Review: Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian author we're going to hear more about ... very soon!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 26, 2010
Cheryl Kaye Tardif's SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET is nothing like Henry James' classic, THE TURN OF THE SCREW.Here's a prediction you can take to the bank! Years from now there will NOT be book clubs filled with pretentious literary scholars and horror aficionados debating over the ambiguities of the underlying moral themes of Tardif's short stories. Nobody will be penning brilliantly researched literary essays attempting to unravel the potential interpretations of a mystical ending shrouded in fog and impenetrable atmosphere. And, thank goodness for that! SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET is a thoroughly entertaining and unabashedly Canadian collection of horror shorts - a straightforward, in-your-face, goosebump raising, skin crawling creep fest with brilliantly conceived endings that, while crystal clear in their intent and meaning, typically arrive out of a shockingly distant and unforeseen left field.Two years ago, I reviewed a brief story entitled PICTURE PERFECT when it was first published as a stand-alone Amazon short. I asked:"Who among us couldn't identify with young Caroline? Is there even a single reader with a brother or sister who hasn't at some time or another, in a fit of intense sibling anger or jealousy, wished that his brother or sister would simply go away ... forever? Cheryl Kaye Tardif combines a unique little piece of Canadian history, the well know folk superstition about photographs stealing a person's soul and sibling rivalry into an open-ended bit of horror that turns a mirror onto every reader and causes them to shudder as they recognize themselves and their petty jealousies."Having vowed that I would read more from this obviously talented Canadian author, I was thrilled when I discovered this collection of short stories that included my first savory sampling.SEPARATION ANXIETY tells a tragic story of the grief of losing a child to an untimely accident and reminds us that revenge is a dish that is sometimes best never served at all! DEADLY REUNION is a chilling little tale of long lost teenage acquaintances that starts with stories of teenage angst and the cruely of bullying ending with paranormal visions and questions about fate and destiny. If a reader was as twisted as Cheryl Kaye Tardif, one might say that her endearing story, OUIJA, is about a gift that keeps on giving! There are several other stories and I was also thrilled to discover that, unlike so many other collections of this type, there is not a single piece of dead wood in the entire anthology.I can't wait to try some of Tardif's full length novels. Highly recommended.Paul Weiss