Overall a fun collection of stories! I was so hyped to see Cat Ward among the list of authors, and am so happy her story did not disappoint. I hadn't heard of Owen King before but his story was among my favorites. I'm always thrilled when I find new authors to check out through story collections! Despite not all of them working for me, there were some hits so I'll definitely be recommending it.

Joe Hill's story was my least favorite. I found the main character insufferable!
Stephen Graham Jones' was just ok. It didn't make me feel anything and I disliked the ending.
Grady's was probably my favorite. Fun, interesting elements. Kinda bleak. Loved the setting.
Catriona Wards was great as well. Fantastic writing, heartbreakingly sad. Made me feel a lot in a very short amount of pages!
Owen King's was compelling and actually made me gasp at the end. Enjoyed it a lot!

Wow, this is easily the best Amazon Original short story collection yet. There was not one dud in the bunch. I mean, with the authors on this roster I expected magic, and I’m glad they all delivered. The biggest surprise for me was Owen King’s Letter Slot. Of all the authors, I am least familiar with his work so I was pleasantly surprised when his story tied with Kendrix’s The Blanks as my favorite. These were followed by Ward’s Night and Day in Misery, Jones’ The Indigo Room, and then Hill’s Jackknife. But honestly, like I said, all very good.

If you’re a supernatural horror fan, pick these up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for ALC of the full collection!
Rounded up to 4 stars!

Part 1
Jackknife by Joe Hill

“Dennis didn’t need a picture to get the picture… [They] had gone into the woods to cut down the bad tree and had been cut down themselves. Maybe the tree of liberty needed to be watered by the blood of tyrants. But the ancient sycamore in the… woods maybe didn’t mind so much where the blood came from, as long as there was plenty of it. ”

Pretty strong start to the anthology with this one, but who expects less from this group? This is the first time I’ve really experienced Joe Hill’s writing. I’m familiar with his work, via the adaptation of NOS4A2, and this was a nice taste of what he has to offer as a writer. It’s a nice blend of the paranormal within the antagonist, even though the one we would consider the protagonist is a complete pos. To be quite frank, if we walked into a forest, would we know something is evil? Probably not. Also, don’t touch things explicitly labeled ‘Don’t Touch,’ I feel like this is self-explanatory. Don’t let those intrusive thoughts get the best of ya.


Part 2
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones

“… she could always sense when someone came into her space. The air pressure would shift, just slightly. It’s what she was feeling right now, a subtle shift in the atmosphere. Except, it was more a murmuring. A nervousness.”

I, a SGJ stan, will never say a negative thing about him. That being said, take my opinion with a grain of salt, but after all this time, I feel like I can adequately say that he is an acquired taste that takes a bit of revelation to fully comprehend. This one is wild, and within the top three for me. At no point did I really understand what was going on here, and that has got to be the intended point. It’s giving the same energy as those “Two Sentence Horror Stories,” but in the obvious form of leaving us to interpret the ending on our own. Loved it. I am also frightened regarding our modern workplace, so thank you for this imagery that will play on loop every time I walk into a conference room.

“Ana’s headless body was either sitting there in her chair, or Jennifer was remembering it having been there. She let the heavy door’s cylinder shush it shut, and saw herself here after hours, bashing at the windows with a chair, to let the light in permanently. A thing she’d never do, of course, but a girl can dream. Especially when it’s that, or be stuck in a waking nightmare.”






Part 3
The Blanks by Riley Sager

“There are more of them than I’ve ever seen before. Their tall, still shadows stand out against the trees, their dead eyes reflect yellow in the house lights. All of them stare at this window. All of them stare at my son.”

Another hit by the one and only Riley Sager. What, you don’t think there are ‘others’ out there in a place like Martha’s Vineyard? Well, I do. The idea of The Blanks is honestly genius, giving to that ‘Other’ category very well. Factor in a mother’s love and need to protect her child against a ravenous force, and you may have quite the winner. There is a reason why this is the most garnered of the stories in this collection, the hype is deserved.

“But I know there’s nothing to do. Back in the 80s, they tried to do something about the Blanks. And all that happened was that a bunch of police from the mainland went missing… That was the last time anyone in an official capacity tried to do anything.”



Part 4
Night & Day in Misery by Catriona Ward

“There is only one reason a hotel changes its name that often: death.”

