While I found some of the short stories enjoyable - namely End of the Liner and the Block - but I felt like the book started to lose steam around the time I reached Gloria and Lion at the Gate. I don't know if it was the stories itself, or because I thought it was so odd that the author included an introduction/explanation before each short story. That kind of took me out of the story a little bit and reading the explanation made me feel like "oh well I already know what's going to happen," but when I skipped the intro I'd feel like "wait what?" So I know these are SHORT stories but without the introductions, they felt incomplete and empty and with the introductions, it felt over explained and heavy handed.

Thanks Netgalley! Sorry!

I love C.J. Tudor's novels, so jumped at the chance to read this collection. The author introduces each story with a peek into her inspiration, which I really enjoyed. I don't typically love short stories so ironically it took me a really long time to finish these, but I found myself enjoying the variety of characters and unique storylines that Tudor wrote about.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a short story collection will have some winners and some losers in it. Not this time. Every single one of these stories is full of surprises that shouldn’t be missed and creeptastic plot lines that will keep your lights on at night. Don’t turn off those lamps, and don’t trust what lingers in shadowy corners. Prepare to be delighted by the darkness.

The offerings:

END OF THE LINER: What would happen if a global catastrophe forces its survivors to live aboard cruise ships, on which contentment is strongly encouraged by the “Creators” of these ships? To explore that premise even further, what would the practice of contentment entail, and what would happen if there is then a murder? Wouldn’t want that to “spoil the facade,” would we? This story is thought-provoking, claustrophobia-inducing, and intensely compelling.

THE BLOCK: When a small group of teens explore an abandoned building, the results offer readers a story that is mysterious and blood-curdling, while also somehow remaining completely endearing.

RUNAWAY BLUES: A blues club. A Fat Man. A hat box. An obsession. Yes, those words sum up this story, but they could never convey how truly disturbing it is. The ending of this one gave me one the biggest shocks of my reading life.

THE COMPLETION: When the author wrote this one, she was thinking of “the apocalyptic, human nature, the devil,” and it shows. In it, we follow Dan, a real estate agent who will do anything for sale, but when he attempts to sell a house with an eerie reputation, things get freaky. The past stalks the present in a story that will give your goosebumps their own goosebumps.

THE LION AT THE GATE: A group of kids are late for school, so they take a shortcut that will change the life of our narrator forever. Don’t forget to read the author’s introduction to this one. Her inspirational experience is almost as unsettling as the tale itself.

GLORIA: Two of C.J. Tudor’s characters from two different books meet here. Don’t worry if you haven’t read her previous books. You won’t find spoilers. What you will find is a woman with a questionable profession conversing with a gifted young girl, and this brief meet-and-greet results in the title character making a shocking choice. If a dark story with a dark protagonist can still be heartwarming, it’s here.

I’M NOT TED: This is a very short little story about a guy whose name is definitely not Ted. He has a very puzzling experience which leads to a very perplexing yet entertaining adventure for the reader. CJ Tudor’s darkly comedic personality shines in only a few quick pages.

FINAL COURSE: One of the best parts about this collection are the stories’ introductions, where we learn where the author got her ideas, and of those, the introduction to this one is my favorite. She tells us how she got the idea for a dinner party at the end of the world, and when she began to ask if something would live in the impending darkness.

THE COPY SHOP: Tudor states that this one is about “a broken vase, a stale marriage, and a conundrum.” Very true. If something important to you was broken and you heard of a place that could repair it, would you go? Here’s a better question: Should you go? A dusting accident commences a slippery slope down into the depths of choices that should never be made, and it’s all diabolically delicious.

DUST: A sandstorm, a dust-covered hotel, and strange sounds on the wind combine to create a story like no other. Never trust first appearances. As this one unravels, you’ll gasp several times a page. It’s disturbing on every level, and it’ll haunt your dreams for days.

BUTTERFLY ISLAND: The author tells us that this is one of her favorite short stories, and she hints that she might one day expand it into a novella. I need this to happen—because I think I agree. In a book full of only the best stories, this one might also be my favorite. Perhaps the best was saved for last.

Everyone needs to cuddle up with this one during the cold, cold, cold weather. Light a fire and prepare to be scared! These stories are frightening—blood-curdling, hands-shaking, cold-sweating, foot-tapping, knees-knocking scary—but incredibly fun!

Enjoy!

