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A review by bookswithlydscl
Mischief Night Massacre by Jason Parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
10 tales of horror set on Halloween or Halloween adjacent holidays, an absolutely winning pitch for me.
This is a fantastic horror short story collection that feels aimed at the older YA crowd and which read like Point Horror or RL Stine for a new generation. It feels modern and fresh even whilst utilising classic horror tropes and monsters. A good number of the stories were genuinely scary, gory and incredibly tense. I loved it as a collection and loved dipping in and out of the stories over a few days. From a favourites perspective I especially enjoyed Easy Pickings, Keeping Up Appearances and Rain, and whilst a few were weaker than others there wasn't a dud story in the collection.
My individual story ratings and notes as I read along:
- The Russian Dollhouse- 4*
- Dia De Los Muertos - 4.25* - this one has grown on me the more distance I get from it
- Easy Pickings - 4.5* - a true horror story
- Keeping up appearances - 4.5* - short, sharp, shocking. The stories in this collection keep getting better and more horrific as we go.
- A Not Not-So-Scary Halloween - 4* - Not the scariest or most horrifying but a quick one with a good twist at the end - probably bumping up a .5* because it's set in Orlando and references the theme park - Halloween events which I love (title is partially in reference to Disney).
- Rain - 4.25* - honestly that was so tense! Things that go bump in the night dialled to 11
This is a fantastic horror short story collection that feels aimed at the older YA crowd and which read like Point Horror or RL Stine for a new generation. It feels modern and fresh even whilst utilising classic horror tropes and monsters. A good number of the stories were genuinely scary, gory and incredibly tense. I loved it as a collection and loved dipping in and out of the stories over a few days. From a favourites perspective I especially enjoyed Easy Pickings, Keeping Up Appearances and Rain, and whilst a few were weaker than others there wasn't a dud story in the collection.
My individual story ratings and notes as I read along:
- The Russian Dollhouse- 4*
- Dia De Los Muertos - 4.25* - this one has grown on me the more distance I get from it
- Easy Pickings - 4.5* - a true horror story
- Keeping up appearances - 4.5* - short, sharp, shocking. The stories in this collection keep getting better and more horrific as we go.
- A Not Not-So-Scary Halloween - 4* - Not the scariest or most horrifying but a quick one with a good twist at the end - probably bumping up a .5* because it's set in Orlando and references the theme park - Halloween events which I love (title is partially in reference to Disney).
- Rain - 4.25* - honestly that was so tense! Things that go bump in the night dialled to 11
- Black - 3.5* - still good but didn't quite click as well as some of the others
- Ride like the devil - 3.5*
- Last Halloween - 3.75*
Even though this collection was teenage character focused for the most part I wouldn't let that deter you. These stories have genuine creep and ick factor and will be an ideal spooky season read for all horror fans!
Thank you to NetGalley and Corpus Press for a digital review copy of "Mischief Night Massacre" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
- Ride like the devil - 3.5*
- Last Halloween - 3.75*
Even though this collection was teenage character focused for the most part I wouldn't let that deter you. These stories have genuine creep and ick factor and will be an ideal spooky season read for all horror fans!
Thank you to NetGalley and Corpus Press for a digital review copy of "Mischief Night Massacre" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.