A_TiffyFit's Booklikes

Each of these short stories is gripping and suspenseful, making this collection very enjoyable to read. A couple of them stood out to me among the others, perhaps not for the horror they evoked, but just from the prose and interactions of the characters. The first of these is the story about the vacationing women at Crescent Lake. Revolving around the Redfield Girls, the women represent different professional backgrounds, diverse experiences, and a range of ages. The tale unfolded in a gripping and riveting away, making me as the reader eager to keep turning the page (or thumbing my kindle) as the historical tale as well as the weekend happenings progress. This is one of those cannot-put-down-til-the-end stories where you are so curious to know what happens, you forego sleep. The second most memorable story for me was the one that the title of this collection reflects: The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. This story revolves around something that all of us think about, read about, have heard about, and are fearful of at one time or another. These emotions especially evoked as we get older and earnestly wonder about our own immortality or mortality. The tale provokes thoughts on the Dante discussions of levels of purgatory depending on our sins while living life or, in some cases, surviving life; thoughts on whether or not we are already existing in hell, about life here and now and life after. I feel like a broken record, but this is really a thought-provoking set of tales. What the author’s weaved from his mind is truly amazing and all of it rings “true” and honest. It’s as if Barron is just relating what’s been told as opposed to something he has created. I enjoyed them all and would recommend this to those that like horror and stories that make you think.