Synopsis
Subterranean Heartbeats is a collection of sixteen Twilight Zone-type stories. They are compelling tales which delve into our most haunting nightmares.

"Arcade" is a futuristic tale of a young boy named Noah who ignores the warnings of his townspeople and soon learns the shocking truth as to why certain places are designated as off limits. In "Black Soul," young Lauren is determined to find out who's responsible for the disappearance of the neighborhood's pets, certain it has something to do with that old Mrs. Burdock next door.

"Devil's Garden" has Kathy, after leaving an abusive boyfriend, living in a rundown apartment building where a sinister ivy plant lurks, waiting for unsuspecting victims to draw near. In the surrealistic "Serenade," Mara's ability to tap into another dimension enables her to learn the truth about her parents' death at sea. Liz's daughter Marcy is her shining star during hard times, but her ex-husband's evil threat to their happiness will terrify in "White Sands." And there's the poignantly written "Lonely Highway." After having committed a grisly crime, Cody Harker chooses an anonymous lifestyle until an irresistible temptation makes him come into the open and face his darkest fears.

While some of the stories are suitable for older children, others graphically depict the seamy side of adult life. Dialogue is realistic, gritty at times. From richly described settings to the heartfelt yearnings that run deep in her characters, Ms. Kemp-Jones packs a lot into each story. Common to all the stories are plots which twist into unthought-of endings, each giving me cause to reevaluate what I thought I had been reading. Ms. Kemp-Jones is a master of luring you into the plot until it is beyond your ability to retreat, often times leaving you dangling from a craggy precipice, left to wonder with awe, When had the road taken this turn? At what point did I begin to lose solid footing?