I'd like to welcome Chris, who's the first to join me in this new feature...Chris Rhatigan's Crime Fiction Choice.
Too Beautiful by Patricia Abbott - in the winter issue of Dark Valentine Magazine.
If you haven’t checked out Dark Valentine yet, you’re missing out. This newish quarterly is always packed full of top shelf short fiction and gorgeous, colorful art.
Patti Abbott is known as one of the best crime fiction short story writers around right now and Too Beautiful highlights her many talents. The story concerns the perfectionist ice queen, Natalie, and her thoughtful, neurotic husband, Paul. They have a complicated relationship, which appears to be heading south when Natalie falls off a train platform and is killed. Or did she fall? Or was she pushed?
Instead of taking the tried-and-true whodunit track, Abbott primarily deals with Paul’s reaction to his wife’s death. (Don’t want to give away too much more, as there are a couple of a nice surprises in here.) This proves to be a perfectly paced, well-plotted piece with convincing characters and a satisfying conclusion. It’s everything a short story should be.
Chris Rhatigan is a writer based in Iowa City, who reviews crime fiction and blogs at Death by Killing.
11 comments:
Thanks for having me Col!
Good choice. Great story. And Dark Valentine is a well classy joint.
Thanks so much, Chris (and Col). Nice to know someone read and liked that story. And Dark Valentine was such a perfect fit for a slightly less dark story.
Col- This is a nice feature.
Chris- Thanks for the heads up, as usual.
Patti- Can't wait to read it.
Chris--I hope we'll be seeing you soon in DV. And Col too. And thanks as always to Paul and Patti for the support. We at Dark Valentine couldn't do it without you.
*****
When you see that name, read that story. Simple like that. Mz. Abbot never disappoints -- ever. And you're right about Dark Valentine also. Class acts, the both of them.
You ain't so bad yourself either, Rhatigan.
Chris, absolute pleasure, bud - good job 'n' top choice.
Sean, cheers, mate - you can read it online, just follow the link.
Katherine, so glad Chris alerted me to your cool site. I'll pop over now 'n' then, and if the right idea strikes...
Regards to all,
Col
I had read this earlier in the week and thought I had left a comment. This story sounds like a noir-ish fairytale. The snow queen was one of my favorite tales, and I love that Patti (according to Chris) uses this comparison. I will def be checking it out! Lovely review.
Great promo. Sounds like a fun read.
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