Janine Pipe

I'm very excited that Janine has her first collection out in the world! I enjoyed the stories I've read from her in the past, and I can just tell she has so much fun writing them. Her passion for horror is also very obvious. The tales here abound with winks, sly nods, and even direct references to a wide variety of tropes and other authors and stories.

I really enjoy Janine's voice and style in writing. Yes, it's fairly informal at times: breaking the fourth wall, slipping into second person, peppering in slang, and so on. I could see some readers being turned off by this, but personally I enjoyed it. And though she sets many of her stories in America, she seems to be in her element when she's writing stories set in England with characters saying things I hardly understand. It's good stuff.

But apart from her style, what I also liked about this collection is the variety of horror genres represented therein. We see a wonderful mix of splatter punk, body horror, gothic horror, and supernatural horror. There's also werewolves, vampires, ghosts, serial killers, apocalypses, and so much more. Obviously not every story landed with me, and I'm admittedly not a fan of Janine's favorite genre (extreme horror), but I still appreciate the diversity of tales. The one thing that really didn't work for me is the framing device, but overall the stories themselves are good!

"Footsteps" - Three female friends head out into the woods and are subsequently hunted by a ferocious beast. It's a fun and frightening werewolf story, much deserving of its Splatterpunk Award nomination.

"When Doves Cry" - A destitute woman is taken in by a gentleman with a dark secret. This one is more gothic in nature and it has a very disturbing twist. Also, I love the ending scene as it adds even another layer to the creepy factor.

"I Want to Break Free" - The same story told twice, once from the POV of captive and then from captor. It's an interesting and entertaining exercise for sure, but it didn't feel much like a fleshed out story. I was intrigued, but I left with too many questions.

"Maneater" - Someone is killing people and draining their blood. A detective finally comes face-to-face with the mysterious murderer and receives quite a shock. It's a fun take on vampirism and vigilante justice.

"Addicted to Love" - A man takes a woman home from the bar for a night of fornication, when the tables are suddenly turned in quite a nasty way. There's not necessarily anything wrong with the story, it's just not my type of tale. Extreme horror fans will likely enjoy this one.

"Sweet Child O Mine" - A mother returns to her childhood vacation home with her daughter. She's uneasy being there but can't place why, and she finally remembers on the car ride home. I enjoyed the one. I too felt uneasy as I waited for the reveal, and the final lines chilled me to the bone.

"Tainted Love" - A woman appears to fall blindly in love with a stranger, but when she finally gets him alone it's clear there is more to the story. For awhile I was taken out of this story. I couldn't understand why the woman was SO madly lusting over this random guy. But then there's a reveal in the final act that clears things up, and the ending is quite disturbing.

"Lost in the Shadows" - Local kids are going missing and the town is panicked. Then one night, at the local drive-in, an employee makes a chilling discovery. Another story with a classic Janine Pipe twist at the end!

"It's a Sin" - Young Sam is becoming best friends with the new kid, Jack, when suddenly Jack goes missing. The mystery thickens, and the second half is loaded with suspense. I don't know if I'm fully convinced of the reasoning for what happens, but I was totally on board. It's a creepy story, and anything involving cellars is going to freak me out.

"Love is a Battlefield" - In a subverted dystopian future, the poor have rebelled and rule while the rich are subjected to a brutal entertainment known as The Game. I was completely captivated and held in suspense as to what was going to happen to the main character, right up until the very end. Unfortunately the final moments were frustratingly vague for me.

"Running with the Devil" - A teenage girl is obsessed with a local legend involving a phantom coach that appears on Halloween and vows to experience the phenomena for herself. I really enjoyed the old school ghost story aspect to this, as well as the shift in time periods from present day to 1899. It feels like something MR James may have written, though with the author's own stylized spin on it.

"Paradise City" - There is a tree in the woods that provides a pleasure hole for boys...until one day something goes wrong. I just, uh, have no words for this one. It's gross on a few different levels, and I can't believe Janine made me read it. For fans of extreme horror, definitely.

