A decent collection of short stories, mostly horror but with a splash of sci fi, fantasy and thriller. I enjoyed the introduction for each story explaining the inspiration behind them. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Wow what a treat! Not one amazing story… multiple incredible stories! Seems only fair I judge them per story so here goes…

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END OF THE LINER
A post pandemic, futuristic, alternative reality set upon a themed cruise ship. How many times have we wanted our holiday to never end? Well step aboard the END OF THE LINER, a cruise ship that never docks and a holiday that never ceases to end. Set 50 years post apocalyptic pandemic it raises lots of questions about how life would be for those with memories of ‘the before’ and those that have none. A modern, cast away tale with a sinister twist. Absolutely brilliant and incredibly well written. I devoured this first instalment of CJ Tudor’s ‘A Slither of Darkness’.

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THE BLOCK
It really shows just how talented an author really is when she can not only construct and entire story into just a few pages but create a real sense of depth and history into her characters as she does it. Within paragraphs I was fully invested and ‘up to date’ with the lead characters of this short story and wow what a short story! It had echoes of Stephen King’s IT, the blockbuster movie’I Am Legend’ and John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’. It was scary and I loved it!!

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RUNAWAY BLUES
Strangely I didn’t love this one as much as the previous two. I loved the style of writing, told from the first person in a very informal and chatty way. I read it in record time and enjoyed it but I felt the ending wasn’t as polished as the previous two. I was left with a lot of questions as opposed to things to ponder. Great nonetheless!

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THE COMPLETION
This one felt the least polished. Inspired by the word ‘completion’ that CJ heard continuously throughout a house move. I just thought this one didn’t have enough substance to warrant a story. The ending felt like the beginning and none of what had been written explained fully the reasoning or basis of the story. Sorry CJ this one wasn’t for me.

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THE LION AT THE GATE
I think this one, like the last suffered because it didn’t have much to go on or build upon. Whereas END OF THE LINER had loads of theories and problems to resolve. These last two were inspired by word or image and that, as well as the length of story meant that they never really got going. This one I preferred, however, as it does evoke a certain amount of who dunnit? And whether the narrative was a reliable witness or suffering like his mother?

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GLORIA
Oooh I like Gloria! What a character! I haven’t read ‘The Taking Of Annie Thorne’ but wow do I want to now!! This was a short (as predicted) but very well constructed story. A character that CJ already ‘knew’, taken out of context of a major story and yet within the few pages given I was totally hooked. She’s a fascinating creature and whilst I’m still pondering the ending I’m yearning for MORE!

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I’M NOT TED
Absolutely bonkers and I loved it! So short you could miss it in a blink but so much fun. I loved the concept and like Ted I have so many questions but I’m willing to sign up just to find out more.

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FINAL COURSE
An apocalyptic horror story with a brilliant twist. I loved this short story. It’s funny how when you’re presented with a version of the truth you totally accept it even though things feel a little ‘off’. And this is exactly what happened for the main character, and me the reader. Very cleverly written and claustrophobic in its style.

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THE COPY SHOP
I’m thinking we all need one of these shops in our lives. Whilst a very predictable story it was thoroughly entertaining and, strangely, made me laugh. It’s a quirky Pet Cemetery told in a very matter of fact way as if it is totally normal. Brilliant concept and a bit of light relief after a few much darker and sinister tales.

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DUST
I loved this story, it’s full of confusion and illusion. Where nothing is quite as it seems or what you’d expect. Nothing makes sense until it does and even then our main character chooses oblivion.

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BUTTERFLY ISLAND
Absolutely brilliant! Another pandemic, apocalyptic thriller that could very well be a true story. Echoes of Castaway and The Beach. My only gripe was that as it just racks up the tension the story abruptly ends! It took me awhile to realise it had infact ended and that is was intentional. I want more!!

I was looking forward to this book and some of the reviews led me to believe that the stories were really scary. However none of them were at all. Saying that i did enjoy all of the stories with the first in the book being my favourite, but there was no scary feeling whilst reading the book, the stories just seemed to miss out on the scary feelings or endings that I had come to expect of this author.
Good but just not as scary as being advertised.

