I thoroughly enjoyed each novella in this book. The second King book l have read over the past month after a hiatus from reading. No spoilers here. Give it a read, Stephen still has it! ( )

3 racconti brevi 1 racconto lungo

* Il telefono del Sig. Harrigan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

* La vita di Chuck ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

* Se scorre il sangue ⭐️⭐️

* Ratto ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ( )

As usual, Stephen King's newest release, If It Bleeds, was responsible for sleepless hours and minor heart attacks - I really do not understand why I read his books at night, living alone as I do. He is so very skilled at building atmosphere, and in dragging you down into stories where you should not be, and into states of mind that are not good for the generally anxious reader that I am. I particularly enjoyed (if that is the right word) the title story, which features Holly Gibney, Jerome Robinson, and several other of the characters from King's Mr. Mercedes trilogy. This story finds Holly the owner of a detective agency, Finders Keepers, on the trail of another Outsider and in terrible peril.

The story that left me sleeping with my lights on was Mr. Harrigan's Phone, which tells the story of young Craig, who works for rich Mr. Harrigan in his mansion on the hill. When Mr. Harrigan dies - he is an elderly man and in ill health - Craig ensures that Mr. Harrigan is buried with his much-loved iPhone, a present from Craig on which Mr. Harrigan tracks the stock market. Burying the iPhone with his erstwhile boss is a mistake, a terrible, eerie mistake that had me reading through a crack in my cave of blankets, blinds drawn, all background noises making me jump and gasp for air. I put down the book for three days afterwards as I was scared to read more.

The Life of Chuck was written backwards; that is, its beginning is at the end and vice versa. I thought it was very well done, particularly as the scary bits were in the beginning, and then the story got tamer as it went. It was cleverly done. This novella left me wanting to read Walt Whitman, which is an unusual outcome for a horror story!

I didn't get a lot out of the final story, Rat, which is about a writer who goes to an isolated cabin in the woods to write a novel.

As always, a volume of Stephen King's stories is time well-spent and eagerly anticipated. This book did not disappoint. ( )

Horror

Holly's story felt fresh. I enjoyed the balance between dealing with her monstrous mother for the holidays, then facing an actual monster. Some of the other stories felt like well-trodden ground. So many writers struggling to write, with shades of Jack just despising Wendy, as he smiles and smiles. If you add a mysterious tunnel to one of the stories you'd get a King novel. I prefer what's in this collection. The tunnel to fairy-tale world wasn't as good as the boy, his dad, and the old man. ( )