D.C. Mallery’s SARA SARQUE & THE DEMON EXECUTIONER is a single-author anthology of horror stories. The subject matter is varied, from stalwart demons and ghouls to other, less identifiable (and often creepier) horrors.

Mallery sets his stories in various eras. There are contemporary stories that make good use of the everyday world of bars, derelict hotels, and tourist buses; and these sit alongside period tales, which dive deep into gothic horror. Mallery’s prose style keeps things simple. His descriptions are sparse but effective. His characterization is kept to a minimum, but, like a skilled artist, the tiny details he chooses to include provide all that is needed for the reader to fill in the bigger picture. Like this description of a mysterious stranger from the opening story “The Trauma Thief”: “And he had flint-blue eyes. There was something unsettling about them. They were the sort of eyes you couldn’t look straight at for long. There seemed to be something watching from behind those eyes.” These are skillfully honed stories with sharp, concise dialogue reminiscent of the early magazine shorts written by Stephen King.

In terms of subject matter, the most effective tales are perhaps the more abstract and uncanny ones. The strange fairytale-like “Her Best Feature” is a nightmarish mystery featuring wayward hair, and “The Woman and The Maze” is a pleasingly bizarre parable wherein an elderly woman is transformed into a living maze.

A number of the stories include twists. Some of these will be quite obvious from the outset, but Mallery’s skill is in his technique and the timing of his reveal. The aforementioned “The Trauma Thief” is a perfect example of this. Mallery uses repetition, notably the protagonist’s insistence that he “never had a wife,” to build the tempo; and when the twist comes (though it’s hardly a surprise) the reader can delight in its unique timing. It’s rather like the final flourish of a card trick. The audience knows what’s coming, but it’s the delivery that launches the story above the usual expectation.

The title story, “Sara Sarque & The Demon Executioner,” is a gritty, contemporary tale that pits a junkie against demonic possession. An obvious allegory perhaps, and the story runs to near novella length, but Mallery shows he is capable of maintaining the quality of his sleek and simple phrasing in longer form. It’s a satisfying close to an entertaining collection.

SARA SARQUE & THE DEMON EXECUTIONER is a high-quality anthology of tales to spook and shock the reader. D.C. Mallery’s gallery of grotesques showcases his skills as an inventive writer with the ability to plot new angles on sometimes-familiar set-ups.

~Kent Lane for IndieReader