Slippery When Wet's Classic Fairy Tales of Murder and Mayhem

by Linda Vanek

Bluebeard's naive bride is only a cover for his truly brutal fetishes. Rapunzel is the unbalanced spawn of an opium-addicted mother. The Wolf is the least of Red Riding Hood's problems. Meet Sleeping Beauty's twin henchman sons. A product of incest when her own half brother comes upon her helplessly passed out in a coma and takes advantage. Discover the real price Rumpelstiltskin charges for spinning straw into gold.
If you enjoy dark humor with your incest, torture, cannibalism, dismemberment, and other medieval pastimes you've come to the right place. These are extremely gruesome adult retellings of classic fairy tales more than just fractured. These stories are deeply dark with twisted sexual encounters and the women in these fairy tales are not the tenderhearted pushovers as in modern-day fairy tales.
So come down to the dungeon, settle onto your Judas cradles and break out your heretic forks. A delectable feast for true horror fairy tale fans. This book will haunt your dreams if not give you vivid nightmares. Each story and many characters are tied together all into one dysfunctional kingdom with a viciously abusive king and many murderous, lascivious and just plain monstrously evil people. This book includes Bluebeard, Rumpelstiltskin, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel and more. A wicked read

Genres: Horror

ebook

Published November 1, 2020

About the author

"Discover the multi-talented Linda Vanek, a writer, musician, and feral cat rescuer. With a writing career spanning decades and a passion for writing and performing music since the 70's, Linda's creativity knows no bounds. Stream her mesmerizing songs as Slippery When Wet on all major platforms. Delve into Linda's intriguing stories across various genres, from spine-chilling horror to thrilling suspense and captivating sci-fi. Follow her journey and let her ancient ancestry guide your imagination. Explore Linda Vanek's fascinating world today!"

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this! It was such a nice switch on all the "forever ever after's" and satisfied my ever-growing hunger for horror and strange genres. There are a few "OMG" moments as well as a few "evil giggle" moments! Quite a delightful morsel of short stories that all come together at the end!
Thank you!!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

These versions of fairy tales were very well thought out. The characters are linked together in this world, as friends, neighbors and/or family. Every character's story built up to a very satisfying ending where everyone had received what they deserved, even if the form of justice was gory and depraved.

This book is in the vein of Grimms' Fairy Tales, but better, if you have the stomach for dark takes on fairness. I received this book for free, and I am voluntarily writing this review.

[Beth Roger aka Katiebella_Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about this book. It was well written in the style of a YA. The subject matter though I wouldn't want my kids to read. It was gorry for gorry sake. Mix in the rape, pedophile, cannibalism, child abuse, and all around nastiness with beloved fairy tales and you have this book. I'm a big fan of rewritten fairy tales even as horror if done right but this was the style my 12 yr old reads with subjects I could barely stomach.
I got this book free from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for a review. The fact that it was free did not interfere with my feeling towards the book

[Sue Watchorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enter a world of macabre twisted fairytales, i read this book in one go as I couldn't put it down!
This has all the elements I love thrown in together, short stories, fairytales with a evil undertone and a bit of the red stuff splattered over every page.
Loved the characters, the descriptions were detailed enough to let your mind imagine the characters in full
The fact that the author brought them all together through the book and finished them all off with a just and fair ending.

This book was given to me free of charge from Voracious readers.

[Samantha Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very weird

[Deb Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Nice to read adult fairytales.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like dark and twisted, this might be right up your alley. Each of the stories in this collection takes a classic fairytale as the foundation and rewrites it, staying true to the basic story while adding some off-the-wall twists to end up with a story that you’d never want to tell the kids that the originals were aimed for. But for adults who know the real world isn’t quite like it is depicted in fairytales, you’ll hopefully laugh at these dark and demented tales. Hopefully they won’t feel too familiar to real life.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a free copy of this book via Voracious Reader Only in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked:
- Just how unexpected these stories are
- The fairy tales were changed to deal with problems that we can relate to, like drugs
- All the stories are interlinked

What I didn't like:
- Honestly, the only negative thing I have to say is that there were a few typos. This didn't really bother me but I had to say something negative

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers for an honest review.

This book was really cleverly written. It has an adult spin on classic fairy tales and is certainly not for children! It includes a lot of adult themes including drugs and detailed violence. What I found very clever was how all the individual stories all tied together. For instance Red Riding Hood being friends with Rapunzel and the same king ruling throughout the book.
My only criticism is that the book was too short!

