Wounds to Wishes: Tales of Mystery and Melancholy (Dark Tide Horror Novellas)
Three separate yet strangely connected novellas kick off Crystal Lake's Dark Tide series with stories of Mystery and Suspense.
THE STRANGEST TWIST UPON HER LIPS by Chad Lutzke: When a suicide note is just too much to bear, an absurd celebration of life feels like the only way out. While avoiding the suicide note his fiancé left behind, a grief-stricken man tackles a bucket list the two had made together, fulfilling entries that take him out of his comfort zone and into the realm of skid-row voodoo, where truths are finally revealed. Another grief horror yarn from the author of Stirring the Sheets and Of Foster Homes and Flies.
MY ONLY SUNSHINE by Robert Ford: A grief-stricken mother has five days to solve her daughter's murder. Caroline's daughter was abducted and murdered over four months ago. Now, in an abandoned building, in the dead of night, she can talk with Emma's ghost. Five days. Fourteen minutes each day. That's all the time Caroline has to find out who murdered Emma, and say goodbye to her daughter for the very last time.
SUET by John Boden: Dark secrets and darker things are a lonely man's inheritance. Corbin is a lonely young man who finally broke the bonds of an emotional vampire of a job. He accepts the sad task of going through the estate of his dead grandparents, to discover that family can go back quite far, as can secrets and shadows. He will discover that the family he always knew kept things back and that an inheritance isn't always monetary. History has teeth and talons and often times does not let go easily.
Crystal Lake's Dark Tide series will continue soon with more tales of Mystery Thrillers and Horror Books, including themes of Weird Western, Sherlock Holmes, Grief Horror, Body Horror, Halloween, Mystery fiction, and Psychological Thriller books.
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Community Reviews
This particular collection is being loosely regarded as grief horror and after reading the first novella, I can see why.
“The Strangest Twist Upon Her Lips” by Chad Lutzke
Lutzke has an amazing ability to write the depths of human emotion. In this story, Brenton’s world has collapsed in a single moment - the one where he walked into the bathroom and discovered his fiancé has committed suicide.
We walk a mile in Brenton’s shoes over the initial discovery and how he processes the loss and grief over the next few days.
Can you imagine this devastating loss? What do you think you’d do?
"My Only Sunshine" by Robert Ford
“Death and sorrow have been lovers a long, long time. Their embrace is eternal, and they keep their secrets close to their heart.”
This one will break your heart, make the blood rush in your veins and your pulse pound in fear, anger, uncertainty as we join Caroline Jacobson in her grief over her murdered child. She is desperate for answers as the days, weeks and months tick by.
Then a coworker offers her a business card and a recommendation that she tells Caroline saved her life when her own husband died. This leads to an unusual meeting and an interesting form of “therapy” that had me glued to every page.
This one was outstanding.
“Suet” by John Boden
I’d say of the three novellas, this one was the scariest. The first two were more focused on grief, this one was a different kind of grief that won’t make sense until you read it.
Corbin, the day after he walks out on his job at the old folks home, gets the news his grandfather has passed on. Corbin packs up and heads out to the old farm to sift through the house for what can be sold or donated.
Corbin’s rummaging leads to the discovery of some of his grandfather’s notebooks, one of which is a journal chronicling life in the valley.
And what is owed to the valley in exchange for peaceful living….
This first collection in this new Dark Tide series exceeded expectations and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one. I've already seen the cover art and it is just as phenomenal as this one - both are ones I'd collect just for the covers.
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