In a recent publication, Caitlin R. Kiernan said that she hated/strongly disliked the classification of longer works, that is, not poetry or short stories, as novellas or, worse yet, novelettes. Most likely this work by Mercedes M. Yardley, "Little Dead Red," will be considered as either a novella or novelette. What I want to say is that I consider it a novel, and I consider it, as with all of Yardley's work that I have read to date, brilliant. This is an entry into an emerging genre, that of retelling well-known fairy-tales and making the old theme sing with new life and/or meaning.
"Little Dead Red" is a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" and it is set in the present day. In short, Marie is a mother of a 12 year old daughter, Aleta, who is about to set out to take freshly made soup and other food to her grandmother, Marie's mother, at a nursing facility. She never makes it and the mystery of what happened to her is then unfolded in brilliant plotting and writing by Ms Yardley. Marie knew she had saved Aleta previously by discovering that her third husband had been abusing a much younger Aleta, and seeing to it that that husband was tried and convicted and was in jail. In her mind, Aleta was safe from the wolf who had abused her, but she knew that Aleta was very vibrant as she entered puberty and could attract many sorts of "wolves" in her daily life.
After two months missing, the police tell Marie, now called "Grim Marie" in the story, that they have found her daughter's remains. It is a horrible situation, the body has been ravaged by feral animals and very little remains of Aleta, but there is enough of Aleta's remains and her favorite bright red "hoodie" to make a positive identification.
Marie meets the policeman assigned to the case and he and his wife are extremely sympathetic and actually befriend Marie. In becoming close to the policeman's wife, Marie, noting and trusting both the policeman and his wife, speaks to the wife of her guilt at sending her daughter out while she indulged herself in a luxurious bath. It was during that time that Aleta was taken. I don't usually use actual quotes in my reviews but I want to make an exception here. I do this because it is a very surprising response by the wife, but is also a stellar example of Yardley's unique prose style, which is very sensual/erotic, even while describing or writing about the most gruesome/horrific of things. Here is the wife's response after Grim Marie has talked about her possible guilt, and wondered aloud about if having "Wolf's blood" (meaning the killer's should she hunt him down and kill him) on her hands could possibly ameliorate her guilt. With Marie expecting condemnation, Yardley describes her response: She simply looked Marie dead in the eye and said solemnly, “Darling, you are going through something no mother should ever have to go through. I see my husband pouring over papers and pictures and chasing after every scrap of information and evidence he can. He’s done things that keep him awake at night. But he’s a good man, and I love him.” Her eyes glittered in a way that reminded Marie of sharpened cutlery. It was the soft, sexy, slow slide of blade against skin. “If such things could absolve a person, then I would advise him, or her, to do as much as possible to make sure that tainted blood flows. Make it flow, dear one.”* I find, especially, the use of "sharpened cutlery" followed by sensual/sexual reference to using such cutlery to be an example of Yardley at her best. Adding to that effect is Yardley's ingenious use of alliteration. NO ONE I have read over the years can write with such sensuality.
From that point, the remainder of the story unfolds and what Grim Marie endures to catch the man she suspects is grim indeed. The book ends with a shock and I am not telling that as it would be a spoiler of epic proportion.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If I could I would give it ten stars out of five. It's that good, in this reviewer's opinion.
*Yardley, Mercedes M. (2015-12-21). Little Dead Red (Kindle Locations 251-255). Crystal Lake Publishing. Kindle Edition.
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From the Publisher
Where Stories Come Alive
Since its founding in August 2012, Crystal Lake has quickly become one of the world’s leading publishers of Dark Fiction and Horror books. In 2023, Crystal Lake officially transitioned into an entertainment company, joining several other divisions, genres, and imprints, including Torrid Waters, Crystal Lake Comics, Crystal Lake Games, Crystal Lake Kids, and many more.
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- B SkelhornReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2016
Hard hitting with a touch of class
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