Madame Cruller's Couch and Other Dark and Bizarre Tales

By: Elizabeth Massie

Narrated by: Cathi Colas

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

A small-town psychic’s trailer burns, leaving little in the wreckage but her lovely green couch. A great find for a couple who make their living scavenging and selling secondhand items. Yet, Madame Cruller’s couch is imbedded with something unpleasant, and we’re not talking fleas.

A young man, accompanied by a shadowy specter since birth, unwittingly exacts revenge against those who threaten him.

A hoarder learns that dogs can sometimes be loyal to a fault.

A dark and terrible secret threatens the plans two brothers have of racing their car in a television-themed challenge.

A pony and a steer have had enough of their arrogant owners and decide to take the “bull by the horns”, so to speak.

Thanks to the couple who own her town, Christmastime has become an annoyance for Donna Wilson. But during this year’s command-performance Yuletide party, Donna discovers a nightmare that rivals any holiday horror story she’s ever read.

Surviving the brutal 1968 Vietnam War riots in Chicago, a desperately optimistic man travels cross-country to join a commune...only to realize that “peace” can be as dangerous as violence.

A peculiar and devastating plague rapidly spreads across the globe, throwing the survivors into a battle for their sanity and their lives.

These are some of the stories in this chilling new collection by two-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author Elizabeth Massie.

“Elizabeth Massie is personally one of my favorite authors.” (Bentley Little, author of The Town, The Bank)

“Elizabeth Massie never fails to engage the heart and mind.” (Jack Ketchum, author of The Girl Next Door, The Lost)

©2021 Elizabeth Massie (P)2021 David N. Wilson

Dark, bizarre, but such a good listen!

Dark, yes, and at times truly bizarre and frightening, this collection kept me throughly engaged, entertained and wondering just what might be around the corner, in the closet or under the bed! Some of them also made me think, REALLY made me think! The writing across the board is clear and the characters colorful, running the full gamut from innocent and likable to truly disturbing, demented and deplorable! The stories they occupy so delightfully, so uniquely different from each other in this varied, macabre, something for everyone collection! Brought alive by beautifully clear, perfectly timed and emotionally appropriate narration, I really enjoyed the hours I spent with these characters, listening to their stories, feeling with them and for them! Five fantastic stars!

5 Stars for both the author and the narrator!

This collection of short stories held me captive! Some are dark and twisted enough that they haunted me into the night, but not in a bad way. The tales are so well written and the characters so well developed that I feel as if I know each one personally.
The narration is spectacular! The voices one person is able to conjure leave you wondering if maybe there were three or four in the booth instead of just one.
If you like stories that captivate, grab this one now. You won't be sorry!

An awesome anthology!

From the very first story to the very last every one of them hoes your attention and it’s so interesting and bizarre you don’t want to put it down and I was sad when the book was over. I can only hope the author has more bizarre or tails to tail and I have to mention the narrator was so good she was awesome. When she did the different characters you can tell who was talking I love that one and a writer has that ability and she did. So with the great narrator in the great anthology makes for a great audiobook and one I highly recommend!

3.5* - mix of stories

Like all collections of short-stories, I enjoyed some more than others. My favourites were "Madame Cruller's Couch", "Christmas at the Pattersons", and "D in the Dark". The first two that I mentioned here had dark themes and interesting plots. I suppose I'd describe "D in the Dark" as more bizarre than dark but even so, but it didn't require me to suspend disbelief so maybe I'd classify that story more as 'unusual and interesting' rather than 'dark and bizarre'. I wasn't sure how I felt about "Eating Cancer". I can easily, easily imagine some readers being unimpressed or disgusted if they perceive the story as a 'sky-is-falling, libtard virtue-signalling hysteria fantasy fable' in light of the current pandemic. So, to me, I considered this a dark story because of what it says about human nature and social behaviour. And any story that makes me think about my own reactions/behaviours 'if I were in their shoes' is a worthwhile read for me. Anyway, these four stories stood out for me.

The narrator was a great storyteller for this style of book. Who knows, maybe I enjoyed the four specific stories mentioned above because the narrator's style/tone complemented the plots of those stories. The story and the narration clicked particularly well for those stories, I felt.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.