Other Voices by Andrew Humphrey (Elastic Press) is the second collection by this talented writer. This one, introduced by Eric Brown, contains twelve stories, all but one reprints from such venues as The Third Alternative, Crimewave, Midnight Street, and Bare Bone, and at least half of them received honorable mentions in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror series.

A Thread of Truth by Nina Allen (Eibonvale Press) is an impressive first collection by a writer whose stories I've admired in the magazines Supernatural Tales and Dark Horizons, and in the anthology Strange Tales. Its eight stories are a combination of dark fantasy and dread, mystery, and the occasional barely fantastical. Six appear for the first time in the collection, which came out mid-2007. (first seen in 2008)

Hell Is Murky by John Alfred Taylor (Ash-Tree Press) is a very pleasurable first collection of twenty strange tales published between 1978 and 2007 in venues as varied as The Twilight Zone Magazine, All Hallows, Space and Time, and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Four of the stories are original to the collection.

Rope Trick: Thirteen Strange Tales by Mark P. Henderson (Ash-Tree Press) is the author's first published fiction book. The best of the stories are subtle, mysterious, and well-told ghost and haunted house tales, a few lead the reader into a tantalizing maze that unfortunately trails off. All but three of the stories included are previously unpublished.

Coffin Nails by John Llewellyn Probert (Ash-Tree Press) has several new stories among the eighteen in the book. Probert is excellent at creating tension but for me, some of the endings falter, which is a shame. The author provides an entertaining introduction to the volume and afterwords for each story, explaining its genesis.

Scattered Ashes by Scott Nicholson (Dark Regions Press) collects the best of the author's short stories published between 1998 and 2008, with three originals. Nicholson writes in a variety of tones and voices and this is a good introduction to his short work. One reprint appeared in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Twentieth Annual Collection.