Review: Really Glad I Read This During the Light of Day
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 12, 2012
It's a rare thing for me to read an entire short story collection in one sitting.  In most cases, stories are hit and miss and when one lets me down, I move on to something else and come back to the collection later.  With Dark Blessings, I did not have this problem.  Each of the seven stories by John Paul Allen are winners - hitting the ball right out of the ballpark.Pit Stop at Hoo Hoo Hollow is a truly unique little revenge story.Runs Like Rabbit leaves you pondering what you are capable of when giving up selfHello Neighbor - you might see where this is going, but it will still leave you in a state of shock and aweMarquee - a horror story but not in the normal sense of the word.  This left me with tears in my eyes.Prader Willie - well we all know how cruel kids can be to each other, especially if one is different - but the ending of this one left me thinking - serves him rightWeeping Mary - Had already left a four star rating on this individually, but will up it to five here, since the formatting issues are fixed.House Guest - this one is just sick and twisted - a great way to end the collection.One of the nice touches Mr. Allen has in this collection is giving the reader an idea of where the stories came from.  (And this is an idea I may steal for my next collection of shorts).  Doing this allows the reader to forego the usual question "I wonder where he gets his ideas".