notes on the Failed Expedition to The Sixth Theatre... The images on a series of caves seem to come to life during a scientific expedition, and the team members disappear.  Not a fan.  Although interesting, I found it overly detailed and a little long -- I was bored.  1 star

The Kissing Gate... A young girl spies two young boys pass through the gate, and they are not found.  Many years later, the young teen sees one of them again.  This was quite good.  4 stars

Forgetting Leviathan... Two boys find a monster on the shore, and men are hired to dispose of it, but more than the just a monster is returned to the sea.  Creepy.  Loved it!  4 stars

It’s a Helluva Thing, Bill... Bill finds a flaming hole in his basement that he figures may be able to heat the house.  His buddy Larry is not so sure.  Absolutely loved it.  5 stars

Date Night... A date with the stars.  Rather poetic, rather dark, it was okay.  3 stars

Lakebottom Charlie... The summer kids vs the townies in a late night dive into the deep water.  This one hit home.  Loved it.  5 stars

Mine is Not... A priest brings in a demonologist and his wife to exorcise a demon in a young girl.  WOW.  Really good....loved the abrupt ending.  5 stars

Yellow Birds... As a young girl struggles with household responsibilities, 4 birds seem to follow her and bring her gifts.  Rather disturbing, but good.  3 stars

On the Pale Road Home... A woman walks home from a party and meets another woman.  One of them may be a ghost.  Simply great.  5 stars

Recipe Cards of Miss Grace Procktor, With Notes... The recipes of a young woman change as time goes on.  LOL.  3 stars

We Are Giants... A young girl grows up in an abusive home.  This was okay.  3 stars

When You Reach the Lighthouse... A man is running from himself.  Interesting.  3 stars

The Quiet Yard... A man in search of peace finds a graveyard to work from.  Loved it!  5 stars

Moon Rocks on Mars...  It started with the floating cow...It involved an alien race and the town building something for it.  Didn't get this one.  1 star

Good Time in the Bad Lands...  A family road trip has the father taking a short-cut.  Great story.  5 stars


Overall,  I was pleasantly surprised by this collection of short stories.  The author definitely has talent.  Most are quite creepy, and the imagery long-lasting.

I am very annoyed when a book is advertised as "for fans of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury".  Very few authors can compare to these masters.  That being said, some of these definitely felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone.

Will be watching this author.  This was a very fast read.

The Truest Sense was a solid horror short story collection - perhaps the strongest I’ve read in a while! I enjoyed most of the stories and even the ones that were not my favorite still were well written and interesting. This author is definitely someone I will be keeping an eye on and reading her future works! Highly recommend to all horror readers.

I’ve broken down the stories included in the collection including a brief intro and my rating:


Final Notes on the Failed Expedition to the Sixth Theater - 5 - Notes from a research team expedition into a cave that ended in the disappearance of all members. Creepy with amazing imagery!

The Kissing Gate - 3.5 - A reflection on childhood and friendship.

Forgetting Leviathan - 5 - The Body of a Leviathan washes up on the shores of a small town.

It’s a Helluva Thing, Bill - 4.5 - An older man finds something strange in his basement.

Date Night - 2.5 - A short reflective piece from a second person POV.

Lakebottom Charlie - 4 - A group of kids decide to test out an urban legend while at a lake.

Mine is Not - 3 - A priest reckons with a possessed girl.

Yellow Birds - 3 - A young girl starts reviving gifts from four yellow birds.

On the Pale Road Home - 3.5 - A short story about two women who meet walking home after a party.

Recipe Cards of Miss Grace Procktor, With Notes - 2.5 - Exactly what the name sounds like! Witchy vibes.

We Are Giants - 3.5 - A Jack and the Beanstalk retelling.

When You Reach the Lighthouse - 4.5 - Told in second person, the narrator arrives in a small town to follow through on a grisly task.

The Quiet Yard - 3.5 - A man goes to a graveyard to work in peace and quiet.

Moon Rocks on Mars - 3 - A woman strives to protect her son when aliens come to a small town.

Good Time in the Bad Lands - 3 - A family’s road trip does not go as expected.


Thank you to NetGalley and Cemetery Gates Media for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Fifteen well written short stories of horror and suspense. Keating has done a tremendous job of writing these stories with suspense and horror but little to no gore. I highly recommend these stories.

as someone who enjoys collections of short horror stories, i was very excited to receive this arc!

this particular collection of stories i found myself constantly thinking about. there’s a story for everyone it seems, no matter the type of horror you may be into. each story had their own tone and the writing captured moments of fear, desperation and pure mystery very well. my only “issue” was wanting more!

Laura Keating's book, The Truest Sense, is an anthology of short horror stories that range anywhere from mild enough a second grader would be safe reading the story to so twisted that it could play havoc with one's dreams depending on how sensitive that person is, thus quite possibly forcing them to leave the light on at night.

