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A review by hosborneauthor
Macabre Menagerie by C.L. Clark
5.0
Reviewed for Readers' Favorite.
Macabre Menagerie by C.L. Clark is a twisted compilation of short stories ranging from the frightening to downright bizarre. The collection begins with “Under Your Skin,” a tale of a woman caught out staring at a twitching stranger on a train only to be confronted with a similar condition after arriving home. As the stories continue, the reader is confronted with their own mortality in “Coffee and a Slice,” where a man converses with a stranger in a café over pie and coffee about the meaning of life and the sadness that comes along with it. There is a story of a little boy who trades places with a monster in “The Pitch,” but one comes out better than the other. Finally, the collection concludes with a vicious depiction of revenge by a psychopathic dentist in “Open Wide.”
I found many of the tales in Miss Clark’s collection different, but not necessarily completely out of the ordinary when it comes to the realm of horror. “The Pitch” reminded me of a children’s story entitled “Where the Wild Things Are.” I found that this was one of my favorite stories in the book. I liked how the tables turned on the little monster. Snip thought he was getting the good life, but that was not the case. “Coffee and a Slice” was another favorite of mine. I felt it was very emotional and meaningful, showing the reader not to fear death, but merely succumb to it at the right time. There was one story I did not enjoy as much as the others and that was “The Step.” The story felt incomplete to me and was without the impact of the others in the collection. Overall though, Macabre Menagerie is an enticing read sure to make you think.
Macabre Menagerie by C.L. Clark is a twisted compilation of short stories ranging from the frightening to downright bizarre. The collection begins with “Under Your Skin,” a tale of a woman caught out staring at a twitching stranger on a train only to be confronted with a similar condition after arriving home. As the stories continue, the reader is confronted with their own mortality in “Coffee and a Slice,” where a man converses with a stranger in a café over pie and coffee about the meaning of life and the sadness that comes along with it. There is a story of a little boy who trades places with a monster in “The Pitch,” but one comes out better than the other. Finally, the collection concludes with a vicious depiction of revenge by a psychopathic dentist in “Open Wide.”
I found many of the tales in Miss Clark’s collection different, but not necessarily completely out of the ordinary when it comes to the realm of horror. “The Pitch” reminded me of a children’s story entitled “Where the Wild Things Are.” I found that this was one of my favorite stories in the book. I liked how the tables turned on the little monster. Snip thought he was getting the good life, but that was not the case. “Coffee and a Slice” was another favorite of mine. I felt it was very emotional and meaningful, showing the reader not to fear death, but merely succumb to it at the right time. There was one story I did not enjoy as much as the others and that was “The Step.” The story felt incomplete to me and was without the impact of the others in the collection. Overall though, Macabre Menagerie is an enticing read sure to make you think.