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Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories
Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories is a collection of horror short stories by Amy Cross. Ranging from the grotesque to the shocking, these six tales reveal the horrific truths lurking beneath the surface of the modern
Perfect Little Monsters
A trip to the English countryside turns into a nightmare for a couple, as they encounter a reclusive family with a taste for blood. But can the family's daughter be persuaded to switch sides?
I Hate You
An angry young woman gets more than she bargained for when she's kidnapped. Waking up strapped to a chair, she discovers that her anger might have been misdirected all along.
Meat
Two children break into the house next door, where they discover that an elderly widow is living in a dangerous fantasy.
The Scream
One morning, an agonized scream rings out across a small American town... and it just won't stop. As the scream goes on for hours and hours, the locals try desperately to discover its source.
Fifty Fifty
At a remote prison, a dangerous game takes a turn for the bizarre when one woman's luck refuses to break. Soon the prison's governor is involved in a game of his own, with his sanity as the ultimate prize.
Stay Up Late
A woman heads upstairs to bed, unaware that her husband is about to welcome a strange visitor into their home. This isn't the first time that Bartleby has been invited inside, but it might very well be the last...
This is the 2022 edition of the original 2016 collection.
Perfect Little Monsters
A trip to the English countryside turns into a nightmare for a couple, as they encounter a reclusive family with a taste for blood. But can the family's daughter be persuaded to switch sides?
I Hate You
An angry young woman gets more than she bargained for when she's kidnapped. Waking up strapped to a chair, she discovers that her anger might have been misdirected all along.
Meat
Two children break into the house next door, where they discover that an elderly widow is living in a dangerous fantasy.
The Scream
One morning, an agonized scream rings out across a small American town... and it just won't stop. As the scream goes on for hours and hours, the locals try desperately to discover its source.
Fifty Fifty
At a remote prison, a dangerous game takes a turn for the bizarre when one woman's luck refuses to break. Soon the prison's governor is involved in a game of his own, with his sanity as the ultimate prize.
Stay Up Late
A woman heads upstairs to bed, unaware that her husband is about to welcome a strange visitor into their home. This isn't the first time that Bartleby has been invited inside, but it might very well be the last...
This is the 2022 edition of the original 2016 collection.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2022
227 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Amy Cross
664 books1,677 followersAmy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 3, 2022
Intelligent horror at its best!
Amy Cross was really at the top of her game when she wrote these short stories. Stomach turning tales they may be but I found them engrossing and addictive. I completed the whole selection at one sitting, something very unusual for me. This selection of tales is not for everyone but, if you are prepared to suspend belief and allow your imagination to roam free then give it a go.
Amy Cross was really at the top of her game when she wrote these short stories. Stomach turning tales they may be but I found them engrossing and addictive. I completed the whole selection at one sitting, something very unusual for me. This selection of tales is not for everyone but, if you are prepared to suspend belief and allow your imagination to roam free then give it a go.
June 26, 2017
This was a stunningly eerie collection of short stories that held me captivated from start to finish. The tales were rooted firmly in the sublimely normal which were then "marinated" in a mixture of impending dread, eeriness and the just plain weird. I have a true love of well crafted horror short stories. They are extremely hard to write well and the author has executed her collection with an obvious talent.
"Dreadfully" entertaining!
"Dreadfully" entertaining!
October 15, 2018
Note: graphic image ahead
Now THIS is my kind of horror :D
This book is a collection of stories that follow the theme of horror-thriller or violence (depends how you look at it)
Perfect Little Monsters
This is the first story and probably my favourite (closely followed by Meat). The protagonist is a young girl who lives out in the middle of nowhere on a farm with her Pops and brother. All seems normal. Until Pops rescues a girl from an accident site and feeds her dead parents’ bodies to the pigs. And then proceeds to tell her young heroine she will soon have a sister to play with.
Amy Cross puts her own little twist, adding graphic scenes of violence to keep you at the edge of your seat. What I loved most was that for each of your character, you won’t expect there to be traits Amy introduces as the story progresses. Pops isn’t a caring, loving father you’d think he is. The heroine’s brother is far from normal…or nice. And the heroine herself has gone through a rough ordeal as well that has left scars….literally.
The end, and how the heroine’s character takes a 180-degree turn, had me legit shook.
I Hate You
What would you do if someone saw you for the person you are called you out on it? What would you do if you’re not a nice person and the person knows it? What would you do if you must atone for your sins?
