The Space Between

by Larry Hinkle

“Larry Hinkle offers up horror in a multitude of some funny, some gory, and some weird af, it's hard to pick a favorite. Do not miss out on this up-and-comer in the horror world!” – EV Knight, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Fourth Whore

From a corn maze hiding a cosmic secret between its rows to the basement of a Nebraska woman with a magic eye…From a support group for necrophiliacs to a demon searching for a new apprentice…From a town overrun by a sentient garbage dump to the tunnels beneath one of the country’s most haunted hotels…From the trail less travelled to a remote outpost on the outskirts of civilization...

The 20 stories in this debut collection from horror author Larry Hinkle explore the space between our world and the next. Between then and now, and now and then. Between found and lost. Between the innocence of a child and the bloodlust of a monster. Tread lightly and watch your back. You’re never alone in the space between.

With a foreword from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Tom Deady.

“An everyman’s collection of uncanny twisted little tales exploring the weird in corn fields, quarries, quarks, and other creepy corners of the world. With a voice that is irreverent, unexpected, and delightfully macabre, Hinkle is an author to watch.” – Lee Murray, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Monster Stories

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

160 pages, Paperback

Published February 16, 2024

About the author

Larry Hinkle is the least famous writer you’ve never heard of. A copywriter living with his wife and two doggos in Rockville, Maryland, when he's not writing stories that scare people into peeing their pants, he writes ads that scare people into buying adult diapers so they’re not caught peeing their pants.

"The Eris Ridge Trail," his new cosmic horror road trip novella (with dogs!) was released in March 2025, while his debut collection, “The Space Between,” came out in February 2024.

His work has also appeared in "October Screams: A Halloween Anthology," "The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks," and The NoSleep Podcast, among others.

He's an active member of the HWA (his short stories made the preliminary Stoker ballot in 2020 and 2022); a graduate of Fright Club and Crystal Lake’s Author’s Journey program; an HWA mentee; and a survivor of the Borderlands Writers Bootcamp.

Reviews

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What do you think the worst thing about fighting a ninety-foot sentient garbage creature would be? I mean, apart from its impenetrable concrete and metal outer skin.”

I really enjoyed this collection of bizarre and scary stories from Larry Hinkle. Some of them really pulled at my heartstrings too (the ones with Koko & Sammie ♥️).

“Lost at Last”, “Welcome to Coulroville”, and “Reaching Bottom” were my favourites. You’ll definitely find an eclectic mix of tales among the pages, from trash gods, to cannibals, to killer gnomes, eldritch fairy tales and more.

Thank you to the author & BookSirens for a copy.

[Nico Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun anthology filled with scifi and horror! There’s a nice mix of serious and camp and horror readers will surely find something in it that resonates!

[Shrike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whiplash but...in a good way?

The highlight of this book for me was a delightfully unhinged transition between two stories. Tell me why Hinkle had me crying over a man mourning his dog one moment...and gagging over a support group for unrepentant necrophiliacs the next?? I swear you could hear brakes screech as my brain tried to catch up. Fantastic. 5/5 stars. In all seriousness, those two stories are very well-done.

As with many collections, not all of these were hits for me. Some were just not my kind of story, while others felt less developed overall. This feeling made more sense at the end of the book, when Hinkle explains that many of these stories are from writing workshops. Fair enough!

I still think that putting the rougher stories alongside some true gems made it harder for his work to shine. I LOVED the tales I loved, but would skip over a few others in a re-read.

Thank you so much for the chance to read this book for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

You all are going to want to keep an eye on Larry Hinkle. This collection is one of the best I’ve read. I enjoyed all twenty of the stories. Some are about three-ish pages to some being twelve-ish pages.

Everytime I finish a story, I’d think this is probably the best one of the bunch. Then I’d read the next one and sure enough, I loved it just as much. Although, Caterwaul was definitely one that I think about often. So dang good, y’all.

Hinkle’s writing is strong, entertaining, and smooth. Here is a favorite quote from Caterwaul to give you a sense of the comedy in these stories. “If I came across this story in a book, I’d hunt down the author and kick him in the nuts for being such a lazy hack. But since he’s not here, I guess yours will have to do.” Hinkle also brings the horror and psychological thrills.

