The Rot of Karma: A Psychological Horror

by Matt Shaw

Genres: Horror

71 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2024

About the author

Biography

MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.


Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.

Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a smooth read. Nothing remarkable or groundbreaking, but it was still good. Probably one of the better, recent releases from Matt Shaw. Fantastic atmosphere and the growing tension between Linnea and Drew, our leads, was the best part for me. They were caught in a very bad predicament and had no way to maneuver out of it easily. And things just kept getting worse. Was it all superstition getting the best of this couple and the townspeople? Or was there some truth to what was in those grounds on their new property? There were some patchy spots on the lore causing all of the unpleasantness, but what we got was fine. It just needed a little more time and development. And there were plenty of other spots where Shaw could have used some of the established horror aspects and really run with them to further the story along. Again, though, everything was fine. Not great, but not at all terrible…just pretty good.

[Overlook Hotel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read. Enjoyed this one. Wish it was longer.

[Erica smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

Went into too much detail about the same thing over and over, luckily it was short because I became very bored quickly

[Janna Pitts · Rating 1 out of 5]

disappointing

I expected better than this. This was not an original idea, it was boring and slow in the beginning and just not an overall good story. I only paid three dollars but I feel ripped off

[Brianna Bello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt does it again. The building tension. The icky feeling I get when reading this book was insane. I feel like I need to scrub my body with bleach. Doesn’t help that I HATE maggots. They freak me out. This was a super quick unsettling read. Loved every minute of it!

[Alexandra Suggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 will make your skin crawl.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book could have been a lot more interesting. About halfway through, nothing was happening — it felt repetitive and dragged on. The ending wasn’t good either; it was short, rushed, and lacked any real lore or depth. Overall, the story felt dull.

[David Mueller · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this book you take a shot at Stephen King for being too verbose in his novels. At least his verbosity makes sense and is done with quality. He is a master storyteller. One of his greatest strengths is character development. You are not in the same class as King. Your books seem as though they are written by an elementary school student and not one of the smart ones. King would never do something so basically wrong as to write an American character speaking in a British dialect, like you have here. No thought to your story or details, like the fact that maggots do not just exist outside of rotting meat. I am not sure you know what they even are. You could learn a lot from Stephen King. Maybe instead of taking shots at the master, you should work on yourself.

[Sarah Smedley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was going great until the end when it just got stupid

[Alexandra Huffaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱

I randomly saw this on KU and said 'oh well if it's the notorious Matt Shaw I have to read it.' I didn't even read the blurb, just went in blind. It was a slow burn at first but similar to Cumshot once it got going it got GOING! It said psychological horror and it delivered! I felt like I needed to shower in scalding hot water and clean everything with bleach including my body. I got goosebumps and made the following faces: 🤨🫣😦😧😨😳🤢😖😣😬😯

[Megan Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just fine. I’m still trying to find the right horror for me and this probably isn’t it. The story itself isn’t bad but it’s not particularly exciting either.

The last 15 pages didn’t feel fully edited. And throughout the whole thing he puts commas after but instead of before and it drove me nuts!

[Tracy Halls · Rating 5 out of 5]

crazy!

I always love to try guess where things are going when reading but I really should know better than to do that with this author by now!
Crazy little story that will keep you turning the pages

[Kate Helen]

Not a slow burn but completely boring, tedious and completely predictable. There is a spelling or grammar mistake on virtually every page and the American characters talk using British phrasing. Overall it’s 70 pages of nothingness and an hour I wish I could get back

[Linnea Koskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Creepy and I mean in a creepy crawly way. Shivers down your spine in utter grossness. Another crazy suspense read from Matt Shaw. Looking forward to reading more!

[Jennifer Eastep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gross and did not see that coming !

Interesting read and I liked the ending a lot, definitely thought it might be about ghosts at first but what a twist!

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Shaw, always a pleasure. Creepy, short, and so good per usual!

[jd & angie grafton · Rating 4 out of 5]

wish it was longer!

It was an awesome storyline. I just wish it was a bit longer. I wish it can elaborate more of the story of the gardens.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Can you hear them whispering?”


Nice cover. 🤩

Set in a village in rural England.

The local government has concocted a scheme to rejuvenate the failing town.

Drew and Linnea Koskey arrive from America. They leave their young son, Jensen, back home with his grandparents.

The plan? Buy a house, fix it up, and rent it out.

The home itself is pretty decrepit, but Drew remains convinced they can make a go of it.

The Stephen King jokes are hilarious. And quite on the nose.

An American couple that thinks and speaks in complete British.

Hamish and Chantelle run the bed & breakfast. Warnings.

The mines nearby.

What’s up with the yard? (Sorry. Garden.)

Clearing out the gardens, Drew digs up an old box.

The small rag doll. 😳

The row down at the pub.

The maggots. Drew’s changes. The headaches.

Jake, the builder. Another warning. ⛔️

Ooooooh…gross and creepy!

Cool ending, though. A nice changeup from Matt. Consistent throughout with pace and flow. Quite well done.


“That’s a big secret for your little shoulders to carry.”
“Thank you for helping me with the burden.”