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I Never Meant To Start A Murder Cult and Other Stories
Graverobbers, vengeful ghosts, reluctant killers, dead bodies in trunks, and monstrous entities abound in this chapbook of four stories and five flash-fiction stories from Darrell Z. Grizzle, horror and crime fiction author from shadow-haunted Marietta, Georgia. Includes the previously-unpublished dreadpunk story, “The Haunted Verger.”
“Good shit right here. Tell ‘em I sent ya.”
~ Brian Panowich, author of Bull Mountain and Like Lions
“You'll be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable collection of stories than this one. Settle in with your drink of choice on a nice stormy night and enjoy, just make sure the doors are locked before you do.”
~ James R. Tuck, author of the Deacon Chalk series and more.
“Sharp, tight, and tense writing tie all these stories together. Darrell Z. Grizzle’s talent for short, quick jabs to the the heart will keep you turning pages until the end. Once you catch your breath, you'll be wanting more.”
~ Nicole Givens Kurtz, author of Silenced: A Cybil Lewis Mystery
“Darrell Z. Grizzle’s chapbook, I Never Meant to Start a Murder Cult, is a marvelously horrific collection of stories. Some, like ‘Moonlight Sonata, With Scissors,’ are downright disturbing. Others, such as ‘The Last Confession,’ will make you cheer for the hero. But all of them are wonderfully written and guaranteed to make readers gasp, ‘I didn’t see that coming!’ Grizzle has created a cast of characters that pull you in and hold on tight. I highly recommend his collection, but, unless readers are very brave, I also recommend that they enjoy them during daylight hours.”
~ Valjeanne Jeffers, author of the Immortal and Mona Livelong Paranormal Detective series
“Darrell Z. Grizzle is a writer to watch. He has a feel for Southern Gothic and horror, not to mention a sly sense of humor. Recommended.”
~ Charles R. Rutledge, co-author of Congregations of the Dead and A Hell Within
“Darrell Z. Grizzle has an immediately recognizable and decidedly unique voice. And I love it. He approaches his subjects from the side – never head on. Darkness abounds, yes, but it’s often couched in humor. And as he works his way to unexpected and often unpleasant endings, you will be enthralled. I was.”
~ Grant Jerkins, author of A Very Simple Crime and A Scholar of Pain
“Good shit right here. Tell ‘em I sent ya.”
~ Brian Panowich, author of Bull Mountain and Like Lions
“You'll be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable collection of stories than this one. Settle in with your drink of choice on a nice stormy night and enjoy, just make sure the doors are locked before you do.”
~ James R. Tuck, author of the Deacon Chalk series and more.
“Sharp, tight, and tense writing tie all these stories together. Darrell Z. Grizzle’s talent for short, quick jabs to the the heart will keep you turning pages until the end. Once you catch your breath, you'll be wanting more.”
~ Nicole Givens Kurtz, author of Silenced: A Cybil Lewis Mystery
“Darrell Z. Grizzle’s chapbook, I Never Meant to Start a Murder Cult, is a marvelously horrific collection of stories. Some, like ‘Moonlight Sonata, With Scissors,’ are downright disturbing. Others, such as ‘The Last Confession,’ will make you cheer for the hero. But all of them are wonderfully written and guaranteed to make readers gasp, ‘I didn’t see that coming!’ Grizzle has created a cast of characters that pull you in and hold on tight. I highly recommend his collection, but, unless readers are very brave, I also recommend that they enjoy them during daylight hours.”
~ Valjeanne Jeffers, author of the Immortal and Mona Livelong Paranormal Detective series
“Darrell Z. Grizzle is a writer to watch. He has a feel for Southern Gothic and horror, not to mention a sly sense of humor. Recommended.”
~ Charles R. Rutledge, co-author of Congregations of the Dead and A Hell Within
“Darrell Z. Grizzle has an immediately recognizable and decidedly unique voice. And I love it. He approaches his subjects from the side – never head on. Darkness abounds, yes, but it’s often couched in humor. And as he works his way to unexpected and often unpleasant endings, you will be enthralled. I was.”
