A Sliver of Darkness: Stories

by C. J. Tudor

The debut short-story collection from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man, hailed as “Britain’s female Stephen King” (Daily Mail), featuring eleven bone-chilling and mind-bending tales

“All hail the queen of scream. A Sliver of Darkness is C. J. Tudor at her spine-tingling, nightmare-inducing best. Read it if you dare.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End

Time slips. Doomsday scenarios. Killer butterflies. C. J. Tudor’s novels are widely acclaimed for their dark, twisty suspense plots, but with A Sliver of Darkness, she pulls us even further into her dizzying imagination.

In “The Lion at the Gate,” a strange piece of graffiti leads to a terrifying encounter for four school friends. In “Final Course,” the world has descended into darkness, but a group of old friends make time for one last dinner party. In “Runaway Blues,” thwarted love, revenge, and something very nasty stowed in a hat box converge. In “Gloria,” a strange girl at a service station endears herself to a coldhearted killer, but can a leopard really change its spots? And in “I’m Not Ted,” a case of mistaken identity has unforeseen fatal consequences.

Riveting, macabre, and explosively original, A Sliver of Darkness is C. J. Tudor at her most wicked and uninhibited.

• ISBN10: 0593500164
• ISBN13: 9780593500163
• Publish Date: 8 November 2022 (first published 29 September 2022)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Ballantine Books Inc.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593500163

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

C.J. Tudor is one of the most talented horror authors of our time (one of many, we are so lucky). A Sliver of Darkness collects eleven of his short stories into one concise and horrifying collection. Included, you'll find: End of the Liner, The Block, Runaway Blues, The Completion, The Lion at the Gate, Gloria, I'm Not Ted, Final Course, The Copy Shop, Dust, and Butterfly Island.

My Review:

Holy cats, this was an intense collection to read! It was so intense that I forgot to take notes as I was reading, so you'll forgive the deviation from my usual format. A Sliver of Darkness is a brilliant collection of horror stories. I've read a few horror anthologies this year, and this one has to be near the top of my list.

If you love C.J. Tudor (The Chalk Man is my favorite, personally), you've got to treat yourself to this. Just don't do what I did – reading the whole thing in one night. Or do - I won't judge!

Highlights
Horror Anthology
Spooks
Chills & Thrills

Thanks to Ballantine Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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[chymerra]

I like reading anthologies. Sometimes my brain can’t process longer books (my attention span can sometimes be shot). But I wouldn’t say I like reviewing them. I write long reviews because I want to cover each story and give it the attention it deserves. I am not going to do that with this review. I am a little crunched for time (I am writing this on Halloween and I have a bunch of things to do/get ready for on top of my usual Monday morning routine). So, this review is going to be short.

A Sliver of Darkness had an exciting mix of short stories. The author did keep my attention because these stories were not cookie-cutter. Also, the author did something that I wasn’t expecting. She wrote a little forward to each story to explain why she wrote it. I loved it!!

I had two favorite stories out of the eleven that were published. They are End of the Liner, and I’m not Ted. My least favorite one was Gloria, only because I hadn’t read her featured book.

This short story collection would have been perfect for reading in October. Each story was creepy in its way.

I would recommend A Sliver of Darkness to anyone over 21. There is language and violence but no sex.