Today I’m sharing my belated blog tour post for Tales From The Coffee Pot. My review is written with thanks to Zoe O’Farrell and the team at Question Mark Press for inviting me on the tour, and with my apologies for being late.

Blurb:

For the first time, the best of Jim Ody’s published short-stories are together in one anthology, including four previously unreleased.
Twelve twisted tales that touch on psychological/thriller, horror and YA, including:
A detective sent to a travelling circus to find a missing boy; A guy with a mysterious trunk must meet a stranger at a motel to survive; A doll turns up and becomes a little girl’s best friend. Then things turn strange; A surprise birthday party is memorable, if only the birthday boy survives; and a group of orphans find the world is about to end…

1 The Reveal
2 A Moth in The Jar
3 The I-Scream Van
4 Teaching Tom
5 Boat Trip
6 The Trunk
7 The Day
8 A Doll Named Sasha
9 Surprise Party
10 The Orphans
11 Hide & Seek
12 Virgin Women From Outta Space

Review:

The stories in Tales From The Coffee Pot are all very different, but they are all written with Jim Ody’s trademark quirkiness, which makes them really enjoyable. There is definitely something for everyone: a little sci-fi, a little horror and a little crime and there are a few surprises along the way which give the reader something to think about at the end of each story. 

Most of the stories in the collection are actually slightly longer than the average short story, but this means we still have ample opportunity to learn about Ody’s interesting characters and take in the atmosphere that he builds so successfully no matter what the setting or situation. 

Many of the stories have been published previously in other anthologies, but I enjoyed being able to read all of these together. There are references to some of the stories (and Ody’s full length novels) within each other and reading them all together makes it easier to spot and appreciate these references. 

Between each story, there are poems which are wonderfully written and again give the reader something to think about. 

Tales From The Coffee Pot is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: