Black Evening

Title: Black Evening
Series:
Published by: Cemetery Dance
Pages: 342
Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis

David Morrell, whose many bestsellers include Double Image, Extreme Denial, and The Brotherhood of the Rose, has consistently redefined the modern thriller. Now he turns to a darker side of suspense in a powerful collection of tales, many of them award winners, that delve into the weird, uncanny terrors that lurk just beneath the comforting surfaces of daily life.

Fear of loss, fear of pain, fear of madness, fear of being trapped, fear of the inescapable, unspeakable horrors that fester deep within the soul....No matter who or where you are, fear is always with you, always ready to attack from behind the masks of thoughts and dreams. Let David Morrell tell you a story...

Backstory

Over the years, I've written numerous short stories, most of them a combination of action, mystery, and non-supernatural horror. The catch-all term is "dark suspense". Think of The Twilight Zone with an edge. This collection has autobiographical introductions and several Stoker-Award-winning hair-raisers, including "Orange Is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity," which is about an artist whose paintings cause people who study them to stab out their eyes. The stories in Black Evening are arranged chronologically and have introductions that explain the real-life events that prompted me to write them. The collection includes my most reprinted story, “The Dripping,” which was published in 1972 and appeared in 2010’s The Best American Noir of the Century, edited by James Ellroy and Otto Penzler.

Praise

"Though the mood and character of each story in Black Evening are unique, Morrell's ability to raise the goose bumps remains constant. With this career-spanning collection, he spins out the suspense with an increasingly masterful hand as he delves into the horrors—both imagined and real—that lurk just beneath the surface of everyday life."
—Barnes & Noble 

“Vintage Morrell, featuring dark themes, dark humor, bursts of action, a setting that’s slightly askew and characters driven by fear. The best of the stories showcase Morrell’s ability to capture pure, hard-driving suspense, often culminating in unspeakable tragedy or bizarre discovery.”
—Publishers Weekly 

“The novella seems to be Morrell’s forte…giving us not only terrific plots and fascinating premise, but characters who are as solid and three-dimensional as those in any full-length novel—a rare and significant achievement.”
—Cemetery Dance