Dead and Breakfast by Gary Buller

When Eddie gets a flat in the middle of nowhere, the last thing on his mind is death. Then as darkness falls and the storm worsens, he's forced to seek shelter alongside his significant other, Banksy. Big mistake.Bed and Breakfast, the sign said, but there are no eggs and bacon on the menu here. Instead, their host serves up four tales of terror with a little murder on the side. And as the other residents of the mansion gradually reveal themselves, Eddie and Banksy begin to wonder if they'll ever check out alive.

Book 11 in the Rewind-or-Die series: imagine your local movie rental store back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, remember all those fantastic covers. Remember taking those movies home and watching in awe as the stories unfolded in nasty rainbows of gore, remember the atmosphere and textures. Remember the blood.

I really enjoyed Dead and Breakfast by Gary Buller from beginning to end. It's a short story collection within a novella, not something I've come across before. I loved how these amazing short stories featured within another story of 80's punk rocker Eddie and his girlfriend Banksy getting lost on the moors after a car accident. They have no choice but to stop at a desolate Bed and Breakfast for the night as a violent storm kicks in taking them hostage.

The big questions is, will they survive long enough to get breakfast in the morning?

Over the years I've read a lot of Gary Buller, I really enjoyed his latest collection, Last Meal in Osaka from Demain Publishing and his story story collection; Mechanisms of Despair. His stories, apart from being really scary, are also deeply evocative, you really feel like you are living in his tales.  And even once you've stopped reading them you're still haunted by them!

This is a collection that starts off fast and doesn't let go, if the short stories aren't enough to scare you there's also dealing with Eddie and Banksy's fate when they prepare to depart the doomed guesthouse.

There are four stories included in Dead and Breakfast; Cords, The Brace, The Weight of Nostalgia and The Greyfriars Transcript. I liked how each short story was vividly different from the other but they all worked really well together.

Cords

After an unknown invasion from another world people are only allowed to live until the age of 45 until they must present themselves to the fissure on the outskirts of town. This is the only way to keep the peace between the humans and their conquerors. In this tale we are introduced to Allison who is about to approach her 45th birthday but can't bear to leave her family behind. A really intense tale that grips you from the very beginning. 

The Brace 

A young boy struggles to live up to his father's vision of how a young boy should be. To prove his pending manhood he is taken hunting by his father early one morning where his life will change forever. I loved this story of revenge from beyond the grave!

The Weight of Nostalgia

This tale is where we see Gary Buller's amazing ability to transport you as a reader into his dark world. I really felt I was in this tale which makes it even more scary. This tale really got to me, it starts off as a sweet tale of a man going back to his youth but soon in descends into a nightmare!

The Greyfriars Transcript

I loved this creepy ghost tale where a young man has to take a dreaded train journey up to Scotland for work. He's warned against taking the trip, but does he listen?