Howard Odentz

Little Killers A to Z by Howard Odentz is not a book* I would have normally picked up. I am not really a horror guy, unless it is creepy horror rather than stabby horror, the cover screams bargain bin book, and the idea of murderous children doesn't appeal to me. I grabbed the book because quite a few people I trust posted reviews on Litsy (a social media for books), so I gave it a go.

I am so glad I did!

This book has 26 stories in it, hitting pretty much all the horror themes- kidnapping by Satanic cults, serial killers, vampires, etc. Each of the 26 stories are about 2-5 pages long and focus on a child's name beginning with that letter of the alphabet.

I will say I loved the length of each story. As one can imagine in a book of 26 stories, there are bound to be duds. For example, I thought the first story and the second story didn't do the book justice. The good news even the duds become good because they are only a few pages long! One doesn't feel invested or feel like time has been wasted on a dud story, which sometimes happens in short story anthologies which have stories spanning 30 pages. I am fine with a dud 2 page long story.

The stories that hit, really hit! Odentz has created some very interesting and creative stories that often have twists and are just a lot of fun- for a horror book. For example, I loved the serial killer story "F is for Fern Who Has Murder in Mind." It is about a little 8 year old girl who loves killing people only to make it look like an accident. No one suspects her because she is 8, so they think she is witnessing all of these horrific things. The whole story is told within her mind, as she playfully does these terrible things for her own enjoyment. There are many others that really hit well.

I am so glad I picked this one up, even though it was out of my genre. Good writing is good writing and Odentz has written some fun horror stories with a twist in each one. Give the book a shot as it is cheap on Kindle, right now.

I rated this one 4.5 stars.

*I want to thank NetGalley and BelleBooks for this ebook. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.… (altro)

These 26 bite sized tales of wonderfully wicked children kept me glued to the pages. From A is for Andy to Z is for Zina who is starving to death in a post apocalyptic world I couldn't put it down. These are not all stories of children who just enjoy killing though some of them do! Some were made that way through circumstance, others learned it from daddy. Each tale is unique.
Some of my favorites were A is for Andy, in which an abused child finds a way to improve his living situation. C is for Cassie in which a girl who needs structure and consistency has her routine disturbed by grandma. F is for Fern, about a girl who loves to kill but also loves her baby sister. K is for Kiernan, in which a boy must fight for his life. M is for Maura about a girl who just wanted some privacy, N is for Nancy which addressed bigotry. I also Loved the story of poor OZ who was shuffled from one specialist to the next to address his real and imagined medical problems. Truly there was not a bad story in the bunch, but those were my absolute favorites.

I received a complimentary copy for review… (altro)