They Kill

by Matt Converse

Four tales of terror.

Haunting dolls live upstairs in The Doll Lady. A psychotic serial killer is obsessed with Lady Gaga and lets the world know with each murder. A Stranger’s Rope is a modern-day nod to Hitchcock’s Rope and Strangers on a Train . Insected is a sci-fi thriller with deadly insects from another world.

These scary stories will chill you to the bone.

168 pages, Paperback

Published March 22, 2023

About the author

Bestselling author of horror, thrillers, sci-fi and m/m romance, including The Whistler, I'm the Last Face You'll Ever See, The Four Corners of Horror and upcoming release They Kill.

Like his idol Alfred Hitchcock, he strives to bring suspense to his books.

Reviews

[Donna Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome 🖤

This was a pretty awesome read Matt Converse is a great author and story teller
Definitely worth reading always loved his books

[Milt Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stories of supernatural horror, crime, and science fiction make up Matt Converse's new short stories collection. I confess being seduced by the cover, and went ahead and purchased a copy. I don't regret it, but I have to admit that going through the collection proved to be a difficult task: the pacing is uneven, and the stories drag too long. Unlike most short stories today, there are no twist endings, and the premises, though original, actually go nowhere. The first story, about evil dolls, has a great build-up, snappy dialogue, and a creepy atmosphere; sadly, there's no ending. The second and the third stories, about a Lady Gaga drag queen serial killer and a psychotic tennis club president wannabe respectively, are subtly humorous, but the dialogue feels contrived and plotwise there's ultimately nothing new here. The last story, a science fiction tale about insectoid robots attacking a 90-year-old woman, had a lot of potential, but I just couldn't bring myself to believe that a woman of that age, with zero know-how of technology, could really act and think so swiftly, almost MacGyver-like. She even avoids consulting her phone. Yes, it could happen; this is a big world, after all, but the author seems to take it too easily for granted. In sum, I felt I was pointlessly wandering about in these stories. Perhaps someone else will enjoy them more.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror is not my genre, at all, that is until this author. I enjoyed his 'Stripper' series first and, because I found his writing fascinating, I peeked into his other works. This one I thought would push my comfort level, was I not disappointed. These four short stories are creepy, I mean really creepy!
Story One was my favorite, it's about old, porcelain dolls, that should be enough of a clue for you, old dolls are just plain freaky and this story was creepy as heck. All four stories, and they are quite varied, are guaranteed to put you on edge, something Matt does very well.

[Quinesia Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a fan of horror. I read all the stories except the Lady Gaga story—- it had too many murder scenes starting off. All were pretty good for horror. I liked the story about the tennis club the best.

There are triggers of demonized dolls, murder, and killer robotic insects. I suppose if you’re used to horror, you are used to these things. 4 out of 5 stars.

[Jeannette Michelsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was borderline painful to read. The dialogue was extremely rudimentary and took me out of the story nearly each time a character would speak. The stories felt as if they were dragged out and what was supposed to be a quick read felt like it took an eternity.

[Lawrence E Smedley III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

All four stories amazing. Matt Converse knocks it out of the park! This is a must-read.
Matt Converse is an amazing storyteller and weaves the stories beautifully.