~ Grant Jerkins, author of A Very Simple Crime and A Scholar of Pain
- GenresHorror
68 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 14, 2018
8 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Darrell Z. Grizzle
14 books78 followersDarrell Z. Grizzle is a writer of queer horror, dark fantasy, and crime fiction. He is the author of "I Never Meant to Start a Murder Cult." His story “Moonlight Sonata, with Scissors” was adapted into a short film by award-winning indie filmmaker Chris Ethridge. Darrell is featured in “Lonely Hollows: 15 Tales of Folk Horror,” “Effigies and Incantations,” “Yay! All Queer,” “Don’t Ask, Ghosts Tell,” and Skelos 4: The Journal of Weird Fiction and Dark Fantasy. Darrell is a former parole officer who now works as a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice. He lives in shadow-haunted Kennesaw, Georgia, with his partner Michael, their cat Althea, and way too many books. His home on the web is www.ShadowHaunted.com and his social media and other links are at https://linktr.ee/dzgrizzle
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 14, 2022
This a dark, quirky little book. A series of short stories, some supernatural, some horror. Very quick read! I enjoyed it and read it in one sitting. I do think some of the stories have the potential to be built out into longer tales.
December 1, 2019
This one definitely had me at murder cult. Or really just at cult. Can’t stay away from a good cult story the way cultists, presumably, can’t stay away from a good thorough brainwashing. This was also the last read obtained through my KU trial, so I was glad it turned out to be such a good one. Never heard of the author, but that’s certain to change, The man’s got some chops if this short collection is something to go by. The stories are short, but most of them deliver a nice gut punch, be it via a plot twist or just a nicely demented context. The anthology’s first tale, the eponymous one, is a very entertaining take on a life and followers of a convicted female serial killer. Definitely one of the best stories in the volume. There’s also one, formatted as a last will and testament, that’s along the same lines of perversely fun. The premises here vary from purely psychological to more outwardly horrific and some executions are greater than others, but overall these are some seriously disturbing widely entertaining tales and they showcase the author’s talent amply. It’ such a quick read, 45 minutes at most, and fans of darkly humorous stories of macabre and bizarre are sure to enjoy this book. I know I did.
And thus concludes my free trial of Kindle Unlimited. I utilized it a good amount, three months of literary frights normally only reserved for special occasions and/or October, but glad it was free, because I don’t think it’s really worth the money unless you almost exclusively read genre fiction. Prior to the trial I kind of thought Unlimited actually meant just that and the pass allowed the readers to read whatever they wanted, but no, it’s a limited curated selection decided by Amazon and digital publishers. For genre fiction it’s awesome, some publishers like Severed Press or Crystal Lake Pub. have nearly all of their books available to read for free through KU. There are tons of thrillers similarly available and often from the same (mostly low end commercial) authors. There are tons of new, unknown or lesser known authors available that way too. But if you want to enjoy a balanced reading diet that includes books of many genres, including proper literature, from many well known publishers…KU’s almost completely useless for that. Library is a much more viable option. Or Netgalley. I usually draw from both and maintain a very nicely balance reading selection. This was fun, KU, I’ve discovered some new genre authors and got to binge out on some recent favorites, but now it’s over and I’m absolutely ok with it. In fact, eager to get back to some variety and some proper literature. It’s been real, as the kids say, thanks KU, you limited unlimited creature, you.
And thus concludes my free trial of Kindle Unlimited. I utilized it a good amount, three months of literary frights normally only reserved for special occasions and/or October, but glad it was free, because I don’t think it’s really worth the money unless you almost exclusively read genre fiction. Prior to the trial I kind of thought Unlimited actually meant just that and the pass allowed the readers to read whatever they wanted, but no, it’s a limited curated selection decided by Amazon and digital publishers. For genre fiction it’s awesome, some publishers like Severed Press or Crystal Lake Pub. have nearly all of their books available to read for free through KU. There are tons of thrillers similarly available and often from the same (mostly low end commercial) authors. There are tons of new, unknown or lesser known authors available that way too. But if you want to enjoy a balanced reading diet that includes books of many genres, including proper literature, from many well known publishers…KU’s almost completely useless for that. Library is a much more viable option. Or Netgalley. I usually draw from both and maintain a very nicely balance reading selection. This was fun, KU, I’ve discovered some new genre authors and got to binge out on some recent favorites, but now it’s over and I’m absolutely ok with it. In fact, eager to get back to some variety and some proper literature. It’s been real, as the kids say, thanks KU, you limited unlimited creature, you.
October 14, 2021
I really wanted the first story to be longer. I can totally see the author turning that one into a full novel. It was the best story out of the whole bunch, in my opinion. Amazon clocks this one at way more pages than it felt like reading. I flew through this one super quick. The page # on GR is much shorter than on Amazon. Anyways, there's a variety of stories that there is something in this book for everybody
March 23, 2019
Fast fun read
Enjoyable stories with a wonderful sense of pace and dialogue. I liked the ghost stories best (and I hope to see a very specific piece of jewelry appear in a novel), but the premise of the murder cult story was brilliant. Here and there, there is a wicked sense of humor, too. I thought it needed two or three more stories to round out the book, but this was well worth the read. Lovely!
