Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Her eyes shifted from the printer to him, as she registered his vacant expression and limp posture.”

There are many forgotten games we played as children, one of which was tag. You would call “Tag, you’re it!” just before making physical contact with another and something would pass from you to them, but what if that thing left something behind in you too?

An unknown entity has infiltrated an office, whilst the staff go about their daily routines unaware of its presence. As it systematically picks its victims, will those who remain suspect anything or will it succeed in consuming them all?

Another short read from Henry Bassett, author of Recently Deceased which I reviewed not too long ago! I was in two minds about this story – I really thought it had potential, but the book also ends with the reader asking a little too many questions, and it didn’t have that satisfying ending we all want. However, if the mystery element is something you love and you don’t mind a story that well and truly leaves you hanging, then I think this will be perfect for you.

There is some sort of unknown “thing” working its way around a busy office. A feeling, a curse, a virus – whatever this thing was caused its victims to become empty shells with no personality, emotion or even awareness of anything at all. I did really like this concept and I thought it would have created the perfect base for a full sized novel, but even so, I enjoyed this aspect a lot in the few pages of this short story.

As with the story I previously read by this author, I loved the tone of voice and just how easy the text is to read. I feel the author is a very talented writer with a knack for a good short story, I must say! One thing I really love about this author’s work is just how much it makes you think. With this story, I was thinking about it for ages after finishing, working out what exactly could have turned all those people into some sort of zombie creature. Would it eventually take hold of the whole office? Would they ever leave or be ‘cured’? An interesting factor to think about after you finish the story!

A big thanks once again to Henry Bassett for the copy of this book to read and review! You can purchase your own copy of Tagged on Kobo or Amazon, available on Kindle. Make sure you’re following the author over on Twitter for more updates!

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