jennytwist

Amazon Reviews

Terry Tyler's review
Oct 31, 14
4.5 stars

This story is just as a Hallowe'en story should be, I think - kinda creepy, but a bit amusing, too. I loved the McCaffreys and their house, and wanted to live in it too! Excellent characterisation. Nice one.

5.0 out of 5 stars All is not as it seems, 5 Dec 2014
By
Lionne - See all my reviews
This review is from: Uncle Vernon (Kindle Edition)
Alison has just secretly spent the night with her boyfriend, Gary, in the house of his eccentric and chaotic family, and is tiptoeing down the back stairs. Suddenly she gets a shock. The thumbnail sketches of the family members are vivid and I almost expected these people to interact and develop as they would have done in a full-length novel, not a short story. Exchanges between male and female characters are satisfyingly funny, reminding us how men sometimes need to be told what to do in cases where a woman would already have taken action. Gary, for instance, has to be reminded by his sister first to make toast for breakfast and then to put knives on the table, and later is firmly ordered by Alison to cover the treacherous hole in his bedroom floor and change his uncomfortable mattress. The indiscreet remarks of small sister Bridget are also comically true to life. All this is both cosy and realistic. Yet into this warm domestic circle steps a sinister figure, and the atmosphere of menace builds as the story moves on through doubts and shivers of fear to a horrible revelation. A Halloween party, anyone? Of course, people wear disguises – or do they? The author skilfully handles both the reassuring setting and its gradual undermining by scary strangeness. A chilling little tale

Marsha's review Nov 16, 14
5 of 5 stars
After falling in love with Jenny Twist's Mantequero series I learned she was planning to release an earlier short story entitled 'Uncle Vernon." This book is a creeptastic and eerie story about a ghastly uncle who know one can quite get a read on. His own relatives recognize he is strange but it takes the girlfriend of one of the kids to discover how truly frightening Uncle Vernon is.

I cannot say much more about this story but I will say that it would be a perfect read at a campsite. Additionally, it would make a great short movie. It is like viewing an episode of one of the old Twilight Zone T.V. series. Once again, Jenny Twist proves just how talented she is. If you are interested in a quick Holloween read (25 pages), "Uncle Vernon" will definitely fit the bill.

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm SO glad I have no Uncle Vernon in my house, November 2, 2014
By
Misty "Gamer Mom" (Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Uncle Vernon (Kindle Edition)
I read this story back in May of 2012 when it was part of the Spellbound 2011 anthology. Uncle Vernon gave me the shudders, particularly the ending. I'm SO glad I have no Uncle Vernon in my house. At least, I don't think I do. *shudder* Great creepy tale for the spook-lovers out there!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read about Creepy Uncle Vernon!, November 1, 2014
By
Cynthia H. "Cindy" (Florida) - See all my reviews
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Uncle Vernon (Kindle Edition)
I held off reading this immediately so I could enjoy it on Halloween! It's by Jenny Twist so I knew it would be worth waiting a couple of days to read. And it definitely was!

Although it is a short story, I really came to like Alison, Gary and his family.

Granny and her eating habits added humor to an otherwise eerie story. Hmm, umm, about Uncle Vernon, just the description of him was creepy!

This is a perfect scary story to read at Halloween or when you want a quick spooky read. I highly recommend that you read it to find out more about Uncle Vernon!

5.0 out of 5 stars The thing about Uncle Vernon is he used to be normal…, November 1, 2014
By
ManicScribbler - See all my reviews
This review is from: Uncle Vernon (Kindle Edition)
This is a another great short story told as only Jenny Twist can tell them and perfect for the Halloween season - and beyond. It features the larger than life McCaffrey family who live in a ramshackle mansion in a small Yorkshire village, where everyone, as you'd expect, seems to know everyone else and their business. Except, of course, being Halloween, you have to expect the unexpected.

The extended McCaffrey family is large and colourful, with old Granny McCaffrey living on cornflakes and ham sandwiches (and probably not being able to tell the difference between them), the well-intentioned big Da and his strapping sons and daughters, through to 10 year old Bridget, "tiny and dainty, as if there hadn't been quite enough material left when it came to making the last child and she had to make do with what was left over from her much bigger brothers and sisters" and the one-eyed cat Genghis.

Oh, did I forget to say? There's also Uncle Vernon, who inhabits the cellar at Halloween and who, according to Janice McCaffrey is only "half-programmed". It's hardly surprising that Gary's girlfriend, the prim and proper Alison, spends half her time in a complete daze - and that's not just because she loves Gary!

I love Jenny Twist's story-telling style. It's raw, it's colourful and her characters have a Dickensian quality about them, but she convinces you that they are real and living among us - and furthermore, you know them. They all have their skeletons in the closet; ghosts in the attic, or Uncle Vernon in the cellar. Escaping with a Jenny Twist story is always a delightful adventure.

4.5 out of 5 stars Creepy, funny and oddly cosy!, October 31, 2014
By
Terry Tyler, author - See all my reviews
This review is from: Uncle Vernon (Kindle Edition)
4.5
This story is just as a Hallowe'en story should be, I think - kinda creepy, but a bit amusing, too. I loved the McCaffreys and their house, and wanted to live in it too! Excellent characterisation. Nice one.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Creeptastic!, October 31, 2014
By
M. Grigsby "hummingbird" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Uncle Vernon (Kindle Edition)
After falling in love with Jenny Twist's Mantequero series I learned she was planning to release an earlier short story entitled 'Uncle Vernon." This book is a creeptastic and eerie story about a ghastly uncle who know one can quite get a read on. His own relatives recognize he is strange but it takes the girlfriend of one of the kids to discover how truly frightening Uncle Vernon is.

I cannot say much more about this story but I will say that it would be a perfect read at a campsite. Additionally, it would make a great short movie. It is like viewing an episode of one of the old Twilight Zone T.V. series. Once again, Jenny Twist proves just how talented she is. If you are interested in a quick Holloween read (25 pages), "Uncle Vernon" will definitely fit the bill.