Mother Of by Lauren Coffin

Meredith tragically loses her eldest son, her husband and sister-in-law in a car accident. Unimaginable. Ten years later, her youngest son is arrested for murder. Even more unimaginable. I can't begin to embrace how someone can process this. Fate intervened where the accident was concerned, but a killer son? A parent must ask him/herself so many questions. What did I miss, was it my fault, where did I go wrong, why did I not see what my son was like… Meredith's nephew, Curtis, the son of the sister-in-law who died in the car accident tries to help his aunt through this trauma. But he has the same issues to process: his mother dying in an accident, then discovering ten years later, his cousin is a merciless killer.

This was a very ambitious plot to pack into a novella, but I think it was a little too big for the length of the story. It was written in the first person, from Meredith's POV. Personally, I don't think this worked. There was much to explore in Curtis, much to explore in Percy. This couldn't be done first person POV unless their POVs were tackled in separate chapters and that might have congested this short story.

That said, there was time enough to appreciate Coffin's skill as a writer and despite the aforementioned issues, there was also time to enjoy the novella.

You Only Get One Shot by Kevin J. Kennedy and J. C. Michael

This was a clever novella that not only showcased these two authors’ story-telling ability, but their short-story ability too.

Four authors are sent the most chilling email ever: my friend’s suicide was all your fault, so you will pay. Post a short story on the internet…the best story will mean its author survives. The other three, alas, won’t be so lucky. Cue four short horror stories. I’ll be honest, horror really isn’t my thing…I find myself doing some heavy-duty eye-rolling with this genre…but I did recognise very competent writing and actually found this rather good.

The totally unexpected final twist was an excellent ending. I’ll certainly look out for more work by these two authors—separately or together—as long, of course, it isn’t horror.

 

Sandstorm In My Heart by Faith Mortimer

Faith has punctuated her novel-writing with a novelette. A perfect little story, nicely crafted, set in the steamy sand dunes of Egypt.

Passionate archaeologist Ann is not happy when her colleague, Jonathan, delivers the news that their wealthy boss, Conrad Knight, is bringing the dig in the wadi to a halt. How could he? They’re so near a find! Determined and obstinate, Ann is sure she’s close to success and wanders off in a temper, ignoring all warnings of the pending sandstorm. Never has she needed a knight in shining armour so much to save her from peril. She has to make do with a knight dressed up like Lawrence of Arabia on a camel, instead. But who is this knight?

This mini romance contains all the right ingredients. You can finish it in a trice: it’s just the ticket to pick you up on a miserable, showery, April morning! I warn you, though: you might find yourself trying to spit sand out of your mouth…

Well done, again, Faith.

Love Hurts by Carol E. Wyer

Carol is a wonderful writer of light-hearted, funny, witty and entertaining novels and non-fiction books. Her books are like pick-me-ups, and you know you are going to end up smiling and uplifted at the final click.

So, Love Hurts comes along—a selection of five short stories—and not only are you entertained, but you’re pleasantly—very, very pleasantly—amazed by a range of stories you just didn’t expect: a delicious mix of dark, sad, playful and cheering.

Love Hurts looks at how the very many facets of love make people react and the consequences of those reactions: sometimes joyful, sometimes…not. Each story is very different but equally delightful, and I defy anyone to not enjoy this quintet.

See also:

How Not to Murder Your Grumpy
Grumpy Old Menopause
Surfing in Stilettos