I had a hard time getting into the book. The stories just didn't grab me and I didn't find them scary. I wasn't a fan of how most of them ended; they seemed incomplete.

This collection of horror stories definitely kept my interest throughout, I enjoyed the variety in the stories.

This collection of stories was hit or miss for me. Many of the story ideas are wonderful but they all end suddenly with no explanation. Although the tales are definitely dark, I wouldn't call them horror. Perhaps some of these stories will be developed into novellas or novels. I'm not against ambiguous endings but every story here has one. Each story is like starting to eat a delicious appetizer but not being able to finish any of them.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. I am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Truest Sense is a solid collection of short Horror stories. With any collection these are a hit or miss basis, and unfortunately for me there were many misses.

Oh boy - I have been waaaay to lucky with my Netgalley ARC finds this week. The title refers to a comment on the idea of Horror in its "Truest Sense" however I like to think of the title that this book is good writing in the Truest Sense.

What stands out about this collection of horror is the variety. Often short story collections suffer from sameness or at least signs of formulaic thinking. There is none of that in Keating's work here - there is a range of POV, sub-genre, writing style, mood and everything. Basically what I'm saying is you can read through this collection and genuinely feel like you're diving into a totally different tale each time.

(really the only problem with the range is trying to keep all the stories coherently together in my head as one piece)

Stand-outs for me were:

Forgetting Leviathan - a very Lovecraftian tone with a kind of modern(ish) take

and

Moon Rocks on Mars - an extremely brutal x-files type tale that exemplified the cosmic terror of the MCs facing a strange and bizarre invasion.

Anyhoops - really enjoyed the Truest Sense - great collection!

Laura Keating's collection of short horror fiction reads like nothing so much as summer camp ghost stories or those old Goosebumps books aged up for a more mature audience, and I mean that in the best possible way. Mixing elements of horror, dark humor, and ironic consequences, these stories are complete, self contained and satisfying tidbits. My personal favorites were the first tale, "Field Notes on the Failed Expedition to the Sixth Theatere", "It's a Helluva Thing, Bill", and "The Quiet Yard". In all three of these stories, the conceit of the tale is refreshingly unique and the execution particularly capable and entertaining. I would gladly read more by this author.

Amazing collection of horror short stories. Deliciously evocative and atmospheric- definitely a new horror author for me to watch out for.

Fifteen short horror tales. Unfortunately none left much of an impression on me. I always want to root for short fiction, especially horror, but these just didn’t catch my interest.

“Horror is a genre of questions, inviting you to pluck just enough slime out of the unknown to get a good, nasty look at it.”

Keating just has a way with words… from the subtle to outright terrors within, from the first to the last page, I was completely captivated with this book. The stories will enthral readers, and be forewarned, you may start and not realize several hours have passed before you come up for air.

Each story was completely its own, but together, created a compelling collection of creeping dread, dark fantasies, monsters, and so much more. I really can’t pick a favourite amongst the many awesome ones.

I loved seeing that the author was a fellow Canadian, and the East Coast is often referenced in her morbid stories. Adding these fictional and wild elements to real places only adds to their rich wildness and history in my opinion. I will definitely be checking out this author’s other works and will keep my eyes peeled for further future works as well.

Thanks to NetGalley, Laura Keating, and Cemetery Gates Media for a copy.

This was my first read by this author so I didn’t know what to expect. It’s a collection of short horror stories. Each one delivers on quick and unsettling tales that keep you reading on. A great little collection I would recommend.

This is a solid collection of short horror stories. I was surprised at the variety. Yet, as with most collections, each story was hit or miss for me.

I also found myself less enthralled by the story I was reading in the moment than inspired to think of other things. One story takes place in a cave. Ah, to find a tale as great as Ted the Caver or The Descent … I was immediately filled with nostalgia for a chilling scare that I haven’t been able to relive. Another had a story about a boy returned, bringing to mind The Secret Garden and various Gaelic tales of fairy rings.

