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Playing with Fire

by Coral Russell (Goodreads Author), Chryse Wymer, Brian Fatah Steele (Goodreads Author), CAV Laster, Nomar Knight (Goodreads Author), Susan Evelyn, Robynn Gabel (Goodreads Author)

4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 · rating details · 20 ratings · 15 reviews

2013 update - Ghost Hunter Series by Coral Russell

Devil of a Ghost Tour

Lynn and Lee Hoyt decide a local ghost tour would be a fun date night. In an abandoned hotel on the tour, a demon and his minions have been waiting for just the right couple to come along. Can the ghost hunters, Hector and Marcos, save them before it's too late?

Key to a Haunting

Allen has lost everything...more

Kindle Edition, 184 pages

Published July 11th 2011 by alchemyofscrawl

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Jul 15, 2011 Denna rated it 4 of 5 stars

As with most anthologies, I found stories I loved in “Playing With Fire” and some I didn’t care so much for. But even the ones that didn’t grab and hold me spellbound were still good stories. Though I found most of these to be well written artistically, there were a few problems with editing—commas missing, awkward wording, details that could have used the hand of a good copy editor. Most places only caused a momentary blip in my reading, but would have been so much better without. Still, even w...more As with most anthologies, I found stories I loved in “Playing With Fire” and some I didn’t care so much for. But even the ones that didn’t grab and hold me spellbound were still good stories. Though I found most of these to be well written artistically, there were a few problems with editing—commas missing, awkward wording, details that could have used the hand of a good copy editor. Most places only caused a momentary blip in my reading, but would have been so much better without. Still, even with the blips, well worth the .99 cent price for my Kindle copy.

Lots of ghost stories in this anthology. If you are into ghosts and hauntings, then this is the book for you. Ghosts looking for revenge and ghosts that maybe are more than they first appear, like demons called up from hell and never sent back again. Not a place I wanted to be, other than under my covers with a flashlight on the screen. Add into this a couple of flesh-eating zombies, a DNA experiment mixing human and the stuff of nightmares, and you are Playing With Fire. No matter what type of horror you’re attracted to there will be several here that will no doubt leave you spellbound.

I enjoyed this book, reading straight through in one sitting. The stories were great, nary a dull moment in any of them. Some I loved straight away, others took a little more time to get into - and a couple were just what the doctor ordered for making me shiver as I listened for bumps in the night. We all look for a little something different when it comes to horror. I want a story that will make me squirm while I read, usually with a blanket covering my toes so the boogeyman can’t reach out and grab me. My expectations were high going in and except for the odd editing issues I ran across here and there, I wasn’t let down.

All in all, this is not a bad anthology. Two or three of the stories are first-rate by any horror standard. The rest will depend on what the reader is looking for in horror. Definitely had me biting my nails in a couple of places. I’m going to be on my best behavior around witches who perform black magic from now on, that’s for sure.
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Mar 02, 2012 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Katy by: Coral Russell

Shelves: ebook

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Scare easily? Are you often frightened out of your sleep? Does the mere mention of ghosts prickle your skin?

These seven authors' imaginations are fired up by the scariness of the unknown. Find a comfy spot, sit back and enjoy nine tales to tickle your taste for terror:

My Thoughts: Susan Evelyn - Best Served – a tale of revenge – justice or vengeance?
Robynn Gabel - Widows of the Night – will...more

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Jul 19, 2011 kimyunalesca rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love horror stories though I'm a number one scaredy cat it took all my guts just to finished reading Playing with Fire.These stories has a shake,rattle and roll concept for me.Shake meaning the first couple of stories is spine chilling and would make your senses numb with horror.Rattle, is nerve racking! that will make you scream,breathless,gasp and say RUN!GET OUT!DON'T GO THERE! as you read through the pages.Oh and Roll,is the panic mode you don't know which way to go,you're obviously helple...more

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Oct 11, 2011 S0rcy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this particular anthology to be very innovative. A few of the stories really did send chills down my back, especially Widows of the Night by Robyn Gabel which involves an abused child who is forced to deal with her own situation in a completely innocent fashion that results in a chilling end.
And for those that look for the gory side of horror, "Flawed" by Brian Fatah Steele is really something to sink your teeth into. This is all about one families personal skeletons that come marching...more

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Sep 04, 2011 S0rcy rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Jan 03, 2012 Lainy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Blurb From Goodreads

Scare easily? Are you often frightened out of your sleep? Does the mere mention of ghosts prickle your skin?

These seven authors imaginations are fired up by the scariness of the unknown.

Find a comfy spot, sit back and enjoy nine tales to tickle your taste for terror.

Susan Evelyn - Best Served

Revenge is sweet they say. But is Anna going to be able to hold the right ones accountable?

