Hi and welcome to another #BiteSizeSaturday! A while back I featured two bitesized reviews of short story collections (ICYMI), and today I have two more. Anthologies seem be back with a vengeance! Although I’m not quite sure if they were ever really gone, but since my last post I’ve been stumbling over anthologies left, right and centre, and I love it. I’ve become really appreciative of short stories, and while last time I told you I’m not a short story kind of person, this time I’m here to tell you that apparently I am! Live Read and learn 😁
Anyhoo, without further ado, let’s take a look:

Noirville is an anthology of fifteen short stories, edited by Chris McVeigh and published by Fahrenheit Press. A short story collection is always tricky, and Noirville proved to be just that. While there were a few stories that I loved, most I just thought were okay, and there were 2 that I skimmed because they couldn’t hold my attention. I have zero regrets though, about reading this anthology, because of two stories that were absolutely ace. One was Justin’s Room by Jen Delozier, a new-to-me author, it’s the shortest tale of the collection but it packs the biggest punch, bloody brilliant! The other was The Icing On The Cake by Russel Day, which didn’t come as a surprise because I love Day’s writing, I’m a big fan of his full-size novels too.
If you’re into noir, and you’re looking for a crime anthology, you may want to check this one out.
For more information, check out Matt’s (It’s an Indie Book Blog) blog post about Noirville with lots of glowing mini-reviews.
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Invisible Blood is a collection of seventeen stories of murder and mystery, edited by Maxim Jakubowski and published by Titan Books. From Franco’s Spain over a hit woman in Israel to the film industry in the States, Invisible Blood takes you through space and time and I enjoyed it tremendously! Actually, the story I liked least will probably be a favourite of many: the Jack Reacher short story by Lee Child. (I’ve never read a Jack Reacher, that’s probably why) My favourite was In the Belly of the Beast by Johana Gustawsson, author of the Roy and Castells series pub. Orenda Books. It’s easily one of the darkest, if not THE darkest tale in the collection, but boy oh boy, it’s a good one! Another favourite was #MeToo by Lauren Henderson, quite evil, that one.
Overall, an lovely addition to the shelves of any short story lover who’s into (fictional) crime!
For more information: check out Drew’s post here on The Tattooed Book Geek, he was crazy diligent enough to write a short review for every story and it was this post that was the final straw to made me decide to get the book, so thank you, Drew!
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That concludes our snack for today, thanks for joining me! Are you a short story person? Be sure to tell me below! Any anthologies I should know about, let me know!
Fantastic review! I love short stories and am just about to start A Spot of Folly by Ruth Rendell.
Thanks Nicki! A Spot of Folly looks enticing, I’ve added it to GR but I’ll wait for your review before I buy ?
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I’m not a short story person and I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much tempted to buy such a novel… BUT I wish you hadn’t told me about the short story by Johana Gustawsson, I’m suddenly pretty curious about that one ? Great reviews Kelly!
I found you in my pending messages, about to be spammed, how did you end up there?! I have the eBook, shout if you want me to send it to you so you can try it on for size… Or just read Jo’s story ?
Wonderful review! I also say that I’m not a short story person in general, but maybe I should follow your lead, read a bunch of them and see if things change. 😉
Thank you! You should defo give it a try, you might enjoy it ? I never expected to evolve so much as a reader but this year I really have.