Having heard alot about The Chalk Man, though not having read it yet, I elected to give the author’s forthcoming short story collection a try. Comprised of 11 stories, it’s an unusual collection in the sense that all the stories are uniformly excellent. Some, like The Block and The Final Course are just wonderfully creepy and truly outstanding. Ms. Tudor really knows how to write a great story, and I look forward to more of her work.

My thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an ARC of the book.

A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor is a tour de force of the writer's imagination told in a collection of short stories.
This is my first book by C.J. Tudor (The Chalk Man is in my TBR stack) and I have to say I was surprised. I have seen the author compared to Stephen King and after reading this short story collection I can see why. This book had the same visceral impact as Stephen King's early collections such as Night Shift or Skeleton Crew.
The eleven stories in this collection cross an array of the thriller genre.
End of the Liner
The Block
Runaway Blues
The Completion
The Lion at the Gate
Gloria
I'm Not Ted
Final Course
The Copy Shop
Dust
Butterfly Island
My favorites were The Lion at the Gate, End of the Liner, I'm Not Ted, and Butterfly Island.
My least favorites were Runaway Blues and Gloria.
The Completion was another story of note that seemed like it could have been filmed by Hammer back in the '70's. Come to think of it a lot of these had that Hammer Horror vibe for some reason. I enjoyed the heck out of it--
Thanks to #NetGalley, #RandomHouse-Ballantine for the copy of C.J. Tudor's #ASliverofDarkness.

CJ Tudor’s talent is on display in these short stories — wonderful packed reading, and enough thrills to keep the pages turning.

C.J. Tudor hits it out of the ballpark like Babe Ruth (You youngins can google him).

I'm beginning to think CJ stands for Consistently Jittery. Her stories always leave my nerves on high like caffeine. Or maybe its Constant Joy because thats what I feel when reading her books. As long as I read them in the daytime.

There isn't a mediocre tale in the bunch. Very hard to pick a favorite. This is such an outstanding book and it comes out fairly soon.

And can I say one thing more? I know Ms. Tudor is always referred to as as the female version of Stephen King. While that's a huge compliment it takes away that her writing is her own style, not Stephen King's. She is as equally good if not better. And I've been a Stephen King fan since his first book came out. I'm expecting my expulsion from the Stephen King fan base but I thing Stephen would agree with me.

The scrumptious A Sliver of Darkness will delight fans of C. J. Tudor and deservedly earn her plenty of new ones too! What a delight this collection of short stories is! It's the very definition of a quick and riveting read. Tudor is a master of thrilling twists and proves it again and again with this book. If you paired Stephen King with Jeffery Deaver you'd get stories as enjoyable as those served up by Tudor in this one (she even acknowledges King as an inspiration). The most obvious observation is the fact there's not a weak story in this collection. But, that's no surprise to those of us who have been fortunate to enjoy Tudor's novels. Thank you to Random House, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy. #ASliverofDarkness #NetGalley

These stories were so much fun!! Not really a fan of shorts, but I do love C.J. Tudor and horror so I jumped on the chance to read them. I'm so glad that I did! Some were creepy, some were comical and all of them were thoroughly enjoyable. I loved how the author led with an introduction to each story, detailing her inspirations for writing them. Very interesting!

A Sliver of Darkness is a collection of eleven short stories varying in different degrees of horror. I won't spoil the fun by writing a synopsis of them all. It's better to go into them without knowing. But fair warning, each story does not end neatly. Like true horror, you are left hanging, leaving your imagination to ponder on the possibilities of what might happen next. I think The Runaway Blues and The First Course were my favorites!

Thank you to the author, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I don't usually read short stories. Give me 400 pages and I'm a happy woman but this collection was fabulous! A bunch of different short stories, most of them with an "apocalypse" setting, all very well told. They weren't too "horrorish", a little graphic in some spots but soooo good. Has some Stephen King vibes. My favorite was "The Dust". I highly recommend! Definitely add this book to your TBR!

A wonderful group of unique short stories, everyone one of them different but all of them page turners.I would love to see Butterfly Island as a novel. That story intrigued me the most. What’s his good idea? What happens next?

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor.

I have always been a huge lover of short stories and have probably read every single one of Stephen King's. One of the first things I noticed was the many shout-outs to him so I couldn't help but feel reminiscent of him while reading this. That being said, I did enjoy the each and every story here. They were equally chilling, creepy, and sometimes a little too close to reality. However, I couldn't help but feel they were each missing something, a conclusion. Yes, many short stories leave you wanting more and leave it with a cliffhanger. I just felt this one could have given almost every story here just an extra paragraph and it would of made a world of difference. That being said, I did enjoy this and some will even stick with me for a while. I just couldn't bring myself to rate this any higher than three stars because each one could of been just that much better.

C.J. Tudor was having trouble focusing during the pandemic so she wrote a collection of short stories that are so awesome, like the very best stories told over a campfire. I love that she sprinkles in some Stephen King references along the way. My favorite story is the first one - think Disney cruise gone way bad. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

These stories are incredible! All of them are unique, smart, twisty, unfolded with jaw dropping, surprising conclusions! I had so much fun! I whooped! I gave villanelle laughs! Energized with extra adrenaline and excitement!

My favorite one is “Runaway Blues” about Fat Man and his creepy hat case: such a great Stephen King tribute!

My laugh out loud ones: “I’m not Ted”: poor guy who has no idea why they call him Ted and why the hell people tried to elevate him! This is is hilarious, sarcastic, short story entertained a lot!

I also let out my villanelle laughs aloud after reading “Copy Shop! “I wish they could provide me their service! I could send them my entire in-law team to be fixed!

Second best favorite: “Final Course”: apocalyptic last dinner theme! Infamous Five meets at a deserted mansion to save themselves from lurking monsters hunting people. I loved the ending so much!

Highly promising ones: “Gloria” : we know this lovely psychopath- cleaning lady from Hiding Place. We thought she got what she deserved at the end of the book but at this story: we realize she’s not dead. She is back in business with her deformed face, no mercy rules! Hope the author brings her back for her next book!

“Dust”: should be read as Another one bites the dust blasting out at the background. The weird Villa de las Almas Perdidas atmosphere gives you creeps !

“Butterfly Island”: well I also went to Butterfly Valley/ Oludeniz in Turkey so I can relate how the author got the inspiration to write this post apocalyptic journey reminds me of Lost meets Revolution series.

Most Stranger Things vibes: “The Block”: a gripping teen mystery/ sci-fi story has a taste of Amazing Stories meet Twilight Zone

Best sci-fi/ dystopian story with Titanic vibes: “ End of the Liner”. That ending was epic!

Best gory teen story : “ The Lion at the gate”! It seems like a dark, bleak alternative of Chronicles of Narnia. We have a gate instead of wardrobe!

Less likable one: “ Completion” starts solid with the despicable anti hero Dan Ransom! Rest of the story and the conclusion was a little far fetched! It was still fun! But something was missing!

Overall: I literally devoured those brilliant works! They’re juicy, funny, gory, dark, unusual pieces of extraordinary mind!

I’m rounding up my 4.5 stars to 5 please C. J. Tudor write more dark stories for us stars!

Many many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine Books for sharing this perfect digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.