Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Short Story Wednesday Review: Thriller Shots: Murder Mystery Suspense by M. J. Newman

Thriller Shots: Murder Mystery Suspense by M. J. Newman is a collection of five short noir style tales and a sample of Violence In The Blood and offers of other books by the author. This read was originally published as 1054 Suburbia in 2016 and republished last year. The short tales make up a little more than half of the total page count making this a very fast read as this reader skips samples.

 

Thriller Shots 1 is subtitled “A Random Act” and is about a narrator who is out on parole. He saw her and it was clear she needed his help. So, he took her home and set her up with an IV. She is sleeping and he has time to think about how he got here and more.

 

Thriller Shots 2 titled “Let Him Go” revolves around the fact that the cop knows the guy did it. He has zero doubt. The evidence he has gathered is burned into his brain and he knows the guy did it. The CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) says the evidence is circumstantial at best and to cut him loose. That cannot be how this case ends with this guy walking free and out there to do it and more again.

 

Thriller Shots 3 is subtitled “Long Time Coming” and is also is a tale of seeking justice. Kyle has it coming. The narrator has waited a long time to get his man. An evening in the pub will be part of the setup.

 

Thriller Shots 4 subtitled “The Homecoming” is also a tale of having to wait a long time. In this case, the narrator has been gone from home for fourteen years. Prison was the reason, but he is back home in Arizona and scores need to be settled.

 

Thriller Shots 5 subtitled “The Night Before” is about that night and the repercussions beyond the next day. He has planned to pace himself at the pub. Once the alcohol started flowing, the plan went out at the window. Now there is the aftermath.

 

The book concludes with a sample from Violence in The Blood: Crime Syndicate Book One and offers and info about various other books by the author. The author is a UK crime fiction writer and his tales feature that perspective even when set here in the states. An enjoyable read if you like noir or dark crime fiction as this is not a read where many good things happen unless you count getting even with folks who did you wrong and had it coming for a long time. 



Thriller Shots: Murder Mystery Suspense

M. J. Newman

Self-Published

July 2020

ASIN: B08DM515LR

eBook

53 Pages

 

 

I picked this up earlier this month to read and review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021

2 comments:

Todd Mason said...

So...each of the vignettes is open-ended?

And what does 1094 SUBURBIA signify as a title?

Thanks. Interesting project.

Kevin R. Tipple said...

No. To explain each one further would create spoilers so I did not do that.

I have no idea what the previous title referred to as there was no clue in the deal that I saw.

Thanks for reading and commenting.