Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Murder Mystery/Short Story
Collection
Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Antonia
Monacelli combines her obsession with genealogy, love of true crime, and
appreciation of history into her first novel, Some Families Just Can’t Hack It.
She also
claims a fascination with geisha and an addiction to tea and coffee. Antonia
resides in Canada with her husband and pets.
You can
learn more about the author on her website.
Description:
Some
Families… is a collection of fictional short stories inspired by real
historical murders.
Appraisal:
This
is an intriguing collection of stories. The author has combined historical
fiction and real crime to produce something a little different to the norm.
Additional interest is created by the endnotes to each case which describe the
background and underlying occurrences – i.e. why a family member would choose
to commit such gruesome acts on close relatives. I’ve deliberately kept the
descriptions brief because of the way the stories develop.
A Mother’s Love and a
Father’s Neck is
about Arnell Love, a tragically orphaned boy who’s never been able to get over
the events of his mother’s murder and father’s subsequent conviction and
hanging.
Carving The Easter Ham is a grim tale of marital abuse,
Angelina is repeatedly abused by her husband, Pietro, until she snaps.
The Shattered Window is a sad story about spinster
Myrtle and her niece Helen. Myrtle has spent her early adulthood caring for her
mother. When she finally releases Myrtle from her commitment, she makes an
unusual and tragic decision.
Some Families Just
Can’t Hack It is a
very grim tale of the large and very poor Nulty family. One of the Nulty
children, Tom, is in love and he takes incredibly drastic action to ensure it
doesn’t slip away.
By The Light of the
Silvery Moon is
about how mental illness can affect families. George Vanstone has grown
steadily more abusive towards his wife Minnie and family. Again, this has
gruesome results.
Personally,
I found some of the scenes distressingly graphic. I do not like reading about
the detailed murder or abuse of youngsters. This is not to suggest the writing
is sensationalized, because it is not. It’s just purely a personal taste.
A
downside was the endnotes, although of value, do tend to be repetitive. They
often describe the whole story all over again and I found myself skimming
through them to learn something new (for example, what happened to the murderer
after the events).
FYI:
Some graphic
murder scenes, which may not be to everyone’s taste.
Format/Typo Issues:
None.
Rating: *** Three Stars
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