Two chilling novellas of horror by Peter Giglio and Catherine Cavendish... Cold Revenge Some dinner invitations are best ignored... For no apparent reason, Nadine, Maggie, Gary, and Nick are invited to dinner at the lavish home of top fashion writer, Erin Dartford. But why has she invited them? Why doesn't she want her guests to mingle? And just what is it about the mysterious Erin that makes them want to run for their lives? Little do they know that as they prepare to eat their first course, an evil as old as mankind is about to be unleashed. And revenge really is a dish best served cold... A Spark in the Darkness On the final day of her second life, Edie returns to the family she abandoned five years earlier. Edie is not merely a vampire, she's a Goddess...one of the vanishing race of beings the vampires need to keep their kind alive. But being dead has taught her much about life, and Edie's determined to destroy the evil thing she's become. For something has changed within her, something almost alive in her dead soul. But can a single spark in the darkness be enough to save all she holds dear?
Cold Sparks
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
12 Stars anyone?
A Joy, a Delight, and Sheer Pleasure are to be found in this duet-consisting of "A Spark in the Darkness" by Peter Giglio and "Cold Revenge" by Catherine Cavendish. I am a well-read person, but both these stories break new ground, chilling me with frissons of terror, horror, and repulsion (and relief that I'm not living in either setting), and provide memories that will long linger-as well as the compulsion to read more from these excellent authors. Not just the writing, but the vividness, the stretch of imagination required to construct these special stories, have totally impressed this reviewer.
"A Spark in the Darkness" teaches us of an entirely new view of vampires-and let me assure you, they are immensely dangerous-and no, they're not sparkly-not at all.
"Cold Revenge"-oh, the shivers! Please do not read at night while alone-and especially not if you have a guilty conscience.
Do read this set, and marvel-Mr. Giglio and Ms. Cavendish travel where no writer has gone before.
A Joy, a Delight, and Sheer Pleasure are to be found in this duet-consisting of "A Spark in the Darkness" by Peter Giglio and "Cold Revenge" by Catherine Cavendish. I am a well-read person, but both these stories break new ground, chilling me with frissons of terror, horror, and repulsion (and relief that I'm not living in either setting), and provide memories that will long linger-as well as the compulsion to read more from these excellent authors. Not just the writing, but the vividness, the stretch of imagination required to construct these special stories, have totally impressed this reviewer.
"A Spark in the Darkness" teaches us of an entirely new view of vampires-and let me assure you, they are immensely dangerous-and no, they're not sparkly-not at all.
"Cold Revenge"-oh, the shivers! Please do not read at night while alone-and especially not if you have a guilty conscience.
Do read this set, and marvel-Mr. Giglio and Ms. Cavendish travel where no writer has gone before.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By S. Emmett
Format:Paperback
Wonderful to have these two novellas packaged together in a paperback. Below are my reviews of the individual Kindle editions:
Cold Revenge
If you look back at my review of Cavendish's first offering, In My Lady's Chamber, you will see that I said "Cavendish captures the atmosphere perfectly and demonstrates an ability to chill in the great British tradition". She proves herself yet again with her novella, Cold Revenge, which is a much more complex and clever tale, brilliantly executed in a manner that will delight lovers of Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected and the old Twilight Zone shows. I loved the fact that there is a message in here, and one frighteningly relevant in present times. It should be compulsory reading in the City of London and Wall Street.
A Spark in the Darkness
Giglio creates a mesmerising vampire world in this short novella that will leave you gasping for more. The characters are well-developed and the scenery drawn to just the right degree. It puts many recent vampire stories in the twilight, if not the shade.
Cold Revenge
If you look back at my review of Cavendish's first offering, In My Lady's Chamber, you will see that I said "Cavendish captures the atmosphere perfectly and demonstrates an ability to chill in the great British tradition". She proves herself yet again with her novella, Cold Revenge, which is a much more complex and clever tale, brilliantly executed in a manner that will delight lovers of Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected and the old Twilight Zone shows. I loved the fact that there is a message in here, and one frighteningly relevant in present times. It should be compulsory reading in the City of London and Wall Street.
A Spark in the Darkness
Giglio creates a mesmerising vampire world in this short novella that will leave you gasping for more. The characters are well-developed and the scenery drawn to just the right degree. It puts many recent vampire stories in the twilight, if not the shade.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Cold Sparks starts with A Spark in the Darkness, written by Peter Giglio and I want to start off with my review by saying if you are looking for vampires that sparkle, shimmer or let off any kind of sparkle in the sunlight, then keep right on moving because this book is not for you. If however you crave a darker vampire, one that makes you sleep with the lights on and place garlic around your doors and windows, then Peter Giglio has the perfect story for your macabre little heart.
The story starts off in a dingy truck-stop tavern and a woman by the name of Edie. She is down on her luck by the choices she has made. She left a loving husband, a baby girl and fell into a life of drugs and alcohol. And she's broke. Along comes a man who offers to help her. At first she is suspicious, after all he is dressed well and doesn't look like he would have any reason to help a woman like herself. But she is on her way `home' and after a few drinks...the stranger was paying after all...she accepts a ride. Once inside the cab of his truck though she learns her fatal mistake. The only help this man has to offer her is a hand into the grave.
That's not the end of it though since Edie wakes up some time later, buried, something squirming in her mouth and a deep hunger she has never felt before. The vampire, (though don't call him that, he prefers god,) takes her to her new life. At first Edie thinks it's all going to be wonderful, she will be young forever, but soon learns the horrible truth. She is no longer free. Just dead and a prisoner in a world ruled by the males of her species.
