Dark Hours

by Sidney Williams

With an escaped murderer rumored to be hiding on a small college campus, student journalist Allison Rose accepts a dangerous offer – an exclusive interview with the killer. He wants his side of the story told. She wants to expose the school administration’s disregard for student safety. Following a text-message negotiation, she heads to a secret meeting. There, her careful safeguards quickly fall away, and Allison finds herself embroiled in a game of wits with a twisted but brilliant mind. As the hours of a stormy night roll past, Allison is forced to traverse a grim labyrinth of traps and terrors and to confront her own secrets even as she unravels the truth of her assailant’s identity. A new short thriller from the author of Blood Hunter and Midnight Eyes .

Genres: Horror

198 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2016

About the author

Sidney Williams is the author of thrillers including Dark Hours, Midnight Eyes and Disciples of the Serpent. Early horror novels include Azarius, Blood Hunter, Gnelfs and When Darkness Falls. He also penned three young adult horror novels under the name Michael August. Sidney worked for years as a newspaper reporter with varied beats that included crime and entertainment news. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College and currently teaches creative writing.

Reviews

[Tom Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes we can put the past truly behind us. Other times, it traps us in a college library basement filled with booby traps and machete wielding maniacs.

Best to make sure all of your affairs are in order and keep your side of the street squeaky clean!

This story takes place over the course of a single evening and although it can be downright claustrophobic at times, the small cast of characters are fully developed, real people with rich, emotional backstories that compel you to turn page after page. Williams never allows them a moment to rest, ratcheting up the tension with every story beat while giving the reader a mystery that demands to be solved.

A classic page turner and highly recommended.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Hours is a shortish novel, around 180 pages, but it packs a lot of tension and atmosphere into that space. Allison Rose is a student journalist at Pine college, a small place that has seen better days. An escaped killer is suspected of hiding out on the campus, where the woman he murdered once went to school. Allison is contacted by someone who claims to be the killer, and he wants to give her an exclusive interview of his side of the story. But is it really the killer, or someone else playing a sick joke?

Along the way, we find out that everyone seems to have secrets in this game, and in a savage bout of cat and mouse through the basement level of the college library, all those secrets get spilled while Allison struggles to survive against a dangerous and cunning foe.

I read this in print form, a hardback from Crossroad Press. It's a very nice physical package as well, with a dynamite cover. Highly recommended.

[Leila Pitchford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I attended college with Sidney and we both worked for the same newspaper back jn the day.
This story comes from an incident that happened while I was in school. The story in the book is fictional but captures some of the fear of those days.