“’Just
the luck of the draw, “Caleb would say, “sometimes you pull aces and sometimes
two’s, and one times you pull an ace when what you really need is that two to
make a straight.’” (Page 85, “The Blow Jobs” by Josh Stallings)
That attitude towards life very well sums up the
situation for all the characters in Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled 3. The characters in these nine pieces are folks
that almost always have losing hands. Sometimes they know it from the get go
and other times they figure it out at just about the same second their light
goes out. The nine works here pull no punches and one would not expect anything
different in this series from publisher Beat To A Pulp. If you want sweetness
and light and happy endings you should be reading elsewhere. Reality sucks and
this is it.
“One Ashore In Singapore” by Andrew Nettle stars the
book off with a man named “Chance” who is to be the courier for a very
important package. He is supposed to bring it back to a restaurant named the
“Jade Dragon” located in the small city of Yass which in turned is located a
little north of Canberra, Australia’s capital city. The package isn’t ready yet
according to Mr. Tan and it will be ready when it is. In the meantime Chance
must wait for developments.
Doe is also a courier and sometimes more in “Doe In
Headlights” by Patti Abbott. Doe has been sent out to an isolated cabin by her
boss Feck. She does whatever he says and gets paid for it. At least there is
variety in the work instead of just being a waitress in a bunch of crummy
places. Now she is out in the woods 150 miles northwest of Detroit and waiting
for the call and instructions. She is really good at waiting.
1915 in West Virginia is the setting with Jace
Russell, Danville Fuller, and John Torrio gathered together to restore a little order their regarding local
beer sales. They are not the only ones involved in “Gunpoint” by Fred Blosser where
scores and a business dispute will be settled one way or another.
Senior Editor Emily Eldridge at Bridal Beauty Magazine has a problem. Based on the threats she is
getting in “Fair Warning” by Hilary Davidson somebody thinks she is dating her
husband. She swears she isn’t, but has her
boyfriend Jason told her everything? And
if he isn’t the issue, what does she do?
According to his drunkard father, Matt, had no
follow through on anything. There might be some truth to that, but in “The
Follow-Through” by Chris F. Holm Matt might just be ready to do that while
settling the past as well.
The size XXL granny panties have a lot of meaning in
the story titled “Granny Panties” by Sophie Littlefield. That meaning can be
transferred to others in this very short two page tale.
Keith Rawson comes next with “There You Are”
featuring a guy doing what he has to do to survive. At least Arizona has a lot
of desert to bury bodies in. But, the
soil is hard to dig through thanks to the rocks, clay, and tangled roots.
Life was rough from the get go for twins Caleb and
Seth in “The Blow Jobs” by Josh Stallings.
As they grew older the scams and the stakes got bigger until everything
is now on the line because the latest deal went way too far.
Last up is a play titled “The Speed Date” by Kieran
Shea. Secrets are important in Washington, DC whether they be on a national
security level or a personal relationship level. Those who observe Peter and
Claire at the Mexican restaurant would have no idea how important this speed
date truly is for both of them.
Three pages of short author bios which include other
titles they are involved with bring the book to a close.
As one would expect from this series as well as this
publisher, these are not tales designed to make you think happy thoughts about
others. No, these tales are often about the unfairness of the life you were
born into or the despair you created for yourself on this mortal coil through a
series of bad choices. The results are nine good pieces that contain mystery, lots
of violence and action, and the occasional obscenity as the works describe a hard
reality.
Beat
To A Pulp: Hardboiled Three
Edited
by David Cranmer & Else Wright
Beat
To A Pulp
November
2013
ISBN
978-0-9912039-0-1
Paperback
(also available in e-book)
114
Pages
$7.99
Material
supplied by publisher and editor David Cranmer for my objective review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2014
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