A Sliver of Darkness by CJ Tudor

Today it is my pleasure to share my review of A Sliver of Darkness by CJ Tudor and to wish the author a very happy publication day. My thanks to publisher Penguin for the early copy. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

A creak of the floorboard, a shiver down your spine, the feeling that you’re not alone . . .
_________

Join a group of survivors who wash up on a deserted island only to make a horrifying discovery.

Meet a cold-hearted killer who befriends a strange young girl at a motorway service station.

Travel along eerie country lanes in a world gone dark, enter a block of flats with the most monstrous of occupants and accompany a ruthless estate agent on a house sale that goes apocalyptically wrong.

These eleven twisted tales of the macabre from the bestselling author of The Chalk Man and The Burning Girls are your perfect companions as the nights draw in . . .

If you’re brave enough.

My Thoughts

Well.. I started reading this book with every intention of reading one story a day. Didn’t work out like that. Once I started reading I found I moved quickly from one story to the next and I was so lost in the fabulous worlds that CJ Tudor created, a few hours later I reached the end of the whole book.

If you like short stories, this is a collection I can highly recommend. Part mystery but with a sometimes horror themed twist, each offering brings us something slightly different. From the possible links to other dimensions, to stories of the apocalypse, some strange and somewhat terrifying graffiti, and a quick catch up with a name from the past (easily recognisable if you have read the author’s back catalogue), CJ Tudor delivers with each story. From spine-tingling tales, to ones that will bring a twisted smile to your face, there are one or two you just might not want to read with the lights turned off.

What I really liked it that each story featured an introduction from the author giving us insight into what inspired the tale. It does set us up, to a degree, for what is still to come, but not so much as to spoil any surprises. I ate them all up, in fact you could say consumed them. I was Hungry for more. 😏

Amongst my favourites were The Block, The Lion at the Gate, Final Course, Dust and Butterfly Island, although in fairness I could happily recommend them all. Each has a little something that tickles the tastebuds, proper tales of the unexpected, and each with that recognisable CJ Tudor vibe. It you like the author’s work you will love this collection. Definitely recommended for a nice Halloween-esque read. Why not treat yourself?

About the Author

C. J. Tudor’s love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert.

Over the years she has had a variety of jobs, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, dog walker, voiceover artist, television presenter, copywriter and, now, author.

Her first novel, The Chalk Man, was a Sunday Times bestseller, has sold in over forty countries and will be developed into a six-part drama with BBC Studios Production. Her second novel, The Taking of Annie Thorne, was also a Sunday Times bestseller as was her third novel The Other People. Her fourth novel, The Burning Girls, was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection and is being adapted for TV by award-winning screenwriter Hans Rosenfeldt, creator of The Bridge and Marcella.

She lives in Sussex with her family.