Hello beautiful people! A little while ago, an amazing bookstagram friend of mine published The Cucumber Man and asked if I’d be interested in reviewing it. I typically steer clear of scary things, but I actually LOVE spooky short stories for some odd reason, and I’d been eager to finally read some of Darren’s work. The Cucumber Man: A Short Story is, by far, my favourite short story I’ve read in a LONG time (thank gosh … since I’d HATE to tell a friend his work wasn’t my cup of tea). From the fluid writing to the unique take on horror, I had a blast reading Gallagher’s work!

Source: Goodreads

Title: The Cucumber Man: A Short Story

Author: Darren Gallagher

Published on February 4th 2020

Format: Kindle, 13 pages

Genre / Themes: Contemporary | Horror

Synopsis: Jude’s relaxing day at home is interrupted when her husband comes home from work. He has had a bad day and it’s written all over his face.

To comfort him, Jude decides to make his favourite sandwiches; tuna and cucumber. While he saunters off to the next room, Jude sets about making the food. Only to discover that this is no ordinary cucumber… and it hasn’t taken to kindly to what she was about to do!

THE PROS

The main antagonist was unexpected and rather surreal — like The Hand or Chuckie — but that’s what made Gallagher’s story so interesting! I love having an unlikely hero or villain added into the story. At first, I wasn’t expecting it to be creepy or suspenseful. But Gallagher proved me wrong, demonstrating his mastery at writing horror literature.

The pacing of The Cucumber Man borders on perfection, continuously growing more and more suspenseful and drawing the reader in. There was never a lull moment in the story. Gallagher also masterfully crafts a short story that has a perfect balance of descriptive detail and story focus, without overbearing the reader with unnecessary information. And that ending? It’s such a fantastic way to end the tale in a true horror literature fashion.

THE WOES

There were a few grammatical errors I noticed, mainly missing commas. And honestly, this was rather seldom. The ONLY reason this is a woe is because the missing grammatical punctuation made it difficult to understand some sentences, so I had to re-read them a few times.

OVERALL

Gallagher’s The Cucumber Man is an eerie yet somehow comically entertaining horror short story, providing a unique yet tradition look into the horror genre. The pacing was on point, making my heart skip a beat or two as I eagerly read to see what would become our our heroine. Gallagher also used some fun little literary devices, such as referring to himself as an author in the novel. Small little details like this such add such a personal and fun flare to stories.

I recommend this novel if you enjoy: suspenseful stories; unknown endings; horror stories; short stories.

Discussion time!

For those of you looking for a fun and spooky read, The Cucumber Man is the PERFECT choice! Have you read Darren Gallagher’s The Cucumber Man? Have you read any of his other novels? What are your thoughts?

 

 

 

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