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From the Horse’s Mouth Collection #4
Coma House
Seeing is not always believing.
Natasha Haughton, a young business woman with everything to live for, awakes one day to an unfamiliar room in a cold, abandoned house with no explanation of how she got there. She is alone and there is no sign of whoever put her there. Faced with confusion and uncertainty, Natasha tries to understand what is happening. Clues exist – but, for some reason, she is blind to them.
Rules govern the rooms, but no one explains what they are.
Natasha must learn to survive her new reality if she is to get out with her sanity intact, but deception, secrecy, silence and loss fill the derelict house. The quiet is not a comfort; it is a menace. The walls seem to breathe; the pipes rush with what sounds like blood. Driven by a desperate desire to make sense of this strange, decaying world, Natasha explores the house more and finally discovers the clues she missed – her grandfather’s old tobacco case, a book she scribbled in as a child and a window that looks out onto memories…
To escape, Natasha must challenge everything she knows, question what she believed to be reality and look deeper inside her own mind and the minds of those who say they love her – the same people who are ready to decide her fate without her. Can she break free or will she be forever lost inside the place she calls Coma House?
Natasha Haughton, a young business woman with everything to live for, awakes one day to an unfamiliar room in a cold, abandoned house with no explanation of how she got there. She is alone and there is no sign of whoever put her there. Faced with confusion and uncertainty, Natasha tries to understand what is happening. Clues exist – but, for some reason, she is blind to them.
Rules govern the rooms, but no one explains what they are.
Natasha must learn to survive her new reality if she is to get out with her sanity intact, but deception, secrecy, silence and loss fill the derelict house. The quiet is not a comfort; it is a menace. The walls seem to breathe; the pipes rush with what sounds like blood. Driven by a desperate desire to make sense of this strange, decaying world, Natasha explores the house more and finally discovers the clues she missed – her grandfather’s old tobacco case, a book she scribbled in as a child and a window that looks out onto memories…
To escape, Natasha must challenge everything she knows, question what she believed to be reality and look deeper inside her own mind and the minds of those who say they love her – the same people who are ready to decide her fate without her. Can she break free or will she be forever lost inside the place she calls Coma House?
70 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2015
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Carla H. Krueger
8 books104 followersDear readers,
I’m Carla and I write short and long fiction, depending how much ink is in the pen. I grew up in an unconventional family in an unconventional community surrounded by wild, wonderful and sometimes pretty weird people and, yes you’re right, a lot of that stuff does end up in my fiction. When it comes to stories – those I read and write – I love seeing ordinary people flirt with unexpected danger. I get excited about outrageous books and hilarious books. I like darker fiction, the kind that occasionally shocks. I also enjoy meeting unlikely heroes and discovering people’s secrets. My work has already appeared in Crime Fiction Lover’s “New Talent” section and on a handful of small press shortlists. I’ve written six short novels, two full novels and a legion of short stories – with plenty new stuff on the way. When I’m not writing, I’m usually tripping over the billion secondhand books I shouldn’t have bought and stuffed into my tiny house. But I love books, so it’s ok.
I’m Carla and I write short and long fiction, depending how much ink is in the pen. I grew up in an unconventional family in an unconventional community surrounded by wild, wonderful and sometimes pretty weird people and, yes you’re right, a lot of that stuff does end up in my fiction. When it comes to stories – those I read and write – I love seeing ordinary people flirt with unexpected danger. I get excited about outrageous books and hilarious books. I like darker fiction, the kind that occasionally shocks. I also enjoy meeting unlikely heroes and discovering people’s secrets. My work has already appeared in Crime Fiction Lover’s “New Talent” section and on a handful of small press shortlists. I’ve written six short novels, two full novels and a legion of short stories – with plenty new stuff on the way. When I’m not writing, I’m usually tripping over the billion secondhand books I shouldn’t have bought and stuffed into my tiny house. But I love books, so it’s ok.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2015
Coma House is a captivating story about a woman called Natasha who seems to have the world at her feet, but is swept into a terrifying situation. The sense of panic and fear she feels as she discovers more about what's happened to her is incredibly realistic. You feel her pain alright. I spent most of the book urging Natasha to run, but the whole point about the story is that running's not an option.
