The latest collection of
eight stories edited by Todd Robinson features the noir tales one expects from
the Thuglit series. Whether it be
fate that puts these characters in bad situations, bad decisions as that simplistic
Facebook meme that some folks must unthinkingly share week in and week out, or
just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, many of these characters are
not living, working, or even walking down the sunny side of the street. Heck,
they can’t even see the sunny side of
the street from where they live.
Though you would think the first
couple in the opening story would have some idea since they pretty much are
living the dream financial security wise. “The Opposite of Bonnie and Clyde” by
Kevin Garvey features a young power couple who are driven to be the opposite of
the legendary bank robbing duo simply because they share the same last names.
It is the wife's idea as Madison Clyde is convinced they could successfully rob
a New York bank and has a multi-page business plan detailing how to do it.
Since she is a VP at a bank the plan is as meticulous as possible. Tyler Bonnie
isn’t as taken with the idea as wifey is in the beginning.
In “Grenoble” by Edward
Hagelstein, Ruben Caro has lived in a RV the last three years. 54 years old
with no real pressing business he drifts south for the winter months and north
from the summer months and avoids thinking about his past. He actively works at
it until his estranged wife, Carole, sends him an email asking him to call her.
Morning in New Mexico means evening in Paris and she had a very good reason for
wanting Ruben to call.
Running a taco truck in New
York City is no easy feat. This is especially true when crap keeps sabotaging
your hard working efforts in “Confessions Of A Taco Truck Owner” by Rob Hart. As
a certain anchor is known to say “Boy... That escalated quickly.”
Cinco Putas Medico is a
hideously bad place and Mr. O' Shaunessey has many reasons to regret taking the
recovery job in “Good Luck In Puertos Del Oro” by Justin Porter. He was
supposed to get himself down to this worthless area in South America and find a
missing archeologist who is supposed to have an artifact for his client, Mr.
Debonaire. For the recovery the client will pay him an unspecified amount of
money via PayPal as that is the easiest way to do it these days. One of a
number of amusing little points in this very twisted story.
A shooter is at work “The
Termination” by Leon Marks. For this Iraq war veteran the area at home is
turning into a battlefield.
It is a foggy Kansas evening
at a seedy motel as “The Hard Sell” by J. R. Sinisi begins. The motel has been
a site for a murder case one which made the headlines and folks still talk
about so one knows the place is not a location for good things or above board
business meetings. Connie Merchant, Tate Purbin, and Franny are there to
consummate the deal. That deal may make them some money, get them killed, or
both.
The pain of others has a
special significance in “Suicide Chump” by T. Maxim Simmler. Thanks to hindsight
it is easy to see where things began to go wrong. Simon explains all in this
tale from merry old England where many are not merry at all.
The pain of a person is also
part of the next story titled “The Hurt Business” by Mike Miner. As in the
previous story, the psychological pain is important when Frankie Long Legs come
to collect the debt. Legs has a special talent for getting the job done as he
learned his skills via his dad.
These short books
consistently deliver noir style stories that work on all levels. As always,
while the small snippets above give you a spoiler free idea of what the tale is
about far more is going on than mentioned here. In each tale there is plenty of
complicated backstory and other storylines at work as the read takes you around
the world to a variety of settings. The latest in a long line of Thuglit
series books, Thuglit Issue 12 is another good one
where things are often not remotely what they seem and end in unexpected ways.
Humor is a rarity, but when it appears it hits with venom as the authors
involved weave noirish style of mystery and redemption.
Thuglit Issue 12
Editor: Todd Robinson
Thuglit Publishing
June 2014
ISBN # 978-1500269227
E-Book (Print also available)
125 Pages
$0.99
Material purchased by this
reviewer via funds in his Amazon Associate account for use in an objective
review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
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