Hilary Davidson (The
Damage Done) has launched a short story collection that takes readers
into dark recesses of the human experience. These nine, compact stories of mystery and suspense are infused with unexpected
irony and a chilling sense of the macabre.
"People never
know what they're capable of until they're in a terrible situation. That's when
your true character comes out," says one of the protagonists in the
headline story, "The
Black Widow Club," which unravels revelations of wives, mothers,
daughters and the men they love and those who love them back? Or do they?
Each story in the
collection packs a wallop, oftentimes in the first line, sometimes by the last. In each instance, characters are put to the
test, facing challenges and "terrible situations."
Peru is the setting
for "Stepmonster," where a former model, the jilted ex-wife of a
plastic surgeon—whom she now refers to as "Dr. Frankenboobs"—goes to
a resort for some r&r. But when she
gets to her destination, she finds that the woman who poached her husband and
children, is vacationing at the very same hotel. Coincidence?
"Undying Love"
is plotted in reverse. It is an off-beat story narrated by a deceased protagonist who slowly learns
the mysterious circumstances of what brought him to the other side via Bart, a spirit guide who
tends to hum the theme from the movie Ghostbusters
amid their journey because he "died in 1984 and that song stuck in (his)
head."
Other stories deal
with the haunted nature of the past; the perils of
modern romance and marriage; role playing; revenge; obsessions; skewed family values; children conning parents—and
vice-versa.
Strong narrative voices and tight story lines underscore each tale, which reflects the decadent, often sinister nature of the modern world.
Beast Books, $2.99 , e-book, ASIN: B00E3GZW6E
Publication Date: July 21, 2013