Writing a short story is a real craft. Some of these authors pulled it off and some didn’t. Some stories interesting some were “what is the point”. None of them are mysteries. ( )

I really liked this book. Some of the stories jumped right out at me. Some of them I saw what was coming. A few I had no clue what was going on, but still had fun listening to it. Great read ( )

“All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”

In the stories of this collection, “...each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst,...”

Joe Lansdale’s tale was great, but way too short! And “P.F.A.” (for a Person From Away) is a great one too! I was bummed that I wasn’t into Joe Hill’s story, but not all the stories worked for me. If you give this book a try, “There are nineteen dark treats ahead for you,...”. I’m sure you’ll enjoy a few! ( )

When A Stranger Comes To Town
Edited by Michael Koryta

This Mystery Writers of America anthology of short stories includes eighteen authors take on the a stranger coming to town…most of the strangers written about by the authors are not ones I would like to meet myself but they are intriguing. I believe this is a book best read a story at a time rather than all in one sitting. It would make a good gift to give to a mystery lover. I have a few more stories yet to read but my favorites so far were: Solomon Wept by S.A. Cosby ~ a story of a mother’s love and Relative Stranger by Amanda Witt: a family pulling together to stay safe. There were several others that made me think but I related best to these first two stories in the collection – perhaps because the mothers in both stories were characters I could see a bit of myself in. All in all this was an interesting ncollection of stories well worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin – Hanover square Press for the ARC ~ This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )

When a Stranger Comes to Town by Michael Koryta contains nineteen mysteries involving a stranger. This gave me an opportunity to experience a variety of mystery authors. Each story involves a stranger which can be a tourist, a family member you have never met, a new neighbor, etc. I enjoyed the stories that had the unexpected, were creepy, and left me feeling uneasy. To me that is the sign of a good mystery or thriller. Some of the tales hit the mark while others did not. I especially disliked the ones that felt unfinished. I do not like having unanswered questions. Some of the stories felt that the author had a big premise that did not fit the small format. One tale felt like it was part of a bigger book and I was reading just a sample of it. My favorite story came from Lisa Unger. Some of these authors did a great job. They grabbed my attention from the first page and held it until the end. I found some new authors from reading this collection. I did find that many of the stories followed the same format and it was easy to predict how the tale would play out. One good thing about short stories is you can read one or all of them. You can enjoy them over a period of time which I think is the best way to enjoy this collection. There are some mild stories while authors are gruesome. I particularly liked Michael Connelly, Joe Hill, Alafair Burke, Lisa Unger, and Bryon Quertermous. My least favorite is Kohinoor by Smita Harish Jain. Overall, this is an interesting collection of scary tales. I will be wary when a new neighbor moves in next door! ( )