Soul Screams

by Sara Jayne Townsend

Thirteen horror stories from horror and crime novelist Sara Jayne Townsend. These stories are angsty, dealing with negative emotions and darkness of the soul. These stories are about that inner scream that no one can hear but you. These stories will haunt you. "Townsend writes accomplished, powerful stories of mystery and fear, with places and themes we all recognise, and delicious twists in the tail." - Tim Lebbon, author of Echo City. "The stories of Sara Jayne Townsend are crafty, heartfelt and chilling, shot through with a dark streak of gallows humour. A definite talent and a name to watch." - Gavin Williams, author of Hush and Driver: Nemesis (writing as Alex Sharp). Featuring a Foreword by Mystery and Crime novelist Sally Spedding.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

126 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2012

About the author

I am a writer of crime and horror. Someone tends to die a horrible death in everything I write.

I spent the first ten years of my life in the North of England, before emigrating to Canada with my family. I moved back to the UK after finishing high school, and now live in London with my guitarist husband and two cats.

When I'm not writing or working the day job, I like to travel, play video games and table top role playing, and practise my rock chick act with my Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass guitar.

Reviews

[Rob Twinem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed some great little gems hidden in here....look forward to reading more by the same author

[Carole Tyrrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first collection of short stories from horror and crime novelist Sara Jayne Townsend,. Several of the tales have been published in various small press magazines over the years and they demonstrate a writer learning her craft.
Townsend knows how to create tension and a good plot with a convincing twist in the tale. Often these don’t work as you either see them coming from a mile away or they aren’t that wonderful.
Among the stand-out stories were ‘Trio’ with its bleak, oppressive atmosphere concerning a triangle of friends and the one left behind. Also ‘Kay’s Blues’ with which hurt a nerve with most women especially with its description of period pain as ‘like having a dwarf swinging from your kidneys.’
Couldn’t have put it better myself. However, the heroine’s method of dealing with her monthly problem was a little extreme.
‘The Wedding Hat’ was also another good one as was ‘Morgan’s Father’ which was very dark and also a little playful. ‘The Boy with Blue Eyes’ was a masterful study of obsession with its heroine and narrator imprisoned in a locked psychiatric ward at the end. ‘Cigarette Burns’ also had a chilling ending.

Townsend’s stories are set in a contemporary urban setting which provides the backdrop to the strange happenings. You feel that you almost know the people in them and that it could’ve happened to you.

However, as in most collections, there are a couple that you don’t care for as much as others and ‘Last Train to Malodomini’ didn’t really work for me as it didn’t seem as well plotted as others. But on the whole a good solid collection and one that Townsend can justly feel proud of.