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Whispers - Volume 3
Whispers - often unheard and sometimes misinterpreted. They make people uncomfortable and anxious. They can spread innocent words and they can infect the mind with hatred and lies. They can be a sign of secrecy or a symptom of utter madness…
From Stuart Keane comes a third collection of short stories. Featuring a foreword from extreme horror author Matt Shaw, Whispers - Volume 3 brings you eight horrific tales. This is terror experienced by ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, when their mundane lives spiral out of control and become something a little more sadistic.
In this third collection of horrific tales, we meet: a cheating husband who is about to learn the violent error of his ways; a perverted killer with unfinished business at a strip club; a man who is eager to spend Easter with his loved ones, no matter the cost; an apocalypse survivor with a dark secret; a chef with an exquisite appetite; a child who learns the truth about the dark side of Christmas; a conflicted lawyer who has a difficult decision to make, and two life-long friends who stumble upon the greatest horror of all.
Whispers - sometimes we hear them, but they definitely hear us ... still.
From Stuart Keane comes a third collection of short stories. Featuring a foreword from extreme horror author Matt Shaw, Whispers - Volume 3 brings you eight horrific tales. This is terror experienced by ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, when their mundane lives spiral out of control and become something a little more sadistic.
In this third collection of horrific tales, we meet: a cheating husband who is about to learn the violent error of his ways; a perverted killer with unfinished business at a strip club; a man who is eager to spend Easter with his loved ones, no matter the cost; an apocalypse survivor with a dark secret; a chef with an exquisite appetite; a child who learns the truth about the dark side of Christmas; a conflicted lawyer who has a difficult decision to make, and two life-long friends who stumble upon the greatest horror of all.
Whispers - sometimes we hear them, but they definitely hear us ... still.
155 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 14, 2016
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Keane
55 books145 followersAt the age of seven, I fell in love with the written word. Since that fateful day, I've dreamt of writing my own novels. In April 2014, twenty-five years later, that dream finally came true.
Writing is, and always has been, my passion. I revel in creating characters, unique worlds, realistic environments, and situations and stories that hook the reader. Reading stories of this kind inspires me so returning the favour has always been important to me, as a writer and a fan of literature.
I'm also a co-director at Dark Chapter Press, an English-based horror publisher, so pop over to my website for more information, including a fan club, the latest submission calls and new releases.
Writing is, and always has been, my passion. I revel in creating characters, unique worlds, realistic environments, and situations and stories that hook the reader. Reading stories of this kind inspires me so returning the favour has always been important to me, as a writer and a fan of literature.
I'm also a co-director at Dark Chapter Press, an English-based horror publisher, so pop over to my website for more information, including a fan club, the latest submission calls and new releases.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 14, 2016
Whispers 3! WooHoo been waiting for this 3rd instalment for awhile. I just LOVE Stuart 'The King' Keane's short story collections. He kicks ass and takes names in his shorts and many of the stories from those first 2 volumes are violently and permanently etched onto my already fragile psyche.
I have read soo many things from him ~ damn near the whole shebang ~ and the horrific images he creates in my head really are cemented there, like... with some sort of fast acting heinous viscera adhesive...or, something. EEECK!!
Just can't shake 'em and that's just fine with me actually, I ain't skerred, gots me daughter's Hello Kitty night light. But yes, his powerful way with words and hardcore all consuming approach have given me some rather vivid dreams.
Some mornings, I don't throw my alarm clock across the room, some mornings ~ I'm grateful for it.
Lake Whisper is Keane's go-to locale, a lot of his tales are set there. The other SK has his Castle Rock, our SK has his Lake Whisper. It's an eerie and ominous place, to say the least, stuff happens there that normal folk just don't like to talk about. Or they are not permitted to...
So here I find myself venturing back into thy Keanedom once again. It seems I rarely leave!! Oh it's such a warm and inviting, scary and exciting, filthy and fun place ~ YEP, I'm a frequent loitering voyeur and get certain perks and twerks. Well, delusions are fun too... :P
"Push the server button, and flick the railroad switch." Here we have 8 fantastic and polar opposite tales. Different from each other, different from all his other work, and different from any other authors work.
Let's get sorted;
Lake Whisper ~ Richard and Thomas arrive in Lake Whisper looking to meet up with their friend Harold. They don't get together very often anymore cause he's married and has chores. They are having trouble finding him though, he's not answering his phone, and the locals aren't very hospitable, they are actually all kind of weird.
