Title: Menace
Author: Gary Fry
Genre: Dark Fiction, Horror, Novella
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley.
Jane Marlow is a successful model with a London home and a bright future. But now she has a problem: after a night of unbridled passion with a TV actor, she’s pregnant.
After taking on a mysterious modeling project in the northeast of England, Jane finds herself growing increasingly attached to her unborn child. But other changes are also underway.
Something is dogging the development of her baby, something that casts long shadows across her. Before her child is born, can an engagement with a best-selling novelist help identify what menaces her?
Another horror novella by DarkFuse. These books all have one thing in common: they’re definitely quality work. Menace is no exception.
Jane Marlow is a succesful model who, after a night of passion with a B-movie actor, finds herself pregnant with his child. She decides to make the most of it, and try to earn as much money as she can before she starts showing. When a mysterious modeling project lands in her mailbox, she doesn’t hesitate. The project is for a book cover by a mystery and suspense author, and to complete it, she must travel to a remote house by the sea in northeast England.
When Jane arrives at the house, she’s immediately taken aback by its exterior, by the creepy vibe it gives off, and by the sullenness of the place. When she changes into her clothes for the photoshoot, and sees a bunch of children playing near the shore, she panicks at first, fearing for the kids’ safety. But when she rushes downstairs, there’s no one to be seen.
After the shoot, she gets the proof of the cover in her mailbox, sent by the photographer, and to her surprise and horror, the kids show up in the background. She contacts the author, trying to figure out what’s happening once and for all. But Jane has no idea what she signed up for when she accepted the job, and now something dark and menacing is growing inside her…
This dark mystery with a ghostly tale woven in is a little disturbing, and a good read. The author manages to keep the atmosphere tense all the time. The ending was a tad bit dissapointing for me – the big reveal didn’t seem like much of a reveal, and I found the entire explanation a bit lacking – but all in all, this was a very pleasant reading experience. What I perhaps enjoyed the most, are the atmosphere, and the subtleness of the horror.
This sounds cool except for the disappointing ending. But I may have to try it for myself and see if it disappoints me.
I read DarkFuse’s Whom the Gods Would Destroy back in December and enjoyed it a lot. Glad to hear that they’re quality! I’ll need to keep them in mind. 😉
DarkFuse publishes some great titles. They’re very consistent in the quality of the work they publish. Not all their titles were my cup of tea, but all DarkFuse authors I’ve read so far have a solid writing style.