This one was a gut punch, fully and intentionally placed. Stella is overwhelmed with grief since her husband and son died. She is now venturing back to the place it all happened in the hope to be reunited with her son. Since these are short stories, I don’t want to say much more in order to *not* spoil the plot, but this one is horrific and absolutely terrifying in the most saddening way possible. Catriona Ward, you never cease to punch me in the stomach in order to rip my guts out. Thanks for that.

“It’s no stranger than coming to the place where your son died to end your own life, because you have convinced yourself that this might bring you back together somehow.”





Part 5
Letter Slot by Owen King

“His pal couldn't be real, that was given, wasn't it? If his pal was real, it meant there was more to everything, and that anything was possible... ”

I’ll be honest, there was a point where I was a little lost during this one, but had my attention caught on the hook with a quickness at the end. Owen King has a gift, and it is eerily similar to his father’s, where you haven’t exactly lost me – but you’ve confused me just enough to hit me over the head with a metaphorical baseball bat. All I have to say is never believe anything or anyone, even the ones you hold closest to you, because WTF?

“He absently wonders where the good luck will go, who will receive the bounty of his imminent affliction?”

Another great horror collection from all the best in Horror! I love these collections from Amazon – this one doesn’t disappoint

Update: Bumped this up to 4 stars after sleeping on it, in appreciation of the writing caliber and the talented voice performers.
As with many anthologies, I liked parts of this better than others. The overload of bad news these days is having an effect on my preferences. Some of these stories might introduce you to your next favorite author or increase your appreciation for authors you always want to read.

Joe Hill writes well, and I enjoyed his previous short story for Amazon, but this one wasn’t for me. I didn’t care about the heavy drinker who crashed his life by sexting with a student. The story has my biggest horror ick, and there were other turnoffs.

I was looking forward to my first experience with Catriona Ward’s writing. Unfortunately, I’m simply not up for alcoholism and domestic abuse (not a spoiler, it's right there in the beginning).

Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite new-to-me authors. Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a masterwork, and The Only Good Indian was a 5-star read for me, too.His story had good moments, but I didn't relate to any of the characters. There's suspense, the writing is smooth, and it has interesting effects and imagery, including body horror. Readers who like office settings and dynamics will probably find this more appealing than I did. I appreciate that he took on a mundane location and created chilling scenes.

Grady Hendrix - His contribution pulled me in immediately and kept me engaged. Creepy, classic horror with good pacing, well-intentioned characters, and a chilling premise that echoes vintage folk horror, yet with a new spin on it.

Owen King is new to me. I enjoyed his story and would have been content to stay with his fully-dimensional main character longer. I could relate to the challenges faced by the burdened teenaged boy, and the mysteries surrounding the different men added layers I’ll be thinking about for a while. This story had a moral depth to it and a fresh take on one of my favorite horror tropes. King deftly combined a realistic setting and contemporary issues with supernatural horror. The tale's memorable characters and psychological underpinnings gave this collection a powerful finish.

This high-quality audiobook features a different skilled narrator for each story and delivers a great sampler for horror readers. It's a short, easy listen that offers a chance to try out popular horror authors in short-form fiction. Each of the stories is also available as an audio single. 

My thanks to Amazon Original Stories for the ALC via NetGalley for consideration. These opinions are solely my own.

Thank you Net Galley for approving this audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

The Shivers is a horror anthology collection designed to send a chill down your spine. Whilst I don’t think it delivers on the spine-chilling promises, I think it was an enjoyable collection of short horror stories. The authors all have their own unique styles of storytelling that made it easy to identify when a new story started but maybe didn’t juxtapose well with each other. Individual reviews as follows:

Jackknife by Joe Hill
The first of two stories in this collection written by the progeny of Stephen King and I have to say its a mixed bag for me. Jackknife is easily the creepiest story in this collection with its seemingly sentient, eldritch-esq horror tree, but I also felt no emotional buy in to this fear simply because the MC sucked. Yes, this was intentional character design, but I just thing someone more morally grey would have been better because then you could almost root for them before reminding yourself they were an asshole? Unless ofc Joe Hill thinks a lecherous academic is “morally grey” instead of “morally reprehensible” which having read some of his other works wouldn’t shock me… 3.5 / 5 stars because that tree was sinister!

The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Described as “the horrors of the modern workplace meet actual horror”, The Indigo Room was perhaps my biggest let down of this collection. SGJ is one of my fave horror authors but this story was less actual horror and more “oh capitalism, the horror!” which I don’t disagree with, I just wanted it to be more sinister or scary. I think the premise was interesting but the execution was too short for me to care about the characters and it felt like it was written for the audience to care about them more than to see something spooky. 2.5 / 5 stars.