If you enjoyed the crazy endings in At Home With The Horrors by Sammy Scott, the weirdness of R.J. Benetti The Upside Down Voice That Speaks Backwards, or the wide variety of tropes you get from the Books of Horror Anthologies that RJ Roles publishes, then you will definitely enjoy these stories.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed this compilation of short horror stories very much, although I have to admit that even though the book is only 199 pages long, it took me 6 days to read it. I really don't know why.

All of the stories were spooky in stone sorry of way, and I think my favourite was the last "Lost at Last". I honestly with that that story would have been so much longer, as there were so many things that could have happened along the way.

My least favourite story was the next to last, "Welcome to Couroville"; but it's not because it was a bad tale, or badly written... It's because it actually freaked me out a little, and honestly? That rarely happens, ha ha.

Well written and very much recommended.

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gory, inventive, and blisteringly funny, Larry Hinkle’s The Space Between is a sit-up-and-take-notice kind of debut. Killer clowns, sentient garbage trucks, and evil imaginary friends abound, as does horror, humor (seriously, did I mention the humor? Hinkle’s a hoot!), and a whole lot of heart. The Space Between is definitely one you’ll want to make space on your shelf for!

[Joan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Larry Hinkle

This collection has something for everyone who enjoys reading horror, science fiction, and / or just plain weird.

The stories are so different. It's hard to choose one that stands out over the others. I enjoyed the whole book.

[Samantha Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely yes! Everything about this is a yes yes yes. The short little stories all work together to make a perfect book. I Absolutely devoured everything and having read The Eris Ridge Trial it was great getting the chance to read about the characters back stories per say. Larry has a way of drawing you in and chewing you up and spit you out but leave you wanting so much more and this was absolutely not any different.

[Michelle T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a creepy book full of thrillers and horrors. It had a great variety and each story was very well written. Thank you for this amazing book I enjoyed reading it!

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining collection of horror stories with a variety of themes. It reminded me a lot of The Twilight Zone which is a good thing. I look forward to reading more by Larry Hinkle and hope he continues to write more books. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.Thanks to BookSirens and Larry Hinkle for the free copy to read.

[Horrorble Opinions · Rating 5 out of 5]

20 short stories that range from terrifying to heartbreaking to hilarious to just plain weird in the best kind of way. Some of these have a connecting thread between them which is always appreciated. We go a little bit Sci-fi at times in ways that remind me of Peter Clines. Most of these stories leave me wanting more and I think have great potential to be fleshed out into novels. Trash Talk was rather amusing. Love a good Kaiju. Can You Dig It was a wonderfully random story about a haunted shovel and the story behind the story was rather amusing. Reaching the Bottom leaves us in an absolutely horrifying situation to be in and lingered with me for a bit after finishing it. Those kids in Sharing is Caring definitely are some oddly picky eaters with what candy they will and won't eat. I was laughing my butt off with Necrophiliacs Anonymous and where they draw the line. Caterwaul is just plain good fun. Welcome to Couleoville, CLOWNS, that's all that I need to say about that one. Lost at Last is a wonderful finish to this fantastic collection. I really felt for this man and his dog on this adventure. Now I've left out some so I dont give everything away but one more I want to mention is The Tunnel At The End Of The Light. Dang Larry, why you gotta make me cry like that. Great collection, check it out whenever you get the chance!

-Horrorble Opinions Podcast, Kenny

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mike Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good for the most part. It had elements of the King in Yellow mixed in, which was well done when handled correctly. The ones that stand out are The Tunnel and Lost at Last. Both were well told, good pacing, and both in their own right were a nicely contained story. This collection isn't exact quality throughout, and I understand the reason for that is explained in the notes at the end. However a little more quality control could have helped this one along. Overall, fun and enjoyable.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kathryn Grace Loves Horror · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[John J Questore · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, first, I want to - one more time - apologize to my buddy, Larry, for missing his first reading at Scares That Care AuthorCon II. But, I did make good on my promise to buy his book (like there was even a doubt), and moved it to the front of my TBR pile - something I rarely do.

But, in true "John" fashion, my lazy a$$ finished the book a while ago, and I am just no getting around to writing a review. But, since today (6/27) is Larry's birthday, what better gift to give him than one more review.