One that got me was a little cookbook interlude. Seems innocent on the surface but given the horror novel context one can’t help but imagine other ingredients … deftly done.

Other stories felt trite or unmemorable … and given that I read it within a day or so, that’s saying something. For example, the grave keeper slayer was just a typical slasher fest. I found myself rereading the tale, hoping for some deeper meaning or novel scare. Alas.

This might be a good collection for horror fans seeking a nostalgia trip or those just starting out in the genre.

Having never read this author before, but loving short horror stories, I was excited and curious to read Laura Keating's 'The Truest Sense' - especially since the one-sentence presentation of some of the stories in the book's synopsis promised a collection of original and intriguing horror tales. the collection turned even better than I expected. I can safely say that Keating's knack for the strange and the bizarre will have readers wondering what else might she have up her sleeve for the future! In fact, I for one would love to see most of these stories turned into novellas, or a novel or two (the demonic possession story, "Mine Is Not," is actually begging to be turned into a full story.)

The strength of the stories lies in originality and atmosphere - not so much in completeness or satisfying explanations. Keating's writing captures that elusive sense of dread, that feeling of wrongness horror often promises but seldom delivers. Here, most of the time while reading, I had the feeling of something having gone awry, as if someone were hitting the wrong note repeatedly on the background. A sense of dissonance and discord, while the story itself was perfectly fine, prose sweet and flowing. That's a fantastic achievement for short horror stories! The opening story, “Final Notes on the Failed Expedition to The Sixth Theatre,” about a cave luring archeologists and trapping them through a sort of cinema on the cave walls, is a fine example of this; but I'll take my favorite stories as examples. "When You Reach the Lighthouse," a tale that employs the doppelganger trope and turns it on its head, reads like a patchwork of nightmares, the imagery growing more and more disturbing, until the final twist comes and you realize that you were reading the wrong kind of story! The build up is impeccable, the descriptive, emotionally lacking writing style perfectly appropriate, and the ending, ambiguity, explanatory lack and all, does not disappoint. "The Quiet Yard," a ghost story that develops along rather familiar lines, manages to unsettle even if you know where it's going; the little details ultimately explode into an utterly strange and uncanny ending. Finally, "Moon Rocks on Mars," a thrilling take on small town horror by way of mysterious, never seen alien presences taking over, is an incredibly well-crafted tale of amazing originality and far-out imagination; more than a fully-structured narrative, it's an experience of harrowing dread, a parent's nightmare!

Overall, this is a fine short horror story collection; it should not be missed by horror fans who prefer deep emotional and atmospheric dives into the visceral, the weird, and the surreal!
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Received this eARC from NetGalley and I was so excited. I am a huge consumer of horror novels and finding an anthology of good horror stories is quite difficult. I can count on one hand the horror anthologies I can actually recommend-- I am adding this one to that small pile!

With anthologies, it is difficult because there is bound to be a story or 2, or more that just are not any good.

I can honestly say, this was a great book of lil 'horror stories and I ATE. IT. UP.

Stand out stories for me were: Forgetting Leviathan, It's a Helluva Thing, Bill., Yellow Birds, The Quiet Yard, & Good Time in the Bad Lands.

The only thing I wish is that it had been longer. More stories!

Other than that, it was the perfect read for a dark & stormy night, a late-night bout of insomnia, fall read, and anything in between!

Thank you Netgalley for a couple days of good reading!!

An eerie short story collection that settles into a warm, familiar place between folkloric and urban legend. I was impressed at how consistently compelling these were. Usually with short stories it'll be 50/50 ones I love and I ones I could skip, but there were only a couple here that didn't hold my attention, and even then they weren't bad! This runs the gamut from cosmic horror to slashers to exorcisms, and touches on many horror staples in between. All with firm grounding in a Canadian setting.

