Dastardly Damsels (Crystal Lake Publishing, October 11, 2024)

Dark fiction anthologies are currently very popular and, with a few exceptions, tend to be a medley of horror, fantasy, mild SF or something in between. I don’t like the expression “speculative fiction” but maybe this is an acceptable label.

Some are published exclusively in digital format, which explains why the number of stories included is getting increasingly higher.

The present anthology, for instance, features thirty-two contributions (including a couple of short poems). A distinctive characteristic of this book is that the contributing authors are all female (including the editor), and so are the leading roles in the various tales.

To be frank, the large majority of the writers were completely unknown to me (and still are because, at least in my review copy, there is no information whatsoever about the contributors’ bios).

Among the numerous tales there are some which, in my opinion, are really worth mentioning.

“Caught Out” by Rose Blackthorn  — an excellent tale where nothing is as it seems in the beginning, features a young woman endowed with unusual powers.
“Lucille Sings the Blues” by HR Boldwood — an offbeat, truly excellent piece revolving around an old elevator.
Rosalind Place’s “Too Close to the Edge” — a solid crime story where a vengeful nurse plans to kill his brother-in-law.
Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert “Unafraid”– the vivid portrait of a woman gradually changing her behavior and her attitude towards others.
“Silver Strands” by Patricia Miller — a dark, extremely enjoyable fairy tale featuring a whimsical and cruel governess and a smart seamstress.
“Death Warmed Over (A tribute to Rachel Caine)” — a delightful story (part fantasy, part horror) in which a young witch performs a momentary resurrection to solve a puzzling case.

Highly recommended.

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Mario Guslandi was born in Milan, Italy, where he currently lives. He became addicted to horror and supernatural fiction (too) many years ago, after accidentally reading a reprint anthology of stories by MR James, JS Le Fanu, Arthur Machen etc. Most likely the only Italian who regularly reads (and reviews) dark fiction in English, he has contributed over the years to various genre websites such as Horrorworld, Hellnotes, The British Fantasy Society, The Agony Column and many more. His last review for us was Death Comes Too Late by Charles Ardai.