Listeners: A Collection of Dark and Thrilling Short Stories

Listeners: A Collection of Dark and Thrilling Short Stories
Author: Meghan O'Flynn
Publisher: Pygmalion Publishing
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2019-03-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1947748815

Do you like addictively creepy stories that will keep you biting your nails until you've finished the final page? The Listeners short story collection is for you! “Gripping, thought-provoking, and unbearably tense.” ~Bestselling Author Wendy Heard HOME IS NO LONGER SAFE. From the bestselling author of The Jilted comes a twisted and terrifically macabre collection of short stories guaranteed to make you cringe, laugh, cry…and start sleeping with the lights on. From an eerie voyeur, to an appliance that doesn’t behave the way it should, to a poignant and twisted expression of adoration and heart-wrenching grief, Listeners unabashedly explores the deepest parts of the human spirit and takes readers on the type of dark, demented, and unputdownable journey for which Meghan O’Flynn is notorious. “Smart, original, and brilliantly creepy” (Bestselling Author Kristen Mae), this collection includes: “The Good Listener” “People Like Us” “Silver Linings” “Alien Landscape” *** KEYWORDS: suspense short stories, mystery short stories, horror short stories, dystopian thriller short story, female protagonist, amateur sleuths, whodunnit mystery, whodunit thriller, psychological suspense, suspense fiction, suspense short, nail biting fiction short, nail biter mystery, vigilante justice, edge of your seat suspense, dark, revenge, vengeance, murder, noir, noir thriller, crime, gritty psychological thrillers, gritty mysteries, mystery books, psychological thrillers, psychological suspense, psychological thriller books, whodunit, whodunnit, nail-biter, suspense fiction, family drama short story, thrilling short stories, edge of your seat, scary short, dystopian, end of the world shorts, sci-fi shorts, ghost short stories, nail biters, post apocalyptic, dystopian, paranormal short stories, supernatural short, dark short story

The Silent Listener

The Silent Listener
Author: Lyn Yeowart
Publisher: Penguin Group Australia
Total Pages: 452
Release: 2021-02-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1760145041

'The Silent Listener is simply unforgettable.' Sydney Morning Herald 'A tale of suspense and revenge, beautifully written.' The Age 'A deftly wrought suspense novel from a remarkable new literary talent . . . A book that should be atop of everyone's reading list.' J. P. Pomare, author of Call Me Evie Propelling the reader back and forth between the 1940s, 1960s and 1980s, The Silent Listener is an unforgettable literary suspense novel set in the dark, gothic heart of rural Australia. In the cold, wet summer of 1960, 11-year-old Joy Henderson lives in constant fear of her father. She tries to make him happy but, as he keeps reminding her, she is nothing but a filthy sinner destined for Hell . . . Yet, decades later, she returns to the family’s farm to nurse him on his death bed. To her surprise, her ‘perfect’ sister Ruth is also there, whispering dark words, urging revenge. Then the day after their father finally confesses to a despicable crime, Joy finds him dead - with a belt pulled tight around his neck . . . For Senior Constable Alex Shepherd, investigating George’s murder revives memories of an unsolved case still haunting him since that strange summer of 1960: the disappearance of nine-year-old Wendy Boscombe. As seemingly impossible facts surface about the Hendersons – from the past and the present – Shepherd suspects that Joy is pulling him into an intricate web of lies and that Wendy’s disappearance is the key to the bizarre truth. **** 'A book that should be atop of everyone's reading list. The prose is spectacular, and the characters so richly imagined. This is a novel about inherited violence and redemption packaged as a cracking psychological thriller.' J. P. Pomare, author of Call Me Evie 'Intense, intricate, emotionally devastating. This is proper Australian gothica.' Liam Pieper, author of Sweetness and Light 'Totally addictive.' Books+Publishing 'A cracking thriller with heart. It intrigues, it twists and turns, it deftly combines the muddy domestic details of life on a Victorian farm with a black, Gothic sensibility of lies and violence and the heartbreaking fantasy world of a young child.' Jane Sullivan 'A heartbreaking, terrifying and stunningly accomplished novel that had me holding my breath. Yeowart instantly pulled me into the life of a rural family dominated by an angry, insecure despot from its unnerving beginnings to its shocking end.' Kirsten Alexander, author of Half Moon Lake 'Steeped in atmosphere and with taut, intricate plotting, The Silent Listener, contrary to its title, had me audibly gasping throughout.' Benjamin Stevenson, author of Either Side of Midnight 'An ingenious form of storytelling archaeology: down through layers of family trauma, the truths are finally brought to light.' Jock Serong, author of The Rules of Backyard Cricket

Things That Sometimes Happen

Things That Sometimes Happen
Author: Avi
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2015-03-31
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1481445359

Here are a few things that sometimes happen: HAPPY THINGS An unpopular Black Crayon proves to a Little Girl how useful he really is. SAD THINGS On a very hot day, an Ice-Cream Cone waits...and waits...to be eaten. EXCITING THINGS A Papa catches cold, so his Little Boy gets to go to work instead! These nine very short stories for very young readers -- culled from Newbery Honor author Avi's first book and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Marjorie Priceman -- ingeniously capture the funny, surprising spirit of a child's imagination.

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #6

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #6
Author: Eric J. Guignard
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-11
Genre:
ISBN: 9781949491166

A collection of horror and dark fantasy short stories written by Ramsey Campbell, along with academic commentary, interview, biography, and illustrations.

