The Lost Girl & Spindleshanks: Alyson Faye
Reviewed By Steve Stred
WHY ARE YOU NOT READING ALYSON FAYE YET!?!
SERIOUSLY!
OK – I’m sorry for yelling, but man alive, Faye has never released a bad story, let alone something that didn’t creep me the hell out.
Seeing Demain announce another Faye release, I was GIDDY! Like rubbing my hands together in anticipation.
Faye didn’t disappoint.
What I liked: Is it possible for a great writer to become even better? I think so and with this newest release, Faye has done just that.
The first story here is ‘The Lost Girl‘ a tale that opens up with the familiar trope of an inherited house. Within this house, there is a room that has been sealed shut. Of course, our new owner just HAS to get someone to pop those nails out and see what’s behind. Faye delivers some absolute delicious shocks in this one. Superb scenes play out and we get a really great back story.
The second story is ‘Spindleshanks.’ Wow. Just wow. This follows a dad seeing his son become enamoured with a mysterious figure, who of course infiltrates the boy’s brain and shares a decidedly black rhyme. Faye went even darker in this one and the story benefited from that decision. Fantastic stuff.
What I didn’t like: ‘The Lost Girl‘ was perfect. ‘Spindleshanks‘ was amazing but really ground my gears that it was so short. I wish that it was its own release and three or four times longer.
Why you should buy this: Faye is such a stunning writer. She commands dark prose like the puppet master she is and never once does she let the reader off easy. Another fantastic release from one of my favorite authors.
The Lost Girl & Spindleshanks
The Lost Girl
A nailed-up door. An inheritance which comes with a ghost. A missing girl. A fifty-year-old mystery. Parapsychologist Berkley Osgood is hired to investigate. What he uncovers reveals secrets the living want to hide and the dead will never forgive.
Spindleshanks
Adam is having nightmares about a skeletal shadow figure, who he calls Spindleshanks. Soon his whole class are sharing the same nightmare. Adam’s dad, Rob, knows that Spindleshanks can’t be real. But is he? One terrible night Rob has to face his son’s nightmare creature and fight for his son’s life. What would you sacrifice to have your child back safe?
You can preorder The Lost Girl & Spindleshanks from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is the author of a number of novels, novellas and collections. He has appeared in anthologies with some of Horror’s heaviest hitters.
He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his wife, son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
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You can visit Steve’s Official website here
Thank you Steve for the review and your amazing support of my writing and to Gavin K for giving my work and writing space on Kendall Reviews – means a lot to this indie writer.
I had to per-order this after your review! Fantastic!