The Truest Sense delves into many different aspects of a person's psyche, many times forcing the readers to take a sep back from what they read so they can ground themselves in reality once again, and take a moment to say "This is only make believe. This is ONLY make believe," While the reder is aware what they have read is fiction, it's written in such a way, some of the stories are difficult to distinguish between fiction and reality.

Ms. Keating's style of writing is rather slow, putting her more along the lines of Stephen King, with the way she tends to describes everything when summing the situation up in a few words would be better, but then half the story would disappear.

For those that love a great campfire or Halloween ghost story, The Truest Sense is the perfect collection of stories to take along.These stories aren't horror just to be gruesome horror, these are horror in The Truest Sense, and that can be so much worse.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for a readers copy of this book. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.
Like any collection of short stories, the are a few that will stand out to the reader, some that are good, and a few that might not be to a reader’s liking. I find this to be true of most short stories collections. It was true of this book as well. My personal favorite was the lead story, but only because it is the type of format that I find interesting. It may well vary for others. Overall, it is a book that I would recommend exploring to find your own favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley, Cemetery Gates Media, and Laura Keating for an ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review. 


Ok, so....


Laura Keating has an incredibly beautiful style of writing. Visceral and atmospheric, we're dropped into these horrifying, often mysterious scenarios... Yet it's easy to orient yourself, despite confronting the unknowable and extremely disquieting. Often, in short horror stories, I feel like I'm playing a game of catch-up... and these stories didn't feel that way. 

Many of the stories brought with them a feeling of nostalgia that I struggle to articulate. Several contain characters that are intentionally and unintentionally hilarious. Many of the stories have a Lovecraftian vibes, which I dug. Several had an uncanny feel to them, which I loved. 

Overall, a superb collection. I loved them all, in varies ways, for various reasons. There's truly so much to appreciate here, as a horror lover. I highly recommend. And it's out now! 


Some of my personal favorites are: 


*Forgetting Leviathan

*It's a Helluva Thing, Bill

*Mine Is Not

*Yellow Birds

*We Are Giants

*When You Reach The Lighthouse

*Moon Rocks on Mars

This is a very solid horror collection, with a cover that evokes adult-style 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,' which is admittedly what drew me in. I certainly preferred some stories to others, but they all have a snarky, wry edge to them that I really clicked with. I'll definitely read more from this author.

A good collection of short horror stories of all types although not true horror I liked Lakebottom Charlie and Mine is Not although I enjoyed them all. Thanks to Cemetery Gate Media and Netgalley for a review ARC.

This book definitely delivers on the horror. Lots of fun though. The cover gave me major scary stories to tell in the dark vibes and I loved that. I did read the ebook but I’ve heard that’s the vibe of all the illustrations. I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy soon. A must read that I definitely recommend.

At first glance this book was reminiscent of the spooky books I read as a child in the 90's. But when I started reading, it took me to the creepy places in my mind... like reading King's Graveyard Shift. Much like King's rats- I will be thinking about the recipes in The Truest Sense anytime read horror. Yep, recipes.

As with all short story collections, some of the stories hit better than others.

Overall, I loved the writing! Each story had its own voice and writing style, so they stood apart from each other.
I would love to see a few of these stories fleshed out into something longer!

A mixed bag of a collection. Most of these stories lacked a satisfying conclusion and identifiable purpose.

Was not holding my interest and stories were bland. Couldn’t follow along with the plot half the time.

I really enjoyed this collection. It resides in a section of horror that I personally enjoy. I feel like everything here fits into two themes in horror: small town/local folk horror and cosmic/eldritch horror. The small town stuff places the fear in the natural surroundings as well as the domestic household, quaint country practices take a disturbing twist. And then there's often a sense of something much older and more powerful than we know, foreign to us, but so built into the earth that we become foreign to our surroundings once it is discovered.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6624179691?book_show_action=false

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b8c17537-96ce-47fa-b424-8701bad59e8b

Check out this review of The Truest Sense: A Collection of Horrors on Fable. https://fable.co/review/5a6b06f5-4812-423a-8195-ed1832af5ed4/share

This was a great collection of unfinished stories. There was a range of plots and subgenres, but not a single one had a satisfying ending. They didn't have endings at all. Unfortunate.

As with almost all short story books, some stories are better than others. A couple of these had some good dark humor and others some intense creepiness. But mostly, these were unfinished ideas of horror stories. They picked up somewhere in the middle of what was happening and ended before... well, before there were true endings. Neither good or bad but just a wisp of an idea breezing through the book.

All of the things I didn't appreciate about the stories may just be that author's writing style. Others may appreciate that style. But, all together, it just wasn't for me.

I'm giving 2.5 stars rounded up to 3⭐️.

As always, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.