When All Is Dark and Quiet

A ghost story novella? I dont need a lot of convincing to read When All Is Dark and Quiet by Cory Mason that has that description. Ghosts stories have to be one of my favorite horror subgenres and I love short fiction!

The premise of this book is that Nova retreats to Mackinic island, a historic tourist town, where she takes a hike and unexpectedly tumbles into a cave that hasn't been occupied in years. While the cave is really creepy on its own the aftermath of this experience causes Nova to deal with a ghost of her past...quite literally. 

This novella has beautiful descriptions that set a really creepy mood which made it a delight to read.

Since suicide played a role on this novella there was a trigger warning in the beginning of the book. However I felt like the story had a very honest portrayal of the grief process that someone who lost a loved one to suicide would go through. 

And frankly in a scene with a therapist I got a tiny piece of wisdom that I need to hear right now as well. "Relationships make a big difference in dealing with depression...Too many people discount the value of the friends we keep in contact with over the internet." 

I really found that the way mental health was handled was the biggest strength of this book. Yet it maintains the balance between having an entertaining story with emotional honestly very well. Let's face it: no matter how they became ghosts the manifestation of someone's spirit living on is deliciously scary!