I would like to thank the author for an advance copy of this collection in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher - Black Shuck Books

Published - Out now

Price - Via https://blackshuckbooks.co.uk/shadows-34/ £5.99 paperback £0.99 ebook

Black Shuck Shadows brings you a pocket-size sample from the best in modern horror.

Water take sa special role in our lives - can’t live without it; we tend to think of it as calming and for millenia it was the source of food and dangerous travel. Many tales have used it and what dwells beneath the waves to create wonder and occasional terror. In Teika Marija Smit’s mini short story collection Waterlore a fine assembly of tales are created delivering just that.

Lady Seaweed or Tristesse - This tale places us into the role of a mermaid and the one human she met. There is love and death in this short tale that has a tragic folklore feeling to it.

Golden Dreams - One of my favourite tales - toxic friendship, hidden feelings, magic and just a strange mythic feeling about two young women who find a river delivers all they want but not quite as they expected it to.

The Pirate and the Selkie - a smart gender reversed tale of a kidnapped Selkie who finds his son and himself under the capture of a cruel pirate. Distinctly adult in themes its a tale with few happy endings for anyone but keeps us on our toes as to how it will all end.

Screaming Sue - An unusual almost happy ghost stpry about a rich young layabout who goes to find something to live for. A haunted part of the sea offers some ideas. Unusual and goes in ways I was not expecting. Love the character voice here that tells you a lot about this mixed up narrator.

The Sea Wasps - a beautiful short piece of fiction taking us into the mind of a different alien (yet very terrestrial mindset). I’ll leave you to find out whose!

Ghost Fish - A tale of pressure built around a humble set of missing kids swimming goggles. A woman whose life collapses finds this in one insult too far and that ends tragically. We get to witness everything and its a dark tragic tale of the danger of temper.

Rusalka or Waterlore - a young boy is woken by a voice pulling him to the lake. The title may suggest what is ging to happen but the backstory of the charcetrs and where they end up makes this a haunting finale.

Waterlore is a collection to can dive right into for an hour or two perfect for times of the year where our concentration levels are a little distracted and a ongoing reminder of a writer to watch out for.