by Lisa Tuttle
First published 2025
A woman wakes to discover her lover has vanished, leaving only his foot behind in her bed. This grotesque gift marks the beginning of a collection of macabre mementoes that will change her life forever. In another tale, two male coworkers maintain a simple friendship until one begins to bleed mysteriously, transforming their platonic bond into something darker. A third protagonist receives an unexpected call from a forgotten one night stand, leading to a reunion at a hotel where nothing unfolds as expected. These twelve stories explore the thin boundaries between ordinary life and nightmare, where bodies betray their owners and relationships reveal hidden horrors. Lisa Tuttle crafts scenarios where the familiar becomes threatening and human connections turn sinister. Each tale builds tension through small, disturbing details that accumulate into larger terrors. The collection includes the expanded novella "The Dragon's Bride" and showcases Tuttle's talent for finding dread in everyday situations.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, horror, dark-fantasy
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-themes, unreliable-narrator
233 pages · Paperback · Valancourt Books
Content warnings: body-horror, gore