Book picks similar to
The Breaking Point: Stories by Daphne du Maurier
short-stories
exams
1-tbr-c-20th-fiction
horrific-hauntings
ABCs of Horror
Anmol Rawat - 2017
The author has put together promising stories for every alphabet that are guaranteed to scare you out of your wits and question the presence of the supernatural.Pick up the book as the night crawls by for feeling those chills creeping up your skin and your heart beating out of your chest.
The Tale
Joseph Conrad - 1917
Set onboard a ship during an unnamed war, the title story is a harrowing account of guilt and responsibility, showing Conrad at his most accomplished as a master of psychological penetration. Accompanying this is another study of the brutal turns of fortune visited on the unwary by war: 'The Warrior's Soul' takes place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and traces the interweaving relationship between a beautiful woman and the two men who love her. 'Prince Roman', meanwhile, is one of Conrad's earliest stories, and the only piece in his entire oeuvre that touches on his homeland, Poland. The collection concludes with 'The Black Mate', a witty and light-hearted illustration of life aboard ship." "Spanning Joseph Conrad's entire literary career, these four stories touch on some of his major interests - war, imperialism, life at sea - showing him at his most intimate and ambitious."
A House Full of Windsor
Kristin Contino - 2021
Sarah Percy's career depends on New Yorkers taking her household advice as gospel. "Sarah Says" used to be the most popular segment on the city's top morning show, but ratings are down and it looks like Sarah might not have a tip for everything, after all... especially when her mother gets involved.Debbie Windsor, Sarah's mother, is a shopaholic and compulsive hoarder, a secret Sarah has worked tirelessly to hide her entire life. Debbie was always fascinated by royalty, but when her real-life love story started to parallel Princess Diana's, she turned to collecting royal souvenirs to fill the void. Leaving her husband's native England and relocating the family to her hometown in Pennsylvania doesn't help the situation, and two decades later the house is a royal mess. Debbie's safety is on the line, but she brushes off any attempts her family makes to help.When Sarah's brother gets a job on Stuff, a TV show about compulsive hoarding, he nominates their mother for an episode and promises his famous sister's participation. Backed into a corner, Sarah and Debbie agree, but everyone has something at stake whether the episode does or doesn't go off without a hitch. With both family and romantic relationships on the line--including the connection between Sarah and the show's sexy host, and Debbie's budding romance with a local shopkeeper --long-buried secrets and resentment must come to the surface for the family to move on.
Gloom
Ricky Olson - 2018
In one, a model addicted to the internet gets invited to an elite party by a stranger. In another, a high school student obsessed with death tries to quench an ever-growing thirst. In others, embarrassing sex is explored, survival of the fittest is exercised, and death is redeemed. Throughout these twelve short stories one thing is common: Olson isn’t afraid to leave any rock unturned while exploring the dark side of the human condition.
Wilderness
Dean Koontz - 2013
He was born in an isolated home surrounded by a deep forest, never known to his father, kept secret from everyone but his mother, who barely accepts him. She is haunted by private demons and keeps many secrets—none of which she dreads more than the young son who adores her. Only in the woods, among the wildlife, is Addison truly welcome. Only there can he be at peace. Until the day he first knows terror, the day when his life changes radically and forever . .
Honeymoon Hotel
Hester Browne - 2014
Recent years haven’t been kind, but thanks to events manager Rosie, it’s reclaiming some of its old cachet as a wish list wedding venue. While Rosie’s weddings are the ultimate in romance, Rosie herself isn’t; her focus is fixed firmly on the details, not on the dramas. She lives with a professionally furious food critic and works tirelessly toward that coveted promotion. But when the hotel owner appoints his eccentric son Joe to help run Rosie’s department, she’s suddenly butting heads with the free spirit whose predilection for the unconventional threatens to unravel her picture-perfect plans for the most elaborate—not to mention high-profile—wedding the hotel has ever seen, a wedding that could make or break not only the hotel’s reputation, but also Rosie’s career.From the author whose books are described as “deliciously addictive” (Cosmopolitan), Honeymoon Hotel will reaffirm your belief in happily ever after.
Crackanory: Series 1 and 2
NOT A BOOK - 2015
What twisted, funny tales would it unleash upon the world?Each episode of Crackanory contains two 15-minute tales and is a master class in storytelling, combining some of the UK's best comedy writers and performers.Full author list: Nico Tatarowicz, Toby Davies, Kevin Eldon, Ali Crockatt, David Scott, Laurence Rickard, Jeremy Dyson, Simon Judd, Alex Carter and Holly WalshFull narrator list: Jack Dee, Sally Phillips, Rebecca Front, Kevin Eldon, Harry Enfield, Sarah Solemani, Sharon Horgan, Charlie Higson, Richard Hammond and Jessica Hynes.
Hold On Until Your Fingers Break (Tales of the Unusual, #1)
Luke Smitherd - 2015
what happens when you never let go of the ones you love?
Big Bad
David Brian - 2014
Over time he has learned to accept his confinement. After all, it is no more than he deserves given the heinous nature of his previous crimes. However, when a new member of the nursing staff begins taking an interest in Tommy, he learns things previously kept from him: Like why he is being permanently dosed with meds. How, and why, his parents really died. And is it just a coincidence his earlier crimes occurred at the time of a full moon? Nurse Jenny informs Tommy about the true nature of his world: Secret Government cabals, and their plans for a New World Order; the murder of his parents, and facing up to the reality of his life as a werewolf. Then, when she thinks he is ready, she tells him the biggest secret of all: Nurse Jenny has a way out of Broad-lands. But, as is often the case, nothing comes without a price. What is the real motivation for her aiding Tommy's escape? A tale of horror that unfolds beneath the light of a full moon.
