Reviews with content warning for Gore - Notte Buia, Niente Stelle

Full Dark, No Stars is a collection of four novellas and one bonus story. All five stories centre around the theme of death, and the four main novellas focus on themes of murder, guilt, violent crimes and justice. Full Dark, No Stars has to be one of my favourite collections of short novellas, a close second to Different Seasons!

1922

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

1922 was a great start to this collection, told through a letter from the POV of a killer. Our killer Wilf turned out to be a maybe unreliable narrator, and for some reason, I believe there is more to the story. 1922 was a dark, grotesque and sad read; the addition of rats provided a spooky touch.

Big Driver

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Big Driver was my favourite story in this collection. There were many twists and turns, and I knew Ramona couldn't be trusted as soon as she entered the story. Tess was bad*ss and served justice to that awful family that subjected her and many other women to a horrendous and sickening fate. Big Driver was dark, heartbreaking and emotional. But also addictive.

Fair Extension

⭐⭐⭐

Fair Extension was extremely dark and messed up. This one was the shortest story in this collection, not including the bonus story, and was not my favourite. Streeter was an awful human and never felt guilt for what he did to his best friend.

A Good Marriage

⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

A Good Marriage is from the POV of a wife that just discovered her husband is a wanted serial killer. It was interesting to go through the thought process as she digested what she found in the garage and to see her thought process when she decided to serve justice for the victims and her family. A Good Marriage was dark and hard to read, but it was addictive, nonetheless.

Bonus Story:

Under the Weather

⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

Under the Weather was quite an emotional and sad read. A husband wasn't ready to let go of his dead wife and kept her alive through his imagination, just like he promised her he would. The ending is left open, but we can assume that his dead wife is about to be discovered. Under the Weather was a short yet impactful read.

Content Warnings