This story creates a satisfying bookend with Into the Clouded Sky - a Taine McKenna Adventure, where our returning hero is faced with the sacrifice secrets demand. Not all cave-ins are accident and not all opportunities should be taken advantage of when excavators find a hidden tunnel under a museum dedicated to Leonardo di Vinci.

The titled first piece of this collection, Grotesque, explores the idea of what is left buried should remain buried. Spanning from historic France to present day Aotearoa, and even into the distant future, these stories intertwine myths and monsters with the madness within us all. This list is also the best way to describe Lee Murray’s collection of eleven short stories. Strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, but most importantly distorted, are synonyms for grotesque. This had something for everyone and I think it’s a great place for new fans to start! The real gem for me was easily ‘Heart Music.’ A flash fiction piece that told the story of a romantic grave robber.įor Murray fans, you’ll be excited to see the collection ending with a new Taine McKenna story, which was a fun time and made me excited to dive into book one! We then get thrust back to 1500’s France and learn the truth of what’s on the other side of the door.Īnd wowsa did ‘Selfie’ reinvent the post-apocalyptic survival trope. The first story in this – ‘Grotesque’ was a fantastic piece of historical fiction where we get thrown into a discovery of a hidden door under a museum in France. Why you should buy it: Well, we should support someone as awesome as Lee, we should support women in this genre and we should support amazing writers. Minor gripe, but I wanted some answers ha! What I didn’t like: I did find a number of the stories were left quite open-ended which in a collection made me wonder whether its related to another piece or there’s a part two kicking around in the future. This collection of 11 stories runs the gamut of styles and subjects – there really is something for everyone. What I liked: Grotesque: Monster Stories shows Murray has some serious writing chops. Murray is one of the nicest and most supportive people in the horror world and her recent awarding of the HWA Mentorship award shows just that!

What a splendid way to finally read Murray’s works and get excited to dive into Taine McKenna’s world! When Grotesque: Monster Stories was offered for review, I jumped on it. I’ve had Into the Mist on my Kindle for some time now, the first book in Lee Murray’s Taine McKenna series.

Into the Ashes by Lee Murray