From Gold Pen Award-winner and master storyteller Brandon Massey come fourteen darker-than-night tales of sheer terror that will make your blood run cold...
A man driving home from a Halloween costume party suddenly comes face to face with an evil that's all too real...
An elderly woman, obsessed with obituaries, finds herself intimately connected with the dead in the most unlikely of ways...
A lifelong racist is plunged into his ultimate nightmare...
An unfaithful husband discovers to his horror that his attractive new neighbor has in mind seduction of the wickedest kind....
Prepare to be petrified by this chilling collection, certain to send you spiraling into a dark realm of imagination where the once-familiar becomes menacingly twisted...
Here’s a little about me, Brandon Massey. (“Massey” is not pronounced “macy,” by the way. Think of “mass” instead.)
I was born June 9, 1973, in Waukegan, Illinois. I grew up in Zion, a suburb north of Chicago.
I originally self-published Thunderland, my first novel, in 1999. After managing to sell a few thousand copies on my own, Kensington Publishing Corp. in New York offered me a two-book contract, and published a new, revised edition of Thunderland in December 2002.
Since then, I’ve published up to three books a year, ranging from thriller novels such as The Other Brother, to short story collections such as Twisted Tales, and anthologies such as Dark Dreams.
My newest suspense thriller, Covenant, was published in November 2010.
I’ve got plenty more stories in the works that I’ll publish in the coming years.
The gender dynamics in a lot of these stories is very cringe/dated, but I found the concepts and stories pretty thrilling, if not creepy. And this did lift me out of a reading slump. I would be interested in Massey's more recent work.
Twisted Tales by Brandon Massey is a collection of thriller/horror/paranormal short stories. Fourteen stories total, Massey provides readers with tales of African American characters in weird, unusual, and/or lethal situations, most fighting for survival when the unthinkable becomes reality.
Twisted Tales was an okay read. Some stories were more entertaining than others which is to be expected. The book is very well written and the stories are well crafted. I love the fact that at the end of the book Massey has notes about each of the stories and why he wrote them. This definitely added to my reading experience. My biggest criticism of the book is that the stories are promoted on the book as "terrifying" and "chilling," but only one of the fourteen stories were even somewhat scary. I read the book anticipating being afraid, but was disappointed. Although the stories were interesting, they were not scary, not even a little. This is my first read by Massey and I have heard many good things about his work, so I am willing to tryout another book by this author.
Great read... I loved all the stories Brandon never fails to give readers a thrill of a ride. If you are looking for a fast paced get to the action quickly buy this book you won't be sorry.
ReedIII Quick Review: Thorough collection of fresh, horror, twisted, paranormal short stories. Includes repeat and fresh story lines. The end includes a brief description of how each of the stories came to be, that I would recommending reading after each story.
Interesting stories, but nothing scary. Some involved people getting what they deserved for being awful humans. Others were unique tales with fun twists and fates for the characters.
My favorites were: The Sting The Secret Door Nostalgia Death Notice Flight 463
The book kind of redeemed itself with the story at the end, but I still think it's at least worth a 3.5 star rating. I might eventually bump it up to a 4.
I just love Brandon Massey’s books. This collection was no exception, as I enjoyed his eclectic mix of horror, supernatural suspense and real-life thrilling situations. I’m not one who seeks out short stories on a regular basis, but this year, I’m trying something new, and this is a solid addition to my shelf.
It's always a gamble to try new authors and this book was a disappointment. The stories in it lacked originality just as much as they lacked racial diversity. The best and best written part of the whole book was the writer's explanation for each story, that, at least, seemed sincere. The writing style of the stories came across very flat and juvenile. I don't know if the author's work has matured since, but I don't think I'll try to find out. 1.5 stars would have been more accurate, because at least the stories were well paced and quick reads, but half stars are not an option.
Only read half the short stories as had to return to library among other thing. Sorry :-( But what I read I liked and it felt quite fresh being horror from an African American perspective. Recommended