But oh look, a creepy house. Yea, he's probably in there...
I love the whole Tom, Dick, and Harry vibe going on here. Good ole average boys, way outta their comfort zones, exploring the ominous town of Lake Whisper looking for their married ~ i.e. forlorn ~ friend. They run smack dab into a bit of debauchery. Such a sticky spot they find themselves in.
Careful What You Wish For ~ Gerald is a sleazy psychopath, one that preys on women. He likes to play games with his victims first, the only way to get his rocks off and he finds himself irresistible and untouchable. He fancies himself a bit of a poet too but he ain't no Hemingway. This time, he sets his sights on a stripper named Cyndi and lucky him, she likes a bit of the role play as well.
Rose Above ~ The world is over, most life has been extinguished. Rose is a highly capable gal just trying to survive and ration out her chocolates for optimal and ongoing pleasure. Fearing the future safety of her current hiding spot, she goes in search of something...anything. What ~ or rather who ~ she finds will force her to make a stand for what she believes in and what she's entitled to. She's is a Rose Above after all..
Bon Appetit ~ Meet a man of extravagant taste. A true culinary expert who knows the value of a delicacy, yea, it's usually an hourly rate. It's all about your ingredients and how you prep, primp, and preen them, not to mention presentation.
I felt so guilty and dirty for laughing at this!! GOD, Keane's way with words is just.... :O
On The First Day of Christmas ~ Awwww an adorable and inquisitive little boy named Ben is having such trouble falling asleep on Christmas Eve. You can't blame him, it's the first snowfall he's been old enough to enjoy and he's been so very good and is so very excited for what Santa's gonna bring him. You also can't blame him for wanting to sneak a peak look-see after hearing some jovial stirrings downstairs. Ohhh....don't think it's gonna be a very white Christmas after all...
Inadmissible ~ This one is a real Murder, She Wrote (or would that be Matlock...) episode.
Rae is working on her last case as a lawyer ~ her curtain call ~ and the damn thing may get thrown out due to a technicality.
I love court room mystery suspense stories and in this one, the plot thickens and ripens per page. A real slime ball with a real dirty laundry list of enemies was murdered in his home. They have their suspect but it's just not adding up. DAMN that math, not being subjective enough. Could it be his wife, affectionately known as Miss Penelope Spreadsherlegsalot or her dumped and duped disgruntled former hubby?
The list is long, take a number, have a cuppa.
Lepus ~ I am a HUGE fan of inappropriate dark twisted humor and this story really threw me for a fruit loop. I found it funny, even if some others won't, it's not exactly the content (ok, yes, yes it is...a little bit) but the manner in which Keane wrote it that really made me guffaw and grimace in unison. And that's not a very pretty face.
Lee is a man who desperately wants to win back his lady love, she kicked him to the curb but he strongly feels he can make it up to her. Just needs the right approach.
Ahhh unrequited love has never been quite so warranted.
Apartment 3B ~ There are a lot of special effects in this one and due to Keane's spot on descriptive expertise, I pictured it all. Very Twilight Zone-y. In fact, I heard the score too.
Conner, discontent with an unstimulating home life due to an abrasive nagging wife who hits the bottle a little too often, has plans with his new girlfriend Alice. Good thing he's rich and can afford a bachelor pad. While waiting for her one evening at his shag pad, some strange things starts to happen. Like, really really strange. Is his conscious finally getting to him or is he the butt of some cruel joke? Perhaps Karma came a knocking, I hear she's a right bitch.
Romantic night, dead ahead.
I simply cannot pick A favorite, all of them were fabulous and served up some mighty tasty and diverse dishes to his always exquisitely set buffet table but if I HAD to pick my top half favs at gunpoint, and under extreme duress; Lepus, Lake Whisper, Careful What You Wish For, and Apartment 3B all just had that extra edge to them, for me. Again though, tough tough call.
His ingenuous little clever twists and that uncanny ability to change the tone midtune without skipping the beat....WHOA, impressive. ALL of his Whisper stories have clever little holy shit moments, usually told through slow reveal ~ tongue firmly in cheek ~ ways.
A master at that slow reveal, he knows how and when and with how much torque, to whip the blanket from our eyes and slap us with it.
