by Matt Drabble
Book Synopsis
Blackwater Heights is a building with a long dark history, some of it is well known but more is shrouded in myth and legend. None more so than that of its founding father Horace Whisker.
Martin Parcell is an ex-journalist with shattered dreams of an author's career. Sidelined through a car crash's injuries, he finds himself forced through governmental austerity measures having to take a custodians position at a private mental health hospital. A writer with undoubted talent, but an author without a story.
He begins his new job deep in depression and drowning under waves of his lost dreams. On his first night he meets Jimmy, his elderly supervisor who has spent most of his life within the hospital walls. Jimmy is nearing retirement age and desperate to rest his weary bones. Jimmy offers Martin a way out for both of them, access to the background histories and stories of the hospital's patients. A collection of 13 tales from the darkly disturbed minds of the residents of Blackwater Heights.
As the long night unwinds, Martin finds himself deeply troubled as the tales unfold before him and threaten to drag him down into their insanity.
Review
I am a sucker for a good horror/thriller story. Ever since I was a kid, summers were made for reading a scary story next to a window, a rolling thunderstorm just outside. With that said, I'm very particular about my horror stories. For example, I kinda dislike Stephen King's writing. I say kinda because I did enjoy Carrie and, of course, many of his short stories.
But I digress.
(or maybe it's because Drabble reminds me of the good stuff I like from King? Hmmm)
What Matt Drabble has done in his short stories is please the palate of a horror fan that needs to have their attention grabbed! Whoa, tongue twister. What I mean is that, just how some authors need 500 pages to get their point across, there are some authors who succeed in capturing what they need in a small fraction of those pages. That, is what Drabble has done. The characters and stories grabbed my attention and the stories were unique, but tied together.
This is an interesting read for any horror fan. The stories are entertaining and I dare you not to finish them in one day. Hey, better yet, turn down the lights, turn off the tv and cuddle up with these stories tonight - talk about being afraid of the dark!
About the Author
Loving literature from an early age and reading so many works of varied authors, I took the somewhat foolhardy decision to attempt to write my own novels. I have always been an avid fan of the Horror/Supernatural genres and find that many great works in this field are automatically dismissed due to their subject matter.
I am currently embarking on a yearlong mission to try and attempt to make a dent in the writing market. I have finished 4 novels and am around half way through my 5th, setting myself a rate of 2000 words a day. It is a hard slog to combine the day job and my dream job, but after some success with my 3rd novel, I am re-energised and more determined than ever.
My third novel "Gated" hit the #1 spot on the Amazon UK free Horror chart and when it went back on sale had a high of #4 on the UK Amazon Horror Chart and #2 on the Horror/Thriller chart.
My 4th Novel is called “Asylum” and is an anthology of short horror stories. It is also an Amazon UK & US Horror/Anthology Chart #1
I am currently in the proofing stages of my 5th novel which is a Horror/Thriller called “Abra-Cadaver”.
Twitter: @MattDrabble01
Facebook: www.facebook.com/matt.drabble.3
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