Review: Highly enjoyable debut horror novella from a great new author..
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 20, 2013
It has been a real pleasure to read this novella by a new and most certainly upcoming author in the horor/dark fiction genre. The story is essentially a haunted house tale, a young couple Stacey and Liam move into No. 24 Claremont Street a building with an evil and sad past. Stacey is particularly disturbed in this new environment and is experiencing frequent and violent dreams. So what makes a good horror story? We have a fast and well paced narrative that grabs the readers attention from the start and refuses to relinquish and in doing so we make the acquaintance of an eclectic mix of characters including Jake Clarke heartless realtor agent, Nora Aiken concerned neighbour with a story to tell, and Doctor McCabe a medical practitioner with a mysterious past....they all add to and make a very colourful spectacle as the story unfolds. The author smoothly blends 24 Claremont Street's bloody past with events happening in the present and it becomes clear that Stacey's life is in imminent danger. An intelligent reader also demands a memorable, poignant and thoughtful conclusion and it is here that CS Kane has excelled. As events draw to a close in just one paragraph the unexpected happens and the threads of the story are expertly drawn together. The "novella" presents different and at times difficult constraints for a writer who must create and conclude a story within a limited time frame. CS Kane has shown in "Shattered" that she is one capable and exciting new author and I look forward to her future publications.