I am…conflicted. I’m usually not the biggest fan of short stories, but I’m still pretty sure this was extremely mediocre. Lena Valencia’s style is fairly straightforward with an enjoyable balance of vivid descriptions both horrifying and lovely depending on the context, but it seems like she ultimately has very little to say, and/or some sort of pathological fear of just saying it. It’s not subtle, it’s just not there.

Unfortunately, Lena Valencia also only had about a handful of good stories to add to this collection, and the rest are just dumped in feeling unfinished and impressively half-baked. I struggle to understand how most of these were independently published prior to this collection. So many started with a bang and then immediately dropped themselves in water and fizzled out, and about half the stories kneecapped themselves by having no point and zero literary or thematic value.

Dogs
Rating: 4
A woman is chased by a terrifying pack of angry dogs. The point of this one is quite obvious, but it’s still a powerful metaphor and a beautiful story about a mother’s changing perspective on how to raise her daughter, which is actually an angle on the subject matter I hadn’t read before. Easily the best story out of the way first.

You Can Never Be Too Sure
Rating: 4
A local legend preys on young women on a college campus. The visuals are amazing and one line from this really stuck with me, which is rare for short stories! Unfortunately, this story, the second in a collection of ten, is the last one I would actually recommend to anyone.

Mystery Lights
Rating: 3.5
A company creates mystery lights in the sky as an ad campaign for their reboot of a popular TV show. I think this one was doing too much with too little space; it feels like it wants to be a novella more than a short story. This one reminds me of Stop Your Women’s Ears With Wax by Julia Armfield in that there’s a heavy focus on ‘contagious’ female rage in young women, but I don’t think this holds up or has as much to say when compared to works with similar themes. Still, a lot of interesting ideas that I would’ve liked to spend more time with, especially workplace power dynamics between women.

The White Place
Rating: 2
There is a concerning orb. Although the premise is pretty amusing on the face of it, this was pretty bad—much like Mystery Lights, there was too much going on combined with too much meandering around the point. Another round of editing might have sharpened this up.

Bright Lights, Big Deal
Rating: 3
I read the first couple lines and immediately wrote “ugh, 2nd person” in my notes for later. Having finished this, I do still agree with my first impression, especially because the protagonist is named. Something about being told what “I’m” supposed to think of everything that’s happening instead of letting me follow the literary thread you’re laying out for a character just grates on my nerves; my honest opinion on 2nd person is that there’s a reason it’s considered unusual to utilize it in English literature. This story only gets a pass because it’s a play on Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney; a 1984 novel unfortunately written in second person. This story is a fun modern-day female-protagonist spin on Bright Lights, Big City, and the ‘realizing the darkness/hedonism of New York’ / ‘escaping the New York Lifestyle’ tropes. I liked this more than I expected.

Trogloxene
Rating: 2.5
A girl returns home after 8 days lost in a cave system. If this premise sounds interesting to you, then I highly recommend skipping it and watching The Descent instead, since it’s clearly what this story was inspired by, and it’ll actually be enjoyable. I watch horror movies almost constantly, and I coincidentally revisited The Descent the week before I read this story, which added to my reading experience for all of five minutes—I really enjoyed how creepy Max was at first when she returned from the cave. Unfortunately, the story petered out at the halfway point and had zero attempt at any payoff. Bleh.

The Reclamation
Rating: 3.5
Pretty anemic take on the classic ‘evil wellness company/spa/hospital/retreat’ trope, which is my absolute favorite, and thus one I’m always going to be more critical of. I enjoyed the sudden injection of brutality at the end there, but I wanted so much less stereotypical content from this. This concept has been done to death so many times that you have to have something truly interesting to say to make a lasting impression.

Clean Hunters
Rating: 2.5
Okay. If Lena Valencia could bother writing an actual ending for her short stories instead of shrugging and walking off into the distance like it’s somehow artsy or talented to make you ‘think’ about the absolute nothingburger she just fed you, that’d be cool. I love litfic and being asked to think at the end, but this story had nothing to say and it just pissed me off when it insisted on itself at the end like it had done something.

Reaper Ranch
Rating: 3
I mean…meh. At least this one had a point, but it was such a cliche and trite take on the topic of grief. Valencia puts all the horror in the background and refuses to let any of her settings and creepy additions shine. This had one whole scary moment I appreciated.

Vermilion
Rating: 2
Oh good, we’re talking about the events of Trogloxene again. Because that one was so great the first time. No actual ending, no emotional connection with the characters, too vague and abstract, and the connections to the previous story didn’t work. This felt like it wanted to be a novella.

Ratings average out to 3 stars even. I feel like if you read this, you’ll find something you like, but I struggle to recommend it as I probably won't go back for any re-reads. Dogs and You Can Never Be Too Sure are both very good, but not worth revisiting. The cover is better than the book.

Collection of short stories to make you mildly uncomfortable.


While this wasn't by any means bad, when I saw it was short stories, I was intrigued on how to keep an audience dialed in enough to continue. Unfortunately, this fell short of the marker. The stories seemed to ramp up and immediately fizzle under the pressure of knowing that they were supposed to be short. Some of these short stories could have been saved back to fully flesh out and I would have loved them. The Trapper story in particular, could have been a really fun one to explore.

Thank you Netgalley and Tin House for the ARC.

