Supernatural Tales

  I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. Canadian author Richard Gavin was an early contributor to ST, but I lost his spoor down the years. Now he is back on my radar with a collection of thirteen tales. To get the easy part out of the way first, these are not conventional ghost stories, or indeed horror stories in the strict sense. Some do fit the Gothic mould well, while at the same time incorporating surreal elements. They are sui generis , assuming that I'm using that term correctly.  The first story in a collection is usually considered the strongest by the author and/or their editor. 'Banquets of Embertide' is impressive, with its depiction of strange rituals in a small Canadian town. White Birch is, unusually, 'not a tightknit community', but is nonetheless held together by an annual ritual-cum-celebration at the town hall. What happens is hard to sum up in a few words, but grotesquerie pretty much covers it. This is a confident start. ...

  I received a pdf of this book from the author. This is one of those short novels that draws you in, as does the bookshop that appears overnight in a small town. The shop's name is Legends - or is it? Some can't read the name on the fascia. They can't see what others see. And that is one of the many curious problems presented by what appears to be a wonderful development for local bookworms.  One of the people who is keen to look inside is Rowan, a young woman with a chequered past. The death of her beloved father left a deep emotional scar. She went off the rails and took to shoplifting. Now she is putting her life back together, keeping her nose clean. Until she browses the shelves of Legends and finds a book entitled STEAL ME. The book knows all about her. It tells her story, in the most disturbing and subversive way.  After Rowan steals the book, she does her best to get rid of it. It proves distressingly hard to lose or destroy. Helen Grant, as always, smoothly take...