When You Leave I Disappear by David Niall Wilson
Shortwave Media (August 20, 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
When can a novella be accurately described as a mindf**k? One can imagine David Niall Wilson arching his fingers and giggling like a cartoon villain, just waiting for readers of When You Leave I Disappear to have their heads explode. It’s likely best as a one-sitting read, but slowing it down accentuates the fine lines and threads which weave their way through this nesting doll of horror mystery. It’s that good.
Stories about writers are often deep dives into the psyche of those tortured souls. Think Stephen King’s Life of Chuck or Paul Tremblay’s The Pallbearer’s Club. A famous writer who is sick of churning out formulaic novels aches to try something new. Andrea Simmons just can’t handle the mundane, locked-in life of frustrating by-the-numbers beach reads that are about as deep as paper plates, and just as flimsy. She’s directed to the website to try a writing prompt, something she’s reticent to do. Yet, she clicks on it and the site gives her 24 hours to pen a fresh story related to it.
Bolstered by the excitement of the challenge and freed from the romance shackles, Andrea bangs out a story, only to realize it’s gone viral, but nobody knows who penned it. It’s a twisted tale about a homeowners association in cookie-cutter suburbia, where everyone has secrets, some more disturbing than others. She’s contacted by a small magazine editor who wants her next story. Under a pseudonym, she cranks out another stunner, and she becomes the hottest fresh voice in town.
Yet something’s odd about her stories. Clara, the town spy, watches everything and keeps the HOA informed. The boy who stars in “Shunned,” the second tale, feels incredibly familiar.
To say more about the plot would ruin things, and pull the thread from the doll, well before its time.
Each chapter holds its own secrets, dark or emotionally taut, shifting from character to character, winding like a top on a spring.
Wilson knows what he’s doing as Bram Stoker winner and USA Today Best-Selling writer. He also was once the president of the Horror Writers Association and CEO of Crossroad Press, so he understands the big picture and it shows in his writing. Juggling stories within stories without losing hold of the many threads like a talented, demented puppeteer is not a simple task, but Wilson watches the characters dance below their strings. Each voice springs to life and sings, resulting in a novella that ranks in the top five reads of 2024. When You Leave I Disappear is a study in layers, realities and unrealities, and the power of writing. When done well, it can breathe life into nothingness — and erase beautiful characters with the click of a button.
Highly recommended.