I'm going to stop there. A lot happens in such a short space of time. Edie realizes, too late, that the life she had been running from was the life she had wanted all along. She sets out to make things right again, make peace with those she left behind and on the way meets an odd array of characters that include a twelve year old vampire hunter. The ending is dramatic and I honestly could not put it down, I was hanging onto every word. The ending also leaves you with the promise of more and I surely hope that there is a sequel.
The next novella in this book is Cold Revenge, written by Catherine Cavendish. This also was a wonderful story, although it was a bit jumpy and it was difficult to follow some of the characters and there are quite a few.
The story centers around a dinner party held by the mysterious Erin Dartford. Erin is a goddess in the fashion industry and can make or break a career. To not attend her dinner party would be suicide, although admittedly her guests are a little confused about how she rose so high and so fast within the industry. It seemed as though one day she just appeared and everyone was hanging on her every word.
The guests, eight in all, have their own secrets though, secrets that are revealed throughout the evening. There is Nadine, the beautiful model who is starving herself and her husband, Paul. Gary, who is haunted by a troubled past and his wife Melissa, Maggie, an author whose books are the acclaim of Hollywood and her second husband, Geoff and Nick a man who once never cared about any woman he slept with until he met his wife, Deanna. Each chapter leads deeper into the mystery of who Erin Dartford is and just what her plans for these eight are.
I love it when I can't figure out the ending of a book and this one really threw me for a loop. Even though the story jumped around a bit, at one point having everyone walk into the dining room, sit down to eat and then jumping in the next chapter to a point before the party to tell things from another point of view. Normally this would bother me, but it was done well enough that it all came together in the end and left me thinking wow. It also leaves you with a warning; with revenge there is always a price. The price of this revenge was perhaps more than anyone expected.
The only part that I am left wondering about and I wish the author had expanded on it, was a section at the end. I don't want to give it away but one of the guests was given a second chance at the end. One of Erin's talents was bending time, although I don't think she was the one that gave him that chance. It leaves me wondering about the fate of another guest who was for all intents and purposes dead. However, being a fan of time paradoxes I have to wonder about that because the events that set her revenge into motion were changed. I think that is a bit confusing and feel it should have been addressed.
That being said I am highly recommending Cold Sparks as a must read. It's a quickie, I read it in just a few hours while my son slept.
5 Stars for A Spark in the Darkness
4 Stars for Cold Revenge
An overall rating of 5 Stars. Wonderful read!
The story starts off in a dingy truck-stop tavern and a woman by the name of Edie. She is down on her luck by the choices she has made. She left a loving husband, a baby girl and fell into a life of drugs and alcohol. And she's broke. Along comes a man who offers to help her. At first she is suspicious, after all he is dressed well and doesn't look like he would have any reason to help a woman like herself. But she is on her way `home' and after a few drinks...the stranger was paying after all...she accepts a ride. Once inside the cab of his truck though she learns her fatal mistake. The only help this man has to offer her is a hand into the grave.
That's not the end of it though since Edie wakes up some time later, buried, something squirming in her mouth and a deep hunger she has never felt before. The vampire, (though don't call him that, he prefers god,) takes her to her new life. At first Edie thinks it's all going to be wonderful, she will be young forever, but soon learns the horrible truth. She is no longer free. Just dead and a prisoner in a world ruled by the males of her species.
I'm going to stop there. A lot happens in such a short space of time. Edie realizes, too late, that the life she had been running from was the life she had wanted all along. She sets out to make things right again, make peace with those she left behind and on the way meets an odd array of characters that include a twelve year old vampire hunter. The ending is dramatic and I honestly could not put it down, I was hanging onto every word. The ending also leaves you with the promise of more and I surely hope that there is a sequel.
The next novella in this book is Cold Revenge, written by Catherine Cavendish. This also was a wonderful story, although it was a bit jumpy and it was difficult to follow some of the characters and there are quite a few.
The story centers around a dinner party held by the mysterious Erin Dartford. Erin is a goddess in the fashion industry and can make or break a career. To not attend her dinner party would be suicide, although admittedly her guests are a little confused about how she rose so high and so fast within the industry. It seemed as though one day she just appeared and everyone was hanging on her every word.
The guests, eight in all, have their own secrets though, secrets that are revealed throughout the evening. There is Nadine, the beautiful model who is starving herself and her husband, Paul. Gary, who is haunted by a troubled past and his wife Melissa, Maggie, an author whose books are the acclaim of Hollywood and her second husband, Geoff and Nick a man who once never cared about any woman he slept with until he met his wife, Deanna. Each chapter leads deeper into the mystery of who Erin Dartford is and just what her plans for these eight are.
I love it when I can't figure out the ending of a book and this one really threw me for a loop. Even though the story jumped around a bit, at one point having everyone walk into the dining room, sit down to eat and then jumping in the next chapter to a point before the party to tell things from another point of view. Normally this would bother me, but it was done well enough that it all came together in the end and left me thinking wow. It also leaves you with a warning; with revenge there is always a price. The price of this revenge was perhaps more than anyone expected.
The only part that I am left wondering about and I wish the author had expanded on it, was a section at the end. I don't want to give it away but one of the guests was given a second chance at the end. One of Erin's talents was bending time, although I don't think she was the one that gave him that chance. It leaves me wondering about the fate of another guest who was for all intents and purposes dead. However, being a fan of time paradoxes I have to wonder about that because the events that set her revenge into motion were changed. I think that is a bit confusing and feel it should have been addressed.
That being said I am highly recommending Cold Sparks as a must read. It's a quickie, I read it in just a few hours while my son slept.
5 Stars for A Spark in the Darkness
4 Stars for Cold Revenge
An overall rating of 5 Stars. Wonderful read!
