here is a collection of 40 stories by harry riley covering a wide variety of subject matter. many of the tales are quirky and some have a decidedly ghostly thread running through them. all are fiction and most have a twist in the tale. they all have one thing in common, in that they spring from the author's love of the unexpected and unusual. whilst the stories are not strictly science fiction or fantasy they often have a hint of the supernatural about them. until quite recently many of the old superstitions were still around to haunt our daily lives. this book explores the validity of some widely held beliefs and takes the reader from the present to the future and sometimes back to the murky past. the benefit of these short tales is that they can be read on a bus, car, plane or boat journey without the reader feeling trapped in a deep plot as in a complicated novel. It is light reading for a foggy night or to take with you on a summer holiday; lounging on the beach. If you are amused, entertained or simply relaxed, then the author's time has not been in vain.