A dark, unsettling short story collection from one of the best modern thriller writers. The tales range from creepy to outright terrifying. Perfect bite-sized reads if you like your fiction chilling and atmospheric.

CJ Tudor has become that rare writer for me, one on a short list of automatic buys regardless of what the book is about. Even though I received an e-arc via NetGalley back in 2022 when this came out I also preordered a hard cover edition for my home library. I’m not a lover of short stories so fast forward to 2025 and I finally read this. I wish I hadn’t procrastinated and read it sooner. It’s filled with some fantastic, sometimes funny and creepy stories. I loved the introductions to each story that she included about how she got the story idea, etc. As this was written and put together during the start of Covid many of the stories are set during an apocalypse.

My #1 story was Final Course but Runaway Blues, End of the Liner (wish this had been a book), Butterfly Island, and The Block were my favs though the entire book was very good.

**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I also bought a HC**

Great and easily absorbing collection of short stories, really enjoyed. Some were more gory than others but enjoyable.

Sliver of Darkness is such a must-read for thriller and horror fans — an automatic-buy kind of book from an author who never misses! If you're like me and love short stories that get under your skin and leave you thinking "what did I just read?" — this collection is IT.

Each story is eerie, twisty, and perfectly unsettling in that way where you can't stop turning pages but also kind of want to read with the lights on. The vibes are dark, the tension is high, and the writing is so good.

If you've loved her other books, this one feels like a special treat — like sitting around a campfire and hearing the creepiest stories (but better). Definitely one I’ll be recommending on repeat! 🔥📚✨

C.J. Tudor delights with this spine-tingling short story collection. The stories are original and very strange in a macabre way. They will make readers think.

I’m a huge C.J. Tudor fan. Love her books. I’m not a huge fan of short stories unless they are connected in some ways. This is just 10 random short stories. I liked some more than others. Some were gorier than others. Some were more mind-bending than others.

The introductions before the stories were more interesting than the stories themselves oftentimes.

I’m looking forward to more of C.J. Tudor’s books, and I’ll even read the novella hinted at with the last story.

Thank you to #netgalley and #ballentinebooks for the e-copy of #asliverofdarkness .

Enjoyed this one very much, a fantastic collection of horror suspense stories from author C.J. Tudor. Never disappoints, highly recommend!

I realize I'm not the right fit for these short stories. I do best with short stories connected to a long series, probably because the world and characters are already developed.

This is a solid short story collection with plenty of horror and gore. Most of the stories have a post apocalyptic theme.

My favorites were:
End of the Liner where a woman is living on a post apocalyptic cruise ship
Runaway Blues where a young couple meet a jazz musician with a dark secret (this is my absolute favorite of the book)
I'm Not Ted where a man thinks he may be in the wrong place
The Copy Shop where a woman has something replaced
Dust where a woman goes to a run down hotel for a vacation.

I honestly liked every story though. Each story also includes an introduction about how Tudor came up with it which is a cool edition. If you already like Tudor and want to see her venture further into horror or if you haven't read her and any of my short descriptions intrigue you, you should definitely check out this collection.

I've read some of C.J. Tudor's novels and enjoyed them so when I was presented with an opportunity to read her short story A Sliver of Darkness I jumped at the chance. All were good but 2 stood out for me: End of the Liner and Dust. Highly recommended read.

like any short story collection there are hits and misses, but i like c. j. tudor's writing style and verve a lot, so i'm giving this a lot of leeway

I’m a huge, huge CJ Tudor fan, but try as I might, I just did not care for this collection of stories. It was just so boring and not what I’ve come to expect from her.

Short and sweet review

If you like CJ Tudor you'll absolutely love this. I realized reading two of this author's books back to back that I'm just not a fan of their writing style so I didn't love this. It is 100% a me thing!

I often struggle with short story collections, but I had a really great time reading A Sliver of Darkness. While I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others, I thought the collection was cohesive and a good representation of Tudor’s writing style and themes (horror/speculative/often post or near apocalyptic). I really appreciated how each story began with a preface explaining the author’s inspiration and thought process behind the story.

Favorites from the collection include:
End of Liner
Final Course
The Copy Shop
Dust

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a review copy.

A Sliver of Darkness contains 10 different horror short stories with all sorts of evil lurking in the corners. I loved how incredibly unique every single story was. I've never read anything quite like the tales in this book. I also loved how amazingly vivid each story was, I could really picture what was happening and became so sucked in. Each short story is preceded by an introduction from Tudor. I absolutely loved this, it added such a personal feel to each story and really helped to set the scene. Although I wasn't scared by each story, they were certainly creepy and I found myself completely hooked by every single one. This is an incredibly diverse short story collection, my biggest complaint was that I wanted more!

A collection of stories to disturb and horrify! The one that really stuck out for me was the killer butterfly one. I hate butterflies so I was already thinking "oh hell no". Overall a creepy short story anthology that would make a great Halloween read.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I don’t read short stories very often at all so this was a new experience for me. I absolutely love CJ Tudor’s writing and have read all of their previous novels. I enjoyed the stories very much and it was really nice to have a short story to read when I wasn’t in the mood for my current read. I might look into other short story collections because of this pleasant experience.

I don’t know why it took me so long to finish this short story collection. The stories are completely engaging and exactly the kind of stuff I love to read!

I truly enjoy Tudor’s novels, but I think she excels in her short story writing! The four C’s describe this collection: Clear, concise, creepy, and captivating!!

I enjoyed the introductions to the stories almost as much as the stories themselves!

I liked all of the stories. Some I felt needed a bit more information or description here and there, but they were all stories I would have hand-picked if they weren’t in this collection.

I’d have to say my favorite story of all of them is “Dust.” It was written really well, and although a tad short (I kind of wanted more back story), I thought it really packed a punch. It didn’t hurt that it was loosely based on one of my favorite songs (Hotel California).

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have been reading C.J. Tudor for a while and her books never disappoint, this one included. This was a truly thrilling novel and I can't wait for the next one.