Author: Mike Russell Series: Standalone Genre: Short Story Collection Release Date: February 8, 2018 Book Length: 156 pages Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform Review: 3.5/5
Goodreads Synopsis:
Discover the mystery of the two-headed rose and many more Strange Secrets in this new collection of extraordinary stories by Mike Russell. ‘It can’t be real.’ ‘But it is.’ Strange Secrets invites you to discover the magical and the marvellous. Startlingly inventive and constantly entertaining, these unique, vital and vividly realised stories will take you to places you have never been before. Strange Secrets is Mike Russell’s third short-story collection.
My Review:
First of all, I would like to thank the author for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I truly can’t remember the last time I read a collection of short stories, but I’m glad I read this one! I really enjoyed it.
The collection is split up into 7 standalone stories: The Constantly Empty Pool, The Puppeteer, Arnold’s Melting Foot, Missing Persons, Reality, Maps, and The Forest. My favourite ones were Missing Persons and The Forest. What I find unique about Mike Russell’s writing is that it forces you to think beyond what the story exposes at face value. Every story has their own strange elements to it, from items that mirror themselves, to body parts that melt- I fell in love with the creativity of the plot lines.
Admittedly, at times I was left feeling a little confused by the ending of the stories. However, I can appreciate that little extra mental digging you had to do in order to make sense of it all in the way you wanted to interpret it. It reminded me of watching Black Mirror episodes- a show which I love because it messes with your mind.
I recommend this collection if you are looking for something unique and mind boggling. This was the first book I’ve read by Mike Russell, but I am curious about all the stories in his other ones now!
If you would like to read this book, you can purchase it on Amazon.
cat @ thisisoneforthebooks 
Glad this was so unique and well done, even if the endings could be a tad confusing. Great review!
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Thank you! 🙂
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[…] of Strange Secrets, which is a short story collection that I recently read. You can find my review here if you are interested in getting to know more about the novel. As for getting to know the author, […]
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Very well written post. It will be valuable to anybody who usess it, including myself. Keep up the good work – looking forward to more posts.
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