Through a Broken Window.

Title/Author: Through a Broken Window by L.F. Falconer.

Genre: Horror.

Publisher: Outskirts Press.

Source: Copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Take a peek, if you dare, and step into a world that balances upon the fringes of sanity.

Meet seven-year-old Ronnie who develops and unhealthy appetite for cranberries--or Andre, a travler who wanders into the wrong neck of the woods. Meet the ghosts of Virginia City, Nevada, and pray you never cross paths with the Devil of Desatoya. Ten dark tales of the strange and deranged, this collection of short stories is sure to appeal to the darker side of even the squeamish, so don't be shy. Take a look.

See for yourself what lies behind the broken window. ~Goodreads.com.

Midnyte Musings:  This collection of short Horror stories are filled with the gruesome, the gory and the spooky.

L.F. Falconer, I felt, at times,  explores how far she is willing to go and push boundaries without crossing the line into gratiuitious exploitation.  The events lend themselves to the stories and give validity to the ensuing plot.

I also thought that the title of the book, Through a Broken Window, taken from one of the stories fits the collection as an entirety.  It made me feel as a reader, I'm doing something ordinary with a gruesome twist.  I'm gazing through a window into Ms. Falconer's mind, into these stories, but the window is broken and shattered and something is terribly wrong within these fictional landscapes. 

I think another important part of storytelling is irony.  A grifter getting scammed, a murderer getting murdered, a relatable hero dying after a long and arduous journey.  This works well in the Horror genre and Falconer knows how to utilize it

The most disturbing tale, for me, is the first one, Christmas Cranberries about a serial killer in development and I also loved Sylvan Rain, which I felt was quite prolific, eerie and totally surprised me.  The aforementioned Through a Broken Window was quite nice as well and I wish the main character had taken the plunge because I myself as a reader wanted to know more than I was shown.  Still a cool story though.  Although I feel that the writing could use some work and polish, this was an interesting collection that had me pondering the stories when I was done.

Starstruck Over: The originality of some of the pieces.