I loved the first Daughters of Darkness collection, so naturally I grabbed an ARC for this next set of stories. When I found out some of my favorite authors were included, I dove right in. What an extraordinary collection, just as good as the first. If you're also a fan of women in horror, trust me, you will want this on your shelf.
First, the incomparable Beverley Lee starts us off with four brilliant, gothic short stories steeped in rich prose and a haunting atmosphere. "A Whiteness of Swans" feels like a fairy tale while being darker than anything the Grimm brothers could ever conjure. "Tender is the Heart" is brutal but beautiful, a simple story of young love sorely tested by a mysterious contagion spreading through a series of old-world villages. "The Boy Who Wore My Name" is wicked fun, with a twist at the end that will have old-school horror fans crying out in delight. "The Secret of Westport Fell" reminds me of a Bronte novel: spooky, atmospheric, and starring a young woman in danger of spinsterhood who's sent to care for sickly aunt and discovers a chilling secret in the nearby graveyard.
Lynn Love is up next, an author I've not read before but now I'm a huge fan. She writes a 3-part story that also has a fairy-tale feel, including mentions of a popular nursery rhyme character. Fair warning, if you think that means something cute awaits, you're in for a shock. The tension and dread mounts as we follow Patricia through three key stages in her life, haunted by a creature she refers to Jack Sprat. This combines the best of gothic horror and historical fiction for a story that will suck you in and keep you breathless, flipping the pages to find out what happens next.
The third section belongs to the always brilliant Catherine McCarthy. "The Spider and The Stag" may be my favorite yet of her works. Poor Ailsa is a young widow, only recently losing her husband after he took a solo work trip to Scotland. She follows in his tracks, needing to know what happened to her beloved Cameron. Ailsa's grief is palpable, a living thing that continues to grow throughout the story. I so wanted Ailsa to find the answers she needed in this beautiful but forbidding corner of nature, but the sense of rising dread also wanted me to tell her to flee! The prose is absolute perfection, unfurling with each twist and turn to truly bring this tale to a surprising but somehow fitting end.
Last but not least is T.C. Parker, another talented writer I've enjoyed before. I had high hopes for her section as well, and rest assured, it is amazing. The two short stories are connected, with different PoV main characters - "The Body Tree (Hummingbird #1)" and "Undeserving (Hummingbird #2)." This timely tale is centered on a protest at an elementary school. The principal has encouraged teachers to educate students on same-sex parenting, as some of their fellow classmates are raised by same-sex parents, and a local church simply can't have that. Jodie is a quiet, sensitive mother who is one of two moms to a son, and she befriends a mother like herself, the enigmatic Miranda. The second part is told from the perspective of one of the church fanatics, Tanya. Both of these stories fit so well together, and the end of the first I definitely did not see coming. By the time it was over, I wanted to find out more. Maybe there will be more Hummingbird stories in our future?
I know that review got a bit long, but I really wanted to highlight how much I enjoyed the entire collection. These women are all master storytellers, and together they've contributed stunning works for a collection no horror fan should miss. Check it out as part of your October/Halloween reads. You won't regret it!
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2021
