Blood Drops : A Collection of Horror Stories by WB Welch Review

Includes story “Her” – along with three never before published works. Whether we are following WB through a grim future where human meat is on the market, or trailing slowly behind while she introduces us to Marie Laveua’s daughter, you can be certain of one thing: you will be surprised. The best and the most brutal of WB’s work has been brought together in this all-too-believable collection. Includes a total of eighteen tales. Stories include: Her, Undo, Slipping, Siren, Alone in the House, Antics, House Arrest, Mall Food, Meat Aisle, The Water Stain, Heart Problems, Laveau, The Birth, The Look, Love/Death, Beneath the Surface, Nighttime Terror, and Girl in the Pink Coat.

Title: Blood Drops| Author: WB Welch | Publisher: Independently published | Pub. Date: 3 December 2018 | ISBN-10: 1790708710 | Pages: 152 | Genre: Horror | Language: English | Triggers: Suicide, Child death | Rating: 5 out of 5 | Source: Won a copy of this book from a Twitter contest hosted by Writing Community Readers (@ReadersWriting)

This collection is haunting. From short stories to flash fiction, Blood Drops weaves an eerie and unsettling web. Some of the stories are a bit outlandish. For example, Nighttime Terror revolves around blood drinking elves. Others, hit at the fears most of us keep locked deep inside ourselves, such as Girl in The Pink Coat, a story of a girl who goes walking one night and doesn’t return. But even the shortest story, Mall Food, which is only four paragraphs long, makes a lasting impression.

There wasn’t a single story that didn’t capture my attention and suck me into hair-raising world. Each one contains strong characters, realistic dialogue and enough mystery to hold a reader’s attention from the first word to the final sentence.

The most gripping story, for me, was Her. A woman seeking love has a sinister secret. It’s the first in the collection and sets the chilling tone of the book. The pace of the book works like a professional music album, with some of the more intense stories broken by flash fiction, allowing the reader enough time to recover before diving into another dark world. I appreciate that the female characters aren’t damsels in distress, but rather well-crafted and genuine personalityes that fit organically into their stories.

I’ve read many horror collections and this is one of my favorites. I didn’t feel overwhelmed or emotionally drained after stepping into the darkness of these stories. There’s no excessive gore or unnecessary violence for the sake of violence. These stories hit at the human condition, the heaviness of despair within us all. They’re about love, loss, life and everything in between. Well worth reading.

You can find this book at many retailers via clicking on the appropriate link on Goodreads (buying direct from retailers is a good way to support indie authors); however, in the spirit of supporting literacy programs, we would like to point out that you may be able to purchase this book through BetterWorldBooks.