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inkandplasma
Full collection review available on my blog, 09/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/09/the-hush-collection
This was so creepy. I’ve read a couple of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s thrillers, and I was lucky enough to hear her speak at an event once, and I really love the way she creates a sense of creeping fear with tightly written prose. As someone who spends way too much time on social media, this was absolutely terrifying. The idea of being stalked through instagram, secrets slowly unravelling, had me wanting to log off altogether - and I don’t have nearly as much to hide as [main character]. I liked this a lot more than the first book in the collection, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the collection.
This was so creepy. I’ve read a couple of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s thrillers, and I was lucky enough to hear her speak at an event once, and I really love the way she creates a sense of creeping fear with tightly written prose. As someone who spends way too much time on social media, this was absolutely terrifying. The idea of being stalked through instagram, secrets slowly unravelling, had me wanting to log off altogether - and I don’t have nearly as much to hide as [main character]. I liked this a lot more than the first book in the collection, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the collection.
Full collection review available on my blog, 09/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/09/the-hush-collection
I love a good thriller and this was a good thriller. I thought I knew what was coming but it still managed to rug pull me near the end. I loved the voice and the texting mixed with prose format. I’m a sucker for epistolary and rarely see it in thrillers. I’ve never read any Laura Lippman before but this scratched my thriller itch so thoroughly I’m going to have to change that.
I love a good thriller and this was a good thriller. I thought I knew what was coming but it still managed to rug pull me near the end. I loved the voice and the texting mixed with prose format. I’m a sucker for epistolary and rarely see it in thrillers. I’ve never read any Laura Lippman before but this scratched my thriller itch so thoroughly I’m going to have to change that.
Full collection review available on my blog, 09/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/09/the-hush-collection
This was a pretty well-written piece but really solidified that I’m just not interested in crime novels. If I was into them though, this would make me read more of Deaver’s work. The Gravedigger serial kidnapper was not what I expected and I loved the way that the ‘lies’ theme was threaded into this story. Having a reporter perspective instead of police definitely made me enjoy this more than other crime stories I’ve tried and I liked the duality of the old-school and new-school reporters working together. The ending was satisfying to read and I liked the way it all tied together in its short pages.
This was a pretty well-written piece but really solidified that I’m just not interested in crime novels. If I was into them though, this would make me read more of Deaver’s work. The Gravedigger serial kidnapper was not what I expected and I loved the way that the ‘lies’ theme was threaded into this story. Having a reporter perspective instead of police definitely made me enjoy this more than other crime stories I’ve tried and I liked the duality of the old-school and new-school reporters working together. The ending was satisfying to read and I liked the way it all tied together in its short pages.
Full collection review available on my blog, 09/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/09/the-hush-collection
This was fantastic, and so creepy - I love-hated it. I could not have predicted the lie that made this story a perfect fit for this collection if you’d left me to guess for a hundred years. I loved that we saw the darker sides of fame and fortune, the lies behind the glamourous lifestyle, before we even got into the lies surrounding our protagonist’s missing year of her life. I was on tenterhooks as I listened to this story waiting desperately to find out what would happen to Fidelity, and this raw look at the lengths humans can go to to protect their lives made me shiver.
This was fantastic, and so creepy - I love-hated it. I could not have predicted the lie that made this story a perfect fit for this collection if you’d left me to guess for a hundred years. I loved that we saw the darker sides of fame and fortune, the lies behind the glamourous lifestyle, before we even got into the lies surrounding our protagonist’s missing year of her life. I was on tenterhooks as I listened to this story waiting desperately to find out what would happen to Fidelity, and this raw look at the lengths humans can go to to protect their lives made me shiver.
Full collection review available on my blog, 09/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/09/the-hush-collection
I wasn’t sold on this to start with, but goddamn did this build to a really creepy conclusion. This gave me exactly the same ‘fuck, I hate this’ vibes as watching You on Netflix. Our protagonist has been through it, with a traumatic past that led to his messy breakup with his ex-girlfriend and subsequent breakdown. But is he right in thinking that his ex’s new picture perfect life is fake, or is this stalker’s delusions and paranoia? This made me feel paranoid, a sure sign of a fantastically written unreliable narrator, and for a few short minutes I was on his side. Until he reminded me that he is the worst. This is the second Amazon short I’ve read from Lisa Unger and I will absolutely be reading more in the future.
I wasn’t sold on this to start with, but goddamn did this build to a really creepy conclusion. This gave me exactly the same ‘fuck, I hate this’ vibes as watching You on Netflix. Our protagonist has been through it, with a traumatic past that led to his messy breakup with his ex-girlfriend and subsequent breakdown. But is he right in thinking that his ex’s new picture perfect life is fake, or is this stalker’s delusions and paranoia? This made me feel paranoid, a sure sign of a fantastically written unreliable narrator, and for a few short minutes I was on his side. Until he reminded me that he is the worst. This is the second Amazon short I’ve read from Lisa Unger and I will absolutely be reading more in the future.
