Unsurprisingly, Gemma Amor has done it again and has completely amazed me with how much terror and emotion she can fit into such short, tidy little stories! I first was introduced to Gemma's work through The NoSleep Podcast, and thoroughly enjoyed an earlier collection of hers (Cruel Works of Nature), so I went into Till the Score is Paid with high hopes and was not let down in the slightest.

With many short story collections all from the same author, I whittle my review down only to my favorites, but that's tough to do when you have 11 stories and you've given each and every one of them either 4.5 or 5 stars! Instead, I'm going to indulge myself a bit and talk about each one (without spoilers, of course):

→ Have You Seen My Dog?
An unsuspecting doctor is caught in a nightmare when a sick and violent man becomes convinced she has something to do with his dog's disappearance. I wasn't quite sure where this one was going, but it was equal parts tragic and disturbing, and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

→ Pure Water
A hike goes downhill after a taste of the local freshwater sources. I like to take review notes when I read, especially for short story collections so I can keep up with my immediate reactions, and my note for this story is literally just, in all caps, "SO FUCKING GROSS!" I think that covers it pretty well.