Book Review: Boarded Windows, Dead Leaves
By Elizabeth Suggs
Boarded Windows, Dead Leaves by Michael Jess Alexander is a short story horror collection with nine stories.
I enjoyed these stories because they brought on a refreshing take to stories we may have thought we knew. For instance, I really enjoyed “Werewolf Cemetery,” which feels like it’s going to be any old werewolf story from the title, but man, was that a ride! The depth to which Alexander can dig into in such a short amount of time, explaining a character so profoundly, made for a great read.
Another one of my favorites was Chatterbox, about one guy who can’t stop talking. As someone who truly values her time alone, in the quiet, this was horrifying—a true nightmare.
Alexander takes you on tales of terror in concise pieces, and while I think this often worked for his story, sometimes I felt it was a little jarring. For instance, I wasn’t in love with his story “Delivery.” I felt this was a little hard-to-follow.
There was a lot going on and, what felt like, a lot of unnecessary things. But most of the time, I had a lot of fun with this collection, and I suggest it to anyone who likes to read their horror stories in bite-sizeable bits!
Favorite Quote:
In his suit, he looks like a fancy, desiccated worm. - Werewolf Cemetery
Elizabeth Suggs is the owner and founder of Editing Mee and co-owner of Collective Tales Publishing. When she’s not writing or editing, she loves to dive deep into books (the weirder, the better!), and she loves to take random long walks to unplanned destinations. Check out her recently released book Collective Darkness with eleven other authors. Buy your copy here: www.CollectiveDarkness.com