A couple of stories that I really enjoyed. ( )

Solid collection of short stories. Stories themselves were rather diverse, both in terms of content & genre (though they generally fell in horror and/or thriller). I especially appreciated the more experimental formats of two of them. I didn't dislike any of the stories, though some felt quite a bit weaker than others. Overall, though, I greatly enjoyed this, & hope to read more from this author ( )

I have been a Joe Hill fan ever since I read Heart Shaped Box though I believe it was The Fireman that earned his place on my must read authors list. I had been meaning to read "In The Tall Grass" for years so I was especially happy to see it included in this collection just in time for me to read it before the made for Netflix movie comes out next month. It was definitely worth the wait and one of my favorites in this collection. It had everything I could want in a horror story, the spine tingling fear of the unknown, coupled with the sheer terror of being suddenly separated from your loved ones. It was a fine example of how no good deed goes unpunished. In fact all of these stories were more than they appeared to be on the surface. They each have a weight and depth that is often lacking in short stories. I can't say that I loved every single one of them, but they all surprised me in their own way. As a horror fan, I most enjoyed the stories that had supernatural elements, including Late Returns, and Dark Carousel. It won't surprise me if someone is smart enough to make movies out of both of them. If thrillers are more your thing Thumbprint, and Throttle are both action packed suspenseful reads. Another of my favorites was Mums, which kind of left me guessing whether delusions or the supernatural were at work after a woman tries to take her child and flee from her survivalist/separatist husband. Those were the 5 star reads for me in this collection.

I received an advance copy for review. ( )

Not sure why I'm seeing so many "this anthology let me down" reviews. Yes, there were a few retreads here (the two stories co-written with his father, Dark Carousel, You Are Released, and the Twitter one, for starters), but I have to say, this is the strongest book Hill's put out since [b:NOS4A2|15729539|NOS4A2|Joe Hill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1369591617l/15729539._SX50_.jpg|21408527].

Each story here is wildly different from every other one, yet each one works exceedingly well. My biggest complaint with Hill is the cloying sweetness he often busts out when he gets into romantic relationships, but there's absolutely no evidence of that here. It could have gotten ugly with Late Return, but instead, that turned out to be the best story of the bunch.

Truth be told, after the disappointing one-two punch of [b:The Fireman|25816688|The Fireman|Joe Hill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1469316385l/25816688._SY75_.jpg|40296144] and [b:Strange Weather|34066621|Strange Weather|Joe Hill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493845147l/34066621._SX50_.jpg|50720361], I was starting to wonder if I was going to really every enjoy anything of his again. This took away all doubts. ( )

So many brilliant stories in this collection! "Late Returns" is now one of my favorite short stories of all time. The print version of "By the Silver Waters of Lake Champlain" is far superior to the version filmed for Creepshow. And I cried while reading "You Are Released." Joe Hill really does take readers on a dark and twisted road with this one. ( )