Amy Cross took her take on the concept and feeling of hatred in this short story where the heroine must realize the true meaning of literally hating someone to their very core. Through a very shaking experience that will left her changed forever, the heroine will realize she has the concept of hatred all wrong. And what is more damaging than someone coming into your life and changing your way of thinking forever?
Meat
This one was by far the most graphic and disgusting (although in a good way, if that exists). An old woman lives in a pristine home in a well-off suburb. Her husband has passed away and she is apprehensive of her new neighbours. She is also a meat lover to her core. To her very core . and you won’t realize what I mean unless you read the story. One day, the neighbour’s kids snoop in her home, and that leads her to trespass into their home. She knows there is something wrong with them; she can feel it. So while chewing on an endless supply of juicy meat and steaks, our protagonist evaluates the people next door, crossing all kinds of boundaries, all the while experiencing strange pain all over her body.
You would feel chilly as you read on when it is revealed her husband may have been killed. And she ran out of meat months ago and it seems weird she is still procuring a fresh supply every hour. Oh and her house? It’s not as clean as she may make you think.
Fifty Fifty
This was more of a take on maths and statistics, precisely how many rounds it would take in a revolver loaded with three bullets to kill you. Our heroine is incarcerated in a women’s prison where the evil governor makes two of his inmates play his cruel game every day. Load the bullet. Fire a shot one by one on each woman’s head. Whoever gets the bullet of course dies.
Whoever doesn’t must return to play tomorrow. Until one day, one woman ends up winning three days in a row. Then four. Then five. The governor is going mad; no one has ever lasted so long. What is the girl’s secret?
Stay Up Late
This one was my least favourite, not because it wasn’t good but because it wasn’t at par with some of the other crazy stories.
A writer has just tucked his daughter in and has bade his wife goodnight. He intends to write the next part of his book well into the night. Until an old friend knocks at his door (more like his window but that was the least disturbing scene in the story).
Over the next few hours, the writer’s friend commits some terrible acts inside house. Morning comes and well….you’ll be questioning the writer’s mental health by then. Read on to find out.
The Scream
A town in a corner of the states wakes up to a blood-curdling scream. They don’t know who is making that sound. They can’t figure out where it is coming from. They do know it’s a girl. And a girl they all know very well.
finally he tries to imagine what it would be like if the sound just carried on forever. For a moment, he feels as if some corner of the universe has been peeled back, and that the scream is a sign of how things really work. It's something mystical and primordial, something from the ether that can never be understood by the human mind.
Over the next twenty-four hours, the citizens must find the screaming girl, or they will all go mad from the noise. More chilling yet is the fact that it appears to be nowhere in the town and it also seems to be coming from everywhere at once. A strange man has also appeared in the town out of nowhere, claiming he is just passing through. But the citizens soon realize the man may have an ulterior motive.
Amidst the scream that can render any sane person crazy within a few hours, some psychopathic tendencies appear in some of the people, especially those trying to imagine what would make the girl scream so loud for hours on end without any break.
Most importantly, when they DO find the girl (a big if here), would she be in sound condition to survive?
Painted in a grisly colour sure to make any reader uneasy, Amy Cross surprises the readers with her very detailed knowledge on the various forms of torture. Some scenes would definitely sate the gore-hungry souls of the SAW franchise and other torture movie fans.
The ending left me reeling with more questions yet completely satisfied. That’s the effect the author had on me.
To conclude, while each story is formed around torture or a variant of it, all the characters are different and diverse, making you eager to move on to the next tale with a ravenous zeal. I’d say Amy Cross has become one of my most liked horror genre authors of all time and that’s the highest compliment I can pay her.
Please try this book if you are a horror/thriller/gore books fan.
Now THIS is my kind of horror :D
This book is a collection of stories that follow the theme of horror-thriller or violence (depends how you look at it)
Perfect Little Monsters
This is the first story and probably my favourite (closely followed by Meat). The protagonist is a young girl who lives out in the middle of nowhere on a farm with her Pops and brother. All seems normal. Until Pops rescues a girl from an accident site and feeds her dead parents’ bodies to the pigs. And then proceeds to tell her young heroine she will soon have a sister to play with.
