There’s nothing cosy about this crime.Succulent and rich stories of the dark and unknown that might terrify, horrify, or deliciously delight.Thirty-two previously published and prize winning tales that contain themes of death, destruction, abuse and emotion, each one a veritable stride into a unique and different world. From the psychologically disturbed, the raging mad, the vulnerability of victims, and desperately needy, there’s not much that isn’t covered in the dark genre for those that like their stories to be troubling, distressing and quirky. NOT for the faint of heart, this comes with a triple X warning!"
A delightfully dark rollercoaster, dipping into a selection of slickly written shorts." -- Robert Scragg, author of All That is Buried
"A patchwork quilt of daring fever dreams, stitched together with effortless, bewitching prose. Highly recommended." -- Rob Parker, author Far from the Tree
A Bowl of Cherries by FE Birch was published in July this year. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review for this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour.
When you receive a book from an author and the note inside says 'I hope you like stories that are dark!", you know that you are in for a treat! A Bowl of Cherries is a collection of thirty-two short stories that are most certainly a real treat, but be aware, you do have to enjoy 'dark', you do have to prepare yourself for the unexpected. There are no holds barred here, this author shows her skill so very well in each and every one of these stories. Some are just a couple of pages long, some are longer, but each one is so very different and I was totally invested in every one of them.
It's rare that I enjoy a complete collection of short stories as much as I've enjoyed these. More often than not, there will be a few stories in an anthology that just don't do it for me. I can honestly say that I enjoyed reading every single one of these. I really believe that it's harder to create a gripping and realistic story in the short form than it is to create a full-length novel. Being able to make the reader connect with the characters in such a short time is an enviable task, but FE Birch manages it beautifully.
These stories go from the downright dirty and dangerously explicit to the heart-reading and tear-jerking. There's murder and lust, confessions and revenge a plenty here; something to suit every mood.
A Bowl of Cherries is the perfect book to pick up, dip into, entertain yourself and enjoy .... albeit in a dark and fairly intense way.
Effie Merryl is an ex-cop who spends her time between the North East of England and Central Scotland.
She won the first Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect in 2012 with the manuscript that will hopefully become her debut crime novel.
She is the pseudonymous author of a 'faction' book of memoirs published by Harper Collins in 2013. She has had over 150 short stories published online and in print, many of which have been placed in competitions (2004 - present).
Her short story collection, Bowl of Cherries, contains some of her best prize winners, and is released on Amazon Kindle under the name F.E. Birch.
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