Let me give a little background first. I've known Larry for about four years now - and for the last three he has been talking about putting this collection together; but, like all creative people, kept self-doubting himself. In fact, even in his Acknowledgement section, he puts himself down. Well, I can honestly say his fears are unfounded!

This collection was an extremely wild ride!

In this collection, Larry shows he can take on absolutely any subject - from a child's "invisible" friend, to a bizarre story about a sentient trash heap. On top of that, he also tackles drabbles (100 word stories).

I could give a run-down of all the stories, as I have done in the past, but I truly think that would ruin the magic found within these pages. There are stories for everyone here, and I'd be hard pressed to find a "clunker". Yeah, there were some I enjoyed more than others, but there really wasn't one that I could say, "You know, he probably shouldn't have included that story."

Now, I do have to point out some of my favorites:

"The World Ends at the World's End" - OK, it takes a pretty creative mind to mash known fairy tales with Lovecraft, and sprinkle in a slight bit of the "King in Yellow". This was well done!

"Lost at Last" - Having done my fair share of hiking, this hit home. It was a very loving "Twilight Zone" style story.

"Caterwaul" - My wife has a bunch of gnomes in our front yard, and thanks to Larry, I now avoid them like the plague!

Lastly, I really would have loved to see the faces on the crowd when Larry read from "Necrphiliacs Anonymous"! Maybe next year.

Look, the only negative I can say about this collection is that I wanted more. I'd love to see a novella, and hopefully an actual novel. Larry's writing style is easy to read, and he doesn't waste time with unnecessary baloney - so you're not wading through paragraphs of description (like some authors we may know). He gets to the point, and slams the hammer right between your eyes.

Give him a shot - you won't regret it!

[Mark F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent read, Larry Hinkle’s debut collection, The Space Between, thrilled me the way only well-written horror stories can. The stories range in length from a single page to a dozen or so, but each packs a punch no matter the size. As with all collections and anthologies, there are usually some pieces that I like, some I don’t, and some that I love. Well, with The Space Between, I certainly didn’t find any that I didn’t like, only liked a lot and loved, making the rating of this book much easier for me.

The stories that stood out the most for me were That’s What Friends Are For (with friends like that, who needs enemies. Am I right?), Strange Constellations (Larry, this did NOT help alleviate my fear of corn fields, brought on by The Eris Ridge Trail. Just sayin’.), Fresh (thankfully, I still trust cops…mostly, sort of, but it’s not easy after reading this), Reaching Bottom (I tell you, this is the stuff of nightmares), Can You Dig It? (yeah, I dug it), Sharing is Caring (I never did like bullies), The Santadvent Killer (I STILL love Christmas, and will put extra cookies out for Santa this year), The Space Between (again, the stuff of nightmares…for me, anyway), The Tunnel at the End of the Light (Larry, the pages got blurry for some strange reason while reading this, and I wasn’t even cutting onions – LOVED this. Shout out to Koko!), Necrophiliacs Anonymous (I don’t even know what to say about this one), Caterwaul (I guess I was one of the lucky ones to have had friendly garden gnomes), Welcome to Coulroville (I never did like clowns, and never will, especially after reading this), and Lost at Last (shout out to Sammie, with more happy tears).

Story after story, I kept thinking, “What a mind this author has! So…creative! So…disturbing, but in the best way possible, for a horror author.” Frightening stories, ones that make you think, or frighten you the more you wonder what it would be like if they were true, at least in part, and certainly a couple that got me teary-eyed. And most important, certainly to be loved by horror fans everywhere. I gladly give this a 5 out of 5.

[John Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story collections are usually hit and miss, but you sometimes get one that is a gem from start to finish. That is how I felt about The Space Between by Larry Hinkle.

There are 20 stories in this collection, some of which are little more than a page long, and they are all great in their own right. You have cosmic horror, murderous, garden gnomes, and a host of other little nuggets that run the gamut from fun to downright creepy.

For me, Caterwaul and Sharing is Caring were among my favorites from the bunch, but like I said, there is something to enjoy in every tale Hinkle delivers.

[Sawney Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most fun collection of short dark fiction stories I've read in a while. Almost every story has a different vibe (which is how I prefer it). Some are delightfully bonkers ("Trash Talk"); some are deeply creepy ("Reaching Bottom"); some are darkly humorous ("Necrophiliacs Anonymous"); and some are even quite touching ("The Tunnel at the End of the Light"). Whether you like cosmic horror, creature features, or dark comedy, or all of these, you'll likely enjoy this grab bag of fresh, funny, frightening stories. Big thumbs up!

[Shannon Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Larry Hinkle book and let me tell you. It was wonderful! Each of the 20 stories were really good. They were a mix of funny, gory, scary and crazy! I cannot read more of Larry’s stories! So hurry up please cause we want more!!!!

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mix.

I love all kinds of short stories, and some good creepy tales in this collection.

[Craig Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of cosmic horror, so the synopsis of this collection was one that caught my eye immediately. At 200 pages, and with 20 stories, most are very quick reads - one less than a page long - which made The Space Between a blast to get through. I found myself frequently thinking 'just one more story' before putting it down, always a mark of a good collection.

I don't want to go in-depth with this review - nobody wants to read my thoughts on 20 individual stories, and at these lengths saying too much would give away a little too much information when you should be going in blind - but there's a few I particularly enjoyed I'd like to specifically praise.

Trash Talk is a monster story early in the collection, which feels like it could have been a 1950s sci-fi/horror film. It has a sense of fun and playfulness, something that pops up a lot in Hinkle's writing, which helped make this collection stand out a little more when compared to other cosmic or otherworldly-influenced books.

Reaching Bottom was a real stand out, my second favourite story and one with a fantastic ending. I read this one a few days ago and it keeps rattling around my mind, exactly what you want from this sort of horror.

At the halfway point of the book is The Tunnel At The End Of The Light, my absolute favourite story. I'm not sure exactly how long it was - maybe 10 pages or so - but as someone who's said goodbye to too many dogs in their lifetime, this one hit me hard. Hinkle has crafted a story with a real emotional heft in such few pages, and I fully intend to revisit this one often in the future. It doesn't hurt at all that it's also got a lot in there for fans of The Shining, which is probably my favourite horror movie. I had to put the book down and let this one sink in when I was finished.

Towards the end of the book is Lost At Last, another story well in the cosmic subgenre. A man and his dog go hiking, and end up on a trail quite unlike any other. If I was to pick a top 3 from this collection, this would get that third place - there's some great imagery in here, and there's almost a strange sense of comfort in the horror. A brilliant end to the collection.

Outside of the more Lovecraftian, King In Yellow vibes, Hinkle delves into many other styles and subgenres. Whether necrophilia, cannibalism, garden gnomes, fairytales or Christmas-themed reads, every story is well-written, with many having a surprisingly effective undercurrent of humour. Like with most collections there's a few that I enjoyed less than others, but in most cases that was because they were less to my personal tastes, rather than not being good.

Overall, I found this to be a very strong debut collection, with some interesting and twisted ideas, and a few very impressive reads. If you're looking for some quick and easy short stories then this just could be the book for you.

[Christina Pfeiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha Hawkins read this collection and immediately had to put it on my radar so of course, I had to read for myself and friends, I was not disappointed. While there are twenty-one short stories, I will only be taking a look at eight. But they were my favorites.

That’s What Friends Are For - Growing up isn’t easy on anyone, including imaginary friends but ignoring them may have consequences.

Strange Constellations - Two friends run from the nieghborhood bullies and escape into a cornfield maze. But nothing is as it seems anywhere they look.

Loop De Loop De Loop - Time travel 101 is now in session and it’s a short course.

Can You Dig It? - Lisa’s birthday gift from her husband, Mike, might be a hand-me-down but it still gets the jobs done.

Sharing is Caring - What happens when the bully gets his - just desserts? (Nudge)

Necrophiliacs Anonymous - A new member NA tells his story after hearing the others speak and things get a bit messy.

Meat Cute - When the narrator finally invites a girl he met at the bookstore to dinner, he can’t get his mind off her boobs.

Nicholas - What happens when Santa’s magic begins to fade. I REALLY wish this was a whole novella.

There isn’t a bad story in the whole collection and definitely has something for everyone. I cannot wait to read more from Hinkle.

A DEFINITE RECOMMEND 5/5.