The Listener

The Listener
Author: Robert McCammon
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2024-04-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504094948

The New York Times–bestselling author “masterfully combines historical thriller and supernatural horror . . . [for] fans of occult thrillers like those by Dean Koontz” (Booklist, starred review). Economic collapse. Crushing unemployment and breadlines crowding city streets as crime spirals out of control. The Great Depression has enough misery for all, and some to spare. But for angel-faced grifter John Partlow, the American South in 1934 is a land of opportunity. The small-time confidence man stumbles into the big leagues when he partners up with beautiful hustler Ginger LaFrance. Seduced into her high stakes plot to kidnap the young children of a New Orleans shipping magnate, John realizes he’s in over his head when Ginger’s fierce desire to see her scheme succeed could mean a gruesome end for their innocent victims. Unless young Nilla can wield her secret gift in time. Though she’s never heard the term, nine-year-old Nilla is a Listener—someone who can telepathically pick up on the thoughts of others like themselves. Nilla has started to communicate with another Listener—a young black man struggling to find his way as a porter at the Union Station. Their lives couldn’t be more different, and though they have never met, their shared bond is so strong that Curtis is ready to risk it all to answer her cry for help. But will it be enough to save two children from the merciless hands of hardened criminals? “Race relations are one subject of this seductive slice of supernatural noir set in 1934 New Orleans . . . McCammon conjures believable characters whose sympathetic plight pulls the reader headlong into the novel’s volatile mix of crime and fantasy. Its tense finale, paced at breakneck speed, will have readers turning pages until its surprise-packed end.” —Publishers Weekly

Hunting Annabelle

Hunting Annabelle
Author: Wendy Heard
Publisher: MIRA
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2018-12-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 148809540X

“Her scream echoes in my memory. I know what happened. Whether anyone believes me or not, I know.” Sean Suh is done with killing. After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, he’s determined to stay away from temptation. But he can’t resist Annabelle—beautiful, confident, incandescent Annabelle—who alone can see past the monster to the man inside. The man he’s desperately trying to be. Then Annabelle disappears. Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped—he witnessed her being taken firsthand—but the police are convinced that Sean himself is at the center of this crime. And he must admit, his illness has caused him to “lose time” before. What if there’s more to what happened than he’s able to remember? Though haunted by the fear that it might be better for Annabelle if he never finds her, Sean can’t bring himself to let go of her without a fight. To save her, he’ll have to do more than confront his own demons… He’ll have to let them loose. A chilling, deeply suspenseful page-turner set in the 1980s, Hunting Annabelle is a stunning debut that will leave you breathless to the very end.

The Listeners

The Listeners
Author: Harrison Demchick
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2012-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1610880811

"Before the plague, and the quarantine, fourteen-year-old Daniel Raymond had only heard of the Listeners. They were a gang, or at least that's what his best friend Katie's police officer father had said. They were criminals, thieves, monsters--deadly men clearly identifiable by the removal of their right ears.That's what Daniel had heard. But he didn't know.He didn't know much in those early days. He didn't know how the plague began, but then, no one did. The doctors and emergency medical personnel said it was airborne, and highly contagious. They said those infected became distorted both inside and out, and very, very dangerous.Then the helicopters came and took the doctors away, and no one said much of anything after that.Except the police officers. They said they'd provide food and order, in exchange for guns and, ultimately, anything else they felt like taking.Daniel's mother went out for toilet paper. She never came back. He hasn't heard from Katie since the phones went dead. And with his real family gone and surrogate family unreachable, Daniel, scared and alone, has nothing except the walls of his apartment, the window shattered, the poisonous air seeping in.That's when the Listeners arrive. Derek, the one-eared man with the big, soulful eyes, promises protection, and hope, and the choice not to sit alone and wait to die in some horrific way. He offers a brotherhood under the watch of their leader, the prophet Adam. He offers a place in the world to come.A harrowing work of literary horror, The Listeners, Harrison Demchick's electrifying debut, is a dark and terrifying journey into loneliness, desperation, and the devastating experience of one young boy in a world gone mad."

The Listener

The Listener
Author: Tove Jansson
Publisher: Sort of Books
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2014-06-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1908745371

In her first ever story collection, Jansson revealed the clarity of vision and light philosophical touch that were to become her hallmark. From the good listener who begins to betray the secrets confided to her, to vignettes of a city storm or the slow halting of spring, these stories are gifts of originality and depth.

The Listener

The Listener
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Publisher: DigiCat
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2022-06-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

The writer of this book was well-known for his tales of the supernatural and horror. The book begins with a series of diary entries, describing the author's search for accommodation in London. We learn that he is of limited means and sells the occasional piece for a magazine. The rooms are described as ramshackle and dusty. He is the only occupant in the whole house and previous tenants have gone. Without saying so, there is a sense of unease even in the opening pages.

Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes

Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes
Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2015-08-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0062442813

A gripping short story from the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her. A beautiful young girl was walking down the street―when suddenly… Julia Carroll knows that too many stories start that way. Beautiful, intelligent, a nineteen-year-old college freshman, she should be carefree. But instead she is frightened. Because girls are disappearing. A fellow student, Beatrice Oliver, is missing. A homeless woman called Mona-No-Name is missing. Both taken off the street. Both gone without a trace. Julia is determined to find out the reasons behind their disappearances. And she doesn't want to be next…