Back in April 2012 I first told you
about Warning Signs by Jan
Christensen. For this final Friday of March 2019, I remind you why this short
story collection is a good one. For the full list of other reading suggestions,
head on over to Todd Mason’s Sweet
Freedom blog. Sadly, that blog still has nothing at all about the sweet freedom of
not wearing pants, but maybe someday.
Warning
Signs
by award winning author Jan Christensen is made up of three short stories that
were previously published in print and online markets. This collection is a bit
less than 19, 000 words and each story is a good one. Each story has a small
intro, a brief explanation of how the story came about, and details on where
the piece first appeared.
The
book opens with the longest story “Warning
Signs.” Rhoda isn’t happy with her ex-husband Hank for a lot of reasons.
For one thing, he isn’t paying his child support for their daughter Tiffany. To
draw attention to the problem, Rhoda had a bright idea to put up a few wanted
posters with Hank’s picture prominently displayed along a local highway. He
owes fourteen thousand in back child support and with Tiffany in kindergarten
and other issues, Rhoda is desperate.
Somebody
put up a “For Sale” sign in her front yard and Rhoda is sure Hank did it. She
decides to retaliate by placing “garage sale” signs in his new more expensive
neighborhood so that Hank and his new wife Melanie can get a dose of their own
medicine. It is going to be a busy Saturday for Hank and his wife and serves
them right.
The
war takes a new turn that Sunday morning when she comes outside to find her ex
dead beside her car with the apparent murder weapon, one of her old iron
skillets, on the ground next to him. Rhoda takes the skillet, washes it, and
puts it away where it belongs in her kitchen before calling 911. Rhoda soon
learns she wasn’t the only one angry at Hank and possibly wanted him dead.
28
year old Connie is not divorced yet but the divorce is coming in “Overkill.” She is supposed to meet with
her divorce attorney, Jerry, but one thing after another happens delaying her
arrival at his office. When she finally does get there she finds him apparently
dead at his desk. The murder weapon still embedded deep in his chest.
Soon
named as a suspect and arrested, Connie has no choice but to take help anywhere
she can get it to clear her name. That includes her soon to be ex-husband
Howard who has more on his mind then clearing her name.
The
final story titled “Quack” involves a kidnapping. Awhile back Josie
defended a guy, Harley Summers, who shot up a local coffeehouse. Fortunately,
he didn’t hit anyone but he still ended up serving jail time. He is now
out supposedly none too happy about having had to serve jail time. That
makes him the obvious suspect when Josie disappears and her aunt Reba is told
that the ransom is 50K. The police can’t be involved and fortunately, Reba
is not only also a lawyer, but a resourceful woman who has people she can
trust.
Coming
in a bit less than 1900 words this small short story collection is a fun and
fast read full of mystery and double dealing with the occasional flash of humor.
These three stories feature women who can handle their business and deal with
whatever comes their way. Feisty and independent, the heroines don’t wait to be
rescued but take action on their own to get the job done. Violence is kept at a
minimum in these three stories as are the body counts and descriptions of the
death scenes. Instead, the focus in Warning Signs is more on the
psychology of people and their relationships and how folks may interact in ways
that are not revealed until the aftermath of a murder.
The
award winning author has publicly stated Warning Signs is the first of a
collection series with more around various themes planned in the future.
Warning
Signs (Warning Signs #1)
Jan
Christensen
April 2012
ASIN#
B007ROBUOC
E-Book
$1.99
Material
supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2012, 2019
Posts
3 comments:
Pants are overrated. Cummerbunds, on the other hand...
Thanks, Kevin. Made my day!
You wrote too soon...there is a post, an FFB post no less, on my blog from some years back about people who aren't too fond of trousers on balance, and not a few other posts dealing with those who've shed them however temporarily...
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