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The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories
Welcome to The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories.
Slatter’s work has been described by the legendary Ramsey Campbell as “enviably original, and told in prose as stylish as it’s precise. Not just disturbing but often touching, her work enriches and revives the tale of terror.”
From the fierce changeling children of ‘Finnegan’s Field’ to shades of old gods in ‘Egyptian Revival’, from the Lovecraftian echoes of ‘Lavinia’s Wood’ to a new kind of Victorian sleuth in ‘Ripper’, and from the re-imagined fairy tale of ‘The Little Mermaid, in Passing’ to the tender terror of ‘Neither Time nor Tears’, the stories in this collection spring from dragons’ teeth scattered on the field of story.
The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories collects twelve reprints and two new unpublished tales, with an Introduction by Kim Newman.
Slatter’s work has been described by the legendary Ramsey Campbell as “enviably original, and told in prose as stylish as it’s precise. Not just disturbing but often touching, her work enriches and revives the tale of terror.”
From the fierce changeling children of ‘Finnegan’s Field’ to shades of old gods in ‘Egyptian Revival’, from the Lovecraftian echoes of ‘Lavinia’s Wood’ to a new kind of Victorian sleuth in ‘Ripper’, and from the re-imagined fairy tale of ‘The Little Mermaid, in Passing’ to the tender terror of ‘Neither Time nor Tears’, the stories in this collection spring from dragons’ teeth scattered on the field of story.
The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories collects twelve reprints and two new unpublished tales, with an Introduction by Kim Newman.
331 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2020
2 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Angela Slatter
190 books822 followersAngela Slatter is the author of the urban fantasy novels Vigil (2016) and Corpselight (2017), as well as eight short story collections, including The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, and A Feast of Sorrows: Stories. She has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, and six Aurealis Awards.
Angela’s short stories have appeared in Australian, UK and US Best Of anthologies such The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction. Her work has been translated into Bulgarian, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, and Romanian. Victoria Madden of Sweet Potato Films (The Kettering Incident) has optioned the film rights to one of her short stories.
She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006, and in 2013 she was awarded one of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships. In 2016 Angela was the Established Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Perth.
Her novellas, Of Sorrow and Such (from Tor.com), and Ripper (in the Stephen Jones anthology Horrorology, from Jo Fletcher Books) were released in October 2015.
The third novel in the Verity Fassbinder series, Restoration, will be released in 2018 by Jo Fletcher Books (Hachette International). She is represented by Ian Drury of the literary agency Sheil Land for her long fiction, by Lucy Fawcett of Sheil Land for film rights, and by Alex Adsett of Alex Adsett Publishing Services for illustrated storybooks.
Angela’s short stories have appeared in Australian, UK and US Best Of anthologies such The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction. Her work has been translated into Bulgarian, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, and Romanian. Victoria Madden of Sweet Potato Films (The Kettering Incident) has optioned the film rights to one of her short stories.
She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006, and in 2013 she was awarded one of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships. In 2016 Angela was the Established Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Perth.
Her novellas, Of Sorrow and Such (from Tor.com), and Ripper (in the Stephen Jones anthology Horrorology, from Jo Fletcher Books) were released in October 2015.
The third novel in the Verity Fassbinder series, Restoration, will be released in 2018 by Jo Fletcher Books (Hachette International). She is represented by Ian Drury of the literary agency Sheil Land for her long fiction, by Lucy Fawcett of Sheil Land for film rights, and by Alex Adsett of Alex Adsett Publishing Services for illustrated storybooks.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 14, 2020
Each hand-carved spell is as hooking as it is deadly, Angela Slatter's stories are not ones to leave alone.
May 6, 2024
I have read several collection of stories penned by Angela Slatter. She creates strange jewels, with shimmering darkness at their core, red glow flowing out, automatically invoking the scent of blood. When she mixes a story full of charm and wit into that collection, the effect gets enriched rather than being diluted. This one was no exception.
Except the overlong and frankly anticlimactic 'Ripper', I liked every story. They were remorseless in violence, shocking in lucidity, and utterly satisfying in the justice that had been meted out at the end.
Highly recommended.
Except the overlong and frankly anticlimactic 'Ripper', I liked every story. They were remorseless in violence, shocking in lucidity, and utterly satisfying in the justice that had been meted out at the end.
Highly recommended.
August 12, 2025
A really enjoyable collection of mostly dark fantasy and horror stories, though with some lightness involved (as I loved the voice of the character in "Egyptian Revival"). Still, not necessarily for the faint of heart, as a few murders are described in detail. For fans of Slatter's Sourdough universe, there is one story in here ("No Good Deed"), which features a St. Dymphna's girl. The longest piece in here, comprising over a quarter of the book, is her novella "Ripper," which is a Jack the Ripper story told from the perspective of one of the cops investigating it (who has secrets of their own), which was great (but gruesome). The final story was "Finnegan's Field" which was a good one I had read before online.
August 26, 2020
What a wonderful introduction to Angela Slatter this was! Recommended. And the hardcover version of this book is simply gorgeous.
January 31, 2021
It's a rare thing to have 14 stories in a horror/weird collection where not one is a 'dud', but such is the case with THE HEART IS A MIRROR FOR SINNERS. What makes this even more impressive is that all 14 of these stories more or less engage a similar theme, that of women either taking control of their lives, or reclaiming a control that was lost, and how that plays out for each of the protagonists. Hint: It never quite goes as the characters, nor you the reader, would expect. There is also a good mix of genres, settings, time periods and tones at play, which prevents the collection feeling even remotely like just variations on a feminist theme.
The book opens on a mildly futuristic SF story that deals with questions around cybernetics, love, and the moral minefield of war. The book ends with a modern, Australian-located, Irish populated, variation of a vicious 'changeling returned' story. In-between we get everything from a Kim Newman-esque hard-boiled San Francisco PI story that involves Egyptian gods and the Jewel of the Seven Stars to a riff on Lovecraft's Lavinia Whateley as a vaguely horny and awkward teenager, plus there are the Little Mermaid and Jack the Ripper stories, and, and... it's a really cool range. You'll find characters of which you hope to read more stories. Some of the stories are tinged with varying levels of black humour, some are deadly serious, all will make you uneasy, some will horrify, some will fill you with dread, but every last one is worth your time.
Angela Slatter has a unique authorial voice and writes with a remarkable clarity of intent to each of her stories. There's an underlying honesty to her characters that just sells everything she throws at you. Enough with my 'review', go read some Angela Slatter. You won't regret it.
The book opens on a mildly futuristic SF story that deals with questions around cybernetics, love, and the moral minefield of war. The book ends with a modern, Australian-located, Irish populated, variation of a vicious 'changeling returned' story. In-between we get everything from a Kim Newman-esque hard-boiled San Francisco PI story that involves Egyptian gods and the Jewel of the Seven Stars to a riff on Lovecraft's Lavinia Whateley as a vaguely horny and awkward teenager, plus there are the Little Mermaid and Jack the Ripper stories, and, and... it's a really cool range. You'll find characters of which you hope to read more stories. Some of the stories are tinged with varying levels of black humour, some are deadly serious, all will make you uneasy, some will horrify, some will fill you with dread, but every last one is worth your time.
Angela Slatter has a unique authorial voice and writes with a remarkable clarity of intent to each of her stories. There's an underlying honesty to her characters that just sells everything she throws at you. Enough with my 'review', go read some Angela Slatter. You won't regret it.
February 13, 2023
Truly enjoy this mix bag of stories. Big fan of Angela splatter other work as well!
June 5, 2024
Slatter is a favorite author of mine and it’s staying that way after these stories as well.
A collection full of women taking control of their lives, albeit with varying degrees of success. If you’re looking for something to add to your ‘women in horror month’-pile this would be it.
An overview of the stories below (favorites of mine marked with “*”)
-Tin Soldier:
I originally read this in Dark Discoveries and it was more than enough to jumpstart what has become a rapidly growing Slatter collection. In this story we’re acquainted with a dystopian society hellbent on using cybernetics to reuse soldiers until they can’t be put back together & a woman willing to make a great sacrifice in order to put an end to it. Disconcerting & heartbreaking in equal measure, a thoroughly interesting story which still manages to leave some room for hope.
-Egyptian Revival:
A woman is tasked with finding out who bought a batch of Egyptian relics with mysterious properties. It soon becomes apparent that there’s more to this job than she originally thought when bodies missing certain organs start piling up.
-Neither Time nor Tears:*
A young woman inherits the old family house and learns the truth about the disappearance of her great-grandfather. This one deals with grief, the loss of loved ones and bitterness. Also a story people with an interest in foundational sacrifice might enjoy.
-No Good Deed:*
A woman marries a man only to find that his love was all but true. A Bluebirdesque, feminist & fat-positive tale where a wife avoids death and takes revenge. Angry ghosts, a malicious and wealthy family and a fair bit of magic. I loved this story.
-The Little Mermaid, in Passing:*
A story told from the POV of the witch and the truth behind the cost of a life on land. Deals with deceit, sacrifice and loneliness.
-But for an L:
A mistress turned rich but bored housewife gets more excitement than she bargained for when a P.I. comes crashing through the hedge & tries to warn her about her husband. The vampire tale of the lot. Love the Romanian folklore aspect & Elizabeth Short nod.
-Ripper:*
A P.C. on the hunt for Jack the Ripper has a secret that (if found out) could threaten their livelihood. Hua Mulan meets a bit of witchery in this tense of touching tale told from the women’s perspective. I’d love to find out what came of Kit after the events of this!
-Better Angels:
The suspicious death of a husband and a past mistake come back to haunt the widow.
-The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners:
A murderous and effectively exiled son who killed his half-sister returns to the manor after the death of his parents. He finds more than just his inheritance waiting for him; namely another half-sister who bears a striking resemblance to his former victim.
-Our Lady of Wicker Bridge:
A traumatized social worker (both in childhood and more recently) takes over her mentor’s position after she goes missing. Promises made to the the Lady of Wicker Bridge are not easily reneged on, and certainly not without consequences. Bleak, tragic & with a shocking twist (to me at least).
-Reading Off the Curriculum:
A professor claiming to have trapped Cthulhu in the form of a rat has her day turning sour when her assistant tells her that it has escaped. That being said, all is not as it seems in this tale of Lovecraftian dark comedy academia.
-Change Management:
A woman working in a Dead Letter Office struggles with her new boss’ s*xually harassing ways as well as her traumatic past featuring another abusive man. Things change when a mysterious woman shows up insisting on getting back a certain letter; an alluring woman who won’t leave her alone until she gets what she came for.
-Lavinia’s Wood:*
Another Lovecraftian tale in which a young albino woman seduces her cousin as a means to an end.
-Finnegan’s Field:*
A missing daughter returns to her family years later. Joy turns to unease as her mother becomes convinced that her daughter is not who she used to be.
Betrayal, heartbreak and Irish lore intersect in this parental horror story. This is also one I expect fans of A.M. Shine will love.
Irish fairies are far from as cute as Disney claims them to be.
A collection full of women taking control of their lives, albeit with varying degrees of success. If you’re looking for something to add to your ‘women in horror month’-pile this would be it.
An overview of the stories below (favorites of mine marked with “*”)
-Tin Soldier:
I originally read this in Dark Discoveries and it was more than enough to jumpstart what has become a rapidly growing Slatter collection. In this story we’re acquainted with a dystopian society hellbent on using cybernetics to reuse soldiers until they can’t be put back together & a woman willing to make a great sacrifice in order to put an end to it. Disconcerting & heartbreaking in equal measure, a thoroughly interesting story which still manages to leave some room for hope.
-Egyptian Revival:
A woman is tasked with finding out who bought a batch of Egyptian relics with mysterious properties. It soon becomes apparent that there’s more to this job than she originally thought when bodies missing certain organs start piling up.
-Neither Time nor Tears:*
A young woman inherits the old family house and learns the truth about the disappearance of her great-grandfather. This one deals with grief, the loss of loved ones and bitterness. Also a story people with an interest in foundational sacrifice might enjoy.
-No Good Deed:*
A woman marries a man only to find that his love was all but true. A Bluebirdesque, feminist & fat-positive tale where a wife avoids death and takes revenge. Angry ghosts, a malicious and wealthy family and a fair bit of magic. I loved this story.
-The Little Mermaid, in Passing:*
A story told from the POV of the witch and the truth behind the cost of a life on land. Deals with deceit, sacrifice and loneliness.
-But for an L:
A mistress turned rich but bored housewife gets more excitement than she bargained for when a P.I. comes crashing through the hedge & tries to warn her about her husband. The vampire tale of the lot. Love the Romanian folklore aspect & Elizabeth Short nod.
-Ripper:*
A P.C. on the hunt for Jack the Ripper has a secret that (if found out) could threaten their livelihood. Hua Mulan meets a bit of witchery in this tense of touching tale told from the women’s perspective. I’d love to find out what came of Kit after the events of this!
-Better Angels:
The suspicious death of a husband and a past mistake come back to haunt the widow.
-The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners:
A murderous and effectively exiled son who killed his half-sister returns to the manor after the death of his parents. He finds more than just his inheritance waiting for him; namely another half-sister who bears a striking resemblance to his former victim.
-Our Lady of Wicker Bridge:
A traumatized social worker (both in childhood and more recently) takes over her mentor’s position after she goes missing. Promises made to the the Lady of Wicker Bridge are not easily reneged on, and certainly not without consequences. Bleak, tragic & with a shocking twist (to me at least).
-Reading Off the Curriculum:
A professor claiming to have trapped Cthulhu in the form of a rat has her day turning sour when her assistant tells her that it has escaped. That being said, all is not as it seems in this tale of Lovecraftian dark comedy academia.
-Change Management:
A woman working in a Dead Letter Office struggles with her new boss’ s*xually harassing ways as well as her traumatic past featuring another abusive man. Things change when a mysterious woman shows up insisting on getting back a certain letter; an alluring woman who won’t leave her alone until she gets what she came for.
-Lavinia’s Wood:*
Another Lovecraftian tale in which a young albino woman seduces her cousin as a means to an end.
-Finnegan’s Field:*
A missing daughter returns to her family years later. Joy turns to unease as her mother becomes convinced that her daughter is not who she used to be.
Betrayal, heartbreak and Irish lore intersect in this parental horror story. This is also one I expect fans of A.M. Shine will love.
Irish fairies are far from as cute as Disney claims them to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews