Cirrus@Austlit

'Bi-polar has ruined Detective Jenny Ashton’s life, but when she gets the chance to use the disease for good, she takes it, even though it leads her into a world that shouldn’t exist, filled with monsters of the very worst kind.

'Something lurks within the dark alleyways of Parkton, preying upon the Gutterbreed forever trapped there. A naturally evolved predator, one the town itself doesn't want – and one Ashton has already faced before.

'Byron James knows these alleys and the Darkness they contain. He’s spent a lifetime walking them. A lifetime trying to escape. His skin is marked with the passage of his trespass – but he’s never encountered anything like this.

'As Byron guides Ash deeper into insanity on the hunt for a killer, they discover far worse than Albert ‘Skinner’ Reynolds waiting for them in the dark. A growing nightmare festers in the shadows of Parkton, its madness eager for the real world.

'Only Ash can stand in its way - but is this a battle she’s ready or willing to fight?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'From the introduction by multiple award-winning author Kaaron Warren:

"Marty Young epitomizes the theory that horror writers are amongst the nicest people. He’s done enormous amounts for the Australian horror writing community and continues to do so. He represents a positive figure to me, a person who loves genre and believes in it.

All of this shines through his work. This collection is like a love story to horror, and it demonstrates his skill as an author, his great knowledge of the genre, and his abiding, deep humanity. Marty Young has a heart (and no, it doesn’t belong to that guy who went missing a year or so ago).

This might be a controversial take, but I think the best horror is a testament to the importance of relationships, of love, of caring, and of being a part of whatever community you inhabit in the best way you can. There are cautionary tales here where things go wrong, where selfish people cause damage and become monstrous. There are stories that cut open the guts and show us what really writhes within, stories that hit you at a body-horror level, making you question reality. Then there are the stories of true monsters."

Source : publication summary