I’m not normally one for short stories but I’ll happily make the exception for CJ Tudor’s Sliver of Darkness. It’s a super-fun anthology of horror stories designed to give you the heeby-geebies. Dystopian, goose-bumpy, and at times downright icky, It ticks all the genre’s boxes. Reader beware!

A collection of short stories with a creepy horror edge. Do not read these alone in the dark!!!
A perfect storm of storytelling and goosebumps.
Thank you Netgalley & the wonderful C J Tudor for an advanced copy.

What a treat! C J Tudor at her very best, she really is the queen of scream and horror.

A collection of short stories, each of which wouldn’t be out of place as a full novella. Totally addictive and so very good.

The Block is a real chiller, and Gloria was exceptional.

As a true devotee of Stephen King, it is without doubt that I consider C J Tudor to be a writer to be reckoned with, and can’t wait for the next book.

Worthy of far more than 5*!

Thank you NetGalley.

I've always felt that the horror genre is particularly suited to a short story format, and this is a great little collection from C J Tudor, with several twists in the tale. (Runaway Blues has a particularly devastating one.) Each story is introduced by the author with a few paragraphs about its genesis, which adds extra insight.

The first story, End of the Liner, reminded me a little of Christina Sweeney-Baird's recent The End of Men, one strand of which had people avoiding a virus which is sweeping across the globe (if you can imagine such a thing) by virtue of being on a cruise ship. This ship has been sailing for a long time, but is everything quite as it appears?

The Block does feel a bit like one of the scarier episodes of Doctor Who, which actually gets namechecked within the story.

The Completion is a nasty little story which takes the bad rep of estate agents to another level. (The deeply unpleasant Dan muses that he should have been a politician, as he has all the necessary qualities - compulsive liar with absolutely no morals and a willingness to happily dump on anyone to progress his own career. Sounds familiar.)

Final Course is pure horror with an(other) apocalyptic backdrop. Indeed there's a strong recurring flavour of apocalypse throughout, perhaps not surprising given the times we've been living through.

There's a nice mix of stories here, some feeling very substantial and some slighter, but still enjoyable (The Copy Shop, I'm Not Ted). Tudor has been compared - including by me - to Stephen King, and there are definitely elements in this collection which are reminiscent of the master. (Who also gets referenced a few times.) The last story, Butterfly Island (more apocalypse) had a lot going on and I'm not sure I grasped it completely, but it was late and I was tired. Maybe I need to read it again.

Altogether an excellent collection, well worth your time.

I really enjoyed the variety of each story and was spooked but engrossed in every single one. The creativity and originality in each story was incredible, and the eeriness carried throughout the book, making it impossible to put down.

The small notes before each story were interesting to read, and it was nice to see the inspiration and the personal story that accompanied them, C J Tudor has been a favourite author of mine, since I read the chalk man, and it was nice to see more relaxed stories, that don't have me screaming and accusing everyone of being the culprit.

My favourite from the collection, was probably the block; an old building that nobody remembers being built, and a group of teenagers who break in and discover something terrifying and supernatural. There was a heaviness and a lot of foreboding in that story, and I thought it was incredibly written and paced.

I would definitely love to see more of these short story collections in the future, as I really enjoyed them, and will continue to love and read anything C J Tudor releases.

Ten chilling stories to disturb and horrify. An island that is a butterfly sanctuary, holding a deadly secret. A little girl who has to wear her glasses, but what could be the reason that it is so important? A building that noone can remember being built, isolated and hiding something horrific. This is just some of the tales inside.

This is absolutely incredible, C.J.Tudor is one of my favourite authors and seeing a book on NetGalley by them, I just had to request it. I was beyond chuffed to have been accepted. I think this is my favourite by them yet!

Each story is disturbing, some creeping up until you realise you have chills. That ending, oh I can't believe it! Very, very clever, I need more immediately!