Crítics Matiners

American book award-winning author Tananarive Due's second collection of stories range from horror to science fiction to suspense. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.

In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, or other universal struggles set against the supernatural or surreal. All of them are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deep characterization.

In addition to previously published work, this collection contains brand-new stories, including "Rumpus Room," a supernatural horror novelette set in Florida about a woman's struggle against both outer and inner demons.

"Holy hell: These 14 stories from author and film historian Due might scare even the most dauntless horror fans to death. These tales of fright are both intellectually keen and psychologically bloodcurdling, no surprise from an award-winning writer whose command of the Black horror aesthetic rivals Jordan Peele's in originality and sheer bravado... The hairbreadth between acute tragedy and the blackest of humor are child’s play for the author in 'Haint in the Window,' which masterfully nods to Octavia E. Butler in the story of a bookseller facing elements out of his control. The five tales in The Gracetown Stories give a sense of Stephen King's fictional Derry or Jerusalem's Lot... A patchwork of stories that somehow manages to be both graceful and alarming, putting fresh eyes to the unspeakable."—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review