This is a collection of six short stories by Daphne du Maurier: The Birds, Monte Verita, The Apple Tree, The Little Photographer, Kiss Me Again Stranger, and The Old Man. Note: This isn’t the cover of my copy. Mine is an older print, but I couldn’t find a decent-sized image to include.

A good friend of mine recently bought this for me, thinking I would enjoy at least one of the stories within. She was absolutely right. Du Maurier is a master of the short story, I’m pleased to say. My only previous experiences with her writing have been Rebecca (loved) and Jamaica Inn (lukewarm), so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was very, very happy with the collection!

The Birds: I’ve never seen the Hitchcock movie version of this, and I’m glad I read the story first. It’s so very deliciously creepy!

Monte Verita: Fascinating look at spirituality in nature. Had me riveted all the way through.

The Apple Tree: My favorite of the collection, bringing out far more emotions than I have time to put into a review. I could seriously write a full post on this story alone.

The Little Photographer: Not really as spooky or atmospheric as the others so far, sort of a cross between The Awakening and An American Tragedy. I enjoyed it, though not quite as much as the first three.

Kiss Me Again, Stranger: At first I wondered if maybe this would be the first story I didn’t enjoy. Seemed to be going nowhere. The end just blew me out of the water, though, total creeper…wow!

The Old Man: This was the shortest story in the collection, and the only one I couldn’t really get into. Different style of writing, a bit heavy-handed. Just didn’t work for me.

Notably, this collection would be perfect for RIP’s Peril of the Short Story. Also, it puts me in the mood for more du Maurier, so if anyone has good recommendations for her, that would be wonderful!