Sliver of Darkness, a short story collection by C.J. Tudor, is a grouping of eerie, haunting stories that are quick and easy to read, but will definitely leave the reader with a chill and a sense of unease. Each story begins with an interesting, explanatory introduction from the author herself chronicling a personal, related anecdote and origin of the story.

There are eleven stories in all and they vary in theme and tone. Some are dystopian, others lean more towards the horror genre, some feature elements of dark humor, and some are pure mystery. They showcase mental illness, revenge, trapped-locked room stories and love gone wrong.

These short stories are twisty and varied, and fitting for those who love bite-sized psychological thrillers. This collection is perfect for the Autumn season and it’s creepy vibes, but also for those who have a busy schedule and need quick, short, but atmospheric reads.

These tales were the perfect length with just the right amount of horror. I've always thought that the worst fears were those rogue thoughts we get that disturb us long into the night and I feel like that's what most of these stories do. They leave you unsettled with a lingering question or unease that keep you thinking of them long after you've stopped reading. The intro to each story was my favorite part because I'm the kind of nerd that likes to know where authors get their ideas. You can definitely tell that this was written during the pandemic, and to me it adds a certain credibility to the thought that something similar to these stories could happen.

CJ Tudor’s first short stories collection splices The Twilight Zone with Stephen King. The subjects range from horror to dystopian futures to psychological terror, and they are so good! Of the eleven stories, my favorites are “End of the Liner” (where a cruise ship may or may not be a hideaway from the end of the world) and “Final Course” (where darkness has descended on the world and has not come alone.) “Gloria” features characters from two of Tudor’s novels. They are well-structured and have jaw-dropping endings.

For each story, Tudor provides an introduction that explains her inspiration for the story. I always find these insights interesting, and I think for aspiring or hopeful writers they are a guidepost into how even a random comment can be a source of inspiration.

A fabulous anthology for fans of thrills and chills.

Remember reading that creepy shorty The Most Dangerous Game in composition class? Or Leinigan and the Ants? Those engraved in my mind as a high-schooler, and I’ve always been trying to find something that gave me similar chills. A Sliver of Darkness succeeded, in the best way.

This is my first foray into Tudor’s works, and it won’t be my last. I love the range of stories found here—from post-apocalyptic to monsters to an odd case of mistaken identity to carnivorous butterflies. They reminded me of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman’s short stories, with their creative scenarios and clever twists. I would’ve gladly read a full-length novel based on nearly any of these.

My favorites were End of the Liner, Gloria, I’m Not Ted, and Butterfly Island.

So grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for this fabulous arc!

-A

A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor

What a collection of stories! Usually, with this format, I’ll browse through and read from what interests me the most to least. In the case of A Sliver of Darkness, I read the short stories in order – that never happens. Each one is fascinating, disturbing, and left me feeling just a bit unsettled – but in that good way you can only get with a really chilling tale.

One of my favorite things was the introduction before each story; I loved hearing how the author got an idea for a story and then how she processed it. Truly fascinating.

I’m not going to rehash each story but I will be recommending this one (already have) to all my friends/followers. This is 5 stars all the way through!

My thanks to Ballantine Books for this gifted DRC.

Talk about a gloomy Friday …

I use days like today as an excuse to stay cuddled up in my bed and binge read book after book. How many can I finish in one day you ask? So far I have finished two and on to my third .

All week I have read some amazing books (this rarely happens). I was looking for something different when I saw a friend post about A Sliver of Darkness as a collection of short stories I was curious as to why I had not picked it up before . I’m a huge fan of CJ Tudor so I knew I had to begin reading…

The cover is engaging, mysterious and really drew me in. The stories are all well done and get straight to the point . As per always, Tudor does not disappoint.

I was about 3 stories in when I have to tell you, I knew there was no way I was going to be able to put this one down.

This book was made for me .

