We are near the end of the first SFINCS (Speculative Fiction Novella Championship), and it's time to start doing a recap of the different finalists and announce our final scores.

    It's time to take a look at Dark Heart of Ilmoure, by Cara N. Delaney

You can get it using this link.

Years ago, all she wanted was to leave. Now, a web of secrets might ensnare her forever.

When Iris Grey returns to her home town of Ilmoure years after a bitter parting, she hopes for reconciliation in the face of a tragedy. Instead, she arrives to a town changed for the worse, a cold welcome from people she once loved, and a family that seems to be keeping secrets from her at every turn.

When those secrets become too heavy to ignore, Iris starts to dig deeper. What she finds leads her to question her very perception of reality. Faced with old wounds and new revelations, Iris finds herself mired in a plot that threatens to swallow herself, the town, and the people she once loved.

<<I enjoyed the explanation and ending, as well as the fact that the small town horror might have been spreading its monstrous fingers out to the surrounding areas.>> - C.J. Daley, FanFiAddict

<<It’s dark and sinister and spooky, and maybe this is what could be called gothic horror, or rural horror, but whatever it is, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected I would, and I’d be happy to check out other works by the author.>> - Nils Ödlund

  Gathering all the scores together, we can announce that the final score for Dark Heart of Ilmoure from Team Jamreads is:  

7/10