The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
In a move I did not see coming, a story by Grady Hendix was easily my favourite in this collection. An idyllic beachfront community that hides - ignores - a haunting secret made for an excellent, spooky short story, and was the only entry to have my spine even thinking about tingling. I do think the ending flopped a bit and I found the parental reactions to be wildly inaccurate but alas, I guess that is what I should expect from this man who insists on continuing to write female MCs. That aside, this was really good and by far my fave story - 4 / 5 stars.

Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward
Haunting rather than chilling, this tale of grief and remorse was hard to read at times but in a good way that I now forever associate with Catriona Ward. A mother grieving the loss of her son to his drunk/abusive father contemplates her life as mysterious forces influence her. I think this was another story that lost something for me with how sympathetic/unsympathetic the MC was, along with my own personal mother issues lmao. I do love how Ward writes these complex characters who are compelling even when they are unlikeable, but I wanted more time with them than this story gave me and so things fell a bit short. 3 / 5 stars.

Letter Slot by Owen King
Rounding out this collection is Stephen King offspring #2 Owen with a delightful tale reminiscent of the Paul Jennings/Round the Twist stories of my childhood. The biggest critique I have for this story is the choice of narrator. The MC of this story is a younger teen desperate to support his struggling mother. The narrator sounded like he was easily in his 40’s which was incredibly jarring and took me so far out of the story that I never really found my way back. Outside of this, Letter Slot was curiously charming with an undercurrent of sinisterness that I really liked. I think I would have enjoyed this story more if it had been in print. 3.5 / 5 stars.

Overall this was a fun collection of short stories but I don’t know that I would recommend it to that many people. None of the stories were especially innovative or, most egregiously, scary, and I found myself constantly underwhelmed.

Note: this review will be posted to Goodreads and StoryGraph once the book has been added to the platforms.

Thank you Brilliance Publishing for my free ARC of The Shivers by these top-of-their-class horror authors — available Apr 15!

Personally, I enjoyed all five of these stories about equally. It's hard for me to pick a favorite, but equally hard to pick a least favorite? I think they all were successfully unsettling, and I 'd read extended/novella versions of each one. Definitely worth your time!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Five of todays most recognized horror / suspense authors.  This is an overall solid collection of short fiction. I really enjoyed all of them, some more than others. Joe Hill and Grady Hendrix  are top notch. The stories by Stephrn Graham Jones, Catriona Ward and Owen King are excellent as well. A haunted tree, office politics, a cursed beach, and more.

Thank you Brilliance Publishing for the ALC.

This collection was fantastic! As soon as I saw the authors involved, I knew I had to read these stories, and they didn’t disappoint.

To me, the standout stories were those by Catriona Ward and Owen King. Ward’s story completely shattered my heart and had a profound impact on me, far beyond what I could have expected from a short story in a horror collection. King’s story also had a strong emotional thread that made me genuinely care about the main character.

Joe Hill and Grady Hendrix also had really good contributions. They both delivered eerie and more traditional horror stories. Hendrix’s story particularly struck an emotional chord with me.

Stephen Graham Jones is an author I’ve read extensively over the past few years, and when his stories work for me, they REALLY work. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is one of my all-time favorite books. However, I found his contribution to this collection to be the weakest. The lines between reality and illusion became so blurred that by the end of the story, I wondered if I had missed something. I left feeling a bit disoriented and confused, but still entertained. It wasn’t a bad story, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Overall, I would highly recommend “The Shivers” to any horror enthusiast!

The Shivers short story collection on audiobook was spectacular. Anything that Catriona Ward writes, I am reading. Night and Day in Misery is heartbreaking and deals with grief and the death of a child. The Blanks by Grady Hendrix is my favorite story and had me feeling all the feelings. Mail Slot by Owen King is also a strong contender for favorite because it feels like old-school horror. The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones took a classic fear and showed it in a new way. Jackknife by Joe Hill is the most uncomfortable story personally. Do not eat while listening to this one as there are graphic scenes. This is an excellent short story grab bag by some of the horror genre’s top authors. The narrators (Robert Fass, Kyla Garcia, Moniqua Plante, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Grover Gardner) are fantastic and kept me engaged. ALC was provided by Brilliance Publishing and Amazon Original Stories via NetGalley. I received an audiobook listening copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Shivers Collection
Overall, this was a fun sometimes heartbreaking collection of stories. I was already familiar with 4 out 5 of these authors (Owen Kings being the exception) and was pleasantly surprised by which stories I ended up favoring. This collection had an interesting mix of grief, old-school/traditional horror, paranormal elements, and strong familial themes. The narrators for each story did a great job at enriching the atmosphere and becoming the voice of the protagonists.