If your looking for a bunch of quick stories to get into and leave you spinning then A Sliver of Darkness is perfect for you! I know you won’t be able to stop at just one story 😉

If you're in the mood for some great dark, thrilling short stories this is the book! It was nice to read a story every couple of days and come back to another short story. I loved the premise of each individual story!

I really enjoyed the short stories from one of my favorite authors! Each of them felt well thought out and I enjoyed each of them for different reasons. CJ Tudor's writing is detailed enough to make the story that much more creepy and engaging. I think I just realized by reading this that short stories aren't my favorite. I felt like for all of them, I was just starting to really get into the story and understand what was happening and then the next thing I knew, it was ending. I wanted more from all of the stories!

CJ Tudor had me as a dedicated reader from her very first book -- The Chalk Man. If she wrote a Compendium of Stereo Instructions, I would buy it and read it. I'm sure she could give even stereo installation a cool, creepy vibe! So, of course, I jumped right on a short story collection.

This collection of 11 dark stories has a bit of everything. Old friends. Love. Revenge. Jealousy. Mistaken identity. Time. Hidden things. Secrets. Killers. Teenagers. Even butterflies and a cruise ship. The themes are varied, but all are creepy and well-written. My favorite? Dust. Excellent story! There wasn't a single story I didn't enjoy. Even the cover art is excellent!

The best part? Before each story she includes an introduction about where her head was at when she wrote the tale.

Loved this book!! Not really a surprise though. I've loved them all so far!

And, I already have a review copy of her next book, The Drift.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House/Ballentine. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

Enjoyed this very interesting short story collection a lot! Like all short story collections, some are more successful than others - my personal favorite is "End of the Liner" with it's cruise theme, and I quite liked "Copy Shop", also. Make sure to read the author's notes & dedication. My sincere thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Solid set of short stories. Definitely enjoyed some
Of the stories more than others but felt this was a great book for someone who prefers reading in this genre.

Short stories have become one of my favorite things to read in the last couple of years. They are the perfect anecdote for a reading slump or just when I am having a hard time concentrating. C. J. Tudor is one of my favorite authors- The Chalk Man and The Burning Girls are two of my favorite books of recent years. Thrillers that border on horror, they are perfection. So, when I saw she had released a short story collection I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. The stories range from weird to terrifying to apocalyptic and a couple had me chuckling out loud. I especially loved that Tudor wrote an introduction before each story. It is so interesting what inspires authors to write and hearing how Tudor’s idea for each story was developed was just as enjoyable as the stories themselves. My favorites were Runaway Blues, a story which pays homage to the writing of Stephen King and Final Course about an apocalyptic dinner party. So if you are a fan of short stories and the macabre do not miss this collection. Thank you to @netgalley @ballantinecorp for this arc.

This is a collection of 11 short stories. My favorites were Gloria and Final Course. I was totally invested in those plots and wish they were full stories! I love the horror elements of her writing.

A Sliver of Darkness is a great collection of short stories. Every story is different but they all live up to the blurbs by being bone-chilling, mind-bending, nightmare-inducing and spine-tingling. They are full of creepy people – and some people who normal but are anything but. Every story has a twist. Just when you’ve gotten yourself into the macabre mindset and think you’ve figured the ending out, bam, you’ll be surprised by something you never saw coming. Thanks to Ballantine Book and NetGalley for providing a copy of A Sliver of Darkness. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review. I enjoyed this book and recommend you read it; you’ll shiver, shudder and be thoroughly satisfied when you are done.

Some truly intr5iguing and timely short stories to enjoy from the mind of Tudor. Truly haunting. There is a lot to unpack and the pandemic had a role. A starring role, really. How do you etrapolate that? You put a bunch of people on a forever cruise. My definition of hell. And it just goes on from there.

Thank you to C. J. Tudor, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books, and Netgalley for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Sliver of Darkness is a lovely collection of short stories that is sure to put you a bit on edge (in a good way, I promise!)

This is unrelated to the short stories themselves, but I loved the little Introduction bits from the author that prefaced the stories and gave a little bit of insight into how the story and the collection itself came to be. It really made C. J. Tudor seem more human and relatable and definitely caused me to read this work a bit more closely. The Introductions really show how Tudor makes sure to leave a little bit of heart in a sometimes bleak world.

