Twisted

by Lindsey Williams, Katherine Bryant, Bartholomew Aloiscious

The world is full of horrors if you’re a woman. Vengeful spirits, crazy cowboys, homicidal hillbillies, the grossest case of post-partum depression ever, possessed stuffed animals, and a demented Poseidon – to name a few. So what’s a girl to do?

Well, get this book for starters. Then try not to lose your marbles (or your lunch) as you go about your business after reading some of the most mind-bending horror around. Then you can share all the gory details with your fellow horror fans, if you think they can handle it.

Just remember, always keep it Twisted.

This tragic tome includes thirteen tales of terror from some of the hottest new names in the game:

Fountain of Youth
Rancho Viejo
Bringing Baby Home
Scavenger Hunt
Taste So Good
Progress
Blackpool Quarry
The Spectre
Karma Incarnate
Freeze Burned
Initiations
Mirror Mirror
A Strange End

*Not for readers under 18*

121 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2016

Reviews

[Wim Verveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The foreword mentions that there is a lack of female centric horror. This may be true but at no point in the book I had time to wonder about that, as some of the stories were too creepy and spellbinding to do anything else but to read on. My personal taste in horror requires a certain amount of hidden danger and surprise. I was not disappointed in that. Stories like The spectre, Taste so good and scavenger hunt make you feel the muscles in your back contract and wonder why your room is so dark. Other stories are more subtle in their approach which appealed less to me personally. Overall I received some good scares which is what horror is supposed to deliver in my opinion.

[Laurie Gardiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading short stories, especially anthologies with a variety of authors and styles to choose from. Overall, Twisted is a good read. The majority of stories are well-written, but most are in need of a good professional edit, and proper formatting. A few stories did not read as horror to me; I would class some as sic-fi, and suspense. At 121 pages, the anthology took me about an hour and a half to complete. In my opinion $9.99 is a steep price for an ebook of this length. Overall a fair read, that might have received four stars if not for a couple stories that left me wanting, and the lack of editing.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a short, spooky read, this book has some good stories. I enjoyed the variation in the stories. They played off a wide variety of horror tropes/styles/themes. Everything from the supernatural to the knife wielding maniacs.

I wavered between how I wanted to rate the book, and in the end settled for 3 stars instead of 4, because the book could use another pass for editing and tightening. In one story, the main character's name changes awkwardly throughout, for instance.

I enjoyed the female-lead component of this novel. I found myself wishing that perhaps it was a little stronger of a focus, but it was a fun aspect of this anthology.

Overall, if you're looking for a collection of scary stories, this is an enjoyable anthology.

[Deliaria Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not what I was hoping it was not the worst thing that I have ever read. I was hoping for more dark, scary and twisted horror, more of the likes of Stephen King and Anne Rice, but instead found this to be kind of blah and poppy in places. One of the stories felt like Hostile, while ofthers felt like they were trying for something that they weren't and campy. There were two that had me questioning my sanity, some had me yawning, and the last one was reminiscent of Puppetmaster. If you enjoy campy horror mastery then this is great, but if you want a scare yourself silly, piss your pants, maybe not.

The writing is good. It really is. But this was definitely not what I was looking for in a horror anthology.

[K.N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept that these horror stories would feature female protagonists, so I expected a fresh approach to women's issues with a twist. Many of the tales read more like a list of good story ideas that aren't quite fully formed, though. While some build-up suspense, like "Rancho Viejo" and "Blackpool Quarry", most fail to deliver an ending, even a hmmm-who-knows type of ending.

As promised, all of the stories share straightforward narrative and vivid descriptions of horrific and bloody scenes. Sadly, they lack a deeper point-of-view that might add an extra oomph to character development. A few punctuation errors, but not enough to trip up reading on a dark night. There's a scattering of awkward non-words as well (creep-tastic, hawking, thingies, bro hugs, spendy) that can definitely be used to add character to dialogue, but shouldn't be used in narrative.

Concept-wise, I liked the potential in "Bringing Baby Home" - it's creepy in a very real way. While the collection definitely delivers on twisted minds doing twisted things, the hint of strong female protagonists had me hoping for that next layer in story development. Certainly bloody and disturbing though!