Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Mystery/Short Story Collection
Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
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Author:
Paul
McCormack doesn’t like the idea of bios, so has not shared any information
about himself on the web. However, for more information on the author’s work
visit his website.
Description:
All The Lights… is a collection of short stories.
Appraisal:
This is an
interesting body of work, well written and at times intriguing. The author
opens All The Lights… with a fairly
heartfelt introduction about himself and the stories.
The first
story is Iodine, which takes a little
time to get to the nub of the tale which is the main character, Grant, hasn’t
been himself since his adopted sister Laura disappeared. It covers their
growing up to her apparent demise and the impact on the relationship with his
partner. However, once developed, it ended rather abruptly and I didn’t feel it
had been wrapped up.
The Best of Right Now is a story of cynical media
manipulation. Jorge accidently saved a child’s life when she fell out of a
window and he becomes a media celebrity.
The End That Suits You Best is an excellent short. I thoroughly
enjoyed it and it was my favourite. For an unexplained reason the world is
about to come to an end. Able runs a diner and he prepares for the end by doing
what he enjoys most, serving customers. There’s no explanation as to why the
world is ending or how, which creates a great atmosphere and mystery.
A Dog Named Supper passed me by. Nicely written but a
quiet story.
The Icicle Tree is a story of infidelity and loss
from the viewpoints of each of the people involved. Again, well written and
interesting. The multiple perspectives really helped. A very good story.
9th and Park is a quirky and fun mystery,
couples are reputed to fall in love as the 3 o’clock bus appears, but sometimes
one of them boards, never to be seen again. The one that remains cannot
remember anything that’s happened.
Of the
remaining three stories Always Get The
Check was the stand out.
Overall I
enjoyed the majority of the stories. The characters were good to excellent, the
dialogue interesting.
FYI:
Some adult
language.
Format/Typo Issues:
None.
Rating: **** Four Stars
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