Jackknife by Joe Hill - 4 stars
I would classify Jackknife as paranormal, old-school horror. This story starts strong and within the first MINUTE establishes some great character development. Hill is obviously a master of his craft, because not many authors can establish the foundation of a character in under a minute. As the story progresses, more details about the character’s lives unfold and eventually lead into the horror portion of the story. A couple descriptions Hill uses in this had me laugh/choking on my on my drink. The ending didn’t feel as strong as the beginning and middle, but it was still a good story.

The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones - 3.75 stars
The Indigo Room had some paranormal horror sprinkled into an uncomfortable office atmosphere. I really enjoyed Jennifer’s inner dialogue and the coworker dynamics. The quirks of the different office personalities being overly familiar with one another, but still maintaining that professional distance made me want to squirm. Ending with Jennifer having to confront her inner thoughts was intriguing but truthfully fell a bit flat for me. I’m a huge Stephen Graham Jones fan, but this one didn’t make it into my favorites.

The Blanks by Grady Hendrix - 5 stars
The Blanks is suburban horror with some old-school elements mixed in. I typically have mixed feeling about Grady Hendrix’s books, but I LOVED this one! I wish this was a full-length novel. It was a dark, eerie, heartbreaking story set in a vacation home community. There is social commentary about superficial conformity and the appeal of the care-free, wealthy, suburban lifestyle. I don’t want to say too much about this story and give anything away. Great story!

Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward - 4.5 Stars
Whenever I come across something written by Catriona Ward, I already know that it's going to be emotional and that I’m going to love the ride. This was about a woman confronting her familial grief and trauma. As the details unfold, we learn more and more about her past experiences and how they affect her current situation and decisions. This was semi-straight forward story, where the reader figures out major details before the protagonist does.

Mail Slot by Owen King - 4.0 Stars
I haven’t read anything by Owen King before, so this was a nice introduction. This felt like some old-school, paranormal horror, with familial themes. I enjoyed the classic feel of the story, the escalation of events, and ever-changing perspective of the protagonist.

Thanks to Brilliance Publishing, Amazon Original Stories, and NetGalley for the ARC of The Shivers collection.

Every story in this collection is top notch, which is t surprising considering the authors, but I especially loved The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones and Letter Slot by Owen King. Somehow Stephen Graham Jones has made an intense and perfect office based tragic horror story, and Owen King’s story is just fantastic from beginning to immensely sad but satisfying conclusion. This is a group of stories by authors at the height of their powers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the UK publishers for a copy of this collection in exchange for an honest review.

I had a great time with these short stories and listened to them all in one day. They all delivered something different and yet all had in common that they managed to creep me out.

My personal favourite was Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward, but this was closely followed by Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones.

This was a real mixed bag for me but as a collection it was a great listen and had enough variation to make each story have a purpose in the collection.

I really enjoyed the stories by Joe Hill, Catriona Ward and Grady Hendrix but felt less excited by the Stephen Graham Jones and Owen King ones.

The narrators all did a fab job bringing these tales to life (which can sometimes be difficult when they're short stories!) and each had engaging voices to help keep me entertained.

Overall this was a quick easy listen and would be great for someone who hasn't read much horror before or haven't had a chance to check these authors out previously!

Very solid collection. Grady Hendrix's The Blanks kinda blows the rest of the stories out of the water-- it's the only one that really fulfills the promise of the collection title. That being said, I really enjoyed both Joe Hill's Jackknife and Owen King's The Letter Slot (SK taught them both well!) Unfortunately, both Catriona Ward and Stephen Graham Jones fall into their usual foibles and I'm not even sure Night and Day in Misery fully qualifies as horror. All in all, worth the listen for the standouts.

Thanks to Brillance Publishing and NetGalley for this audio arc.

I had a pretty good time listening to The Shivers, a collection of 5 authors including Grady Hendrix and Catriona Ward. If you’re a fan of horror you’ll have a fun time!

Amazon Originals return with another horrifying collection of short stories in The Shivers Collection. With tales from some of horror's top writers, Joe Hill, Stephen Graham Jones, Grady Hendrix, Catriona Ward, and Owen King, The Shivers invite us into a world where the supernatural hides in plain sight.