Amy Cross puts her own little twist, adding graphic scenes of violence to keep you at the edge of your seat. What I loved most was that for each of your character, you won’t expect there to be traits Amy introduces as the story progresses. Pops isn’t a caring, loving father you’d think he is. The heroine’s brother is far from normal…or nice. And the heroine herself has gone through a rough ordeal as well that has left scars….literally.
The end, and how the heroine’s character takes a 180-degree turn, had me legit shook.
I Hate You
What would you do if someone saw you for the person you are called you out on it? What would you do if you’re not a nice person and the person knows it? What would you do if you must atone for your sins?
Amy Cross took her take on the concept and feeling of hatred in this short story where the heroine must realize the true meaning of literally hating someone to their very core. Through a very shaking experience that will left her changed forever, the heroine will realize she has the concept of hatred all wrong. And what is more damaging than someone coming into your life and changing your way of thinking forever?
Meat
This one was by far the most graphic and disgusting (although in a good way, if that exists). An old woman lives in a pristine home in a well-off suburb. Her husband has passed away and she is apprehensive of her new neighbours. She is also a meat lover to her core. To her very core . and you won’t realize what I mean unless you read the story. One day, the neighbour’s kids snoop in her home, and that leads her to trespass into their home. She knows there is something wrong with them; she can feel it. So while chewing on an endless supply of juicy meat and steaks, our protagonist evaluates the people next door, crossing all kinds of boundaries, all the while experiencing strange pain all over her body.
You would feel chilly as you read on when it is revealed her husband may have been killed. And she ran out of meat months ago and it seems weird she is still procuring a fresh supply every hour. Oh and her house? It’s not as clean as she may make you think.
Fifty Fifty
This was more of a take on maths and statistics, precisely how many rounds it would take in a revolver loaded with three bullets to kill you. Our heroine is incarcerated in a women’s prison where the evil governor makes two of his inmates play his cruel game every day. Load the bullet. Fire a shot one by one on each woman’s head. Whoever gets the bullet of course dies.
Whoever doesn’t must return to play tomorrow. Until one day, one woman ends up winning three days in a row. Then four. Then five. The governor is going mad; no one has ever lasted so long. What is the girl’s secret?
Stay Up Late
This one was my least favourite, not because it wasn’t good but because it wasn’t at par with some of the other crazy stories.
A writer has just tucked his daughter in and has bade his wife goodnight. He intends to write the next part of his book well into the night. Until an old friend knocks at his door (more like his window but that was the least disturbing scene in the story).
Over the next few hours, the writer’s friend commits some terrible acts inside house. Morning comes and well….you’ll be questioning the writer’s mental health by then. Read on to find out.
The Scream
A town in a corner of the states wakes up to a blood-curdling scream. They don’t know who is making that sound. They can’t figure out where it is coming from. They do know it’s a girl. And a girl they all know very well.
finally he tries to imagine what it would be like if the sound just carried on forever. For a moment, he feels as if some corner of the universe has been peeled back, and that the scream is a sign of how things really work. It's something mystical and primordial, something from the ether that can never be understood by the human mind.
Over the next twenty-four hours, the citizens must find the screaming girl, or they will all go mad from the noise. More chilling yet is the fact that it appears to be nowhere in the town and it also seems to be coming from everywhere at once. A strange man has also appeared in the town out of nowhere, claiming he is just passing through. But the citizens soon realize the man may have an ulterior motive.
Amidst the scream that can render any sane person crazy within a few hours, some psychopathic tendencies appear in some of the people, especially those trying to imagine what would make the girl scream so loud for hours on end without any break.
Most importantly, when they DO find the girl (a big if here), would she be in sound condition to survive?
Painted in a grisly colour sure to make any reader uneasy, Amy Cross surprises the readers with her very detailed knowledge on the various forms of torture. Some scenes would definitely sate the gore-hungry souls of the SAW franchise and other torture movie fans.
The ending left me reeling with more questions yet completely satisfied. That’s the effect the author had on me.
To conclude, while each story is formed around torture or a variant of it, all the characters are different and diverse, making you eager to move on to the next tale with a ravenous zeal. I’d say Amy Cross has become one of my most liked horror genre authors of all time and that’s the highest compliment I can pay her.
Please try this book if you are a horror/thriller/gore books fan.
