There is only one thing in the world better than a good book, and that is a free good book.  Not quite free, of course, since I only have it on condition I review it but that was hardly an onerous task.  As near free as possible, then.

What I hoped to see in these stories, more than anything, was novelty. That spark of imagination that fires the darker aspects of the mind, and separates the horror writer from the psychopath only by the means of expression of that darkness.  Here, in this collection of sometimes twisted, sometimes predictable stories there burns such a spark.  The world can breathe a sigh of relief:  this author has chosen the keyboard rather than the filleting knife to release her inner demons.  For now.

Other stories didn't grip me so well.  The Spirit of Death—I guessed what would happen after the first few paragraphs but I won’t say because maybe other readers won’t catch on so fast.  I failed to understand the horror aspects of ‘light 529 or Lady Cop, but that doesn’t make them bad stories.  Just not my cup of blood—I mean, tea.

What really surprised me was the final tale.  I confess that the title, A Teenage Ghost Story, made me wince.  I expected to read another of those ‘belligerent boys and mini-skirted girls find empty house in the dark and scream a lot’ stories.  There was none of that clichéd stuff to be found.  Nobody died.  Nobody ran shrieking into the night.  Teenagers were not picked off one by one, Texas Chainsaw style.  The story is written for a teenage audience but I was mesmerized.  It’s more of a ghostly detective story, nicely worked out and with an ending that avoids any form of sneaky twist or paranormal escape route.  It’s logical.  It makes sense. It’s a good read.  This story, I thought, might have been better expanded and released on its own.  Never mind, I’m sure this author will write another.

The only downside was that in places, the author talks too much.  The mechanics of the putrefactive process, for example, are not widely known, and it is clear the author has researched the matter in detail.  The reader won’t know how much work went into finding out those details and shouldn’t know.  It is, I admit, frustrating to spend many days or weeks grasping the intricacies of a subject only to find that it warrants no more than a passing mention in the story—but the story comes first.  If people in general don’t know something, then the characters in the story aren’t likely to know either.  Narration that goes beyond the character’s knowledge is the sound of the author’s voice and that should never be heard.  A couple of times, it did leak through.

There were few such episodes, however, and they did not detract significantly from the stories.  I only mention it because it was my only real criticism.  The writing style, the process itself, the preferred style of editors and readers changes with time so there’s no purpose in commenting on it in depth.  The root, the basis of storytelling, the important part is that devilish imagination and that is present in abundance here.         

Overall, I enjoyed this collection of tales and would say this author is one to watch.  Long may she wear the letters off her keyboard, and long may that darkness flow from her fingertips.

In fact, if she ever stops writing . . . hide the knives.
            author, Jeani Rector

So where do your find this book?

Around a Dark Corner will soon be available to horror connoisseurs in the United States through Amazon.com.