by Barlow Adams
Good little girls didn’t do bad things. But Arthur had learned there were plenty of bad girls out there, bad girls who pretended to be good.
Barlow Adams’ short novella is a tough read at first – which isn’t to say that it’s bad. It’s very good.
But the opening chapter, depicting a serial killer plying his terrible craft, is gut-wrenching stuff.
Arthur Rosenbaum is a middle-aged bachelor who has spent his whole life trying to find the perfect girl, all sugar and spice. But they never match up to his romantic dreams – with Grimm results for them.
The Grimm Reaper is an excellent dark fantasy that deals with the stuff of true fairy tales: sex, death, princesses and monsters. Its style – and quality – reminded me very much of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood short stories. Highly recommended.
5/5
ravenhearststories 