Who's There? a Collection of Stories

April 15, 2020
A collection of five suspense-driven tales delivers ghosts, creatures, and general malfeasance. In the title story, Adam is a tourist on an Indonesian island, just a week away from his wedding. But his constant drinking sparks fights with his fiancee, Gita. It also jumbles his memories, and he recalls only a few details of Gita's storming off and apparently ending their engagement. When Adam later discovers Gita's belongings still in their hotel room, he may have to face a bleak, unwelcome truth. All the tales here thrive on anticipation and primarily implied horror. This results in meticulously paced pieces, such as "The Wandering," the book's longest and best story. In it, Badrun is working security in a Jakarta office building. During his routine night patrol, he occasionally pilfers items, like petty cash, to cover expenses for his pregnant wife-to-be, Ningsih. But he's understandably disturbed by unexplained noises he keeps hearing on the supposedly vacant seventh floor. Making matters worse is a series of letters Badrun gradually finds, each one more revealing and unsettling than the last. Though this collection is mostly grim, "The Voice Canal" is a lighter offering that centers on Gio, a university student in Scotland, who's apparently using modern tech to communicate with a dead family member. Originally published in Indonesian, Rio's English-translated tales are concise and descriptive. For example, Badrun's patrol is persistently chilling, even when he doesn't see a visible menace: "The man was still deep in thoughts when another loud crack was heard, breaking into his ears. His body jolted as if electrocuted." The stories feature well-developed characters that slowly draw readers in, making plot turns resonate, including predictable ones. The audience, for example, may foresee the violent eruption in the book's closing tale, "The Forest Protector," as a woman named Alma suffers her husband's physical abuse. Dark stories that entrance and unnerve. (author bio)

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