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“Dead Ends is a collection of stories that bring the strange, the raw and the speculative into the light. Masterful as ever, Borrowdale makes the bite-sized glimpses into each new world feel more like a series of tiny epics, the aftertaste of every story still felt on the tongue as the next begins, sucking you in. There is a deep humanity here, a mirror embedded in peculiarities of these stories – a collection of Dead Ends, perhaps, but also a thousand new beginnings; the discomfort of taking off, then the fever of the flight.” - Isla Huia
“Weird, disturbing and dystopian, but also warm and comical, Dead Ends reaches back to a tradition of New Zealand gothic and forwards to a nebulous future. There is discord between siblings, parents and children, and romantic partners, the threat of AI artbots, annoying ghosts, and the menace of authoritarianism. This collection is filled with what ifs—what if you had to physically lose a limb to be allowed a divorce? What if a potter puts too much of her soul into her work? What if a pregnant woman’s thoughts literally shape her baby? Laura Borrowdale is a skilled and imaginative storyteller with a pitch-perfect approach to the short story form” - Airini Beautrais
“Hauntingly beautiful, this is domestic horror at its finest. These stories hit because they refuse to let truths about love, motherhood and relationships stay buried; they are forced into the light, eviscerated, and laid out prettily for us to view. This collection is bloody, visceral, and a banging read from start to finish. From doomsday neighbours to the darkness of childhood and separation that comes at a literal cost to women’s bodies, these stories deftly open a window into the terror that lies in the everyday in a way that says hey, I see this too. A must-read, but not before bed.” - Michelle Duff