Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #21 - A GOOD DAY (Tales from the Longcroft Estate - volume 1) by DARREN SANT...

This short eBook opens with a pigeon scavenging for food, quickly setting the scene on the Longcroft Estate in an original way which made me smile knowingly.  Not that I scavenge for old kebabs, but with the credit crunch kicking in who knows, eh? The upshot, I knew where I was from the outset - in a harshly real place.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a selfish heroin addict, and I have to say that Sant's portrayal was as authentic as I've ever read.  I was particularly struck by the warped views of the addict and how he saw the decent folk in society as scum, and with the same contempt they rightly had for him.  Clever that.

When our druggie gets new neighbours, this gritty story takes a dramatic twist, which questions the morality of the man drowning in a sea of drugs.  The intrigue in this tale drags you along, and it ends with a second, bonus gut-punch, which again made me smile at the author's prowess.  Thoroughly enjoyable read, and a reminder of what goes on as we all innocently go about our daily routines.

My only negative would be that I wanted more, which is obviously a positive too.  So, I'll be buying more of Sant's work for sure.  Starting now with volume two, COMMUNITY SPIRIT.

Check out Darren Sant at Amazon, or at his blog.

Guest's Crime Fiction Choice - Jim J. Wilsky...

Continuing this new feature is someone I've found to be... 'Gentleman Jim'...

Jim J. Wilsky's Crime Fiction Choice.

Go Cup by Matthew C. Funk – April 2010 at A Twist of Noir.

So many good short stories to pick from, but this one stands out for me. I like tense, I like the edge and waiting for that bad thing to happen. This story is an absolute must read. Matthew Funk has many great stories out there and I’ve enjoyed each one. However, Go Cup grabbed me by the neck and shook me around a little bit. The characters, the feel of the situation, and the dialogue was fantastic. The State Trooper, well, he was magnificent and a story in his own right.

I won’t go into the details but this story will hold you and not let go. It never hurts to be able to relate to a short story. Years ago, decades ago to be more precise, I had a pretty hot Camaro. One night on a dark country road a County Sheriff pulled up behind me out of nowhere. I was very young and had an open beer can between my legs, oh and traveling well over the speed limit. I had several speeding tickets already. Not a good situation. Someday, I’ll write something up on that little nightmare but I’ll be lucky to come even close to this fine short by Matthew Funk.

I can’t recommend it strongly enough or do it justice. Read and enjoy Go Cup if you haven’t already. You won’t be disappointed.


Jim J. Wilsky is a central Illinois native with a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling. He has written over 200 published and unpublished short stories. He is supported and strengthened by a wonderful wife and two beautiful daughters.
Jim blogs here...http://word-counts.blogspot.com/

Guest's Crime Fiction Choice - Chris Rhatigan...

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.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice...

Hi Folks,
It's that time again when I choose three stories I particularly enjoyed from around the blogosphere. The Brits have had a good run to date so now it's the turn of our American friends. However, I make no excuses all three of this month's selections are from the deep archives of Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers. Next month I will mix 'n' match.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #7

COUNT THE EYES - by Erin Cole

A must-read, beautifully written, atmospheric chiller from Erin. I had to break off half-way through, for a brew, such was the tension! A inimitable tale with a strong voice I absolutely loved the sound of.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #8

AN INVERTED VIEW OF WIVES - by Angel Zapata

When a crystal ball arrives in the post Larry's life takes a mysterious turn. A profound piece of incomparable flash - with a cracking title - from back in May when Angel debuted over at TKnC.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #9

GRETA - by Christopher Grant

If you've missed Greta, you've missed a treat. She's a stunning blonde doubling as a no nonsense debt collector - one of the most memorable female characters throughout the blogosphere. There's a trilogy of Greta stories over on TKnC - a place that A Twist Of Noir Editor, Chris, calls his 'home from home'. The fact her name is an anagram of 'Great' is less than coincidence.

Enjoy!

FORUM OF FURY gets top review at EASTERN STANDARD CRIME..

The ripples I mentioned in the last post created by my short story, FORUM OF FURY - which featured on both Thrillers, Killers n Chillers and A Twist Of Noir before being mentioned at The Tainted Archive - have now graduated into waves.

Over at EASTERN STANDARD CRIME Geoff Eighinger reviews mystery and crime fiction then rewards fedoras to each chosen story: one being dull and five being fantastic. Just to see what his rating of my story actually meant I had a quick trawl through probably 100+ stories and couldn't see a five fedora review. The common range was two to three.

I must say that I was both pleased and surprised that the story was actually selected in the first place. Anyway, the link's below if you wanna have a nosey at Geoff's review and not wanting to give the game away I'll just say after reading it I tipped all four of my hats to him!!!

Regards,
A well chuffed, Col.

http://easternstandardcrime.blogspot.com/2009/04/forum-of-fury-by-col-bury.html