[Daire Faust · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun romp. Horror is a favorite subgenre of mine so I was looking forward to some short, scary reads for Halloween. The fairy tales were indeed a fast read and flowed well.
I liked some of the twists such as the opium addiction. I really liked that the stories were interconnected and took place in the same world with characters showing up across stories. Honestly though, I feel like it could have gone darker, scarier. I likely won't have any of the promised free nightmares that I saw on the blurb.
These would be fun to read out loud for Halloween though - it feels more fun when they're read out loud so perhaps that was where I felt let down when reading.
The songs that go along with the tale are unique. Be sure to check them out when reading.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a free copy of this book via Voracious Reader Only in exchange for an honest review.

While short, i thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The twist on the tales was interesting and how everything was connected intrigued me. If you are looking for something dark and twisted, i would suggest this.

[Jasmine Gaylord · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great book for those that would love a darker reimagined version of their favorite fairy tales. Read the whole book in a few hours, it's a intricately intertwined world of darkness that will make people smile.

[Ashley Deveneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story seemed unfinished at first, but then I realized all the stories are connected and it made sense. This was definitely a new and twisted take on the fairy tales. It was a fast read and worth reading.

[terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories

Thoroughly enjoyed the stories. All of the stories were related to one another, well done girl for your thoughtful mind set. It was nice to have an adult set of fairy tales.

[Beth Roger aka Katiebella_Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about this book. It was well written in the style of a YA. The subject matter though I wouldn't want my kids to read. It was gorry for gorry sake. Mix in the rape, pedophile, cannibalism, child abuse, and all around nastiness with beloved fairy tales and you have this book. I'm a big fan of rewritten fairy tales even as horror if done right but this was the style my 12 yr old reads with subjects I could barely stomach.
I got this book free from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for a review. The fact that it was free did not interfere with my feeling towards the book

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free review copy from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for my honest review.

A dark reimagining of classic fairytales. These stories contain rape, torture, pedophilia, bestiality, cannibalism and incest. They felt very immature, like a teen had written them. The only positive was the same characters popping up throughout the stories. This felt like a waste of time.

[Mike Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The one star reviews on this book are an attempt to extort payment from the author. Because she refused to kow tow to these cowards, they are trashing her books. Please do not be fooled by these internet pirates.

[dawn makowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy from Voracious Readers Only and freely give my review.I loved it, it put a whole new spin on much loved fairy tales.

[Christina Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was able to read and review this due to my account with voracious readers, I really loved the twist on classic fairy tales. I'm a big fan of a little gore and horror.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a free copy of this book via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

This book is SICK! And I mean that in the best possible way. Not for the faint of heart, this is a very imaginative reinterpretation of six classic fairy tales, with an epilogue that's unique, to say the least. There may be some people who will be put off by the content of the book; to which I ask, what else would you expect when the title includes the words, "Tales of Murder and Mayhem"? Keep in mind, as well, that fairy tales of old were meant to be educational and informative to children. Don't trust strangers. Looks can be deceiving. Money can't buy you happiness. These updated versions keep the same general themes, amping them up and ratcheting up the gore for a modern audience, while touching on themes that may have been considered a bit "much" back in the day, such as spousal abuse, pedophilia and incest.

The six stories in this short yet gloriously bloody anthology are all based on classic fairy tales: Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Sleeping Beauty, and Hansel & Gretel. I won't go into detail regarding the plots, because they follow roughly the same framework as the works they are based on ... yet some of them have drastically different outcomes! What's more, Linda Vanek has created a whole world in only 60 pages. Some of the characters reappear or make cameo appearances in the other stories. It's like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, except more messed up!

The only quibble I would have with this is the edition I read had quite a few grammatical errors; however, I'm somewhat of a grammar Nazi so please take that with a grain of salt. It's nothing that can't be fixed for the next printing.

Nitpickings aside, this is a solid, hugely entertaining collection of shorts, taking stories we grew up with and spinning them around so we view them through an exciting new lens - one smeared with blood, perhaps, but still ...

8.5 bloody axes out of 10

[Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories that are interlinked in the same fictional world. It is a retelling of several well-known fairy tales in much darker and “sicker” shades. For readers who enjoy horror and gore, and are not afraid of taboo topics such as rape, torture, cannibalism and incest, this would be a good match.

I enjoyed reading about the cruel and twisted characters in the book. No one is completely “good” or innocent; everyone is mentally disturbed to some extent, including the children. Murder and mayhem abound in all these stories. The classic fairy tales were in fact quite dark, this book is a more direct and explicitly horrible description of the world of these psychopathic murderers and sadists.