3197 Words

Robynn Gabel - Widows of the Night

Step inside a child's world that is filled with mon...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Doug Lamoreux rated it 4 of 5 stars

Playing with Fire, Anthology of Horror, Vol. 1, features nine short stories (three threatening to be novellas) by seven authors.
Best Served by Susan Evelyn, is a small scale revenge story that convinces itself it's a tale of justice. What it isn't is a horror story. It's nicely written, but is a fantasy hiding in the wrong anthology.
Things pick up with Widows of the Night, a child's revenge tale by Robynn Gabel, which is absolutely for horror fans. I liked it.
Bitten by Nomar Knight is a very un...more Playing with Fire, Anthology of Horror, Vol. 1, features nine short stories (three threatening to be novellas) by seven authors.
Best Served by Susan Evelyn, is a small scale revenge story that convinces itself it's a tale of justice. What it isn't is a horror story. It's nicely written, but is a fantasy hiding in the wrong anthology.
Things pick up with Widows of the Night, a child's revenge tale by Robynn Gabel, which is absolutely for horror fans. I liked it.
Bitten by Nomar Knight is a very uneven tale that starts with a Cujo-feel, zigs to make the reader think they're following a werewolf, takes a lazy and tired detour through the 'evil government killing the planet and the people' landscape (free tip for horror writers: I don't care about your politics. Neither do 40-60 percent of your audience regardless of what they are). It ends as a funny, bloody, gory (but twist-less) Tales From the Crypt episode. It's well written and creepy for what it is, but what is it?
Then comes Playing with Fire by CAV Laster. Who doesn't love... ? Well, trust me, you'll love this.
The middle of the book slows down a bit with two Coral Russell stories in a row. Devil of a Ghost Tour and Key to a Haunting. 'Devil' is an often engaging tale of sin and violence in 1885 El Paso that leads to present day haunts and work for modern ghost hunters. 'Haunting' features a return of the same El Paso ghost hunters, examining condos haunted by the results of a 1920's tragedy. (Based on an actual tragedy). While well-written, both are too similar (using the same technique of jumping back and forth in time) and too long (nearly 10,000 words apiece) to keep the reader turning pages at a horror story pace.
Next comes two Brian Fatah Steele stories. Flawed, an intriguing story of a house that possesses its residents in a very personal way, and The Stuff Dreams Aren't Made Of, an absolute gem of which I'll tell you nothing. Just enjoy it.
Finally, Chryse Wymer's This Dark Magic, a deliciously written, hard-boiled witchcraft story (that should have started at chapter two). Chapter one tells us our protagonist is a reporter covering... absolutely nothing - until chapter two. Still, good stuff!
Also included are two novel excerpts; the beginnings of Coral Russell's Amador Lockdown and Chryse Wymer's Living with Murder. I not only admit, I state, that I did not read either. I don't read excerpts - of anything. If it's a page-turner, I'm annoyed and screwed. If I read 'part of' a book, it's because I hated it and chose not to finish it. But these are extras, so I'm not griping, I'm just saying.
Anthologies are, by their nature, uneven. Every reader, after all, has different tastes. There are many flavors here and all are pretty-well written. There are likely several pleasing dishes for all. Playing with Fire deserves an audience.(less)

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Aug 25, 2011 Connie Suttle rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is an engaging, thought-provoking collection of horror stories, giving the reader a virtual smorgasbord of frightening characters and events. From a house that consumes its inhabitants to ghosts, zombies and black magic, this book has it all.

As with every collection I've read, I have my personal favorites. Two short stories in this collection I wouldn't mind reading as full-length novels, their plots and characters were so strong. Chryse Wymer's This Dark Magic and Cav Laster's Playin...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Brenda Wallace rated it 4 of 5 stars

This anthology reminded me how much I enjoy reading scary short stories and I was grateful to be introduced to all these talented authors. Every reader will have their favorites, but the first story that grabbed me was Widows of the Night by Robyn Gabel. I rooted for the abused little girl and was happy when she found the perfect key to escaping her abuse. I was pulled into and enjoyed the story Devil of a Ghost Tour penned by Coral Russell, but this author’s tale Key to a Haunting totally capti...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Jessica Buike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This anthology of scary stories is like picking several horror movies at random from the video store - some of the stories are true masterpieces of scary, while others leave much to be desired. The few so-so stories included in this anthology are easily eclipsed by the better stories, making it a worthwhile read overall. The better stories are sure to make your skin crawl and force you to look over your shoulder in paranoia!

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Sep 03, 2011 Deb Novack rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found this book to be one best I have read in a while, I could not put it down until I had finished it. Coral Russell's stories I thought were the best they just seemed to flow into one and another. I definitely would read more books written by her.

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Dec 28, 2012 Laurie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nine horror stories are presented in this anthology, two of them excerpts from novels to come. They range from human horror to ghost hunters, from fantasy to science gone wrong, from a house that’s haunted in a very different way to witchcraft, and one that I never figured out if it was a werewolf or a zombie story. The scary factor will vary according to what the reader’s particular psychological makeup is like; for me, none were creepy crawly but all were well written. The ghost hunter stories...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Katy Bennett rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks

For me, the stories in this horror anthology that I really enjoyed were:
Coral Russell's Devil of a Ghost Tour which had some genuinely creepy moments.

Brian Fatah Steele's Flawed and The Stuff Dreams Aren't Made of, both were quirky and unusual.

Chryse Wymer's This Dark Magic, a fun story of black magic with a well developed character.

Overall, all the stories are vastly different from each but the others didn't do it for me

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Nov 17, 2012 Wayne rated it 3 of 5 stars

There were some great shorts in this collection of horror/supernatural thrillers. There were also some excerpts of larger novels which I was not expecting when I grabbed this Kindle title from a daily deal. I enjoyed some of the shorts. I'm not sure if any of the excerpts have convinced me to pursue finishing the books. All in all, an entertaining read to fulfill my Halloween inspired need to read some horror.

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Jul 16, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nice anthology of horror stories more in line with Lovecraft than King or Koontz style horror. Very readable if you like short stories and wasn't a bad way to spend an afternoon in the sun.

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About Coral Russell

Living and writing in the Southwest where it's always sunny! Family, friends, reading, eating, HIIT, Yin Yoga, laughing, serendipitous Googling...
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