This isn’t a new review, though it is making its Substack debut. It was originally posted to my old Goodreads profile on January 29, 2019. I hope you enjoy it.
Many thanks of gratitude to the Horror Writers Association's Facebook group, and especially the author, for making this opportunity possible. She provided a PDF file in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.
Forward
"But Christa Carmen isn't interested in silence, and her collection...isn't looking to lead you calmly down the aisle. Your path is littered with temptations that test the strength of your mind, heart, and stomach, and over thirteen tales of death and dependency...Carmen has you questioning whether love is real or just another addiction.”
-Jessica McHugh
Thirsty Creatures
In just five pages, the tragic realities of an apocalyptic landscape of the most dire imaginable were revealed, in a very well-written and hypnotic manner. Coupled with unexpected and curious word choices, Christa Carmen's poetic prose was dense yet fluid, disturbingly soothing and inexplicably humane. With breakneck pace and wild imagery, all that I found lacking was a little more exposition and character development.
4 stars
Red Room
Most likely inspired by the slasher films of the 1970's and 80's, with splashes of The Sixth Sense and 2002's Panic Room, and with insight into the evils of technology, the author took a deceptively simple premise and, spinning it on its top, complicated things further with an unreliable narrator and…flashes of red.
Her heart beat like a herd of spooked horses, but amongst the mound of books, the Kindle with its textured purple cover, the dish of rings and earrings, the bookmarks and pens and empty seltzer cans, there was no phone to be found.
5 stars
Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked
Sinister and twisted, yet in light of its brevity, the ending was very abrupt, almost like Carmen got bored with crafting her tale of newlyweds Luke and Belladonna, and their peculiar relations with her Aunt Louise. Admittedly though, there was a lot taking place beneath the surface, which drove home the point that the author didn't merely abandon it. She crafted it precisely how she envisioned it should be, and what a lovely tale indeed.
3 stars
Souls, Dark and Deep
If the last story was twisted, this one was compulsively demonic, strange, and disturbing, leaving the reader unsure about what the future held for these characters. Were Belinda's motivations as clear cut as they seemed? Should she be trusted? Was she even telling the truth? You decide.
4 stars
All Souls of Eve
Clearly inspired by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Carmen's spin on the iconic concept of three separate ghosts (thankfully, hers were a little different,) visiting one unlikely individual was unlike anything the collection had to offer. And aside from the former, I'd never read anything quite like it. In the end, All Souls of Eve was more AND less than what I expected. I liked it, but I wouldn't categorize it as horror. I was anticipating a dark twist at the end. Instead, Carmen gave something else entirely.
3 stars
Liquid Handcuffs
Enter: Nicole Price. Eddie Vance. Olive Holton. Spanning fifty-two pages, this quasi slowly burning novella was the longest tale. It was also the strongest, possessing the most visual stimuli, unpredictability, suspense, tension, and conflicting moods and tone. With morbid fascination, I sat back and watched everything unfold, with a mindfulness of the councilor’s plight (cheering, cringing all the while,) and Nicole's absence. Would her reappearance, or having a stronger presence, have created a stronger story? That's the lingering question, for which I have no answers.
Reminiscent of Stephen King's “Big Driver” and “The Gingerbread Girl,” it became clear that Liquid Handcuffs was none of those things. At least, not entirely. It was a tale all its own, standing tall on its distinctive merits. It's also my favorite work so far.
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