The Shivers is a collection of haunting stories that reveal the otherworldly terrors all around us. Each tale is unique in it's own way where things lurk within an old tree, get horrific visions of the future, stalk an idyllic beach, the lines blur between reality and the supernatural, and whisper through a letter.

With each tale the narrator brings to life the story being told by these fantastic authors. The narrators know which author they are reading to you and enhance each tale to new heights.

Jackknife

Ruined by scandal, Dennis Lange is desperate to rebuild his reputation. His only chance may be selling a story of what lies within the roots of a cursed tree. The story may change his fortune–but will come with a deadly risk. This monstrous short story from New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill kicks off The Shivers Collection.

Dennis awakens something evil when he removes a decades-old jackknife from the trunk of a gnarled old sycamore. Once pinned in place—now thoughtlessly freed—the tree returns to its roots. An act of vigilante justice took place under its boughs long ago. But its taste for blood has only grown stronger...

While Hill has made a name for himself over the years–outside the shadow of his father–Hill's tale brings back vibes from old school horror similar to Stephen King's short stories from the 1970s and 1980s in Jackknife. An eerie mystery surrounding an old tree that brought fear to the pages of this collection. Jackknife delivers an awesome read with its atmospheric tension and satisfying, well-written ending. The tale pays homage to the haunting style of old-school horror that sticks with you long after the story concludes.

The Indigo Room

People always say don't get caught up in office politics and they may be right. This chilling blend of workplace drama and true horror is a short story by New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones as part of The Shivers Collection.

When the lights go out and the slideshow begins, middle manager Jennifer has a disturbing vision: a headless colleague right across the boardroom table. Is it a trick of the light, or a vision of the future? She tries to brush it off and salvage the afternoon—but when her ex unexpectedly drops off her son at the office after school, suddenly her whole world takes an alarming turn.

The Indigo Room gave off huge Final Destination vibes while still giving off a unique feeling of its own. As a fan of premonition-style horror, this short story met that desire. While it may not break new ground and the ending left me a bit puzzled, it was still an enjoyable read. Its unique plot added something fresh to The Shivers Collection, making it perfect for the series.

The Blanks

Residents share an unspoken agreement with the island's eerie inhabitants: steer clear of them, and life goes on peacefully. But in New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix's short story from The Shivers Collection, one boy can’t look away—and pays the price.

Jeckle Island offers Rachel’s children the chance to spend summers roaming wild and free, as long as they follow the rules. But when her son comes face to face with a terror they dare not speak of, she must prepare for their perfect world to change. Forever.

Hendrix brings one of the more disturbing stories to The Shivers Collection with The Blanks. The tale is truly terrifying in ways that are less jumpy and more eerie, unsettling and creepy. Hendrix strikes a cord at not only my fearful side, but emotional side that left me in awe after finishing the last page. The Blanks alone makes the entire collection worthwhile.

Night and Day in Misery

In the gloom of her hotel, a mother readies to rejoin her past. Feverish nightmares meet the chilling light of day in this haunting short story, as part of The Shivers Collection, from USA Today bestselling author Catriona Ward.

Room 17 was the last stop on her husband and son’s journey. Eight years after their deaths, Stella books the same room, hoping to commune with their memories. But as she tries to sleep, disturbing and urgent visions blur the lines between reality and the supernatural, and the other side sends a terrifying message.

Ward gives us a chilling grief-driven horror short story in Night and Day in Misery. From the start, I was hooked and just when I thought I knew where she was taking us, Ward threw in a twist that completely turned the story on its head, leaving me reeling with surprise. Catriona crafts a twisty, horrifying, and grief-driven short story that was a fitting addition to The Shivers Collection.

Letter Slot

A helping hand, a fateful cost. In this ominous short story, as part of The Shivers Collection, from New York Times bestselling author Owen King, the cost of living keeps rising—and it collects payment from the soul.

Sensing his mother’s failing health, a struggling teenager pours out his worries in a letter and drops it through the mail slot of an abandoned show house. He’s surprised when a response arrives, promising good fortune for the price of just one name: someone he hates. He’d give anything for his mother. But the true cost may be more than he’s willing to pay.

Letter Slot is quite a deep tale with a truly dark twist. While not outright scary, this short story is undeniably unsettling, with a creeping tension that lingers long after the final sentence. Much like Joe Hill's Jackknife, Owen King's Letter Slot carries echoes of their father's storytelling ability. However, Owen's unique voice shines through with a cleverly crafted ending that I didn't see coming.