January 25, 2020
2020 reading challenge ( female author) ... I love anything by Amy Cross. The handful of shorts in this book did not disappoint. The only problem is, I wished they were longer. There were a couple of stories where I felt like the ending fell flat. But another story, The Scream, which might have been the longest, had an ending that made the story superb. I felt the Scream could have been shorter. Anyways, this author's imagination is incredible. My second favorite story was Perfect Little Monsters, but I hated the ending of it. There's a story about women in jail, forced to play Russian roulette. It was very creative. My most favorite story of the book was the bloodiest. About a crazy neighbor. That one was great
April 4, 2017
I really enjoyed this collection. The first story was weirdly interesting, yet grotesque at times. I thought the one about the screaming girl was curious and almost like a more disturbed episode of the Twilight Zone. All in all a worthwhile read.
September 10, 2016
A lovely collection of gripping and quite gruesome horror stories, all with an original twist that make them like a breath of fresh air (or, I suppose, fetid air!). One of the 'short stories' is actually a novella and was originally published as such, which comes as a bit of a shock when you are expecting a short story, but this does not detract at all from the quality of the writing. Glad I've got some other books by this author already downloaded - looking forward to them. 9.5/10.
September 16, 2016
Read this review and more on my blog at .
'Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories' by Amy Cross
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Finished on September 12, 2016
Read with Kindle Unlimited Subscription
FREE on Kindle Unlimited | $.99 on Kindle
'Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories' is a collection of short stories by Amy Cross. Some of the stories take place in seemingly ordinary towns, whose inhabitants soon discover something truly shocking lurking beneath the veneer of peace and calm. Others show glimpses of vast, barbaric worlds where deadly forces gather to toy with humanity. All the stories in this collection peel back the face of a nightmare, revealing the horror that awaits. And in every one of the stories, some kind of monster lurks...
This collection includes the stories:
"Perfect Little Monsters"
"I Hate You"
"Meat"
"Fifty-Fifty"
"Stay Up Late"
and
"The Scream"
I read this book in my #yearofindiewomen.
I've read other books by Amy Cross before, but I can't remember if I've had her in my #yearofindiewomen before. I'm trying not to do too many duplicates of the same authors over this year. I know I've read 'Meds', 'Asylum', and possibly one of her other books off the top of my head. The thing I remember most about her books was how violent they were.
Horror is my favorite genre of anything. For this #yearofindiewomen project, I will read almost any genre, but any other time, I prefer to read horror. I watch nothing but horror movies. I prefer horror television shows. I listen to dozens of horror podcasts. That being said, horror does not equal violence to me. In fact, I often find it absolutely boring. I often find it lazy. I don't watch slasher movies or torture movies because they are all the same. They lack in plot and are just mind numbing.
Bringing that back to Amy Cross, there were parts of her novels that felt gratuitously violent to me (even unbelievably so), so when I saw this collection of short stories, I was a little hesitant to pick this up. If you've read my reviews before, you know how much I love short stories, and a short story horror collection is my absolute jam. There is some violence in this collection, but it wasn't so gratuitous that it turned me off or was cringeworthy.
But anyway, let me get to the individual stories in the collection. For the first time, I don't think I could pick a favorite. All of the stories in this collection are top-notch.
"Perfect Little Monsters"
This tells the story of Enda, a young girl with a deformed face who lives out in the middle of nowhere with Brother and Papa and desperately longs for a new sister. One night, Papa finally brings her one, but will she be the one who finally stays?
-- This story is so sad and so horrific. It's brilliantly done. My heart absolutely broke for Enda. I was completely absorbed in the isolated, demented, yet normalized world in which Enda lived. I did not expect the ending at all.
"I Hate You"
This story is about Molly, a fifteen-year-old girl who is full of rage and angst at her life and her situation and takes it out by anonymously sending hateful, bullying messages to her peers online. She pays the price when she's abducted by a masked man who's hell-bent on teaching her the real meaning of hate.
-- This was probably my least favorite story of the lot, but it's still pretty great. A real novel concept, one I would have never thought of in a million years. There are a lot of stories nowadays that play off the whole bullying, especially online bullying concept, but this one was interesting. Parts of it were a little far-fetched, I think, but I've come to expect a bit of that with Cross' work.
"Meat"
This story is about Patricia, an old, reclusive woman who lives alone and has a growing paranoia and a fixation on meat. When new neighbors move into the neighborhood, she believes they are up to no good, so she starts spying on them, all the while constantly gnawing on meat and bones because it calms her. And talking to her "dead" husband who helps her figure out what they're up to. When she breaks into their house and causes a disturbance, the cops get involved and discover the truth of how Patricia has been living.
-- I loved this story. It gave me the chills. This is just the sort of story that defines horror for me. Absolutely creepy and the definition of what can happen when the human mind falls apart. A truly great story.
"Fifty-Fifty"
In this tale, we meet the Governor of a women's prison in the middle of a hot and sweltering desert who conducts a daily experiment in which he brings two prisoners to his chambers and puts a revolver to their heads and pulls the trigger. Whichever girl lives gets to move on to the next day. He records this "data" in his records because he believes he's conducting some amazing study that's gonna garner him accolades about statistics about how there is no luck, only chance. Then, we meet Gemma Roper, the only inmate who seems to beat the odds, but is she really the lucky one?
-- This is another great story about the way the human mind can slip under pressure, and how the real monsters in this world aren't ones that come from other dimensions or ghosts or ghouls, but real humans who hurt other humans. I very nearly felt like I was going to lose it, too, reading this story it was so well done. A+.
"Stay Up Late"
This story is about a writer who wants to stay up "just for a couple more hours" to crank out those last five hundred words. In doing so, he meets someone named Bartleby who comes to share some wine. To come upstairs and see his sleeping family. To venture into something much, much worse.
-- This story was confusing. Perhaps I was a little too tired when I read it or a little too distracted. I get the basic premise of it, but it was a little too open-ended for me. I still liked it, though, and as a writer, I definitely get the whole "Just give me a little while longer," thing. We definitely neglect our loved ones for the story, and the concept of paying a price -- a really scary one -- for that is absolutely horrifying.
"The Scream"
A small, picturesque town is suddenly inundated with a piercing, constant, non-stop scream one morning that no one can find the source of. It goes on for a whole day, and it begins to drive people mad. Who the hell is screaming and why? A priest from out of town shows up. He must have answers.
-- This story is crazy. Absolutely nuts. Just the description alone is damn near overwhelming. A scream that doesn't stop? How is that even possible? And this is one of those stories that was almost too violent for me. Still, it's a pretty dang good tale that's unlike anything I've ever read before.
Pick up this collection. Especially for "Meat" and "Perfect Little Monsters". They are the real gems of this collection, I think.
'Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories' by Amy Cross
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Finished on September 12, 2016
Read with Kindle Unlimited Subscription
FREE on Kindle Unlimited | $.99 on Kindle
'Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories' is a collection of short stories by Amy Cross. Some of the stories take place in seemingly ordinary towns, whose inhabitants soon discover something truly shocking lurking beneath the veneer of peace and calm. Others show glimpses of vast, barbaric worlds where deadly forces gather to toy with humanity. All the stories in this collection peel back the face of a nightmare, revealing the horror that awaits. And in every one of the stories, some kind of monster lurks...
This collection includes the stories:
"Perfect Little Monsters"
"I Hate You"
"Meat"
"Fifty-Fifty"
"Stay Up Late"
and
"The Scream"
I read this book in my #yearofindiewomen.
I've read other books by Amy Cross before, but I can't remember if I've had her in my #yearofindiewomen before. I'm trying not to do too many duplicates of the same authors over this year. I know I've read 'Meds', 'Asylum', and possibly one of her other books off the top of my head. The thing I remember most about her books was how violent they were.
Horror is my favorite genre of anything. For this #yearofindiewomen project, I will read almost any genre, but any other time, I prefer to read horror. I watch nothing but horror movies. I prefer horror television shows. I listen to dozens of horror podcasts. That being said, horror does not equal violence to me. In fact, I often find it absolutely boring. I often find it lazy. I don't watch slasher movies or torture movies because they are all the same. They lack in plot and are just mind numbing.
Bringing that back to Amy Cross, there were parts of her novels that felt gratuitously violent to me (even unbelievably so), so when I saw this collection of short stories, I was a little hesitant to pick this up. If you've read my reviews before, you know how much I love short stories, and a short story horror collection is my absolute jam. There is some violence in this collection, but it wasn't so gratuitous that it turned me off or was cringeworthy.
But anyway, let me get to the individual stories in the collection. For the first time, I don't think I could pick a favorite. All of the stories in this collection are top-notch.
"Perfect Little Monsters"
This tells the story of Enda, a young girl with a deformed face who lives out in the middle of nowhere with Brother and Papa and desperately longs for a new sister. One night, Papa finally brings her one, but will she be the one who finally stays?
-- This story is so sad and so horrific. It's brilliantly done. My heart absolutely broke for Enda. I was completely absorbed in the isolated, demented, yet normalized world in which Enda lived. I did not expect the ending at all.
"I Hate You"
This story is about Molly, a fifteen-year-old girl who is full of rage and angst at her life and her situation and takes it out by anonymously sending hateful, bullying messages to her peers online. She pays the price when she's abducted by a masked man who's hell-bent on teaching her the real meaning of hate.
-- This was probably my least favorite story of the lot, but it's still pretty great. A real novel concept, one I would have never thought of in a million years. There are a lot of stories nowadays that play off the whole bullying, especially online bullying concept, but this one was interesting. Parts of it were a little far-fetched, I think, but I've come to expect a bit of that with Cross' work.
"Meat"
This story is about Patricia, an old, reclusive woman who lives alone and has a growing paranoia and a fixation on meat. When new neighbors move into the neighborhood, she believes they are up to no good, so she starts spying on them, all the while constantly gnawing on meat and bones because it calms her. And talking to her "dead" husband who helps her figure out what they're up to. When she breaks into their house and causes a disturbance, the cops get involved and discover the truth of how Patricia has been living.
-- I loved this story. It gave me the chills. This is just the sort of story that defines horror for me. Absolutely creepy and the definition of what can happen when the human mind falls apart. A truly great story.
"Fifty-Fifty"
In this tale, we meet the Governor of a women's prison in the middle of a hot and sweltering desert who conducts a daily experiment in which he brings two prisoners to his chambers and puts a revolver to their heads and pulls the trigger. Whichever girl lives gets to move on to the next day. He records this "data" in his records because he believes he's conducting some amazing study that's gonna garner him accolades about statistics about how there is no luck, only chance. Then, we meet Gemma Roper, the only inmate who seems to beat the odds, but is she really the lucky one?
-- This is another great story about the way the human mind can slip under pressure, and how the real monsters in this world aren't ones that come from other dimensions or ghosts or ghouls, but real humans who hurt other humans. I very nearly felt like I was going to lose it, too, reading this story it was so well done. A+.
"Stay Up Late"
This story is about a writer who wants to stay up "just for a couple more hours" to crank out those last five hundred words. In doing so, he meets someone named Bartleby who comes to share some wine. To come upstairs and see his sleeping family. To venture into something much, much worse.
-- This story was confusing. Perhaps I was a little too tired when I read it or a little too distracted. I get the basic premise of it, but it was a little too open-ended for me. I still liked it, though, and as a writer, I definitely get the whole "Just give me a little while longer," thing. We definitely neglect our loved ones for the story, and the concept of paying a price -- a really scary one -- for that is absolutely horrifying.
"The Scream"
A small, picturesque town is suddenly inundated with a piercing, constant, non-stop scream one morning that no one can find the source of. It goes on for a whole day, and it begins to drive people mad. Who the hell is screaming and why? A priest from out of town shows up. He must have answers.
-- This story is crazy. Absolutely nuts. Just the description alone is damn near overwhelming. A scream that doesn't stop? How is that even possible? And this is one of those stories that was almost too violent for me. Still, it's a pretty dang good tale that's unlike anything I've ever read before.
Pick up this collection. Especially for "Meat" and "Perfect Little Monsters". They are the real gems of this collection, I think.
February 28, 2019
A Good Read
“Real hatred starts as a seed in your heart and grows from there, spreading its roots through your body until no part of you has been spared. Real hatred leaves you shivering and shaking on the floor, it burns through your soul until there's nothing left, nothing else matters, and you can only think about the object of that hatred. And hatred binds you, Molly. When you hate another human being, you bind your soul to theirs, the same as if you love them. It hurts, Molly. It hurts so much to truly hate someone.”
It's Women in Horror Month, and I knew I would turn to Amy Cross to read a book. Though not always the most well edited books, I always know what I'm going to get when I pick up something she's written. Her writing is effortless and easy to follow along with.
The collection itself was hit and miss with me. For the most part, it seemed to have one theme that was prominent, but there was a healthy mix of stories within. My favorite was The Scream.
I usually enjoy Cross's books, and this one was definitely a good read.
“Real hatred starts as a seed in your heart and grows from there, spreading its roots through your body until no part of you has been spared. Real hatred leaves you shivering and shaking on the floor, it burns through your soul until there's nothing left, nothing else matters, and you can only think about the object of that hatred. And hatred binds you, Molly. When you hate another human being, you bind your soul to theirs, the same as if you love them. It hurts, Molly. It hurts so much to truly hate someone.”
It's Women in Horror Month, and I knew I would turn to Amy Cross to read a book. Though not always the most well edited books, I always know what I'm going to get when I pick up something she's written. Her writing is effortless and easy to follow along with.
The collection itself was hit and miss with me. For the most part, it seemed to have one theme that was prominent, but there was a healthy mix of stories within. My favorite was The Scream.
I usually enjoy Cross's books, and this one was definitely a good read.
May 26, 2019
Good Yet Disturbing
Amy Cross is a good writer. It's rare to find spelling or grammar mistakes. She is a really good descriptive writer. She can make you see the scenes that she's written and because of the type of scenes she creates, that can be very disturbing. You find yourself thinking, "Thank God this can't be real" . Yet you find yourself moving on to the next story because no matter how disturbing it gets, you want more. You need more. She sets a tone and runs with it to the very end of the book.
Amy Cross is a good writer. It's rare to find spelling or grammar mistakes. She is a really good descriptive writer. She can make you see the scenes that she's written and because of the type of scenes she creates, that can be very disturbing. You find yourself thinking, "Thank God this can't be real" . Yet you find yourself moving on to the next story because no matter how disturbing it gets, you want more. You need more. She sets a tone and runs with it to the very end of the book.
March 20, 2020
Creepy and suspenseful
I normally struggle to focus when I read an ebook; something about the lit screen or maybe the lack of tactile experience makes it hard to get sucked in without paper pages in my hand. That was NOT a problem with this one! Holy Jesus the stories are creepy and enthralling, with engaging characters and enough body horror to satisfy the most die hard gore fan. I honestly can't recommend it enough.
I normally struggle to focus when I read an ebook; something about the lit screen or maybe the lack of tactile experience makes it hard to get sucked in without paper pages in my hand. That was NOT a problem with this one! Holy Jesus the stories are creepy and enthralling, with engaging characters and enough body horror to satisfy the most die hard gore fan. I honestly can't recommend it enough.
August 28, 2023
Stephen King style horror
I've read several of the author's books, and this really has the feel of old-school Stephen King stories, where it builds up from relatively normal and only gradually do you notice how creepy it's getting. The horror factor isn't explained, it just IS, and you quit wondering why it happened, and start wondering just how bad it's going to end up. Spectacular
I've read several of the author's books, and this really has the feel of old-school Stephen King stories, where it builds up from relatively normal and only gradually do you notice how creepy it's getting. The horror factor isn't explained, it just IS, and you quit wondering why it happened, and start wondering just how bad it's going to end up. Spectacular
August 8, 2019
This book by Amy Cross is excellent. All the stories are completely different and you become interested in each and every one of the as if it's a different book. If you enjoy Amy Cross's writing like I do, you will enjoy these Perfect Little Monsters. I'm off to my next Amy Cross book "The Nurse".
June 10, 2022
I've read several of Cross's other books and mostly enjoyed them. This collection of short stories/novellas, however, was quite different than most of what I've previously read. These stories were mostly heavier on the Splatterpunk and torture porn end of the scale, and they were far from her best writing. I have to rate this a 1* because I really didn't enjoy any of the tales.
January 22, 2018
Great book!
This writer really knows how to keep you reading ! I totally enjoy everything I have read by her, and can't wait to read more. Will continue reading your books and will recommend to everyone!Thank you.Keep up the good work!
This writer really knows how to keep you reading ! I totally enjoy everything I have read by her, and can't wait to read more. Will continue reading your books and will recommend to everyone!Thank you.Keep up the good work!
February 7, 2018
Amy Cross doing what she does best, writing gripping, captivating, riveting, gruesome, chilling, haunting horror. This was an excellent collection. Each story totally different from the last and each with great new scares.
August 23, 2018
The very poorest collection of "horror" stories...I have ever read!
Disjointed, pointless, poorly paced and worded...sorry! I even found the premise of most stories to be amateurish, poorly paced and un-engaging.
Disjointed, pointless, poorly paced and worded...sorry! I even found the premise of most stories to be amateurish, poorly paced and un-engaging.
January 28, 2019
Started out good
So I enjoyed the first (half?) By the time I got to 'The Scream ' I began struggling to pay attention. That particular story was long, drawn out and boring. After that I was hopeful for it to pick back up. Unfortunately, no such luck.
So I enjoyed the first (half?) By the time I got to 'The Scream ' I began struggling to pay attention. That particular story was long, drawn out and boring. After that I was hopeful for it to pick back up. Unfortunately, no such luck.
March 21, 2019
Scary book
A good book with short stories the scream is scary.the prison has a lot of suspense and fear. I like short stories to read inbetween jobs or in bed. Looking forward to reading more
Of Amy crosses books read Asylum series
A good book with short stories the scream is scary.the prison has a lot of suspense and fear. I like short stories to read inbetween jobs or in bed. Looking forward to reading more
Of Amy crosses books read Asylum series
March 18, 2020
Five great stories
I really can't get enough of this author. From her full books to the short stories all gripping and brilliant. Highlight was the Scream definitely a Stephen king inspired story. Hopefully more to come
I really can't get enough of this author. From her full books to the short stories all gripping and brilliant. Highlight was the Scream definitely a Stephen king inspired story. Hopefully more to come
January 2, 2024
An Interesting Read
I enjoyed the book, some of the stories felt unnecessarily long. The prison story was my favorite. It’s worth picking up and definitely not boring or predictable.
I enjoyed the book, some of the stories felt unnecessarily long. The prison story was my favorite. It’s worth picking up and definitely not boring or predictable.
July 17, 2017
Great short stories
I found the first three short stories to be really good, but the last one was rather dull and boring. Fixing to read Asylum next.
I found the first three short stories to be really good, but the last one was rather dull and boring. Fixing to read Asylum next.
December 26, 2018
26/12/18: RTC
January 13, 2019
Outstanding.
Don't usually read short stories, but these were all outstanding. Loved every one of them. Keep em coming Amy cross.
Don't usually read short stories, but these were all outstanding. Loved every one of them. Keep em coming Amy cross.
March 23, 2019
Great
Good stories. Kept me awake all night and now I have to read more of her books. Keep them coming.
Good stories. Kept me awake all night and now I have to read more of her books. Keep them coming.
June 11, 2019
Brilliant
Terrifyingly brilliant. I adored this little collection of short stories. This author never disappoints. A complete page turner from start to finish.
Terrifyingly brilliant. I adored this little collection of short stories. This author never disappoints. A complete page turner from start to finish.
July 14, 2022
Some were more creepier then others.
July 20, 2023
Ok
Not sure how I feel about this book! Like WTF kinda glad its over. So of the stories was crazy and not in a good way
Not sure how I feel about this book! Like WTF kinda glad its over. So of the stories was crazy and not in a good way
January 19, 2019
There were two stories in the book which was memorable, but all in all it's a mediocre read if you are used to the authors other works. I love how the author is never backing down from topics and have no problem writing some really psychologically disturbing stories, and maybe that is why I am a little disappointed when she writes something which is painfully predictable and borderline boring.
February 5, 2022
Gruesome, Creepy, Awesome!
These short stories have everything you could want in a short burst of adrenaline.
I definitely preferred the first story. It had just enough creepy meets psychological horror with a touch of revenge at the end.
These short stories have everything you could want in a short burst of adrenaline.
I definitely preferred the first story. It had just enough creepy meets psychological horror with a touch of revenge at the end.
September 13, 2016
A breath of fresh air
A great novella and short story collection. I've read a lot of these collections the past few years and you start to realize how difficult it is for one to shine through. Most are average at best when considering the whole package. However, this one is different. All the stories work. All are creepy and unnerving. All have deeper layers. You emotionally connect with the protagonists. You understand their motivation. The stories all seem real and you feel a part of them.
This is my first time reading Amy Cross and it won't be the last.
A great novella and short story collection. I've read a lot of these collections the past few years and you start to realize how difficult it is for one to shine through. Most are average at best when considering the whole package. However, this one is different. All the stories work. All are creepy and unnerving. All have deeper layers. You emotionally connect with the protagonists. You understand their motivation. The stories all seem real and you feel a part of them.
This is my first time reading Amy Cross and it won't be the last.
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