Pane

by Bailey Elizabeth

Sam lives by her “try anything once” motto to a fault. On an otherwise normal night out, she takes an experimental drug from a stranger at the bar that lets her see into alternate timelines. When she witnesses her own murder in a parallel world, she realizes that the mysterious series of hit-and-runs plaguing her college town are anything but accidents. Sam and her friends decide to stop the killer once and for all, but time travel has unforeseen costs, and one of them will have to pay.

Genres: Horror, Lesbian, Novella, LGBT, Science Fiction, Gay

122 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2022

About the author

Bailey Elizabeth started her first novel at the age of twelve and never stopped writing. She is author of the paranormal UNEXPECTED SERIES, romantic suspense duology V IS FOR VIOLET + V IS FOR VENICE, cosmic horror novella, PANE, possession novella, I KNOW YOU'RE STILL IN THERE, and more.

Bailey can be found editing for her day job, studying for her graduate courses, or trying to manage six different book projects at once. When she isn't writing, she's looking for the next great horror video game, adventuring outdoors, or painting, all while trying to keep her two dogs and kitten from eating her acrylics. She plans to start her own business and become a creative writing professor, but until then, she'll do what she knows best; type until her fingers fall off.

Find her on most social platforms for publishing news, extra content, rough drafts, and pet pics.

Reviews

[T.J. Dallas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooh, I loved this horror novella! Two drops of a new drug called Fracture allow Sam to see shards of glass around her which are portals into other alternate timelines of herself. Several deaths, which the police are calling drunken hit-and-runs, occur and in one of the timelines, Sam is killed. In reality though, she just manages to escape a serial killer. With the help of her friends, Chelsea and Andrew, Sam uses more Fracture and her alternate selves to track down the killer before he can kill again. Excellent premise, really well-written and easy to follow, and the horror aspect really got me... A brilliant, fast-paced thriller.

[Blackbird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful Writing

It's 4 AM and I just finished reading this. I'd normally sleep on my thoughts before writing a review but I don't want to wait with this one. Pane is a goddamn experience. This book rattled me to my core and I don't know how to move on right now.

I don't even know what else to say other than go read it. There are so many things about this book that are wild and unpredictable and so wonderfully written it's hard to even describe. Writing this good should be illegal.

[Rita Rubin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pane is a novella that will grip you and thrill you. Hats off to Elizabeth for crafting such an intricate story in only a short amount of page time. I would love to see what she has in store next for these characters, should she choose to explore what comes after that final page.

[Tabitha O’Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a compelling and well-done story! I loved the combination of mystery, horror, parallel-universe-travel, and sapphic romance. With excellent pacing, a vivid setting, lovable main characters, and an intriguing setup that slowly expands into something higher-stakes and more dangerous, Pane had me hooked from start to finish.

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a concept!

I love the concept of this story. It was such a quick read too! There’s no time wasted. It’s a wild journey into multiple realities with a little bit of love story that blossomed at the end. Fun read :)

[W. Payne Sillavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story that starts off as a weird time story with slasher vibes, with a finale that was so much fun I couldn't put the book down until I finished.
I demand a sequel.

[Talli Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read! Action-packed, emotional, and with some excellent twists. I loved the blend of horror, mystery, and speculative elements. Elizabeth's characters were all dimensional and easy to connect to; which of course made the ending all the more tragic. I very much enjoyed this rapid-paced story, and I do hope Elizabeth revisits these characters in the future.

[Adam Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! The ending? OMG!!!

[Cat Rector · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: This author is a colleague of mine, but I bought the book of my own free will and am leaving an honest review

This novella has a concept that intrigued me from the start. A drug that lets you time travel and within a horror framework? I'm in. It was also the perfect time for me to be reading something bite-sized.

I don't read a lot of novellas or short stories, so there are plenty of things I'm not qualified to discuss, but I did have a great time and I'm an expert in that. The story plays with its main theme, while having some side context and side quests, but nothing that draws away from the main point of the novella either. I adored the addition of the Chelsea storyline because it added extra stakes to the story, and because I'm a secret sap.

