Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories

by Deborah Sheldon

[Cameron Trost]

An entertaining anthology from Deborah Sheldon. These are mostly tales of supernatural horror, with a couple of sci-fi, thrillers, and adventure stories in the mix. Roughly half of the stories in this collection really hit the mark, while the others were enjoyable reads but lacked that extra kick. My favourites were the title story, Perfect Little Stitches, Flight Path, Will o' the Wisp, The Brightest Place, Angel Hair, and The Again-Walkers.

Perfect Little Stitches (4 stars) is a creepy tale about morticians and a peculiar corpse that comes their way.

Flight Path (5 stars) is a surreal exploration of the aftermath of an air crash, or is it?

Will o' the Wisp (4.5 stars) is retelling of the fairy tale, of course, and is both touching and scary.

The Brightest Place (5 stars) is a story that keeps you wondering what is real or unreal all the way to the end. Beautifully written and evocative.

Angel Hair (4 stars) is a tale of creepy-crawlies. Although more of a supernatural tale compared to Species Endangered (featuring the cassowary), I found this one strangely more believable. The buildup was spot on. Reminiscent of the film, Arachnophobia, for those of you old enough to remember.

The Again-Walkers (5 stars) is a riveting Viking drama about love, duty, and possession, and probably the pick of the collection. You feel for the main characters and they really drive the plot.