Mysterious Erotic Tales

by Ruth Rendell, Andy Harrison, Robert Bloch

Classic erotic writing is all about suspense. The journey not the arrival matters. Here is a gripping collection of erotic stories by great writers such as Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker, as well as modern masters such as Ruth Rendell, Patricia Highsmith and Robert Bloch. Several of the stories have been specially commissioned for Mysterious Erotic Tales.
Poe’s chilling story ‘Berenice’ is the tale of cousins whose passionate love is destroyed by a terrible disease. Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, tells in the story ‘The Secret of the Growing Gold’ of thwarted love and deadly revenge from beyond the grave.
Robert Bloch is one of America’s best known writers of horror stories and novels including the legendary Psycho. His story ‘The Undead’ is a horrifying tale of a modern-day Dracula. Another major writer of suspense is Ruth Rendell and her story ‘An Outside Interest’ is a frightening tale of malicious mischief that ends in disaster.
Fear, sensuality and the unseen world which lurks just beyond 'real life' combine in the stories gathered in this volume to create an erotic feast. Be warned! This book will disturb, excite and arouse.

An outside interest / Ruth Rendell
Colette's column / Andy Harrison
The undead / Robert Bloch
Elvara should be easy / J.K. Haderack
Angel / Philip Robinson
The birds poised to fly / Patricia Highsmith
Old times / Alick Newman
Plucked / Frank Finch
The secret of the growing gold / Bram Stoker
Catherine would / Sidney Gray
What might have been / Elizabeth Kay
Berenice / Edgar Allan Poe
The plain brown envelope / Lyn Wood

Genres: Short Stories

244 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1996

About the author

A.K.A. Barbara Vine

Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.

Reviews

[Tippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't too bad. The first story was my favorite. It was about this guy who likes to scare women by walking behind them at night. It started out by accident-one night he just happened to be going the same way as someone and she got scared. He liked the power of it, and so it was his guilty pleasure to do it periodically. One night he was following behind this woman and she got scared, panicked and hitched a ride with a car passing by. The next day, he found out that a woman who had hitched a ride in a white car had been murdered. Quite creepy and a good spin. Despite the title, I will say that this book has a broad range of definitions for "mysterious" and "erotic." But a good mix of short stories, from authors including Bram Stoker, Ruth Rendell, Edgar Allan Poe and Patricia Highsmith.

[Reija Haapanen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Luin suomeksi, mutta versiota ei ole täällä. Ei kovin erikoinen, plussana lähinnä nopealukuisuus ja pari toimivampaa tarinaa.

[msleighm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only gets the 4 stars b/c of the last few stories: Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe and Lyn Wood. In fact, for me, the final story by Lyn Wood 'The Plain Brown Envelope' made the whole mediorce beginning worthwhile.