Author Archives: Steve Bacon

EILEEN by Ottessa Moshfegh

Eileen Dunlop is an unassuming yet disturbed young woman who lives with her alcoholic father in 1960s Boston. She works as a secretary at a local prison for boys, and has sexual fantasies about one of the guards, dreaming about … Continue reading

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CHRISTMAS and OTHER HORRORS edited by Ellen Datlow

The anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow have always been, to me, an essential read, but when I saw the theme of her latest book – Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror – for the first time I … Continue reading

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DARKNESS BECKONS edited by Mark Morris

Darkness Beckons is the fourth annual horror anthology edited by Mark Morris and published by Flame Tree Press. Like its predecessors, this one is filled with an excellent array of dark tales, written by some of the best practitioners of … Continue reading

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THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR volume 14 edited by Ellen Datlow

I’ve been a fan of annual Best Ofs since I started buying books in WH Smith’s in the early 1990s and came across Best New Horror edited by Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell, which was my only source of reading … Continue reading

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A KILLER AMONGST US by Mark West

In an effort to revive their struggling marriage, Martin and Jo Harper decide to have a weekend away. The trip involves a night in a luxury hotel, but before that there’s a lengthy hike through the Northumberland countryside and an … Continue reading

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GHOSTED by Jenn Ashworth

Laurie and Mark live on the sixteenth-floor of a block of flats in the north-west of England. She’s a cleaner at the university, Mark a security guard at the nearby power plant. One random day in May, Mark goes missing, … Continue reading

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THE LONELY LANDS by Ramsey Campbell

After the sad loss of his wife Olivia, Joe Hunter begins to hear her voice again, speaking to him from the other side. “I’m not alone.” This chilling statement eventually draws him into the afterlife, a tenebrous place built by … Continue reading

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BLACK FEATHERS : DARK AVIAN TALES edited by Ellen Datlow

Birds have always held a fascination to writers of the weird and the uncanny. It might be the uneasy relationship shared between humans and our prevalent feathered friends, it may be that we simply understand that these creatures are likely … Continue reading

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THE HIDDEN PEOPLE by Alison Littlewood

It is 1862. When Albie Mirralls discovers that his cousin has died in mysterious circumstances, he journeys to Halfoak, a village in the depths of rural Yorkshire that is steeped in superstition. Lizzie Higgs has been burned to death on … Continue reading

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THE LOCK-UP by John Banville

In a lock-up garage in 1950s Dublin, a young woman is found dead inside her car – an apparent suicide. But pathologist Dr Quirke suspects foul play. What is the connection between the dead girl and a wealthy German family? … Continue reading

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