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.
Material was recently picked up to read and review during one of the author’s free read promotions.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2023
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