"School's Out for Ever" - The narrator and her friend explore an abandoned boy's school for clout with their friends and get the scare of their lives. I really enjoyed this one, and I think it's a great example of Janine's natural writing voice (zippy, clever, vulgar, and informal). It's especially fun (and creepy) because it seems to be based on real events!

"Livin' on a Prayer" - Two brothers go on a camping trip with their father after the sudden death of their mother, and a horrifying events occurs in the woods. Another good story with well-realized characters and a dark, violent twist towards the end!

"Bones of Boarded-up Baby Bodies Behind the Bath Panel" - Two boys finally explore the "haunted house" they've been obsessing over for years. This may be my favorite story in the entire collection. It is written beautifully, balancing Janine's personal style with wonderful flourishes of language and imagery. It's also incredibly creepy in the second half, and it has a twist that will haunt me for a long time. It's great!

"Nobody's Fool" - Though the parents have tried everything, their child still suffers from regular nightmares that eventually manifest in the waking world. It's compelling, and I wanted to know just as badly as all the adults what was going on with these nightly disturbances. The reveal at the end is quite interesting.

"They" - A group of friends dare each other to explore a storm drain when something happens to one of the boys...something with hair and fangs that will forever alter his life. Man, what a story! The writing, the pacing, the suspense - all great. This one is more subtle than in your face, and I really enjoyed it. Close runner for favorite in the collection.… (más)

Compensation for this review: a review copy of the ebook. No other consideration, and no solicitation of a favorable review.

Content Warnings: “WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTER… This book contains adult situations and is not suitable for children.”

I don’t review books I don’t like, so if you’re just looking for a thumbs up/thumbs down, you can stop here. I like this book.

This anthology is unusual in that there was no call for submissions. This is the overflow from Volume 3, 23 stories they wanted to include but didn’t have space for. I haven’t read that volume, but this is not a “didn’t quite make the cut” collection. These are top-notch tales. The one slightly negative comment I have is that it’s hard sometimes to see a connection between the story and the anthology’s title, but that could be the result of having the stories first and looking for a commonality among them. Loss is a prominent theme.

Of course, not every story connected with me, but there are no clunkers. All are well-written, and any might be some discriminating reader’s favorite. I won’t summarize each, but highlight a few that stand out for me, while trying to avoid spoilers.

The anthology opens with “What the Sea Gives” by K.P. Kulsi. This might be more a narrative prose poem than a story (if that distinction means anything), about an island castaway seemingly doomed to a solitary immortality.

The protagonist of Ariel Dodson’s “Black-Eyed Susan” is haunted by her loss, and her own guilt, in a very literal way.

Alyson Faye’s “The Silver Horn” is set in the modern day (including lockdown), but it has the feeling of a macabre old ballad or one of the creepier corners of Arthurian romance.

About “Shoot Your Shot” by Charlotte Platt, I’ll only say that an incel chooses the wrong library to shoot up.

“Capable of Loving,” by Sonora Taylor, is a chilling, thoughtful, and deep bit of psychological horror, in which the horror isn’t the whole point. I’ll be looking for more of Taylor’s fiction.

It’s cliche to say that robot stories are about exploring humanness, but that’s true, in a good way, of Angela Yuriko Smith’s “Perfect Girlfriend.” It has an interesting point of view and an economical narrative that trusts the reader’s intelligence.

“Sharp Spaces,” by Samantha Ortiz, is another entry in the psychological horror category, with a poetically apt title.

Cosmic horror is represented by Kirby Kellogg’s “Four Corners.” It’s a little reminiscent of Welcome to Night Vale, a bit of Twilight Zone, but completely original.

What can I say about Cecilia Kennedy’s “Soul Grinder” without giving too much away? You may never want to go to a county fair again. (Assuming you ever did.)

The anthology closes strong with R.A. Busby’s body horror parable “Fluid.” The story reminds me of Junji Ito, and it contains some beautiful sentences.… (más)