Shades of Darkness is a triumph in creating an atmosphere across many stories that will shake any reader to their core. Following a multitude of characters in their (what seems to be at first) normal lives, Kurt Odenwald looks at the truth of the human condition (and perhaps the not-so human) and the mysteries of death, the unknown, and darkness. Beginning at seemingly every-day points, Odenwald twists these stories subversively in directions that could never be guessed by any reader. Sometimes melancholic, sometimes gruesome; Shades of Darkness reveals the depths of the human psyche that everyone might be aware of, but perhaps not to this level of extremity. This collection is one that will keep you up at night with its horror-filled descriptions and plots that will satisfy any reader in search of a brilliantly thrilling story.