"Maggie turned round and had a look behind her. The church was packed. The locals in their strange headdresses had now morphed into weird half-human hybrids. But at least they were smiling.
Smiling straight at her".
The twelve even stranger days of Christmas by Syd Moore is an intriguing collection of short stories, perfect for the long dark November and December evenings.
The stories are written in a mix of genres, from mystery to horror, with elements of paranormal and crime alternating. What unites them is not necessarily the concept of Christmastime (as not all stories are set at, or are about this special season), but the word "strange" as highlighted by the definition in the introduction - "unusual or surprising; difficult to understand or explain".
Its synonyms - odd, curious, peculiar, weird, different, puzzling, mystifying, unaccountable, inexplicable, freakish, surreal and other - can be applied to all the storylines in the book. The horror elements are comparatively mild, not at the Haunting of Hill House level of terrifying or disturbing.
We dip into the collection with a story called Pantomime, which is a modern retelling of the Snow White and the seven dwarves, with a feminist twist. "Nobody ever realised that the seven dwarves were female. I suppose it was an easy mistake to make". The ending will put you straight into the pantomine mood.
Thirteen is set on the island of Teras during a summer holiday. Three friends who share a room on their Mediterranean holiday encounter an obnoxious pushy and boisterous German family. Their long-suffering son Karl is embarrassed with his family. The island has a poignant history - its citizens were afflicted with leprosy, and there was an orphanage for children of the infected, where most were kept there for the rest of their lives. Something mysterious and unexplained happens when Karl visits the ruins of the orphanage.
String of Lights is the story along the What If?-lines. On a dark winter night a mother tells a story of a mistaken identity to her young daughter.
Rogationtide brings to mind all the tales of sacrifical feasts, ageless communities still celebrating ancient rituals, and savage traditions that are embraced by the so-called civilzed public.
The main protagonist of After the Party Comes the Bill is very unpleasant. The definition of a male chauvinist pig was invented for men like him. The train with a rather special destination will be a big surprise for him.
The Over-Winter Harrowing of Constance Hearst has an old-fashioned feel about it. It's written in the style of the Golden Age of murder, classic Christmas detective stories of the past, with the evocative atmospheric seasonal setting. There is nothing supernatural about it. It will appeal to those who love Christmas tales of crime and detection.
Christmas Dates introduces yet another unpleasant main protagonist, who boasts about his conquests on the dating sites. On some forums he's famed for ghosting women after he has sex with them. The story is set in the current Covid times, with all the lockdown paraphernalia, social distancing, masks etc. The term "ghosting" will acquire a disturbing sense.
Journey of the Magi: A Triptych is reminiscent of The Wicker Man.
In First Magus: The Friend Maggie visits her old friends who moved to live on a remote island off the Essex coast. It has an enclosed community who doesn't like the outsiders, and has the outlandish worship of the local Goddess. The village appears like a setting of a Brothers' Grimm tale.
Maggie's friends are renovating an impressive old manor house Iders End, which boasts expansive grounds and even an ancient chapel of Our Lady of Miracles. On the Lady's Day (Boxing day) the locals attend a service at the chapel, and Maggie is invited to be present at the ceremony.
This is the most atmospheric trio of stories in the book, especially the second tale called Second Magus: The Wise Man. We read a transcript of a long letter, written by the previous owner of Iders End. He tells his story, starting with his unhinged mother, and the childhood spent among the stark beauty of the island's nature. The story builds a chilly suspence.
Third Magus First Maggie: The Anchoress completes the triptych. We discover the secluded world of the anchoress living in her cell in the chapel.
Two Minds is a crime story, an easy entertaining spin on the seasonal mystery.
Christmas Day at the Essex Witch Museum has an eccentric set of characters and displays a playful exuberance.
And finaly, Thirteenth is a short poem about the four housewives of the Apocalypse.
The twelve even stranger days of Christmas is an uneven collection of stories, in size and completeness.
Some are more sketchy than the others. I would have loved Thirteen to be explored deeper, and with more of the back story too (how did those children die?). And First Maggie: The Anchoress could have been developed more in-depth rather than left as a fleeting taster of the mystery.
The style of writing also varies.
The twelve even stranger days of Christmas is an enticing, witty and entertaining collection of stories, which could be savoured, whatever the season.
This post is part of the blog tour for The Twelve even stranger days of Christmas.
My thanks to Syd Moore, Point Blank and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!
Purchase Links
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twelve-Stranger-Christmas-Museum-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0929TLH6Q
US - https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Stranger-Christmas-Museum-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0929TLH6Q
Author Bio
SYD MOORE is the author of the Essex Witch Museum Mysteries (Strange Magic, Strange Sight, Strange Fascination, Strange Tombs and Strange Tricks) all published by Point Blank. The series was shortlisted for the Good Reader Holmes and Watson Award 2018.
She has been shortlisted twice for the CWA Short Story Dagger for The Strange Casebook (2018) and The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas (2019).
Her debut screenplay, Witch West, which she developed from an original idea, has been optioned by Hidden Door Productions for production in 2021. Syd is a founder member of the Essex Girls’ Liberation Front which successfully got the term ‘Essex girl’ removed from the Oxford English dictionary. She lives in Essex.
No comments:
Post a Comment