An excellent group of short stories. In particular, the title story, Audrey At Night, The Tower Princesses, and Lazurus Bride were absolutely beautifully written. ( )

Astonishing collection of psychologically astute uncanny fiction stories. Kiste exerts a maturity over these tales, and common to them all is a readable lyricism. What is most impressive, and enjoyable, about these tales is the fluidity and depth of the writing style. Kiste is a member of a generation of writers awkwardly categorised as horror authors, a term increasingly woefully inadequate. While the tales adeptly adhere to traditional short story genre structure, there is a type of subtle subversion taking place that adds to the unease of the themes of the pieces themselves. Like most evergreen horror writers, Kiste deals in the terror that really gets us in the gut — loss, regret, rejection, subjugation, all the real stuff — and makes it manifest. Her style is one that incorporates the twist of archetypes and expectation. The stories frequently allude to fairytale or mythic themes. And they possess a slow, creeping dread that rings true. Kiste weaves surreal imagery into the tales that succeeds in being as beautiful as it is unsettling, because however bizarre there is a truthful emotional grounding. Which makes for a disturbing and resonant reading experience. I don’t read too many horror story collections, but this is the best since Padgett. A supreme example of the best of modern genre fiction writing. ( )

I loved some of the stories and others I didn't like that much. However it is a really good story collection. My favourite stories are definitely "The Tower Princesses" and "The Man in the Ambry". I also really enjoyed reading "By Now, I'll Probably Be Gone", "The Lazarus Bride" "The Five-day Summer Camp", "Audrey At Night", "Skin Like Honey and Lace" and "The Clawfoot Requiem". I appreciate the authors ability to create such unique and unusual stories. ( )