As noted in the subtitle of 13
Shots of Noir the e-book contains 13 short, sharp stories of booze, bullets
and bodies. The read fully delivers on those aspects and plenty more. This
collection of dark tales by Paul D. Brazill opens with “The Tut.” While
comparisons to Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart are obvious, Oliver
Robinson has his own particular version of the nightmare in his west London
home. So much so he killed his wife, Gloria, just making things worse.
If you need “Anger Management” you
could see a therapist. Or, you could channel it by joining up with “The Squad”
which featured guys by the name of “Tubeway, Slammer” and Col. They go
beyond
the idea of football hooliganism by adding mugging to the mix. The four
guys are so good at it they begin to get paid by Mr. Bettis who assigns them a specific
job each month to accomplish.
Charlotte lives in East London in “The
Friend Catcher.” The title of the story is also her name for a rather creepy
neighbor who has tale of the past and a job for her.
When you are a serial killer
sometimes you need an assistant. Even better if the assistant has a dog as made
clear in “The Ballad Of The Kid.”
Though she came to the idea early,
it took a long time for Carole Parker to actually plan to kill her husband in
“The Man Behind The Curtain.” At least, that was her initial plan.
There are scores to settle at the
party after the screening in “The Final Cut.” The public drama on film only
hints at private situations.
Freddy in obsessed with a celebrity
known as “M.” In the story by the same name Freddy is finally going to meet his
obsession.
“Mr. Kiss and Tell: A Peter Ord Investigation”
is one of the longer tales in the book. Told in five short parts, it follows
the case of Billy Kirby, who wants to find his missing wife and son. They had
good reason to flee all those years ago. Not that this private detective can’t
be too choosy as he doesn’t have that many cases as it is.
Father Tim thought he was done
hearing confessions at the end of one hot August day until Mad Mack showed up. Mad
Mack has bloody feet, a busted lip, and other issues as well as quite the tale
to tell. He wants to confess in “Sins of The Father.”
When you wake up after a night of
heavy drinking with torn and bloody clothes and your bedroom is trashed you
know things are not good. The fact that this sort of thing and more happens to
one guy on a fairly regular basis is the point of the tale “Drunk on The Moon.”
Brendan Burke was well known for his
regularity of a lifetime of habits. In “Everyday People” his regular schedule
isn’t easy to maintain after being run down by a scooter. He is going to need
some help once he gets home from the hospital.
Alison Day kept to herself and
stayed out of things. That is until a stranger in the street collapsed at her
feet in “Stamp Of A Vamp.”
“Thump” might mean somebody is in
the pub in the ground floor. It might be her as she has not been around in a
while. Or it might be something or someone else.
The 13 tales presented in 13
Shots Of Noir first appeared in 2009 and 2010 on a variety of websites.
Some are mystery related, some are more super natural type tales, but all are
good flash fiction or a little bit longer stories that are highly entertaining.
At 63 pages this is a fast read and a good introduction to the work of Paul D.
Brazill author of A
Case Of Noir ,
Gumshoe
and Guns
Of Brixton among other works. Published by Untreed Reads this is a quality
read well worth your time.
13 Shots Of Noir
Paul D. Brazill
Untreed Reads
November 2011
ASIN# B006AG3H6M
E-Book
63
Pages
$0.99
Material
was recently picked up to read and review during one of the author’s free read
promotions.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2015
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1 comment:
So glad you're covering short story anthologies. Paul's writing is great.
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