Included are 11 short stories, each of which stands out on its own in unique ways.
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

I don't really want to reveal too much, as I think that these stories are best enjoyed when the reader goes in completely blind. It is truly an experience that cannot be replicated.

A collection of dark, twisted short stories that are easy and fun to read. Tudor offers a bit of personal perspective throughout, making the entire book both entertaining and memorable.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #ASliverofDarkness which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House-Ballantine, and C.J.Tudor for an ARC of this book!**

If this was only a 'Sliver of Darkness'...sign me up for the WHOLE Devil's Food Cake!

This is a collection of short stories from C,J. Tudor, ranging from several apocalyptic scenarios, encounters with creepy monsters and mysterious creatures, and some twisted characters who aren't quite what they seem. All of these stories are indeed short and most move at a good clip. Being new to Tudor's writing, I can already tell she excels at characterization and setting the scene, even in a short amount of time.

I normally stray far from short story collections, and even though I've been dying for an excuse to check out this author, I was a bit hesitant to pick this book up. What came as a welcome surprise, however, was the Behind The Curtain look that Tudor gave in reference to her writing process, the circumstances that led to this collection coming out NOW, and the individual inspiration behind EACH story. As someone who had hoped to work side-by-side with authors in my younger days, I am always fascinated to hear where ideas come from, how writers write, and what inspires them, and I feel like I learned SO much about Tudor's personality, her life, and how her ideas grow JUST from this one book!

Honestly, reading these stories took me back to my early days of thriller reading (R.L. Stine, even!) but in such a good way. There is also a bit of humor in some of these stories (I'm Not Ted being a personal favorite) and I loved the 'expect the unexpected' twists at the end of each story. Some other memorable stories include Tudor's nod to Uncle Steve (Runaway Blues) and another slightly snarky tale about a real estate closing (The Completion). Also a quick shout out to my favorite pun in the book: in reference to a power-rationed cities, the character refers to the inhabitants as the "have-watts and the have-nots."

(Brilliant. Seriously could not stop laughing after that one!)

Though I some of these stories went on a tad too long and others lacked solid endings, hearing their individual origin stories was fascinating and honestly made this a fulfilling reading experience from start to finish. I am ready and waiting for Tudor's next book (which she spoke about briefly in this author's note and described as a passion project coming to fruition) as also exploring her back catalog. Although spooky season is drawing to a close, if you're not quite ready to pack away your pumpkins and skeletons JUST yet, this terrifying tome of twisted tales is sure to fulfill that need for one last round of thrills and chills!

4 stars

I’m not a huge fan of story collections but I enjoyed this one! There are eleven creepy stories and I liked how the author prefaced each one with a personal thought. If your looking for a spooky, creepy, entertaining read this is definitely it.


Sliver of Darkness is available now.

Thank you to netgalley and randomhouse for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

C.J. Tudor’s new collection of short stories, A Sliver of Darkness, is a twisty and terrifying mix of stories that will delight horror fans. This is a collection of ten short stories ranging from classic horror vibes ("Runaway Blues") to dark comedy ("I’m Not Ted"), and a whole range of thrilling twists (like, "Dust") and sci-fi scares ("The Block"), plus so much more. Her final story in the collection, "Butterfly Island", is my favorite and she teases that she may eventually expand it into a novella (YES, please). One thing I loved about the set-up of this collection is that she introduces each story with insights on pieces of her life and what inspired each tale. The stories are all quite different however there is a common theme of the apocalypse or a crumbling society. It’s obvious this pulls from recent events in our own history with the virus, lockdowns and an unsettled society. All in all, A Sliver of Darkness is an entertaining collection that is easy to read, fast-paced and full of thrills and chills. She has a flair for the paranormal horror splashes in her thrillers, so it was fun to read a collection where thriller takes more of a backseat and horror is on full display. It suits her.