If anyone claims to have found a cliche in here, they're either lying or they've got a very good microscope. This is not a bog standard plot by a long way. Plus, when folks say a book is full of twists and turns I tend to avoid it now because I sense BS!! But this is as winding and as twisting as it gets and it's strangley satisfying, although when you get to the end you do kind of feel glad it is only a book and not your life!
So, you're probably wondering why only 3 stars. It's purely personal taste. The writing is superb and the story idea is very cool. Downsides are: the main character is probably not as deeply developed as you would get in a full novel, but this is a novella, so I say take what is given and enjoy it. I also think, because I tend not to ever read anything with even a hint of nostalgia, I might have struggled slightly with some of the romantic element, the lost love etc, but it's perfect if you do want more emotion. This has bags of emotion. Overall, good, different book, definitely recommend.
If anyone claims to have found a cliche in here, they're either lying or they've got a very good microscope. This is not a bog standard plot by a long way. Plus, when folks say a book is full of twists and turns I tend to avoid it now because I sense BS!! But this is as winding and as twisting as it gets and it's strangley satisfying, although when you get to the end you do kind of feel glad it is only a book and not your life!
So, you're probably wondering why only 3 stars. It's purely personal taste. The writing is superb and the story idea is very cool. Downsides are: the main character is probably not as deeply developed as you would get in a full novel, but this is a novella, so I say take what is given and enjoy it. I also think, because I tend not to ever read anything with even a hint of nostalgia, I might have struggled slightly with some of the romantic element, the lost love etc, but it's perfect if you do want more emotion. This has bags of emotion. Overall, good, different book, definitely recommend.
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November 1, 2015***EDITOR'S REVIEW***
From International Thriller Award nominee Carla H. Krueger comes a gripping short thriller about secrets, deception, lost love, choices and fate.
Coma House is an elegant, emotionally-charged and unsettling short novel which takes readers on a vivid journey into the contradictions of human nature and the mysteries of consciousness itself. We travel deep into the mind of a woman who becomes lost within, whose body and thoughts seem alien to her. As time progresses, the world she inhabits gradually reveals itself to be the most frightening lie, a prison, designed to do nothing but trap her. Drawn from a heady mix of real life, confused memories, pure imagination and the lunacy of dreams, Coma House is more than a thrilling, original story; it also offers us a powerful insight into ourselves, exploring how we learn to hide from our deepest desires and how, if we’re not careful, we can fall victim to other people’s dangerously misguided truths.
“A beautiful, sympathetic tale that is both unique and unequivocally human; a study of one person’s struggle against unfathomable adversity. It’s everything we fear from our worst nightmares – that moment when our own bodies become our biggest enemy.”
From International Thriller Award nominee Carla H. Krueger comes a gripping short thriller about secrets, deception, lost love, choices and fate.
Coma House is an elegant, emotionally-charged and unsettling short novel which takes readers on a vivid journey into the contradictions of human nature and the mysteries of consciousness itself. We travel deep into the mind of a woman who becomes lost within, whose body and thoughts seem alien to her. As time progresses, the world she inhabits gradually reveals itself to be the most frightening lie, a prison, designed to do nothing but trap her. Drawn from a heady mix of real life, confused memories, pure imagination and the lunacy of dreams, Coma House is more than a thrilling, original story; it also offers us a powerful insight into ourselves, exploring how we learn to hide from our deepest desires and how, if we’re not careful, we can fall victim to other people’s dangerously misguided truths.
“A beautiful, sympathetic tale that is both unique and unequivocally human; a study of one person’s struggle against unfathomable adversity. It’s everything we fear from our worst nightmares – that moment when our own bodies become our biggest enemy.”
April 30, 2015
Read book four in what is apparently a collection, but what the hell? Fantastic short book. Liked the mature writing style. Good character development even though it's not novel-length. Not sure how Krueger got so much depth into something this size, but she can write. The idea of being in a coma and not even realising it is chillingly good, well thought out and executed with just the right levels of suspense and emotion. I plan to read the other stories.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews