My Two Cents: THE GHOSTWRITER (A Tiny Terrible Tale) by Sarah Jules

Sarah Jules is an auto-buy for me. I love her writing. Whether one of her longer works, like "You Invited It In" or her short "Tiny Terrible Tales," her stories are always taut, suspenseful, and genuinely spooky. Her latest entry into the Tiny Terrible Tales series, "The Ghostwriter" proves to be no exception.

In "The Ghostwriter," a young woman named Clio journeys to a bleak and isolated island off the coast of Scotland after being commissioned by the island's sole occupant, an elderly man named Percy Hern, to chronicle his memoirs. Although Clio is an accomplished ghostwriter, she doesn't normally agree to meet her clients in person, preferring instead to conduct her interviews by phone or internet. However, the old man offers her a large sum of money to sweeten the deal, so much so, Clio can't resist. It's also sweet enough for her to put aside her misgivings, given the gloomy locale in which Percy resides -- and the fact there's a creepy cemetery literally outside of Percy's front door.

The set up is eerily reminiscent of the movie "Tusk" by Kevin Smith, and if you've seen it, you know exactly in which direction the film heads. So I'm not going to lie, I was wondering if Jules would pursue a similar tack, but thankfully for everyone involved, she foregoes the body horror/walrus angle. The truth behind Percy's intentions for Clio are equally sinister, but involve no walruses, and frankly, that suits me just fine. Far more inventive, Jules comes up with a creative twist that makes Clio's eponymous profession have an unexpectedly dark edge that's central not just to the set-up, but the story's outcome as well.

This was my favorite out of the four Tiny Terrible Tales so far, and I hope Jules continues adding more to the series. She has a brilliant imagination, and a genuine gift for creating atmospheric dread in her work. Her stories, even when short like this, will scare the hell out of you, even without Justin Long meeting an untimely and horrible fate.

"The Ghost Writer" is available here.