Reviews by Emma Campbell
Murder on the Adriana - James Ross
When I started reading James Ross’s “Murder on the Adriana”, I couldn’t tell the time period it was set in, which I later realized worked in its favor. Its initial timelessness and its mode of storytelling drew me in and made me want to find out the when and the where. While we never learn his real name, the narrator shares a bedtime story that is definitely not an appropriate bedtime story for children - but this is a postwar world, and we can imagine that these children know much worse than a story of murder. I enjoyed this story - it’s a mystery with no twists and little resolution that navigates the complexities of postwar relationships and mirrors post-Civil War stories of brothers fighting against brothers. Read it if you like reading your slice-of-life narratives with a side of intrigue.
St. Dymphna’s School for Borderland Girls - Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece
Something lurks outside the garden walls of St. Dymphna’s School for Borderland Girls, and whatever that is is only half as eerie as what’s taking hold inside. The premise of this short fiction piece by Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece is wild and unsettling: girls are found splayed out around the school grounds - alive, but not well - with moist, lolling tongues out, undulating of their own accord. The imagery in this short story is overwhelmingly wet - think bodily fluids, slugs, ooze. There are undertones of sexuality and eroticism mixed in, which makes for an overall discordant, unnerving mood. And while so many descriptions in this piece are objectively disgusting, there is something just under the surface that you can’t help but be fascinated by. I can say this with certainty right now: you’ll feel uncomfortable when you read this short story. You’ll feel uneasy as events unfold, you’ll watch them both from afar and up close, and though you’ll feel voyeuristic as you read, you still won’t want to stop. You’ll want to know what’s next. Even when you’re uncomfortable - especially when you’re uncomfortable - you’ll keep going. I’ll let you decide if it’s worth it.
Oof, this one got me! “Landline” by Kelly Robson is an edge-of-your-seat horror story that almost had me skipping lines to get to the ending sooner. I don’t often feel truly scared by written work and it’s hard for me to get spooked the way I do when watching movies or television. But this one clearly got to me, because at one point, the wind knocked the blinds around in my room and I just about jumped out of my skin. The main character, Amanda, is about to leave for London as a chaperone on a school trip when she gets a call from her son. He’s alone, he’s scared, and he’s called her from the landline because the storm raging outside has knocked out the power. It’s a perfect setup for a scary story, and Robson does such a great job of building suspense and throwing in little moments that are effective as jumpscares. I think part of the reason this one got to me is because I simply wasn’t expecting it, so I suggest you go into it as blind as possible, too.