My favourites: The Kissing Gate; It's a Helluva Thing, Bill; When You Reach the Lighthouse; Moon Rocks on Mars.

I will be on the look out for future work from this author!

3.5 stars

An atmospheric collection of horror short stories, which for me contained both hits and misses.

Some of the highlights: “It’s a Helluva Thing, Bill” was a definite favorite, seeing the humor in an objectively horrifying situation and exploiting it to great effect. “Lakebottom Charlie” and “Yellow Birds” were both creepy and well-executed, leading the reader naturally along the narrator characters’ trains of logic. “The Quiet Yard” engaged with one of my favorite horror setups, where the main character embodies the asshole lurking in all of us, and is appropriately dealt with.

While not my favorite of the collection, I had to admire the artistry of “We are Giants,” an Angela Carter-esque fairytale reimagining.

Other stories were highly atmospheric and well written, but didn’t leave much of an impact on me. “Good Time in the Badlands” was more surrealist than is my personal liking, and I didn’t feel like I ‘got’ the ending of “Date Night.” “Forgetting Leviathan” bored me.

The whole collection really excelled when it came to visual imagery. While the stories’ writing styles were very different, they each managed to paint a vivid image in my mind.

Laura Keating is clearly a talented voice in horror; I find myself curious to know how her voice translates in longer-form fiction.

The Truest Sense is a collection of short, scary stories that offers some unforgettable horror novellas, but is not without its faults.
At its best, The Truest Sense is a uniquely strange and unsettling offering, with stories that will stay with you long after the final page has been turned. Highlights include “Forgetting Leviathan” (which introduces a terrifying creature that only adds to my fear of the ocean) “The Quiet Yard” (a reminder of the importance of switching your phone to silent), and Date Night. The latter is undoubtedly my favourite, and coincidentally is the shortest story at just over one page in length. It’s subtle and sombre, with imagery so beautiful I reread it three times in a row just to fully appreciate it.
Where The Truest Sense falls short, is in the stories that it doesn’t quite take far enough. Of course in short stories, and especially those in the horror genre, you do not expect to always get a well rounded ending with a thorough explanation of events. So much of the fun is in those endings left open to interpretation. For me, the best of these stories build in intensity, pulling you in until you are lost in the world that has been crafted in the span of just a handful of pages. When you’re so absorbed in that world, and the terror is reaching its peak, when your heart is thumping and your palms are clammy - that’s when it ends.
In some of the stories here, we end before that peak is being approached. In ‘Final Notes on the Failed’, and ‘Recipe Cards of Miss Grace Proktor, With Notes” the plot stalls, and instead of that cliffhanger ending that still somehow feels satisfying, I’m left with a twinge of disappointment. ‘Final Notes on the Failed’ being the first story in this collection could be a misstep, but thankfully it is followed by “The Kissing Gate” which more than makes up for what it’s predecessor lacks.
Overall, this is an enjoyable collection, and having never read Laura Keating’s work before, I am now keen to explore more of her writing.

The cover reminded me greatly of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and the inside was equally daunting. Some of the things that were the most horrible were all so very realistic.

The Truest Sense: A Collection of Horrors by Laura Keating
Rating: 4/5

Laura Keating, author of "Agony’s Lodestone," delivers fifteen new tales of terror in her latest collection, “The Truest Sense”.

In "The Truest Sense," horror encompasses various elements such as settings, creatures, phobias, and guilt. Laura Keating excels in gripping readers with her storytelling style, immersing them in the narrative and evoking visceral reactions.

From melancholy to humour, dread to lightheartedness, and ambiguous endings to neatly wrapped-up stories, Keating navigates diverse emotional landscapes adeptly.

The settings in these tales are captivating, leaving readers yearning to experience them firsthand, albeit until the grim events unfold.

In "THE TRUEST SENSE," prepare for a spine-chilling journey into the darkest depths of terror.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Cemetery Gates Media, and the author, Laura Keating, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.