Dreams in Black Static: Eight Stories
Ambrose Ibsen - 2020
After watching it, one of them vanishes...A heart transplant recipient gets much more than he bargained for when he digs into his donor's sinister past...Mourning the death of their son, a young couple is plunged into madness after encountering something otherworldly in the wilderness...DREAMS IN BLACK STATIC is a collection of eight terrifying stories by Ambrose Ibsen, author of The Haunting of Beacon Hill and Asylum. The tales included are:"Me and Mr. Ray" **"Decatur Road" **"Dreams in Black Static" **"Distortional Addict" **"Trim" **"Subterrane Dream" **"Orchard""The Uncanny" **** = Appearing in print for the first time
Snatchers: Volume One
Shaun Whittington - 2015
Although initially a stand-alone novel, it has turned into a series, reaching seven books so far. Here, for the first time, you have 290,000 words (over 1000 pages) of zombie horror for a limited time only. So sit back, and enjoy the rollercoaster ride of the apocalypse with Karen, Pickle, Jack, amongst many others. Snatchers, is a horror, which sees the slow destruction of mankind, due to an unknown virus that is sweeping the UK, possibly the world. This novel tells the story of characters, trying to survive and coming to terms with the 'new world.' The story focuses on a variety of individuals, including, Nurse Karen Bradley, Jack Slade, who is searching for his son, and prison officers and inmates, that have been released, who come together to try and survive the pandemic. These set of characters are brought together, and find that as time goes by, their quandary becomes tougher by the hour. Who will survive? Not for persons under the age of 18. The Snatchers series so far: Snatchers Snatchers 2: The Dead Don't Sleep Snatchers 3: The Dead Don't Cry Snatchers 4: The Dead Don't Pity Snatchers 5: The Dead Don't Breathe Snatchers 6: The Dead Don't Feel Snatchers 7: The Dead Don't Yield Snatchers 8: The Dead Don't Pray (tba)
Between the Dreaming and the Dead
Kelly Martin - 2018
Don't open the door. Jake Austin finds himself standing in the middle of a dirt road, looking at an old farmhouse with no memory of how he got there. It isn’t the first time he’s been somewhere and not remember how—but it is the first time he’s woken up alone. Valley Draper has lived in the farmhouse for as long as she can remember. It might be haunted, but nothing comes without a price. When the handsome if not confused Jake comes in like he owns the place, Valley decides quickly that he needs a rude awakening. With a storm coming closer and time ticking away, can Jake find a way back home? Or are he and Valley stuck in a place that is much more than either of them bargained for?
Dark Companions
Ramsey Campbell - 1982
Not all companions are friendly. There are many that you most definitely do not want to see. When Elaine was working late at the office, she thought she was all alone. But something sinister was in the elevator shaft…working its way to her floor. Miles, too, thought he was alone in his new house, the house of a murderer, but he, too, had an unwanted companion. And Knox will never forget what was waiting for him in the dense fog. Come and meet all of these companions and more in this chilling collection of horror tales by award-winning master of terror Ramsey Campbell. That clawing sound you hear, the haunting singing, the moving shadow—they all mean that something is waiting to make your acquaintance. Contains “The Companion”, the story Stephen King called “one of the three finest horror stories I have ever read”. [cover art by Jill Bauman]
The Juniper Tree and Other Blue Rose Stories
Peter Straub - 2010
Ranging from the Caribbean to Vietnam to the American Midwest and spanning decades of tumultuous history, these books are both unforgettable narratives and indelible portraits of people in extremis, struggling to survive in a world marked by grief, loss, pain, trauma, and homicidal madness. The four stories gathered here are offshoots of that larger fictional universe. Each one stands entirely on its own. Together, they shine a revelatory light on the mysteries and hidden corners of the novels that inspired them."Blue Rose" recounts a defining moment in the childhood of Koko's Harry Beevers, the moment when the ten-year-old Harry discovers his capacity for violence and brutality. "The Juniper Tree" describes, with almost unbearable clarity, a lonely young boy's encounter with adult betrayal, and with the darker aspects of human sexuality. "The Ghost Village" takes us to the phantasmagoric landscape of Vietnam, where the barriers between the living and the dead begin to dissolve, to mesmerizing effect. "Bunny is Good Bread" is arguably Straub's single most harrowing story. With relentless attention to detail, it anatomizes the creation of a human monster through abuse, cruelty, and neglect.These disturbing, beautifully written stories have a moral weight and emotional resonance that only the finest fiction achieves. They are the clear product of a master storyteller at the very top of his game. No one who reads them is likely to forget them, or come away unchanged.
Chasing the Ripper
Patricia Cornwell - 2014
Applying modern science and forensic techniques to a century-old crime, Cornwell’s research led to the publication of Portrait of a Killer, in which she identified the renowned British painter Walter Sickert as the Ripper. The book became a #1 bestseller but also embroiled Cornwell in controversy as Ripperologists dismissed her claims and her credibility. But for Cornwell, the book was only the beginning. For more than a decade, Cornwell has devoted countless hours and invested millions in her pursuit of new evidence against Sickert. Now, twelve years later, Cornwell revisits the most notorious unsolved crime in history—determined to solve the mystery once and for all.In this exclusive Kindle Single, Cornwell restates her case against Sickert, unveils new evidence, clarifies his motivations, and makes him human—and, along the way, explains how such a prominent cultural figure could be a notorious killer. She also directly faces down her critics with withering skill and, in doing so, is likely to re-ignite the debate over history’s most heinous unsolved crime.Chasing the Ripper offers a surprisingly personal and revealing look into what it has been like for Cornwell to pursue the most sensational murder case in criminal history—even as she continues to thrill her fans with a steady diet of new Scarpetta novels, including Flesh and Blood, her latest New York Times bestseller.