Certain Dark Things is a short story collection by M.J. Pack.
When doing a collection of short stories, it can be difficult to find balance. A lot of time the story placement seems almost random and the book will have no flow. Each story in Certain Dark Things seems as though it were meticulously picked out to appear in just the right order. None of the stories fall flat, it opens and ends on very strong notes.
The stories within cover hauntings, vampires (this story is excellent but I can’t say the title or it’ll give it away), the Apocalypse, love, loss and vengeful celebrities.
One of the hardest things to do in short fiction is crafting characters that people care about, M.J. Pack does a fabulous job of this in the small amount of time we get to experience her characters. Even her villains come off as sympathetic which is something I always like to see.
If you asked me to compare this book with other short story collections, I’d refuse. The material is fresh and original enough that it isn’t necessary.
I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book, you’ll most likely get through it in a single sitting but the stories are so good that you’ll be going through it multiple times. It’s absolutely worth adding to your collection.