Putting the Pieces in Place

by R.B. Russell

The five stories that make up R.B. Russell’s debut collection, Putting the Pieces in Place, demonstrate a subtle mastery of the macabre. Enigmatic and enticing, they combine a pleasing respect for the great tradition of supernatural fiction with a chilling contemporary European resonance.

In the title story, an obsessive collector goes to great lengths to recreate a moment in time. An author who many years ago sent one of his characters out into the world, finds that she returns to him in "Eleanor". In "There is Nothing That I Wouldn’t Do", a young woman finds that a boyfriend’s feelings for her are more heartfelt than hers for him, while a young woman in distress attracts the attentions of a sinister landlord in "Dispossessed".

With original and compelling narratives, Putting the Pieces in Place offers the reader insights into the more hidden, often puzzling, impulses of human nature, with all its uncertainty and intrigue. There are few conventional shocks or horrors on display, but you are likely to come away with the feeling that there has been a subtle and unsettling shift in your understanding of the way things are. This book is a disquieting journey through twilight regions of love, loss, memory and ghosts.

Contents
"Putting the Pieces in Place"
"There is Nothing That I Wouldn't Do"
"In Waiting"
"Eleanor"
"Dispossessed"
Afterword by Elizabeth Brown

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, 21st Century, British Literature

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

R.B.RUSSELL has only recently started writing fiction seriously, having previously written lyrics, composed music, and drawn in pen and ink for his own amusement. He runs Tartarus Press with Rosalie Parker from their home in the Yorkshire Dales.

Reviews

[Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✭✭✭½

“Putting the Pieces in Place” ✭✭✭½
“There's Nothing I Wouldn't Do” ✭✭✭✭
“In Hiding” ✭✭✭½
“Eleanor” ✭✭✭½
“Dispossessed” ✭✭✭✭

All stories published 2009.

[Paul Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Ex Occidente Press] (January 2009). HB. 128 Pages.

Ray Russell’s debut collection, comprised of five short stories.

Brooding, atmospheric tales.

Lingering ambiguities cloud the lines between human dysfunction and supernatural experience.

The titular piece stands out; subtly intriguing.

[Des Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story that features many of my passions – classical music, Venice, coincidences (jncluding the strongest possible coincidence that can create a rare unlikely situation of there being no coincidences at all!), a reel to reel tape-recorder, a ghost and its frisson, a mention of Proust…

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 4 out of 5]

The five short stories in this R B Russell’s debut collection really took me by surprise. They all seem quite simple stories such as a girl going to university in another country and meeting a boy, or a politician traveling to a Greek island to escape a scandal , and yet, they all have something uncanny that unsettles the reader. It’s good to find stories that achieve that unsettling without the need for needing shocks or excessive gore. Worth a read!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘But we all live inside our own heads. We’re all prisoners of our own minds. We all see the world differently, individually. What you see here, right now, is not necessarily what I see.’

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