I think Susan May is a very skilled writer as she switched deftly between different subjects in this fascinating collection of short stories. I don’t know if ‘Mitigating Circumstances was intentionally humorous but I did have to contain a giggle a few times as that delightfully unhinged mother lost control spectacularly and still managed to see the normality of the horror she brought to that Principal’s office, shocking but an entertaining read ensuring that I won’t think of a box cutter in the same way again…but for me, the standout story was ‘The War Veteran’ demonstrating the power that guilt can have over us even after 70 years. It was insightful, sometimes disturbing –as befits the very nature of war- and always utterly gripping. ( )

Excellent short stories and as a bonus the author discuses her inspiration for each one. If you enjoyed Roald Dahl's "The Landlady", Vonnegut's or Stephen King's short stories, you will love these. I especially liked the first two, and War Veteran was almost a novella, worthy of a spot on the Twilight Zone. ( )

Before I start this book was received in exchange for an honest review.

Usually I am not big into short stories because the characters do not grow and change like in full body stories, the reader is just thrown into the story with hardly any preamble. However, in the case of Behind Dark Doors I enjoyed every minute of each story. There was one or two that I wished were longer or ended in a bit more satisfactory way but overall I enjoyed them. It makes me want to write some more short stories of my own. Now I know to read more of Susan May's work if I come across any. ( )

Full disclosure notice: I received via ER in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book of short stories. I liked the gore and twists, and the supernatural aspects. The ideas seemed fresh, and that was a welcome change.

I once had a university professor tell me, "If you want hot, write cold," in terms of generating emotion from the readers. I felt, unfortunately, that this author wrote lukewarm. The emotion was there, but it could be so much stronger. I also felt the short stories might have been a tad too short (with the exception of the final story about the war vet). There wasn't quite enough character or story build-up to hit the literary home run.

But, I really did enjoy this (read it in two nights!) and would recommend it to lovers of horror and short stories. I would be interested to read Susan May's other works. ( )

[Behind Dark Doors] is collection of intriguing short stories about ordinary situations ending with a dark twist. The situations include a cooking contest, an accident during recess, anew girl in class, a 70th wedding anniversary, a teenage boy's messy room and a D-Day veteran suffering from PTSD.

All but one of the stories are brief. The dark twist jumps out at you! I could not put this book down. Definitely, a great read!

I received an electronic copy of this book as part of the LibraryThing Members Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review. ( )