I’ve actually never read any CJ Tudor, nor do I typically enjoy many horror anthologies, but something made me pick this book and request it.
While I read it way past the publication date because my fall mood reading didn’t quite work the way I thought, I really enjoyed it when I finally sat down and read it.
The stories were short. None of them were like novellas of Stephen King proportions or anything long, which I may have not thought I’d like, yet actually loved. And they were so ominous and creepy!
I loved that the author wrote an intro for each one explaining how the idea popped into her head.
I definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait to read more of CJ Tudor!

C.J. Tudor has done it again. This author is really good with a story and this one is no different. I enjoyed the plot and the characters and I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine, C.J. Tudor, and Netgalley for the digital arc of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

A Sliver of Darkness is C.J. Tudor's first collection of horror and thriller short stories. Even though I don't read a lot of short stories, I jumped at the chance to get an arc of the collection. The introduction of the book, which is written by Tudor, gives a glimpse into her life during covid and the reason for the release of these short stories - instead of a novel. Her forthcoming novel, The Drift, she calls her "passion project", is being released on January 31st, 2023.

A Sliver of Darkness contains eleven short stories, in a wide range of horror and thriller genres. Quite a few have a comedic element, along the lines of satire and black comedy. A couple stories feel geared more towards preteens (think R.L. Stine), though that doesn't make them any less enjoyable for adults. The (reading) length ranges anywhere from ten to forty-five minutes, with most averaging about fifteen to twenty-five minutes.

Story titles and a very brief description are as follows:
- End of the Liner - think Snowpiercer on a cruise ship
- The Block - an abandoned building in a slum neighborhood and kids looking for trouble
- Runaway Blues - a tribute to Stephen King
- The Completion - real estate - how far would you go to make that sale?
- The Lion at the Gate - high school kids, a shortcut, and graffiti
- Gloria - a secondary character from a previous book
- I'm Not Ted - a man who's name isn't Ted
- Final Course - a dinner party in the country
- The Copy Shop - a copy shop
- Dust - a remote hotel in the desert
- Butterfly Island - an overnight stay on a remote island

My favorite story is Gloria. I would LOVE a novel featuring Gloria, a full length one or one just filled with short stories like this. I absolutely loved her character and all the little details that went into the things she did. Other stories I really enjoyed include: End of the Liner, The Completion, and Final Course. The Copy Shop probably has the least scary premise, yet for me it was the most disturbing. (It's also the shortest) I can see at least half of the stories working as full length novels. The time seemed to go by quickly. I would finish one story and go right into the next.

Overall, I think this is a good first collection of short stories from C.J. Tudor. I didn't love it as much as I've loved her novels though, with the exceptions of End of the Liner and Gloria. It's good, it's just not quite up to the standards I've grown to expect from C.J. Tudor. Though I applaud her for putting something out during what must have been a tough time for her. I still think this is a worthy read. There is something here for everyone. And if you are a die-hard C.J. Tudor fan like I am, then you won't want to miss it.

3½ stars rounded up to 4 stars
Recommended for fans of: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Action, Black Comedy, Fiction

A strong collection of short stories! While some were stronger than others, it was an overall fantastic reading experience. It felt a bit Stephen King-esque in a good way. It was weird and good and I have thought about it often since finishing

I still remember the eerie twin girls from the Burning Girls and creepy stick figures from the Chalk Man. I went into reading this story collection with great expectations of feeling similar eerie-creepiness, and I was not disappointed!! The Copy Shop is my most favourite story. The others were also good, they did not fall short by any means. Hence the full stars!! If you enjoy well rounded stories, with mystery and horror, this collection of 10 stories is a must read.

Thank you Random House via Netgalley for the arc.

I love short horror/thriller story collections, and this definitely delivered.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

It’s been over a year since we last got a CJ Tudor release, but she’s always worth the wait!

This time it isn’t a novel, but a collection of short stories, and honestly guys, each one is better than the last. Every story I finished I thought “this is it, my favorite in the collection”.

Literally every story is my favorite. They’re all so beautifully chilling, the horrors each ranging from the monstrous to the supernatural to the much more human kind of monster.

If you’re in need of beautiful prose and stories that will freak you out and stick with you for days, grab this one immediately!