I feel like the size of the novella was perfect for what the author was trying to accomplish, and while it's hard to explain those goals without spoiling things, the concept was highly visual and compelling. I've already preordered the author's next horror novella and I'm excited to see what she does with it!

[Lana (Lore & Lullabies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 friends, parallel universes and murder yes please!!

I picked this up not knowing anything about it. It's a novella so figured it wouldn't take long to read here and there around my other tomes. I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN IF I TRIED.

Elizabeth does not waste a sentence in this novella. Everything down to the chapter art is relevant to the story and its progression.

Pane has so many of my favourite elements. A close knit group of non toxic friends, LGBTQIA+ rep, sci-fi elements and a serial killer and that's just scratching the surface.

The realistic responses from a few of the side characters made me smile because they were exactly that. REALISTIC.

The philosophical questions this left me with at the books conclusion will no doubt stay with me for a few days if not longer. I highly recommend this to thriller and crime readers and those that love shows like Fringe.

[Carolina Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and bittersweet

I loved this story and these characters, especially Sam! She was a great protagonist who I felt like I could really root for, even when I was shouting at her not to do specific things. The plot was easy to follow despite the wild time-funkiness inherent to the premise. All in all, definitely a good time.

[X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super entertaining! Fun concept, great slasher film vibes, and I loved the ending.

There were a couple writing things that could have been smoothed a little (although they would have been non-issues if this were a movie) but they in no way distracted from the reading experience.

[Helen Whistberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing concept in this quick read that focuses on college student Sam and her attempts to track down a serial killer with the help of her two best friends and an illicit drug that allows her to see and travel into an almost infinite number of alternate timelines. Nice combo of horror, romance, and sci-fi and an enjoyable read. I personally found the mysterious drug dealer Liv to be the most intriguing character and would love to read a story focused on her. The ending was definitely unexpected and added a depth of poignancy and even hope to an overall grim but fast-paced thriller.

[Merlina Garance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely read! I'm not an avid horror reader but this grabbed me and I really wanted to know more about what happened next. The underlying romance was sweet and a bit heartbreaking. The concept overall was very original and intriguing!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun with a serial killer

I really enjoyed this book! Super engaging and fun. I really liked the characters and thought the concept was super interesting. I like how the time travel and horror weaved together and the climax of the book was absolutely awesome.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. I'm not much of a horror person, but this leaned more thriller than horror, which is right up my alley. I was distraught at the end of the book and want nothing more than Chemistry Girlfriend(TM) to be happy.

[Helyna Clove · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting, twisty, murderous tale of time travel and parallel universes. I enjoyed it a lot, the imagery with the panes was really awesome.

[Wynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping read right from the start! The mystery, the parallel-universe-time-travel, the suspense! The romance! The ending I could never have seen coming!! I loved everything about this book and I absolutely need a sequel :)

[DaniPhantom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to be so honest, I usually don’t like books with multiverses because I feel like that’s so played out, but with this being short, simple and an unique storyline, I really enjoyed this.

[Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jawbreaking!
Mystery, horror, thriller, and parallel universe.
Brilliant storyline, great pace.

[kienn · Rating 4 out of 5]

such an interesting sf premise. fun characters. i loved the ending, both mysterious and sweet.

[Amit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never mind the Lesbo Romance I liked it. The unknown drug which allowed Sam to see other side of the dimension. Sam see things that other people couldn't. She could see her another version. Her lover Chelsea, she could see her (Chelsea) another version too and their friend Andrew. Several unknown deaths occuring at the side of the city but the police couldn't find any clue but blame them all as drunken hit-runs. But Sam knew the motive and knew she need to take some action before it's too late to handle. The time was running fast - Sam, Chelsea and Andrew going to see some brutal action...
Anyway 3 from me...

[Jake Vanguard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the concept and especially the club-scene had such amazing vibes.
The second half is very action packed, and the ending was a wonderful choice.

[Robert Poff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Equal parts horrific and romantic Pane boasts a cast of characters I really grew to care about. This book doesn't fall into any of the bogged down trappings other multiversal stories can and instead tells its tale with ease and finesse.