Full collection review available on my blog, 13/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/13/the-disorder-collection/
This was so fucking creepy. The mass hysteria combined with the leading questions in the police interviews made it incredibly uncomfortable to read in the way that only really good horror can. Reading this made me crave more horror set during the Satanic Panic, and while the ending did feel a little vaguer than I would have liked - I’m a big fan of a solid conclusion - it wasn’t a bad ending by any means and fit the openendedness that a lot of these Amazon Originals have in common.
This was so fucking creepy. The mass hysteria combined with the leading questions in the police interviews made it incredibly uncomfortable to read in the way that only really good horror can. Reading this made me crave more horror set during the Satanic Panic, and while the ending did feel a little vaguer than I would have liked - I’m a big fan of a solid conclusion - it wasn’t a bad ending by any means and fit the openendedness that a lot of these Amazon Originals have in common.
Full collection review available on my blog, 13/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/13/the-disorder-collection/
Knowing this is based on a true story just makes it even more painful. This story doesn’t feel like much until you get to the end when it hits you with an incredibly impactful gut punch. I liked the writing, which suited the narrative voice of the character really well. The patriarchal ideas of male value, family loyalty and duty were threaded throughout this short story and it was so painful to see what was coming as I read.
Knowing this is based on a true story just makes it even more painful. This story doesn’t feel like much until you get to the end when it hits you with an incredibly impactful gut punch. I liked the writing, which suited the narrative voice of the character really well. The patriarchal ideas of male value, family loyalty and duty were threaded throughout this short story and it was so painful to see what was coming as I read.
Full collection review available on my blog, 13/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/13/the-disorder-collection/
I liked the writing style of this one. It was a pretty harrowing read in particular because I knew it has happened and more likely than not is still happening to people. Racial profiling is something I’m privileged to have never had to deal with, and I can’t imagine being in the shoes of this character. The ending is a sharp shock, and feels somehow disproportionate to the horrors that our character experiences - which to me is exactly the point. To go through so much and to be expected to simply move on? It was horrible to consider.
I liked the writing style of this one. It was a pretty harrowing read in particular because I knew it has happened and more likely than not is still happening to people. Racial profiling is something I’m privileged to have never had to deal with, and I can’t imagine being in the shoes of this character. The ending is a sharp shock, and feels somehow disproportionate to the horrors that our character experiences - which to me is exactly the point. To go through so much and to be expected to simply move on? It was horrible to consider.
Full collection review available on my blog, 13/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/13/the-disorder-collection/
Hand on my heart, I could not tell you what the plot of this short story is. I don’t hate that though, it was creepy in a gothic sort of way where I wasn’t sure what was happening but I knew I didn’t like it. There was one scene that was a little more graphic than I’d have liked, but I can’t fault it for that - horror is as horror does and it wasn’t gratuitous, I just hate gory pseudo-sex scenes. I think the ending could have been more conclusive and I’d have liked it a little more.
Hand on my heart, I could not tell you what the plot of this short story is. I don’t hate that though, it was creepy in a gothic sort of way where I wasn’t sure what was happening but I knew I didn’t like it. There was one scene that was a little more graphic than I’d have liked, but I can’t fault it for that - horror is as horror does and it wasn’t gratuitous, I just hate gory pseudo-sex scenes. I think the ending could have been more conclusive and I’d have liked it a little more.
Full collection review available on my blog, 13/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/13/the-disorder-collection/
This pushed all my buttons in the woooorst way. It was a fantastic read. The idea of a doppelganger committing crimes and tangling you up in them is intense and terrifying, the sense of helplessness enough to make me shiver. I haven’t read the Poe story that this is based on, but between this and an anthology of Poe retellings that I’ve read before I think I need to start reading Poe because I’ve always enjoyed them. I liked the contemporary setting, and the way that this story pulled racial profiling and racial inequality into this retelling. It gave it a hell of a punch and left me feeling spooked and sad.
This pushed all my buttons in the woooorst way. It was a fantastic read. The idea of a doppelganger committing crimes and tangling you up in them is intense and terrifying, the sense of helplessness enough to make me shiver. I haven’t read the Poe story that this is based on, but between this and an anthology of Poe retellings that I’ve read before I think I need to start reading Poe because I’ve always enjoyed them. I liked the contemporary setting, and the way that this story pulled racial profiling and racial inequality into this retelling. It gave it a hell of a punch and left me feeling spooked and sad.