The Run-Down: Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia contains numerous competently written but anemic short stories.


Review:

The real horror, the short stories in Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia, seem to say, comes not from supernatural monsters, but from the plagues of human existence: sexual violence, grief, childhood cruelty, and predatory cultish religions. A good horror writer will explore these themes in a way that feels relevant and groundbreaking, but in these stories, they appear rather trite. Individually, the bulk of each story feels like a solid start to a novella or novel—well-written, with an interesting premise. Unfortunately, Valencia tends to end each story with a shrug rather than a bang, and the result is several half-baked concepts that pay cursory service to their themes. The exception to this is “Reaper Ranch,” which not only devastatingly captures the grief and fear of an elderly widow in a retirement community, but also sufficiently develops its horror elements for a complete narrative.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I knew I was going to love this short story collections as soon as I saw the cover art last fall. Wow. Just look at it. The cover really sets a mood. Lena Valencia is a fantastic storyteller. Her prose is funny, profound, and delightfully creepy. I truly enjoyed ALL 10 stories, but my top 5 are: "Dogs", "Trogloxene", "The Reclamation", "Clean Hunters", and "Vermilon". A lot of the stories takes place in the desert, which give the stories a cinematic/atmospheric feel. This book made me smile and definitely got me out of a reading slump. If you like eerie stories, then "Mystery Lights" will terrify you to bits. I will definitely read more from this new author in the future. These stories felt so personal, engaging, and wholeheartedly entertaining. I highly recommend it!

Thank you, Netgalley and Tin House for the digital ARC.

The stories in Mystery Lights absolutely knocked me out. As a desert girl through and through, I am so grateful for this collection.

With short story collections, I'm always afraid they're going to be shallow or one-note, but I really enjoyed this collection. It was cohesive but never repetitive. The recurring subjects (ghosts!!! aliens!!! motherhood!!! the desert and its endlessness!!!) felt fresh every time. I was fully immersed in every story and committed to these characters and their worlds. The atmosphere of each narrative was palpable. And while most of these characters are people I wouldn't relate to in real life, I found myself empathizing with them every time. I think, ultimately, that's the sign of a good story. The ghosts and the aliens and the desert just made it even better.

I loved and was very impressed by this short story collection. It´s spooky and unnerving and compelling, covering all forms of mystery and violence, with women as both victims and perpetrators. The title story, Mystery Lights, is a definite favorite, appealing to X-file fans as well as Twin Peaks. I loved how much of this book takes place in the desert, how people survive in the southwest and what it means to live in a barren landscape that is perhaps uninhabitable. These stories manage to cover everything from grief to sexual violence to aliens to sister bonds (and betrayals) and fledgling 20-somethings in Brooklyn. It´s GIRLS meets Alice Munro meets Roswell, which is another way of saying this collection is haunting in the best ways.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was well done! As in most short story collections, there were some that I enjoyed more than others, a few stand outs and a majority that kind of lagged behind. I thought it captured the energy of "women hood" that is so varied and unique. I think it's hard to put your finger on, and some were more successful than others.

"Mystery Lights" by Lena Valencia shares some DNA with Kelly Link's otherworldly stories; all are bite-sized introductions to worlds that are recognizably our own, with slight variations. Brief, tightly written, and determinedly strange, the stories in "Mystery Lights" follow women in various positions of anxiety: from a marketing stunt gone wrong, to a college student trying to evade a mysterious abductor on her campus. I enjoyed each story, truth be told - Valencia is great at drawing you in and teaching you the "rules" of her weird worlds - but my primary complaint is that a lot of these felt unfinished, and unresolved. As if she were confident of her premise but had no idea how to wrap things up.

Still, these show a lot of promise - I'd recommend them to anyone who enjoys weird little tales that briefly let journey through odd worlds alongside their characters.

Have you ever felt like an alien or an outsider? Ever wonder what monsters lurk beyond city lights, deep within the depths of the desert and even within your own walls? Then these stories are for you!

“Mystery Lights" is a riveting collection that grips you from the first page and refuses to let go. It's like stepping into a surreal dreamscape where reality blurs with the unknown, leaving you breathless and on the edge of your seat.

With a keen eye for human complexity, Lena delves into the tangled web of mother-daughter relationships, the ache of grief, and the unsettling feeling of being an outsider in one's own skin.

Each story is a haunting exploration of the human psyche, wrapped in prose so beautiful it's practically poetry dipped in darkness. Every word dripping with tension and raw authenticity.

Lena had me gasping and clutching my pearls as she masterfully wove tales of White Places, Mystery Lights, and Bright Lights, Big Deal. Each story is a universe unto itself, with characters that leap off the page and into your very soul.

“Mystery Lights" is a must-read masterpiece that will linger in your mind long after you turn the final page.

Lena, consider me your forever fan. 10 out of 10 would read again and recommend without hesitation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tin House, the publisher, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

A great collection of stories. I enjoyed all of them and it would be very hard to pick a favorite. I definitely will be buying this one.

This was very good writing but nothing really happened in any of these. the premises in the description are exciting but none of the characters actually react to their circumstances so it falls flat. max story was cool though!

thanks to netgalley and tin house for the arc!!

This was a good book. I really love the world building and the characters. The pacing was really good and it was an interesting story to read