Ian VS. Playing in the Dark & Other Stories by John Durgin

Ian cracks open Playing in the Dark & Other Stories by John Durgin and finds thirteen fresh reasons to sleep with the lights on.

G’day all, it’s your ARC reader from down under here, and I’ve fallen way behind on ARCs again due to a combination of life, author activities and other stuff I won’t bore you about. Suffice it to say, I haven’t been reading as much as I should, but I did manage to read this one, Playing in the Dark & Other Stories by John Durgin, a collection of thirteen short stories that are as entertaining as John’s excellent novels. 

John’s writing is addicting. He knows how to build up dread while keeping the pacing brisk, weaving together memorable characters and plotlines that are far from your standard horror fare. This tradition continues in this collection. There is a wide variety of stories here, from bug-infested zombies to evil children to haunted objects containing terrible secrets, there’s something for every horror lover here. 

Speaking of bug-infested zombies, the story that features them, Dead Bounty, is a cracker. It follows a former detective who is hired by a woman to find her son who has gone missing in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Like any good short story, the reason for his disappearance is far more complicated than it first appears. It’s not only the plot that stands out, but also the original take on zombies. These things are driven by sentient bugs. The descriptions of them made my skin crawl, and I definitely won’t be looking at bugs the same way again.

Another standout was Please, Help Me, a super creepy tale in which a man (Pierce Alexander) is watching television when he receives an alert that someone is at his front door. He opens his doorcam app only to see an elderly woman standing there in a trance-like state, silently mouthing words while holding a knife. Minutes later, she disappears, only for Pierce to notice similar visitors appearing at neighbouring houses. I won’t spoil what happens next,but it’s definitely a story I won’t be forgetting in a hurry. 

Bleeding From the Inside was another favorite of mine. It follows Jenny Ellis, who has recently moved into her late mother’s home to escape an abusive boyfriend. When new neighbors arrive, she hears screams that sound like abuse and goes over to intervene, only to find what appears to be a reasonable explanation. The wife has stage four cancer and sometimes the pain medication doesn’t work. But is that really all that’s going on? You’ll have to read it to find out. 

Also, if you’ve read Inside the Devil’s Nest, you’ll also very much enjoy Beneath the Devil’s Nest, a story set in the aftermath of that book. I could keep going on, as pretty much every story was a banger, but I’m afraid my time here is up.

If you are a fan of John’s work like I am, you’ll want to pick this one up. If you’re a fan of short story collections, you’ll want to pick this up. If you’re a fan of horror in general, you’ll want to pick this up. So what I’m trying to say is: just go and pick this up and do it now.

I give it 5 sentient bugs that turn people into zombies out of 5.

TITLE: Playing in the Dark & Other Stories

AUTHOR: John Durgin

GENRE: Horror

PAGES: 310

FORMAT: eBook

PRICE: eBook $4.99, Paperback $14.99

Ian Gielen is a writer of all things spooky and a horror fanatic. Ian embraces his inner geek with pride, his dedication on display in the intimidating collection of horror novels and video games that threaten to take over his living space. He is mad for all things Alien, Star Wars, and cats; his furry companions are always there to keep him company as he scribbles down his latest ideas. With the sheer number of furry and human companions in his life, it’s a wonder he isn’t a little crazier than he already is.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.