Dark Detours

by Stephen Barnard

Life has taken a turn, no question about that. The only question is, what are you going to do about it?Ten suspense / horror tales that take us down roads we’d rather not travel. From the author of ‘Corner House,’ ‘A Very Bad Year’ and ‘The Deleted’.In ‘Dark Tourists’, Jasper and his friends encounter real horrors on their Jack The Ripper walk.In ‘Lose Yourself’, self-help author Macy Edmonds receives an unwelcome guest at her latest book signing.In ‘Detour 2033’, the past that Russell wants to relive at CerebrEscape doesn’t lead him down the path he expected.And in ‘The Quolifferkins’, one family is going to realise that the quaint village on their holiday pit stop is housing an ancient terror behind its closed doors.These, and six other stories that prove that the road less travelled is that way for a reason.Amazon / Goodreads Praise for ‘The Deleted’: This was engrossing and engaging read, excellent plot and believable fallible characters. Would recommend to anyone with imagination, not just tech horror geeks.Praise for ‘Bitterly’: I am so impressed with this book. The prologue, stories and epilogue tie together seamlessly to illustrate the weird, disturbing, horrific and odd happenings in a relatively short time in the town of Bitterly. In some ways, it sort of reminds me of the Twilight Zone. It's like this town is in another dimension where the strange, fantastic, and nightmarish occur on a regular basis for 18 months or so. Do yourself a favor and read this book.Praise for ‘Corner House’: A riveting, compelling story that I kept thinking about long after I finished reading.Praise for ‘A Very Bad Year’: Three nights camping, four stories a night. Not so scary that it caused nightmares, but some very nervous giggling. They are still talking about which was their favorite month.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Anthologies

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2021

About the author

Stephen Barnard has been writing fiction (and non-fiction cricket exploits) for a number of years. The success of his short story collection 'A Very Bad Year' encouraged him to push further. He now has over 20 published works, mainly in the horror/suspense genre. When he's not writing he teaches, reads, snoozes and binge-watches horror films.

Reviews

[Tera (TheBookishAbyss) · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have all taken detours in life, in our cars, our jobs, out walking, in our thoughts. This book is about these same types of detours, but when they go awry. Some detours are not even intended, such as walking into a building and coming out into a new reality or going out jogging, but getting kidnapped. Other detours may be visiting past choices and correcting or changing them. This anthology holds stories about a variety of detours taken by the characters. They all have a great, little twist.

As usual, Stephen’s writing is fabulous. Each of the stories grabbing your attention and not letting go. I am amazed with the large cast of characters in Stephen’s stories, that he makes everyone distinguishable. Even from book to book, I don’t feel like I’ve run across the same character twice. Some authors tend to recycle characters and just give them new names, but not Stephen. Every character is an individual. This is one reason I really love witnessing the character development of his stories. It’s always an introduction to someone new. So, pick up Dark Detours on Amazon and give it a read. You will love it!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Run, don't walk & get a copy of this book immediately. After reading these ten twisted tales, I must warn you to not take any detours as you hurry along on that task. Stephen Barnard deftly illustrated what happens when we wander off course.
These stories, though all about detours, are each unique & distinct from the others. The pacing of the stories was quick.
There's definitely a trick to short stories of balancing brevity, character development, plot, action, dialogue, etc but that balance was maintained here.

[Tammy N Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading!

Different twists on the traditional stories. Imagine finding out your name has the power to protect you from monsters, which are summoned by adding a few letters to it, even worse is the price you pay to make them leave...

[Angela Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing

Fast paced stories.
Full of mystery , shock and suspense.
The content of each one so very different in its entirety.
It seems impossible to change tactics so splendidly.
Let's find another by Stephen.

[Jean Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing stories

These stories kept me looking forward to the next twist and turn. Very interesting trying to second guess what was going to happen next.

[Tim Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent

I've never been a huge fan of anthologies. However, this one had a few good stories in it. Worth reading through at least once.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book

This book of shorts was an amazing read! I’ll definitely have it on my list to re-read next year. Spooky and inventive, really fantastic writing and storylines. Bravo!! Thanks for the thrills!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many Dark Detours

This is another excellent collection of short horror/suspense stories from Stephen Barnard. I love short stories because no words are wasted. One must use their talent for writing carefully in a short story. Stephen Bernard does this quite well! This is the second book of his that I have read and most definitely will be reading more.

[Ron D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it’s just me.

Maybe it’s just me; but I’ve never been a fan of short stories. They were okay. Some had a little more originality. Most were lacking in character development and scene settings.