One thing I really noticed this go round was his comedic side ~ It's always been there in his short stories but it just stood out for me more this go round ~ how he manages to add the funny/inappropriate bits and have it still fit into the graphic and extreme context of it all is truly brilliant.
I LOL'd quite a few times at his one liners and those OMG 'he actually went there' moments.
Yet another thing that makes this writer a notch above the rest, he is so versatile....whether its harrowing and gut wrenchingly realistic child abuse he's portraying or a culinary expert who likes to get to know his dishes on a deeeeper level....the scraps shouldn't be a total waste, right? No matter which extreme he goes to, its believable in the realm he creates. VERSITILE .
He's very polished no matter the genre, even his filth is polished to a high gloss shine.
Jesus, this man was just born to write, and I know it....I can feel it, he's gonna be a big name one day if he keeps up this level of quality entertainment.
I curtsey bow to thy noble and thy naaaaughty King. :D
I appreciate the authors compliance in giving me an arc copy of this here collection for my always honest and ever enthusiastic review. ACES!
I have read soo many things from him ~ damn near the whole shebang ~ and the horrific images he creates in my head really are cemented there, like... with some sort of fast acting heinous viscera adhesive...or, something. EEECK!!
Just can't shake 'em and that's just fine with me actually, I ain't skerred, gots me daughter's Hello Kitty night light. But yes, his powerful way with words and hardcore all consuming approach have given me some rather vivid dreams.
Some mornings, I don't throw my alarm clock across the room, some mornings ~ I'm grateful for it.
Lake Whisper is Keane's go-to locale, a lot of his tales are set there. The other SK has his Castle Rock, our SK has his Lake Whisper. It's an eerie and ominous place, to say the least, stuff happens there that normal folk just don't like to talk about. Or they are not permitted to...
So here I find myself venturing back into thy Keanedom once again. It seems I rarely leave!! Oh it's such a warm and inviting, scary and exciting, filthy and fun place ~ YEP, I'm a frequent loitering voyeur and get certain perks and twerks. Well, delusions are fun too... :P
"Push the server button, and flick the railroad switch." Here we have 8 fantastic and polar opposite tales. Different from each other, different from all his other work, and different from any other authors work.
Let's get sorted;
Lake Whisper ~ Richard and Thomas arrive in Lake Whisper looking to meet up with their friend Harold. They don't get together very often anymore cause he's married and has chores. They are having trouble finding him though, he's not answering his phone, and the locals aren't very hospitable, they are actually all kind of weird.
But oh look, a creepy house. Yea, he's probably in there...
I love the whole Tom, Dick, and Harry vibe going on here. Good ole average boys, way outta their comfort zones, exploring the ominous town of Lake Whisper looking for their married ~ i.e. forlorn ~ friend. They run smack dab into a bit of debauchery. Such a sticky spot they find themselves in.
Careful What You Wish For ~ Gerald is a sleazy psychopath, one that preys on women. He likes to play games with his victims first, the only way to get his rocks off and he finds himself irresistible and untouchable. He fancies himself a bit of a poet too but he ain't no Hemingway. This time, he sets his sights on a stripper named Cyndi and lucky him, she likes a bit of the role play as well.
Rose Above ~ The world is over, most life has been extinguished. Rose is a highly capable gal just trying to survive and ration out her chocolates for optimal and ongoing pleasure. Fearing the future safety of her current hiding spot, she goes in search of something...anything. What ~ or rather who ~ she finds will force her to make a stand for what she believes in and what she's entitled to. She's is a Rose Above after all..
Bon Appetit ~ Meet a man of extravagant taste. A true culinary expert who knows the value of a delicacy, yea, it's usually an hourly rate. It's all about your ingredients and how you prep, primp, and preen them, not to mention presentation.
I felt so guilty and dirty for laughing at this!! GOD, Keane's way with words is just.... :O
On The First Day of Christmas ~ Awwww an adorable and inquisitive little boy named Ben is having such trouble falling asleep on Christmas Eve. You can't blame him, it's the first snowfall he's been old enough to enjoy and he's been so very good and is so very excited for what Santa's gonna bring him. You also can't blame him for wanting to sneak a peak look-see after hearing some jovial stirrings downstairs. Ohhh....don't think it's gonna be a very white Christmas after all...
Inadmissible ~ This one is a real Murder, She Wrote (or would that be Matlock...) episode.
Rae is working on her last case as a lawyer ~ her curtain call ~ and the damn thing may get thrown out due to a technicality.
I love court room mystery suspense stories and in this one, the plot thickens and ripens per page. A real slime ball with a real dirty laundry list of enemies was murdered in his home. They have their suspect but it's just not adding up. DAMN that math, not being subjective enough. Could it be his wife, affectionately known as Miss Penelope Spreadsherlegsalot or her dumped and duped disgruntled former hubby?
The list is long, take a number, have a cuppa.
Lepus ~ I am a HUGE fan of inappropriate dark twisted humor and this story really threw me for a fruit loop. I found it funny, even if some others won't, it's not exactly the content (ok, yes, yes it is...a little bit) but the manner in which Keane wrote it that really made me guffaw and grimace in unison. And that's not a very pretty face.
Lee is a man who desperately wants to win back his lady love, she kicked him to the curb but he strongly feels he can make it up to her. Just needs the right approach.
Ahhh unrequited love has never been quite so warranted.
Apartment 3B ~ There are a lot of special effects in this one and due to Keane's spot on descriptive expertise, I pictured it all. Very Twilight Zone-y. In fact, I heard the score too.
Conner, discontent with an unstimulating home life due to an abrasive nagging wife who hits the bottle a little too often, has plans with his new girlfriend Alice. Good thing he's rich and can afford a bachelor pad. While waiting for her one evening at his shag pad, some strange things starts to happen. Like, really really strange. Is his conscious finally getting to him or is he the butt of some cruel joke? Perhaps Karma came a knocking, I hear she's a right bitch.
Romantic night, dead ahead.
I simply cannot pick A favorite, all of them were fabulous and served up some mighty tasty and diverse dishes to his always exquisitely set buffet table but if I HAD to pick my top half favs at gunpoint, and under extreme duress; Lepus, Lake Whisper, Careful What You Wish For, and Apartment 3B all just had that extra edge to them, for me. Again though, tough tough call.
His ingenuous little clever twists and that uncanny ability to change the tone midtune without skipping the beat....WHOA, impressive. ALL of his Whisper stories have clever little holy shit moments, usually told through slow reveal ~ tongue firmly in cheek ~ ways.
A master at that slow reveal, he knows how and when and with how much torque, to whip the blanket from our eyes and slap us with it.
One thing I really noticed this go round was his comedic side ~ It's always been there in his short stories but it just stood out for me more this go round ~ how he manages to add the funny/inappropriate bits and have it still fit into the graphic and extreme context of it all is truly brilliant.
I LOL'd quite a few times at his one liners and those OMG 'he actually went there' moments.
Yet another thing that makes this writer a notch above the rest, he is so versatile....whether its harrowing and gut wrenchingly realistic child abuse he's portraying or a culinary expert who likes to get to know his dishes on a deeeeper level....the scraps shouldn't be a total waste, right? No matter which extreme he goes to, its believable in the realm he creates. VERSITILE .
He's very polished no matter the genre, even his filth is polished to a high gloss shine.
Jesus, this man was just born to write, and I know it....I can feel it, he's gonna be a big name one day if he keeps up this level of quality entertainment.
I curtsey bow to thy noble and thy naaaaughty King. :D
I appreciate the authors compliance in giving me an arc copy of this here collection for my always honest and ever enthusiastic review. ACES!
June 1, 2017
A collection of gruesome tales not for the easily offended. As these tales are quite dramatic and dark. I wouldn’t recommend eating or drinking anything while reading these books. You have been warned now on too some of my favorite stories from these three books. Volume (1) - A young boy who is getting buliled at school believes there something dark and evil hiding in his closet only to be met with a strange man who takes him on a trip to hell where he can get revenge on anyone who has ever hurt or wronged him. A rather clever way to get your own back on school bullies. Volume (2) -Two boys on a fun night out of weed and booze go for a drive where they end up parked where a young girl was brutally murdered and sexually assaulted. The twist in the tale is that one of the boys is related to the girl and is hell bent on payback. Volume (3) - A chef who loves using humans as his ingredients to cook with. So whatever you do don’t complain about the food. Or the food will be you.
These books can be read in any order but are not for the faint hearted. I really enjoyed reading Stuart’s messed up stories. Can’t wait for volume 4 out soon. Reviewed by Jennifer
These books can be read in any order but are not for the faint hearted. I really enjoyed reading Stuart’s messed up stories. Can’t wait for volume 4 out soon. Reviewed by Jennifer
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews