Two Wins and an Honourable Mention / Julie Frayn

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Short Story Collection/Crime Fiction/Paranormal

Approximate word count: 6-7,000 words

Availability

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

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

Author:

The author of four novels and two short story collections, Julie Frayn lives in Calgary, Alberta where she’s a senior manager at a historical theme park. Her novel It isn’t Cheating if He’s Dead was the top vote getter in the Chick-Lit/Women’s Fiction category of the 2014 BigAl’s Books and Pals Readers’ Choice Awards.

For more, visit Frayn’s website.

Description:

“A collection of three dark and twisted tales that are macabre, disturbing, and completely riveting.”

Appraisal:

The title of the book is best explained from this note from the author in the front matter:

“The stories contained herein are the result of my participation in the NYC Midnight 2014 Short Story Challenge. Three heats, each with a specific genre, character, and subject. The first two took number one in their heat. The final story in the final round received honourable mention. Colour me thrilled!”

End of the Line is described as crime fiction. It is, but crime fiction where the featured criminal is heroic and I think even grows as a person in the commission of the crime. The Final Bow is a ghost story with a twist, while the final story, God Damn, The Fisherman, is harder to nail down, but calling it horror (albeit, not especially gory, so maybe horror-lite) is as good of a genre classification as any.

If you've read any of Julie Frayn's novels, none of these short stories is what you'd expect, at least from a genre standpoint. But they share a lot in other ways. Each is a darn good story, that while short, didn't leave you hanging or thinking there was something you missed. Each drew me in immediately and her characters are always great and unique.

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars