Aftertaste And Other Stories: Brett O’Reilly
Reviewed By Sarah J. Huntington
Short story collections are, for me, the equivalent of enjoying a big box of delicious chocolates.
Instead of one flavour, you get many different tastes.
This collection definitely felt like that. All of the stories were quite unique and unusual too. There were no fillers or weak plots and the characters were entirely believable as were the situations.
There were Faustian style pacts, Vampires, Ghouls and that was just the first few tales.
There is something for everyone to enjoy and one or two had the same feel as watching a classic black and white horror movie. Out of the twelve stories, there was only one that didn’t fully work for me. That particular story just didn’t grab me as much or as quickly as the rest managed to.
My personal favorites were ‘Between the Lines,’ which had a real Hammer Horror feel to it or a ‘be careful what you wish for’ kind of narrative, and ‘Lucky Star,’ which was excellent.
What hooked me the most with this collection was the style of writing, the tales were told with skill, and a little dark humour was added in some. The passion the author has for storytelling really shines through, particularly in the introduction, and I felt myself become swept along and easily absorbed by each new twisted tale.
I will remember the majority of the stories and for me, that is a sign of how much I enjoyed them.
Aftertaste
James Havisch the Third is a vampire forced by the COVID pandemic to order delivery. What he doesn’t expect is that dinner comes with an “Aftertaste” he’d as soon forget.
A women’s curling club has sinister intentions towards ex-hockey player-turned-scout Chase Dempster—whom they’d like see become their very own “Lucky Star”.
Mercer and Hennessey are detectives faced with multiple disappearances, all revolving around a prop door in a furniture store on which strange symbols have been fingerpainted in blood. When the door inexplicably opens, one must decide if they’re willing to cross the “Threshold”
These are a few of the stories in Aftertaste & Other Stories!
Horror that lingers!
You can buy Aftertaste And Other Stories from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Sarah Jane Huntington
I am the author of several short horror story collections, Paint it Black, Iron Maidens, Between light and shadow and Waves of Mutilation.
Cabin Terror is my first full-length novel.
My stories have appeared in a few anthologies so far.
I am a nurse, currently working in hospice care.
You can follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahJaneHunti1
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