4 Stars

Publisher: Hendry Publishing

Date of publication: July 7th, 2019

Genre: horror, anthology

Where you can find Death Among Us: Amazon | BookBub

Book Synopsis:

Who knew death could be so eclectic? Relish this mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up of short stories.

The stories include the 2019 SIA Award-Winning Murder Mystery Short Story ‘The Rose Slayer.’

Murder and mystery have been the staple of literature and films for years. This anthology of short stories will thrill and entertain you. Some will also make you laugh out loud. Others will stop and make you think.

Think of this murder mystery short story anthology as a book version of appetizers or starters, hors d’oeuvre, meze, or antipasti. It can be read as fillers between books or, as is the case in some countries, as a bookish meze – in its own right.

These stories come from an international cast of authors; some with bestselling books, others are emerging or new talents. Their roots, cultures, and life experiences are as diverse as their writing styles.

But one thing binds them together: they know how to tell a story.

There’s murder mystery styles and locations to suit all tastes: detective fiction, serial killers, scifi, histfic, LA, England, The Great Lakes, Las Vegas, the Nevada desert and more in an exquisite exposition of the art of short story telling.

The ten authors who have contributed to the anthology are:

Stephen Bentley
Greg Alldredge
Kelly Artieri
Robbie Cheadle
Michael Spinelli
L. Lee Kane
Kay Castaneda
Aly Locatelli
Justin Bauer
& ‘G’ Posthumously

Each author introduces his or her stories and the theme that lies behind them.By the time you finish the book, you will agree the result is a mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up.

Get it now.

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First Line (from The Rose Slayer by Stephen Bentley):

Six murders.

Death Among Us: An Anthology of Murder Mystery Short Stories by various authors

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My Review:

I usually do not review anthologies. I find it hard to review a book that is made up of short stories. But I like reading them. Whenever I get the request to review an anthology, I have an internal tug of war. 9 out of 10 times, I decline. But in this case, because I like murder mysteries, I accepted. I am glad that I did because this book had some fantastic stories.

I thought it was appropriate that I read Death Among Us a couple of nights before Halloween. I was enthralled with the stories. I loved that I got a thrill when reading them.

Usually, in my other reviews, I give details on what I liked about the plotlines and the characters. But because this is an anthology, I can’t do that. But I will do something a little different. I will give you what I liked about each group of stories.

The Rose Slayer, Eleanor Rigby, Diva:

I enjoy reading these short stories. What I loved is that they were interconnected. I didn’t get that at first. It took me rereading the end of The Rose Slayer and the beginning of Eleanor Rigby to understand that. I loved it!!!

Hello World, Goodbye World:

AI has always freaked me out. Reading these two books got me even more freaked out about them. They were well written, and the author was able to suck me into the stories.

First Comes Lightning, Bad Bones, Red Solo Cup,,That’s What Best Friends Do:

I didn’t like these stories as much as the first five stories. But they were still good. Again, the author was able to interconnect each story. The connections were subtle, but they were there.

Justice is Never Served, An Eye For an Eye, The Murder of the Monk:

This group of stories all takes place in England. What I enjoyed about these is that they were based on actual events. The author, who is new to horror, was able to take these events and add her spin to them. Again, there was a subtle connection with the three stories, which I enjoyed.

No Man’s Land and Monitaur:

These were different stories by the same author. The first story, No Man’s Land, creeped me out. I got the chills reading it. Monitaur, though, terrified me. Mainly because I have had run-ins with a baby monitor making weird noises.

A Deadly Lady and Stop Me If You Can:

Another set of stories that chilled me. I agreed with the main character in this set of stories. Men who beat their wives/girlfriends and men (and women) who traffic people need to be taken care of. What gave me chills was how she did it and what the cop said at the end of the last story.

Something About the Gift of Beauty, Unknown, The Thoughts of Emily Morales in Old Age:

These were interesting stories. I liked that the three stories centered around one main character at different stages of her life.

The Neighbors:

I liked this story. The characters were relatable (even if one of them was unlikable). What happened was interesting.

Sales Meeting, Canceled:

I liked these stories. Talk about getting payback…lol. All I could think after I read the stories was that they deserved it.

White Rose of Rapture and Next:

Both were well-written books. The first story did freak me out. I have a fear of dentists, and well, this story didn’t do anything to erase my fear. The second story amused me (as weird as that sounds). The last line made me giggle.

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I would give Death Among Us an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Death Among Us. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**