#asliverofdarkness:⁣
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Thank you @randomhouse for the gifted copy!!⁣
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Spooky season may be over for some of you.. however, many of the stories from A Sliver of Darkness continue to stay in my head all through the holiday season. ⁣
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I love CJ Tudor. Just a bit of a disclaimer. CJ Tudor is the reason I believe the things that go bump in the night are more sinister than one can imagine. I honestly was not expecting to get as intimate with the author and truly gets to know them better while reading these short stories. Before each story, there is a little introduction with information on kind of how the story came about. From there we get to really understand the author as a person and their headspace. While it was really great to learn about the author on a personal level, it also amplified the fear factor for the stories.⁣
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Every story is creepy in its own way and many of them kept me up at night. But, honestly, the very first story really stuck out to me and I still have nightmares about it. One sentence, four words haunted me for the entire read. “They took my smile”. The fact that I’m STILL thinking of this story and that line is a testament to how powerful C.J. Tudor’s imagery is.⁣
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Overall, another solid hit from a solid author. It was a different side of Tudor I hadn’t seen yet, but still with the creepy/unsettling plot that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Thank you again @randomhouse for the copy. A Sliver of Darkness is out now!

great collection of short stories by CJ Tudor and a look into her writing process. Recommended for both fans and people new to her writing.

This collection of short stories was just what I needed during the month of October....I had a hard time finding anything that I truly enjoyed this month and this was a good pallette cleanser.

To start, I've become a bit of C.J. Tudor fan, despite never giving any of their books more than 4 stars. I think she has really great ideas and I love their writing, there's just always been *something* missing for me. Unfortunately, this was not the collection that turned that around for me.

Overall, I think this is an OK collection. I would have preferred a collection of 3-4 novellas instead of short stories. In particular, I would love to see End of the Liner, Runaway Blues, The Block and The Lion at the Gate a little more fleshed out. I think End of the Liner in particular was a really cool idea and there could be a full novel based off only that story.

I do still recommend this book, especially if you've enjoyed other work by this author. I will definitely be continuing with their work, this just wasn't my most favorite thing I've ever read.

All in all this was a pretty fun read! I'm a huge fan of C.J. Tudor's full length novels and was excited to delve into this collection. There were a few stories that left me wanting more, and others that definitely wrapped up nicely.

I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a horror collection, but it is definitely a great fit for fans of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. Admittedly, I find myself not enjoying short story collections as much as I'd like to. I prefer being able to become fully immersed in a book, and found that once I finished up with a story, I wasn't as quick to start another knowing it would be too brief.

That being said, the characters and stories were hashed out nicely and my favorites were End Of The Liner, The Block, Runaway Blues, I'm Not Ted ( which felt like a big nod to The Twilight Zone) and Final Course.

I also enjoyed the introductions and notes before each story to really appreciate her thought process.

Thank you NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC
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Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The cover of this book really grabbed my attention, so I had to request it! This is my first book by CJ Tudor and I really enjoyed her style of writing. Before each story, she gives a preview of her thoughts on how she came up with the idea for that particular story, which I loved reading! I’ve never come across a book where an author has done that, so I thought that was pretty interesting. All of the stories were vastly different topics, but each had a twisty thrill at the end of them. The ones that I really enjoyed and left me wanting more were:
• The Block
• Final Course
• I’m Not Ted
• Dust
• Butterfly Island

If you’re looking for creative, twisty, thrilling short stories..I highly recommend this book to you!

good book and really enjoyed the characters and their journey. I liked the romance.. I enjoyed how the characters grew in the book and what happened.

Review of A Silver of Darkness by CJ Tudor

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So yet another book I went into totally blind, didn’t read the synopsis, and only requested because of the author. I was confused the first few pages so I did have to check and this one is a collection of short stories. I’m not usually a fan of short stories but I loved this so much. These were spooky and great horror. I also loved the introductions to each where she explained where she got the idea. My favorite was hands down Runaway Blues, but I also loved End of the Liner and Gloria.

Quick synopsis: there are 11 thrilling scary stories!

C.J. Tudor knows how to write a creepy, atmospheric story and her newest collection of short stories is no exception. The perfect book to cozy up with on a cold, dark winter night. I also really liked the authors insight before each shorty story! It was fun to read where she found her inspiration and overall thought process. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thriller/Horror

What a wonderous collection of short stories!

I applaud Tudor for mixing it up a bit. She has always reminded me of Stephen King and this collection only makes that comparison more apt. Each short story begins with an introduction about how C.J. came to write the story or what triggered it and these introductions enhance the reading experience.

There are a few stories that fall into the horror genre and The Block is so spooky and scary that I'm creeped out by it even a few weeks after reading. The other stories run the gamut mostly between altered reality/sci-fi and dystopian. I loved almost all of them.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this book.