Something in the Cellar: A Short Story [Kindle Edition]

I bought this book because I stumbled upon the author's website, and am a sucker for an impulse buy. I'm so glad I did. Although the stories are short, there is enough in them to stay interested, and the the collection doesn't get bogged down too much in side-plots or irrelevances.

Although Something in the Cellar is the title story, I actually preferred the surrealism of the accompanying story, The Runaway. I thought the character voice was convincing and the ending was surprising and definitely left it open for interpretation. My main issue would be that the story leaves the reader with more questions than it does answers, but this just depends on your personal preferences.

The title story is chilling, and again, the ending really threw me. I found some of the writing rather brilliant in places, such as the description of the different sorts of characters in a school playground. Whilst I'm not sure what to think of the motive, without spoiling anything, it still works really well as a short story.

If I could criticise something, it would be that the stories are maybe just a little too short. Even so, the fact that there are two stories included in the 'package' is a good deal, and I would recommend it to fans of suspense/horror looking for a new read.

The preview of the author's upcoming novel is even more interesting, as it marks another slightly different style of writing and genre. I'll be keeping my eyes on it.

Having recently purchased a Kindle touch & not being totally familiar, or confident, with the process of buying Kindle books I decided to buy a short story at the lower end of the price range. This was done in the event of me cocking something up in the process. Thus it was a random decision to purchase Something in the cellar/The runaway.
I must admit that I made a good decision!
Something in the cellar/The runaway are both well written & reminded me of the short stories from Roald Dahl or the TV series The Twilight Zone.
Each story left me questioning what had happened to each of the main characters prior to their introductions & what was to become of them.
Something in the cellar- Do we witness the breakdown of the protagonists mental health due to physical abuse or did the murder actually take place & somehow Daddy is home?
The Runaway- quite a disturbing story that leaves you wondering what form of abuse the main character had & may continue to suffer.

Both stories have left me wanting to read more from this young author & now look forward to reading his up & coming novel "What we saw".

I don't agree with some of the other reviewers, I prefer the author to have enough imagination to finish the tale and give us a conclusion, liked the plots, hated how they left me hanging