The final feast with these characters openly enjoying a cannibalistic meal made me laugh out loud. How normally these demented characters accepted and even celebrated children killing and eating an adult and also their own mother is horror in itself. Twisted indeed. Not for the faint of heart.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy.

[Beth March · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Voracious Reader
* I would rate a 3.5 if I could

I enjoyed this book as a reimagined take on the fairy tales we all grew up with. It was interesting to look at the stories from a much darker perspective. I don’t think it’s a book that everyone can enjoy or stomach, which is why I didn’t rate it higher (some details were a bit much for me). I don’t know that I loved the book, I enjoyed some tales more than others, but it was definitely interesting to read. It made me think about humanity; not only of the weaknesses and darkness that can exist, but also the will and strength to endure that we all have capable within us.

I liked how the author weaved each tale into the other and connected them and I enjoyed that the stories were unpredictable and not flowery. Sometimes we get caught up in the Disney versions of fairy tales that we forget (or didn’t know) that they weren’t always happily ever after stories. So I appreciated that.

[Diane R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slippery When Wet’s Classic Fairy Tales of Murder and Mayhem is an audacious, darkly imaginative collection that flips traditional fairy tales on their heads with brutal precision. Linda Vanek doesn’t just retell stories we’re plunged into a world where every familiar character is morally complex, wickedly twisted, and utterly unforgettable. From Bluebeard’s chilling depravity to Rapunzel’s unsettling origins, each tale challenges readers’ expectations with shocking creativity and unapologetic darkness.

The weaving of interconnected characters and the brutal kingdom backdrop makes the collection feel like a cohesive, nightmarish universe rather than a series of isolated tales. Vanek’s writing is fearless, provocative, and hauntingly clever perfect for readers who crave horror, dark humor, and twisted narratives that linger long after the last page.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the stories in this book! I thoroughly enjoyed how all 6 stories were intwined with each other in some way and how it was all contained in one "kingdom." They were definitly "fairy tales of murder and mayhem" and I really enjoyed the twist on some of the classic tales! Each story was also short enough that they could easily be read in between doing other things for a quick grissly read!

The only negative thing I would say about this book is that there were some typos but they didn't bother me and honestly didn't hinder the reading of the stories.

[Britt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a complementary copy of this book from the author via Voracious Readers Only. First of all, if you aren’t into dark and twisted stories, this book isn’t for you. That being sad, I didn’t mind the macabre versions of the fairy tales. My fault with this book was that everything seemed rushed, or was poorly explained. I am a fan of fairy tales, yes, I know how these stories are supposed to end. But it felt that the author glossed over the details of what make the original tale so good in favor of her inventive and creative version. I was able to easily finish it with a few hours due to this.

[Alison Rutherford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of Classic Fairytales with dark, bloody twisted twits!
I enjoyed how all 6 stories are in twined and are in the same kingdom. I loved and loathed all the characters and enjoyed how they were each dealt with in the end.
Overall I enjoyed the different gruesome takes on these stories. I would recommend if you are looking for something dark, twisted a bit of humour and an entertaining read.
I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for a review.

[Britanee Cosens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im giving this one 3.5 stars - This was a complimentary novel from Voracious Readers.

I am always partial to fairy tales and so when there are a handful that are interrelated i was intrigued. I liked the classic feel of the stories but also liked the authors unique spin on them as well.

I was often confused, however, on the skipping to and from certain characters. Paragraphing and spacing would have helped a bunch!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this story!

[Cierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, darker take on some of the most well-known and beloved fairytales. I enjoy the original stories as much as the average person, though it was interesting to see a much darker spin on things.

I did find a majority of the stories to be enjoyable, however, there were quite a few grammar mistakes that took away from the story a tiny bit.

Overall, I enjoyed the author’s take on these classic tales. Would be interested in a volume 2.

[Trinity Waddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review through Voracious Readers Only

This was one twisted read! I loved how it took well loved fairy tales and completely turned them on their head and then tied them all together! It actually worked. The only story I couldn't remember was Bluebeard so I might need to read the original again to understand it completely. A very clever write and if you are a horror fan - this is a great read for you.

[Jenna D'Amico · Rating 4 out of 5]

So....ok I liked this. It's not my typical genre and horror isn't my fave, but I really liked this for some reason. It's like Sondheim's (RIP) Into The Woods, but with dark twists. I wasn't expecting to like it either, but there's something about seeing "justice done" in ways that never quite felt complete in the watered down fairy tales that made me all schadenfreude. It's NOT a kid's book, but definitely a quick and entertaining read.