The Caffeinated Booknerd: Chills: A Short Story Collection || REVIEW

Chills: A Short Story Collection
by Sahar Sabati
Genre: Suspense
Age Category: Adult
Release Date: 17 October 2013

Blurb:
The same people are impossibly spotted in two different places at once; a man considers murdering the husband of a woman he loves; while driving home very early in the morning, a driverless car appears out of the fog and follows two sisters home. Fear of the unknown, emotional intensity, and plain old creepiness will give you chills long after you have finished reading the seven stories in this collection.

You can find Chills: A Short Story Collection on Goodreads

You can buy Chills: A Short Story Collection here:

- Amazon

- Kobo
- B&N

- Itunes

About the author:
The author of Spirit Within Club and Chills: A Short Story Collection, Sahar was born the first of three siblings and the first of eight cousins who grew up together. Thrust in the role of head of the brood at a very early age, she honed her imagination by creating stories and plotlines the eight of them could play to all summer long. But soon, her interest in the paranormal took its toll on said brood. Worried on the long-term effects (as well as potential therapy costs) of this continual exposure to increasingly scary stories her oldest was (too) expertly weaving for their terrified ears, her mother gave her a typewriter ? and a writer was born. Many books, a couple of screenplays, countless short stories, numerous essays, two blogs, and one Facebook page later, Sahar joined the ranks of Blogcritics, delving into the world of reviews.

You can find and contact Sahar here:

- Author website

- Blog

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Instagram

Thank you to the author and Lola's Blog Tours for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Chills: A Short Story Collection is a 73 page book of 7 short stories. The author states that "the stories in this collection are metaphors for fears that I or close friends of mine had to face." I went into this book hope to get a little freaked out. It's hard to 'scare' me so that wasn't anticipated, but it is more a psychological reaction then one of horror.

Story 1: Double, Double || Dana is sure that she is seeing the same people in different places, knowing that it is virtually impossible from these people to be in two places at once. Dana believes that she sees the same people over and over on a number of occasions. When she finds out the truth about what she is actually seeing, she is overwhelmed.

~~~ I didn't really have any type of reaction to this story. I knew about half-way through what the outcome would be. ~~~~

Story 2: The Mug Shot || An emergency room nurse comes face-to-face with a guy that is on the FBI's most wanted list in an area that she can't escape so easily. The conversation doesn't go as you would expect. However, it makes you think, what would you do if you were in her position?

~~~~This was a psychological story for me. I asked myself multiple times, what would I do if I was her. I didn't expect the conversation to go the way that it did and was intrigued by the statements that the Mug Shot guy made. This was my favorite short story.~~~

Story 3: Karma || Peter is a pharmacist who falls in love with, Eva, a customer of his. Of course, she is married to another man. Peter knows that it is wrong and makes several attempts to remove himself from the area of town that she would frequent to avoid her. However, when Peter sees Eva again years down the line he is put in an awkward and potentially dangerous situation. When things don't go anything like he imagined is his fate at risk?

~~~I don't see this story as suspenseful, psychological, or scary. This is something that I've seen numerous shows, movies, books all cover before. The forbidden love. However, what Peter gains at the end is certainly different then the norm. ~~~

Story 4: The Car In The Fog || After an all-night study session, at a local coffee shop, Kimmy and Mandy leave to make their way home when the see a black SUV travelling in the fog behind them. After questioning each other they both say that there wasn't a driver in the car. Panicking they pull off an exit to wait for the car to pass. They never see it past. They wait and continue off the exit and come to a notorious haunted and abandoned house where they see the black SUV in the driveway. When they go to check it out they discover things they never thought they'd find.

~~~~This story actually irritated me. Really you go to find out why a mysterious vehicle is at an abandoned house. Just no. Just stop. Oh and I'm on a coffee binge with no sleep. On to the next one.~~~

Story 5: Monster in My Closet || A woman does not know what to think when she discovers her closet door is open, and opening wider slowly, as she lays in bed attempting to fall asleep. She eventually gets out of bed, avoiding closing the door not knowing if something is in there, and goes to the bathroom and locks the door. Time ticks by, things happen, she climbs out the bathroom window and calls the police at her neighbors home. The investigation uncovers some very creepy things that will haunt this woman forever.

~~~While I was disappointed in some things that this woman did in this story it was ultimately a freaky story. After knowing what happens at the end I would be terrified if I was her and don't know how I would go on. Second favorite story of the collection.~~~

Story 6: Misty Eyes || A woman working at home on a foggy day continuously sees people dressed in the same coat walking outside of her house all day long. When she suspects something shady is happening at her neighbors house she decides to check it out. After seeing a woman with blood on her face charging at her front door she calls 911. She then decides to research the history of her neighborhood. After discovering awful things about the house across from her she has a hard time sleeping. Her friends Mike & Lida offer to stay with her so she feels safe. When they both see the woman in the street they discover some more horrible history.

~~~I feel like the person in this story is holding some guilt that isn't necessary. When you see a strange person that you don't recognize on the street would you feel as though you are suppose to help them with something? I wouldn't. I also wouldn't research things that would concern or scare me either. Judgement calls are my main issue with this story. ~~~

Story 7: Mindy's Melody || A man tries to move on as a widower with the help of an old man and a piano. The guy is having a hard time moving on after his wife's unexpected death. As he attempts to dive into work and also into religion he finds that he has held the answer to moving on all along.

~~~This story really made no sense to me at all. I didn't understand the ending and it made me say what the hell, at the end of the book. I'm still trying to make sense of it and can't.~~~

Overall

I give this book 3 coffee cup stars. While I did like a couple of the stories

the rest of it fell kind of flat for me.