"Lucia's Things Slip Through serves itself up as both a short story collection and a complete, cohesive novel all at once--a chimeric concoction of honest, heartfelt, and truly frightening prose that should not be missed. Highly recommended."
– Ronald Malfi, author of Floating Staircase
Welcome to Clifton Heights, New York. Just another average Adirondack town, and nice enough in its own right. Except after dark, or under the pale light of the moon. Or in a very private doctor's office at Clifton Heights General Hospital, where no one can hear you scream. Or on a road out of town that never ends, or in an old house sitting on the edge of town with a mind - and will - of its own.
Maybe you shouldn't have left the interstate, my friend. Maybe you should've driven on to the next town. But you didn't. You saw our sign, turned down our road, figuring on just a short stay. And maybe it will be. Or maybe you'll never leave. Anyway, pay a visit to The Skylark Diner. I'll be there.
Pull up a chair and let me tell you about our town. It's nice enough, it really is. Except after dark. Or on cold winter days when no one is around, and you're all alone...
Professional Reviews
It's a story collection within a novel
When I first started reading Kevin Lucia’s book, I was extremely happy to have a new collection in my hands. Little did I know how sneaky Lucia was in putting together his book. As I approached the end of the first “story”, I thought to myself, Holy crap it’s a story within a story… How ingenious is this? As I kept reading, I realized it was a collection of stories, embedded into another story, which in turn makes it a novel. (A very well written novel at that.)
Story after story are laid out amongst the tales of four friends, Father Ward, Fitzy, Gavin and Chris. Chris, the sheriff of Clifton Heights, is trying to piece together the strange happenings of their little town. He finds out that his four closest friends know more than they’ve let on.
Since Things Slip Through is a story collection within a novel, I was hard pressed to pick out any single story that was better than the rest as they were all excellent and all played integral parts to the overall storyline.
This book should be picked up by all, as it’s sure to appeal to anyone who loves great stories. I highly recommandy this one
Quality horror, written with style
As a devoted fan of Charles L. Grant's Oxrun Station I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Kevin Lucia's Clifton Heights, a town of nightmares, a place where strange and unexplainable occurrences are the norm and horror lurks in every shadow, drifts in every breeze. LIke Grant's Oxrun Station series, Lucia's THINGS SLIP THROUGH had me in its firm, icy grip from page 1. It is written with style, peopled with well-drawn characters put up against the most harrowing situations imaginable. This is not a typical short story collection, either. Each tale is part of a bigger narrative that is expertly mapped out to its shocking 5 star ending. A treat for any fan of quality horror. Don't let it slip by.
A Must Read
Clifton Heights, the setting for Kevin Lucia's collection, Things Slip Through, could be my town. Could be your town. Could be any town. At least on the surface. But as the local sheriff is about to find out, things are not what they seem, and some mysteries really are best left unsolved. Kevin Lucia has skillfully connected stories which could have worked equally well as stand alone tales. And in so doing he takes the reader into territory reminiscent of the worlds of Mulder & Skully, Robert McCammon, and H. P. Lovecraft, then drops them off to fend for themselves. This effective collection is not to be missed.
The fortunate inherit riches, prestige, positive notoriety. Those not so lucky bear legacies filled with poverty, infamy or, worse yet, the unhinged insanity and murderous urges of their ancestors.
