Leinster Gardens and Other Subtleties by Jan EdwardsAuthor Website Amazon (UK) Amazon.com I was given a free copy by the publisher in exchange for a review. The Alchemy Press (ebook), 2015
144 Pages
BLURB
Fourteen short stories by Jan Edwards, including the BFS award short-listed 'Otterburn', plus a previously unpublished tale.
"All adeptly told, often with a sense of locale and time neatly placed within the narratives. Her family history informs and inspires some of her stories. Folklore figures as a focus in more than one story, whether urban myth or historical lore. But ghostly they are and deceptively disturbing."
OPENING SENTENCE
The paving under his feet rumbled, setting shivers up through the soles of his boots (CONCERNING THE EVENTS IN LEINSTER GARDENS)
REVIEW
Leinster Gardens and Other Subtleties is very enjoyable collection of dark, chilling supernatural tales. Edwards writes the sort of dark fiction I enjoy the best - the clue is in the title, subtleties. The stories in this collection are unsettling, dark and disturbing but lack the gore and in-your-face horror that's become so popular. The darkness in these stories is subtle, a hulking, half-seen shape moving about in the shadows just to the left or right of the very edge of our perception. This is what makes them so good and memorable. Some of the tales will be in my head for a long time. I just can't quite shake the things I've read in these pages. Many of the tales made me shiver. My personal favourites were Concerning the Events in Leinster Gardens, The Waiting, Orbyting and The Clinic. The stories were all excellent but these ones struck the knife in a little deeper. I'd highly recommend this collection.
Stories included:
- Concerning the Events in Leinster Gardens
- The Waiting
- Nanna Barrows
- April Love
- The Ballad of Lucy Lightfoot
- Orbyting
- R For Roberta
- Redhill Residential
- The Clinic
- Valkenswaard
- Wade's Run
- The Eve Watch
- Otterburn
- The Black Hound of Newgate
