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Book Review: Spooky Stories by Tanushree Podder

 


Book: Spooky Stories 

Author: Tanushree Podder 

Illustrated By: Kaveri Gopalakrishnan 

Pages: 133

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: 2 hours 

Plot Summary: A writer's journey turns into a nightmare when he disembarks from the train to catch a thief and misses the train.

Anirudh is forced to spend the night in a tiny railway station with barely anyone in sight. A power failure adds to his woes. 

Guided by the flashlight on his phone, he finds his way to the waiting room. There, he finds thirteen chairs and a dozen passengers seated in the room. The next train is due at dawn, so they decide to pass time by swapping ghost stories...

Uncover the mysteries of an ancient Egyptian tomb, travel to the ruins of an old fort and meet the ghosts of China's Forbidden City in this unusual set of eerie, spine-tingling SPOOKY STORIES!



Things I Liked: 


1. A group of strangers sitting around in a derelict railway station's Waiting Room swapping ghost stories. Did I need another reason to pick up and read this book? Do you? What is not to love, I ask!?! Sitting in a group and sharing spooky stories is the best way to pass time and even better if the setting itself is very spooky. When Anirudh, a writer, gets off the train to chase a thief who'd stolen his bag, he misses his train and finds several other people waiting for the next train in the derelict Waiting Room of a rural railway station. The next train is only in the morning and the only way to kill time is through sharing stories- spooky ones at that! 



2. There are a variety of spooky stories to satiate every kind of horror reader- ghosts, spirits, kindly ones and cruel ones and various other types of little twisty stories. No matter where you lie on the Horror Affinity Spectrum (I just made that up!), you are bound to find a story to love!



3. The book is well written and super atmospheric. The author draws you into the world of each little story. She brings the settings to life in a succinct yet eerie manner. So, you can place yourself in the shoes of our protagonists as they stumble around an Egyptian crypt in the dark or is left alone inside The Forbidden City as ghosts dance around! 



4. The book also features some lovely illustrations by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan, which really add to the atmospheric feel of the book. 



Rating: 4.5/5 


Highly recommended! Go read this book! 

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