Tales of Terror and the Supernatural

A very entertaining bunch of short stories, with a misleading title. Of the dozen stories in this book, only two could possibly be deemed supernatural, and even those two might have more mundane explanations for the events described. Two other stories in this collection might be called action/suspense tales. But the others have nothing to do with terror or the supernatural at all. Rather, they are mysteries, or tales of false identity, or tales of blackmail, or of suspicion. All eminently readable, and all good fun. My favorite story in the book is "Mad Monkton," one of the tales with a more supernatural cast. This longish story takes its time but builds to a very satisfying conclusion. The mystery tales show Collins developing the type of format he would later perfect in "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone." I feel that any fan of Collins would enjoy these varied stories. Just don't go in expecting a really scary time.