4.5/5 stars!

Heartbreaking, haunting and memorable, these LULLABIES FOR SUFFERING will stay with you for a long, long time.

Here we have a collection of 6 novellas, all of them from authors I've read before, so I was eager to start listening when my request to Audiobook Boom was approved.

Kealan Patrick Burke's SOMETIMES THEY SEE ME: When the lives of two addicts collide and interrupt suicide attempts, you know the story won't end well. Stories of addiction rarely do.

Caroline Kepnes' MONSTERS: This novella features Ms. Kepnes' excellent writing style and despite the addictions on display within, I couldn't help but come away from this tale with a feeling of (misplaced?) hope for the last two standing.

Mark Matthews' LIZARD went off the rails almost from the get-go. All I can say is I felt so sorry for almost every character in this story. I have been reading Mark's work for many years now, because he writes about addiction from a place that he really knows. I think his experiences make his work that much more powerful and poignant.

John F.D. Taff's THE MELTING POINT OF MEAT talks about a different kind of addiction, but that doesn't make his story any less difficult to read.

Gabino Iglesias' BEYOND THE REEF was my favorite tale in this collection because it was just so damn different from the others. Not only is this an addiction tale, but it also has a distinct Lovecraftian feel to it that I just adored.

Mercedes Yardley's LOVE IS A CREMATORIUM broke my damn heart. First with its depiction of family "love" between a father and daughter, but also a dark study of that crazy love that happens to some of us in high school. What would one teen do for another to help them escape a terrible home life situation? Was that the right thing to do? Of all the dark tales here, this is the one that made me cry. Neither of these kids started out with bad intentions-she left because of her dad, and he left because he loved her. What happens to them? You'll have to read this and see, but be sure to have some tissues nearby.

The narrator, Linda Jones, is one with which I was not familiar prior to listening to this collection. She's terrific and brought these tales home with humanity and care.

Overall, this is an incredible collection of stories from authors that are currently the best in the business as far as I'm concerned. Some names are bigger than others, some are more famous than others, but every one of them can write the hell out of a story and that's exactly what they do here.

HIGHLY recommended!

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2UnNWwf

*Thank you to Audiobook Boom for the audio version of this book which I freely chose to review.* ( )