Giggles (a novella) / Michael Crane

Reviewed by: Fredlet

Genre: Horror

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Michael Crane is an indie author and scribbler of inane babble that can sometimes end up as stories. He went to Columbia College Chicago where he earned a BA in Fiction Writing and drank one too many Red Bulls. He is the author of In Decline,Lessons and Other Morbid Drabbles, Lessons II: Another Morbid Drabble Collection, Lessons III: Demonic Dolls and Other Morbid Drabbles and A Gnome Problem (a novelette). His work has appeared in Devil Music and 18 Other Stories by David McAfee, Evil Puppies by Aaron Daniels, A Land of Ash by David Dalglish, and Dark Tomorrows by J.L. Bryan. He lives in Illinois and is always trying to work on something new, unless he's battling stupid writer's block.”

You can meet Mr. Giggles and see how he disrupted the author’s book release date here.  Connect with Mr. Crane at his blog or his facebook page.

Description:

“It was supposed to be a simple robbery. But when things go horribly wrong and a bank teller winds up dead, Chad and Ray need to keep themselves hidden from the law. They find a house where conveniently the family is absent. It should've been the perfect place for them to stay out of danger.

But there's a greater danger lurking inside. A child's sock monkey waits in the shadows and has terrible, awful plans for the pair.

Mr. Giggles is ready to play…”

Appraisal:

Mr. Giggles, first introduced in Mr. Crane’s Lessons drabbles, returns for further mischief in this novella, quaking with excitement about his starring role. It is a dark, twisted, and disturbing tale. Ray and Chad are hiding out in an empty house after robbing a bank and committing a murder. Chad seems to be losing it, but is he? How will Ray handle his partner’s mental meltdown? What is that evil sock monkey up to? And where is the missing family? Mr. Crane keeps you guessing about what is going on and each time you think you have figured it out, you’re wrong. He has a knack for thoroughly grossing you out one minute, making your heart beat in fear the next, and finally describing an event that makes you “giggle.”  The ending creeped me out! Including more details, would make this a spoiler review, which I dislike.

This well written novella has blood, gore, horror, humor, and mind games! What more could you ask for? Mr. Crane’s novelette A Gnome Problem changed the way I looked at garden gnomes; and now with this novella he’s succeeded in changing my mind about sock monkeys being cute.

FYI:

If you are offended by cursing, raw language, and gory events, this novella may not be a good fit for you.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues found.

Rating: **** Four Stars