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John Ainsworth nearly died in that car crash.
Soon he’ll learn there are worse fates.
After a brutal accident, John awakens in the dilapidated Crimoria Convent under the care of thirteen unconventional nuns. Grievous injuries trap him within the borders of the ruined sanctuary and its strangely successful vineyard. When his body starts healing faster than nature allows, John’s questions quickly pile up.
A pair of Church auditors arrive to look into the convent’s finances. It’s obvious the pair are unwelcome guests, but John has bigger concerns. The order’s annual ritual draws near and John begins to discover things that make him wonder if any of them are truly safe in the hands of the Sisters of the Crimson Vine.
Amazon link: https://mybook.to/SistersCrimsonVine
Genre: horror / dark fantasy
Print length: 112 pages (30K words)
Age range: This is an adult book
Trigger warnings: violent death; irreligious themes
Amazon rating: 4.5
PRAISE FOR SISTERS OF THE CRIMSON VINE
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sisters of the Crimson Vine is a beautiful novella that gave me everything I want when reading a book: interesting characters, a memorable setting, creepy scenes that built up to what’s happening behind the curtains, and a shocking, beautiful, and horrifying ending that ties everything we were told before in a way we could have never imagined. The story behind the convent is sad and realistic, and you can’t help but feel bad for the sisters, even when you know something is wrong with them. The antagonist was perfect for this story, showing the reasons the sisters do what they do and why the protagonist has trouble deciding who to trust. It’s a beautiful book that I hope everyone reads at least once in their life. Amazon review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SISTERS OF THE CRIMSON VINE is a heady mix of folk and cosmic horror, with notes of Shirley Jackson. This novella is a masterclass in pacing and atmosphere; McMillan creates expertly weaves a pervasive sense of wrongness about every scene and sustains this dread-inducing atmosphere throughout. It’s a chilling and shocking read with prose as smooth as a finely aged wine. And the cover is absolute FIRE! Amazon Review
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
P.L. McMillan writes dark stories and loves cosmic and gothic horror in particular. Her works have been published in Sanitarium, Hinnom Magazine, Fundead Publications, among others.
To her, every shadow is an entry way to a deeper look into the black heart of the world and every night she rides with the mocking and friendly ghouls on the night-wind, bringing back dark stories to share with those brave enough to read them.
“Someone suggested to me that McMillan might be one of the next great cosmic horror writers and if [The Space Between] is a good indication of her talent and imagination, I’d say they could well be correct.” – The Miskatonic Review
Check out her website at www.plmcmillan.com
I do wonder whether this is more of a long short story rather than, at 112 pages, a short novella, but that is entirely irrelevant because it is a good story. Drawing the reader in from the opening paragraph, the pace is steady and the plot builds into a rising curve of sinister intrigue, causing the reader to form theories and guesses as the pages are eagerly turned.
There is an acknowledgement to the traditional fairy tale here, crafted into the genre of suspense and horror. (As, actually, most original versions of fairy stories were... the Grimm Brothers' tales were quite, well, 'grim' - definitely not the later cozy Disney level!)
The trick of a good story, and not always achieved by a writer, is to bring the characters to life, to make them believable no matter the genre or setting. The reader needs to feel that they are there, watching through the lens of a hidden camera, wanting to cry out, in true pantomime style: 'Behind You!' But we must remain mute, and we read on, resisting the temptation to flick to the last page in order to satisfy ourselves that all ends well... or not.
I enjoyed the read, but I do have some mild criticisms:
It was only after checking on 'look inside' on Amazon for a couple of things needed for this review, that I discovered each part of the story had it's own sub-heading. These were not included on my Kindle edition (I had only Part One, Part Two, etc., no additional heading) which is such a shame as these sub-headings were very clever, and very relevant. (Maybe I had an ARC version, though, and the headings had been added later?)
I disagree with other comments (above) about the cover, but then, I am fussy about covers, having been severely let down by publishers in the past. The house depicted is an American 'Addams Family' style, which adequately gives a feel for the genre, but isn't remotely similar to the building described in the book, (which is clearly a two-storied building,) so immediately gives a confused imagery. It is also a very 'un-English' house. I would have gone for a cover with something simple, a vine field with one or two nuns in the distance, and include that scarecrow... Creepy!
Although I assume the story is set in England? It is only while writing this that I realise it could be Canada. A location should not have mattered, for this is a supernatural story and could easily be set anywhere, but I found the language somewhat confusing as I wasn't sure if I was reading American English, English English, or as I have just realised, possibly Canadian English. And it did matter as each anomaly jerked me out of the story. John could smell petrol, (UK - so we're in England?) not gas or gasoline, (US) but then most Brits say 'windscreen' not 'windshield' - so perhaps USA after all? Men wear trousers in the UK, not pants. The Americanism 'gotten' was in there (Brits don't use it), but the spelling was usually UK not US, (colour not color, although I spotted tire, not tyre). Fireflies were mentioned, we call them glowworms in the UK. And then the WWII bombing is obviously the UK, but... well, I'm not sure, was this meant to be the UK, the US or Canada? (I'm not sure about Canadian spelling.) The fact that I'm still wondering about 'location' perhaps indicates that this is an important issue after all?
I enjoyed the story, but apologies - slight spoiler alert: I was disappointed by the couple of cliched witchcraft inclusions: a naked mass, and a lesbian scene. Both were far too Hollywood Horror, and were not at all necessary. And what happened to one of the visitors? Did I miss a page or scene perhaps? Nor was it explained why the healing process went supernaturally quicker than expected, magic I suppose. So a few unanswered questions and dangling ends, but I must add that if I hadn't enjoyed the story I wouldn't be wondering about these missing answers!
So a good read, but I think the ending could have had more of an imaginative twist, rather than the predictable one.
My only other comments would be:
Don't read this one late at night if you are on your own in a lonely environment, or in hospital.
And stay away from woods.
And nuns.
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