Enjoyable stories with a wonderful sense of pace and dialogue. I liked the ghost stories best (and I hope to see a very specific piece of jewelry appear in a novel), but the premise of the murder cult story was brilliant. Here and there, there is a wicked sense of humor, too. I thought it needed two or three more stories to round out the book, but this was well worth the read. Lovely!
April 7, 2019
After I read the story "What My Family Should Know in the Event of My Demise," I immediately told friends and family "You have to read this--it's great." They agreed. Darrell Grizzle knows the difference between clever and contrived. Each story in "I Never Meant to Start a Murder Cult" takes you to an unexpected, but completely organic, place. In an impressive array of styles, he is humorous one second and dreadful the next--and sometimes both at once.
March 2, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed my friend Darrell Grizzle's chapbook, "I Never Meant To Start A Murder Cult and Other Stories." I mean, I was sold on the title alone. The 9 stories that make up this book are great tasty nuggets of horror/thriller goodness. Darrell tells some truly spooky tales here that make me want to read more. Highly recommended. 4 Stars.
August 21, 2024
A crisp collection of short gothic fiction full of ghostly tales that will keep you up at night. Fun and gripping. Read this book by a crackling fire by candlelight and you’ll ask if that noise you heard was the house settling or if it was some unseen malevolent spirit come for your soul.
September 13, 2018
If you are into stories that are dark, slightly terrifying, and wildly funny, this is the book for you. This is my brother-in-darkness's first anthology of short fiction, and it is wonderful.
April 7, 2021
A series of short stories ranging from bizarre dead bodies to spectral entities in hospital windows. I never knew what to expect from one story to the next and it was fantastic. I loved how he embraced the weird, the unexplained, and the surreal.
Grizzle has a wide range in tone and time period. Some of these like “We Ride On The Wind” could easily have been expanded into a full-length novel, and I would be one of the first to pick up a copy.
I can’t wait to see what he does next!
Grizzle has a wide range in tone and time period. Some of these like “We Ride On The Wind” could easily have been expanded into a full-length novel, and I would be one of the first to pick up a copy.
I can’t wait to see what he does next!
April 27, 2019
Solid collection of short stories. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
November 2, 2019
Loving this title so far. I read a story every night before bed.
September 2, 2023
Such an amazing book! The nine brief stories in this collection read like mini-adventures into the unknown and supernatural with extraordinary results. Never sure of what you’ll get, (or what the characters will get, for that matter) Mr. Grizzle often subverts genre expectations to the most satisfactory ends. The prose is tight and rich with nuance, which for me added an extra level of believability to the otherworldly situations of the stories. Mr. Grizzle’s ear for dialog also impresses, lending the characters more humanity than characters with hundreds of pages at their disposal. A man’s last wishes for himself and his belongs after he passes, a slightly misunderstood cult leader, a supposedly very easy robbery gone wrong, a very distinct stolen pistol and its recent history, and so much more, awaits. I was constantly impressed by how much Mr. Grizzle provides and explores in so few pages. Typically understanding of a writer’s decision to give only what they feel necessary, I truly want MORE! So please, Mr. Grizzle…MORE…MORE…MORE!!!
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November 25, 2021A Fun, Quick Read
Kindle Unlimited reader here. The stories are interesting and quick reads. Some could be expanded into larger tales (the one about Robert and the things that feed on despair) or continued (the one about the verger).
Definitely worth a borrow. I got through it on one elliptical session at the gym.
Kindle Unlimited reader here. The stories are interesting and quick reads. Some could be expanded into larger tales (the one about Robert and the things that feed on despair) or continued (the one about the verger).
Definitely worth a borrow. I got through it on one elliptical session at the gym.
May 24, 2021
Fresh and well-written. I look forward to more stories!
June 19, 2021
Fun collection of crime and horror short stories.
April 25, 2020
Reading vlog on my YouTube channel.
This was a lot of fun. The ideas were very creative and at time surprising. I think a lot of them would make a great basis for a horror film.
Overall though, they felt a little rushed like they could bear being fleshed out a bit more. 3/5 stars
This was a lot of fun. The ideas were very creative and at time surprising. I think a lot of them would make a great basis for a horror film.
Overall though, they felt a little rushed like they could bear being fleshed out a bit more. 3/5 stars
September 30, 2023
Read it all in one spooky night!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews