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Beast
BEAST contains two horror stories by best-selling Australian author Anna Willett, available on Kindle and in paperback:
LAST CALL
Jackie and Dursha are two friends in dead-end jobs. They supplement their income by selling pics of themselves as stock photos online.
The abandoned Red Water Hotel is the perfect location for a shoot. But when they enter the decrepit building, Dursha begins to feel a strange presence. Jackie dismisses her concerns and they head further in.
Strange moths have clustered, and the light filtering through has an eerie shimmer. The young women see a telephone number scrawled on the wall.
By now Dursha is totally creeped out. But Jackie is already calling it...
THE WIDOW
Dan decides to go to a party held by an old friend. It’s a no-good group, but it might help him put his worries aside. His life is spiralling and he has a serious toothache to add to his woes.
At the party he strikes up a conversation with an enigmatic man who has excellent whiskey, and promises him a quick way to make money.
In all honesty, Dan just wants enough cash to pay for a dentist, but he journeys with his new friend to a house deep in the country. The hazy plan is to rob it of a known stash of money.
It sounded good in theory, but now his friend is nowhere to be seen and Dan is stuck inside the house, face to face with the widow who lives there...
LAST CALL
Jackie and Dursha are two friends in dead-end jobs. They supplement their income by selling pics of themselves as stock photos online.
The abandoned Red Water Hotel is the perfect location for a shoot. But when they enter the decrepit building, Dursha begins to feel a strange presence. Jackie dismisses her concerns and they head further in.
Strange moths have clustered, and the light filtering through has an eerie shimmer. The young women see a telephone number scrawled on the wall.
By now Dursha is totally creeped out. But Jackie is already calling it...
THE WIDOW
Dan decides to go to a party held by an old friend. It’s a no-good group, but it might help him put his worries aside. His life is spiralling and he has a serious toothache to add to his woes.
At the party he strikes up a conversation with an enigmatic man who has excellent whiskey, and promises him a quick way to make money.
In all honesty, Dan just wants enough cash to pay for a dentist, but he journeys with his new friend to a house deep in the country. The hazy plan is to rob it of a known stash of money.
It sounded good in theory, but now his friend is nowhere to be seen and Dan is stuck inside the house, face to face with the widow who lives there...
- GenresHorror
122 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2020
121 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 30, 2025
Two for One.
I purchased this book a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. I finally found the time to read it. And it is pretty good.
Anna Willett, is an Australian author who writes thrillers. When she wrote this book she decided to give us two thrillers for the price of one.
The first story in this book is about the price of greed. Two women who are friends are visiting a derelict building that used to be a hotel. The building smells of rot and mildew. They have come there because Jackie wants to take pictures for their website on traveling.
The friend, Durshan, wants to leave. The place is giving her some heavy vibes. She smells more than rot and mildew. She also smells evil. She begins to hear and see things that makes her believe that she is losing her mind. Is she? We can only wait and see.
Three stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The second story is about Dan who is having a hard time getting his life together.
Dan works as a driver for a grocery store and he is not liking his job. One day when Dan is coming back from a delivery, he gets a strange feeling about the manager. He enters the store and feels the ugly vibes. He doesn’t like what he sees in the back of the store whilst looking for the manager.
What he sees is enough to make him want to get high. But he goes to a party where he drinks a lot of beer. He makes friends with a stranger and they hit it off and become somewhat friendly with each other. The man is named Ren, and he has a proposition for Dan. Ren seems like a nice guy to Dan, so he hears him out. What he hears makes Dan want to leave the party with him. What does Ren tell Dan? Don’t you want to know?
Three stars. ✨✨✨
With both books being three stars, the total is three stars. 💫💫💫
I purchased this book a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. I finally found the time to read it. And it is pretty good.
Anna Willett, is an Australian author who writes thrillers. When she wrote this book she decided to give us two thrillers for the price of one.
The first story in this book is about the price of greed. Two women who are friends are visiting a derelict building that used to be a hotel. The building smells of rot and mildew. They have come there because Jackie wants to take pictures for their website on traveling.
The friend, Durshan, wants to leave. The place is giving her some heavy vibes. She smells more than rot and mildew. She also smells evil. She begins to hear and see things that makes her believe that she is losing her mind. Is she? We can only wait and see.
Three stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The second story is about Dan who is having a hard time getting his life together.
Dan works as a driver for a grocery store and he is not liking his job. One day when Dan is coming back from a delivery, he gets a strange feeling about the manager. He enters the store and feels the ugly vibes. He doesn’t like what he sees in the back of the store whilst looking for the manager.
What he sees is enough to make him want to get high. But he goes to a party where he drinks a lot of beer. He makes friends with a stranger and they hit it off and become somewhat friendly with each other. The man is named Ren, and he has a proposition for Dan. Ren seems like a nice guy to Dan, so he hears him out. What he hears makes Dan want to leave the party with him. What does Ren tell Dan? Don’t you want to know?
Three stars. ✨✨✨
With both books being three stars, the total is three stars. 💫💫💫
November 6, 2021
These two stories in one book were grabbers!
A small backstory for the first story - Last Call:
Two friends, Jackie and Dursha like to do all kinds of different adventures - taking risks and just having fun. Jackie decides she wants to check out an abandoned hotel called Red Water as it use to be a posh hotel back in the day and she wants to take photos of her and Dursha all around the hotel so they can sell the photos online to make some money.
When they start checking out the hotel they come across moths that have attached themselves to walls and they are flitting around them as they make their way through the hotel, but that is not all they find and what lurks in the darkest recesses of the hotel is about to wake up.
Thoughts:
This was a very atmospheric and creepy story which drew me right away as the plight of the friends becomes ominous the more I delved into the story. Though the story is short it packs a punch of downright trepidation as the two friends explore the hotel.
A small backstory for the second story - The Widow:
Dan is down on his luck money wise and is pulled into a scheme by an acquaintance (Ren) to break into the house of a woman that is widowed. Though when Dan and Ren break into the house things go awry with Ren ending up dead, but something is off with the woman as she is too calm about the death of Ren and with the two of them breaking in.
Dan finds out soon enough that all is not as it seems inside the house and the woman is far from what he thought her to be.
Thoughts:
This was a grabber as I was pulled into the story quickly and though the story is short there were a few twists within the storyline that kept me intrigued. There is a twist within the later part of the story of what the character Dan finds within the house which kept me breathlessly turning my kindle pages to see what would happen next!
Overall both stories were excellent and the writing style of this author just flows along. Normally the author writes crime thrillers, but these horror stories were just as entertaining. Giving this book five "Creepy Beast Worthy" stars!
For more thoughts on this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/...
A small backstory for the first story - Last Call:
Two friends, Jackie and Dursha like to do all kinds of different adventures - taking risks and just having fun. Jackie decides she wants to check out an abandoned hotel called Red Water as it use to be a posh hotel back in the day and she wants to take photos of her and Dursha all around the hotel so they can sell the photos online to make some money.
When they start checking out the hotel they come across moths that have attached themselves to walls and they are flitting around them as they make their way through the hotel, but that is not all they find and what lurks in the darkest recesses of the hotel is about to wake up.
Thoughts:
This was a very atmospheric and creepy story which drew me right away as the plight of the friends becomes ominous the more I delved into the story. Though the story is short it packs a punch of downright trepidation as the two friends explore the hotel.
A small backstory for the second story - The Widow:
Dan is down on his luck money wise and is pulled into a scheme by an acquaintance (Ren) to break into the house of a woman that is widowed. Though when Dan and Ren break into the house things go awry with Ren ending up dead, but something is off with the woman as she is too calm about the death of Ren and with the two of them breaking in.
Dan finds out soon enough that all is not as it seems inside the house and the woman is far from what he thought her to be.
Thoughts:
This was a grabber as I was pulled into the story quickly and though the story is short there were a few twists within the storyline that kept me intrigued. There is a twist within the later part of the story of what the character Dan finds within the house which kept me breathlessly turning my kindle pages to see what would happen next!
Overall both stories were excellent and the writing style of this author just flows along. Normally the author writes crime thrillers, but these horror stories were just as entertaining. Giving this book five "Creepy Beast Worthy" stars!
For more thoughts on this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/...
September 25, 2020
Both stories are great!
I really enjoyed both of the stories in this book. I liked the second story The Widow better , but both are very different and very good! I hope that you will enjoy it too.
I really enjoyed both of the stories in this book. I liked the second story The Widow better , but both are very different and very good! I hope that you will enjoy it too.
September 26, 2020
A couple of shorts in the book, and honestly really enjoyed the first story, the second was good but not as good. But did enjoy them.
October 6, 2020
I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review; thank you!
When I was offered to read this short story collection, I was intrigued from the start. I've always liked horror stories (especially if they involve creepy demons) and figured this would make a great October/Halloween read.
While reading, however, I soon realized that maybe this book wasn't entirely my cup of tea after all. The first story started out promising enough, but I couldn't really connect to the characters, and what I missed most of all was a so-called "punch line", that final twist that would just blow my mind. Alas, it didn't; the ending didn't feel surprising to me as it felt like a kind of story I've already read or seen several times before. (But maybe that's just me!)
I had the same issue with the second story, although I DID like it a lot better. I really enjoyed reading from Dan's perspective, I think he's a great character who has an intriguing history — I actually feel like he's a character worthy of an entire book, not just a short story, as I found myself wanting to know more about him. Although to me it felt that this story also missed a certain twist at the end, I did enjoy Dan's character development.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read; I finished it quickly and it's most certainly well written!
When I was offered to read this short story collection, I was intrigued from the start. I've always liked horror stories (especially if they involve creepy demons) and figured this would make a great October/Halloween read.
While reading, however, I soon realized that maybe this book wasn't entirely my cup of tea after all. The first story started out promising enough, but I couldn't really connect to the characters, and what I missed most of all was a so-called "punch line", that final twist that would just blow my mind. Alas, it didn't; the ending didn't feel surprising to me as it felt like a kind of story I've already read or seen several times before. (But maybe that's just me!)
I had the same issue with the second story, although I DID like it a lot better. I really enjoyed reading from Dan's perspective, I think he's a great character who has an intriguing history — I actually feel like he's a character worthy of an entire book, not just a short story, as I found myself wanting to know more about him. Although to me it felt that this story also missed a certain twist at the end, I did enjoy Dan's character development.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read; I finished it quickly and it's most certainly well written!
October 4, 2020
LAST CALL
Creepy, ghastly, and grisly, Last Call is about two women who explore the Red Water hotel, which has been abandoned for so long that everything is rotting from the inside out. Their intent is to take a few pictures to sell to the stock photo service, but their adventure turns ghoulish as they explore the various areas of the hotel. The author does a great job of describing the macabre events of their visit, chronicling their moves moment by moment so that you can almost feel the insects on your skin, and smell the awfulness that sticks to the inside of your nose. If you like gruesome stories, this one is up your alley. Good pace. Hard to stop reading: 4.5 stars.
THE WIDOW
Move from scene to scene with Dan, where monsters are seeking to suck the souls from people and eat their flesh. The focus is on killing, and a dozen or more of these souls have perished. Dan struggles to find a way to escape from the monsters’ spells. The tension develops on the first page and gets tighter as the story progresses. As a reader, you won’t discover until the last page if Dan was able to escape and save his own life, or not. The author does a really good job of making the reader live the story through the main character’s point of view. Each scene is written in detail, slowing the action so that every aspect is magnified so that the images form in the reader’s mind’s eye in great detail. Nothing is given away. You have to keep turning the page to see what happens. 5 stars.
Creepy, ghastly, and grisly, Last Call is about two women who explore the Red Water hotel, which has been abandoned for so long that everything is rotting from the inside out. Their intent is to take a few pictures to sell to the stock photo service, but their adventure turns ghoulish as they explore the various areas of the hotel. The author does a great job of describing the macabre events of their visit, chronicling their moves moment by moment so that you can almost feel the insects on your skin, and smell the awfulness that sticks to the inside of your nose. If you like gruesome stories, this one is up your alley. Good pace. Hard to stop reading: 4.5 stars.
THE WIDOW
Move from scene to scene with Dan, where monsters are seeking to suck the souls from people and eat their flesh. The focus is on killing, and a dozen or more of these souls have perished. Dan struggles to find a way to escape from the monsters’ spells. The tension develops on the first page and gets tighter as the story progresses. As a reader, you won’t discover until the last page if Dan was able to escape and save his own life, or not. The author does a really good job of making the reader live the story through the main character’s point of view. Each scene is written in detail, slowing the action so that every aspect is magnified so that the images form in the reader’s mind’s eye in great detail. Nothing is given away. You have to keep turning the page to see what happens. 5 stars.
October 15, 2020
In BEAST, you get two mesmerizingly terrific terror reads in one! Both "Last Call" and "The Widow" are supremely crafted, on-the-edge-of-your seat horror rides. Psychological and suspenseful, each short story is masterfully plotted and sickeningly realistic in its broad range of descriptive passages; many which the reader is not likely to forget anytime soon. Anna Willett casts a spine-tingling spell on you, beginning on page one, holding you voluntarily captive until the very end. Simply put, BEAST is utterly riveting!
~B. Patrick Bruce, author of TIMESTAMPED (Book One) Postmarked Yesteryear
~B. Patrick Bruce, author of TIMESTAMPED (Book One) Postmarked Yesteryear
July 8, 2024
Two enjoyable horror stories.
September 30, 2020
If you like horror, these two stories are the perfect fix for a short read need.
