Customer Reviews

Tales of Terror: 58 Short Stories Chosen by the Master of Suspense

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I adore short stories so I was delighted to discover The Tales of Terror. I have over 200 books with short stories, so I was not surprised to find 2 or 3 stories I've "met" before. But I enjoyed reading them again, and there still remained a long list of some 55 fresh ones.

I immensely enjoyed re-reading A Cabin in the Woods by John Coyne. One must admire author's masterful way of increasing the suspense till culmination. Without revealing too much, it is a Man-against-Nature type of confrontation, only with a twist that will surprise you no matter what you happened to expect. I cannot speak for anybody else but for me this story is a gem.

There are a few stories about travelling, for those who like mystery and suspense "on the go" (Career Man by James Holding, The Perfidy of Professor Blake by Libby McCall, Sea Change by Henry Slesar and The Grateful Thief by Patrick O'Keeffe, of which the latter two take place on a sea cruise), a few newspaper tales (The Graveyard Shift by William P. McGivern, Man Bites Dog by Donald Honig,, The Death Desk by S.S. Rafferty and (sort of) also Theodore Mathieson's Second Spring).

Special mention for being truly very chilly deserve A Bottle of Wine (Borden Deal), Never Trust an Ancestor (Michael Zuroy), Sparrow on a String (Alice Scanlan Reach), That So Called Laugh (Frank Sisk), The Joker (by Betty Ren Wright), Death is a Lonely Lover (Roberty Colby) and Scheme for Destruction (Pauline C. Smith).

There were also some clever plots taking place in the ruthless world of business (Cora's Raid, Free Advice Incorporated, Hard Sell, Bank Night, The Prosperous Judds, The Time Before the Crime, The Real Criminal and the famous, ingenious Dettweiler Solution by Lawrence Block)

Last but not least, I vey much enjoyed reading several indispensable family cosies (We're Really Not That Kind of People (Samuel W. Taylor), A Very Special Talent (Margaret B. Maron) and the opening story of the book, Killed by Kindnes (Nedra Tyre). I should mention also Private Little War by William Brittain about a feuding teacher and pupil where one of them is ready to go too far. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by contributions of some authors never encountered before.

Maybe, like me, you will not like all stories to the same extent but this book - with its 631 pages - is doubtlessly good value for money and will bring you many enjoyable moments of suspense.

This book is so interesting. It is hard for me to put it down when I start reading it. This is the book that I would recommend others to read.

Grandson loves short stories... the more mystery...the better. This book is a whopper in size and he is thrilled.FAst delivery

the books came in on time and they were in excellant shape and i would books from this dealer anytime

hitchcock is a genius. stories may be told in a different generation, but they still hold true.

An Excellent collection of short stories to keep you in suspense.