Never Whistle at Night Part II: Back for Blood

The thing I love about anthologies like this is that no matter what you like—what subgenres, themes, or writing styles—there's something that'll appeal, and this anthology really does have a little bit of everything: body horror, creature features, paranormal, crime, psychological horror, human monsters, historical pieces, and stories that brush up against cosmic horror and sci-fi. The prose styles are also wonderfully varied and really well paced. I appreciate the narrative restraint in a lot of them, too. It can be tempting to over-explain things in horror, but subtlety is often the line between "fine" and "genuinely effective," and the unanswered questions are what make the horror linger. The best pieces in this anthology are the show more ones that leave a gap of the unknown for the mind to start making its own connections.

Out of the twenty-one stories, the overwhelming majority were four to five stars, and two of them made me reach for the tissues in the middle of reading (full-on chills and tears, no shame). There were a couple of really lovely romance subplots, a lot of fun dialogue, beautiful trope subversions, and truly well-executed twists. Not every story is going to hit for every reader, but that's okay, because there's plenty that will, and I think most horror readers will find something to love here. Plus, I found a bunch of new authors to follow, which is great for me even if it's bad for my TBR stack. show less