Read
October 13, 2020Two very scary stories. The characters are well developed and believable, the descriptive passages put the reader right in the scene and the action sequences are realistic and frighteningh.
November 15, 2020
The first story is very well written (great use of words, good vocabulary), with good descriptions of places and characters. It is creepy, yet not scary enough for me. I would have liked to know more about the hotel and its past, I believe it would have added to the substance of the story and therefore to its horror. The story is rather simple and it ends flat, in my opinion, without much conclusion for the reader on what happened. It doesn’t even leave at least a guess of what’s lurking inside the hotel. This, I believe, is the result of not giving any detail on the hotel’s history. There’s no telling of what’s with the corpse-man inside or the bag of money or the corpse-woman. The action moves a bit too quickly and, even if it’s not predictable, it’s blunt. I would give it 2 stars.
The second story is much more enticing. It’s building up suspense and it keeps you glued to the screen: you must find out what happens next. As the first story, it is very well written but this time the story is well structured, with a solid plot line and believable characters that make you empathize with them. At some point you even feel sorry for one of the villains. It turns to. horror story at the end and until then you keep turning page after page with curiosity. The action moves at the perfect pace to keep you interested and the descriptions of the places and characters are vivid enough to make you feel immersed in the world the author creates. I would give it 4 stars (not 5 because I would have liked the author to reveal more about the beast).
March 3, 2023
This collection of two short stories was well written and with a good pace. Of the two I preferred the second. The first - about two young women who find escape from their dead-end job by visiting strange places where one poses and the other takes photos for a stock photo website, thus earning them a bit more money - was atmospheric but didn't give enough background about the derelict hotel they explore to make sense of what happens. It seemed a bit too 'stock' and something done lots of times before though, as said above, it was well written.
The second story had more originality in the plight in which the protagonist finds himself. It also immersed the reader much more in the character's inner self, with his chronic toothache and his struggle to stay out of the bad habits of drug abuse and criminality which he seems in danger of sliding back into when he goes to a party at his ex-girlfriend's house, especially when he is approached there by a man with a too-good-to-be-true job offer. The story has a few twists though and a positive ending. Altogether, I would rate this at 4 stars.
The second story had more originality in the plight in which the protagonist finds himself. It also immersed the reader much more in the character's inner self, with his chronic toothache and his struggle to stay out of the bad habits of drug abuse and criminality which he seems in danger of sliding back into when he goes to a party at his ex-girlfriend's house, especially when he is approached there by a man with a too-good-to-be-true job offer. The story has a few twists though and a positive ending. Altogether, I would rate this at 4 stars.
October 25, 2020
Two well-written horror short stories make up this book. The first, Last Call, is a good reason to never visit a haunted house, even with a friend. In the second, The Widow, Dan’s experiences may have scared him straight. Both stories are filled with vivid descriptions. Since I’m not a fan of horror stories, if I hadn’t been given an ARC of these to read, I wouldn’t have picked this up. Perfect for this time of year, though.
October 28, 2024
After the superb "Pest" novel I was looking forward to those two shorter novellas by the author. To be honest neither of them fully convinced me. The first was about urban exploring with strange female characters and a somehow disappointing twist. The second was about an ex-addict, a dead store manager and some errand. The writing was good but somehow the plots didn't do it for me. It was okay but very far from Pest.
August 9, 2021
My first read from this author and i was impressed.
Two very different tales that have a few similarities, namely - atmosphere, tension and dread. These are very well done in both stories with my heartbeat getting faster as i progessed through each tale.
From this evidence, Anna should venture into horror more often.
Two very different tales that have a few similarities, namely - atmosphere, tension and dread. These are very well done in both stories with my heartbeat getting faster as i progessed through each tale.
From this evidence, Anna should venture into horror more often.
October 21, 2021
I loved both of these spooky stories. I will never enter an abandoned building ever, or trust a stranger again! I couldn't wait to see what unfolded in both of these creepy stories, and if the characters in each story would live to tell the tale. Highly recommend!
October 23, 2020
A good Halloween read for those looking for a quick chill and thrill late at night.
November 3, 2020
Interesting and a bit gruesome. Beast is a decent short read with some fairly original ideas.
November 28, 2020
A couple of good quickies
A nice set of short stories to give a little taste of creepy. A great read for an afternoon delight
A nice set of short stories to give a little taste of creepy. A great read for an afternoon delight
June 12, 2021
All I can say is “boring.”
July 10, 2021
Stories weren’t really as thrilling as I thought they’d be. It had too much narration and not much story. They were just “eh.”
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews