Das Slap by Charlie Wade

Having read some of Charlie Wade's excellent fiction online I had some idea what to expect from Das Slap. Wade brings you dark deeds and tense plot lines but almost always with his trademark dark humour. Das Slap is no exception.

When Sally's friend Josie is beaten and hospitalised Sally goes out to seek revenge on those responsible. Being a capable woman she leaves behind her a trail of devastated and bruised male egos. You can't help but smile at some of the nasty ways in which she seeks her vengeance.

In the story we learn where the intriguing title originates from. Wade seems to be conveying a deeper meaning about Sally's prejudices and the truth when she discovers it surprises her and will you the reader. Das Slap is the first part in an ongoing series. If this sublime tale is anything to go by then Charlie Wade will send us on a heck of a ride. I have no problem giving Wade's effortless, funny and satisfying prose a solid five stars.

Genre:  Crime.

Publisher:  Trestle Press.

Format:  E-Book.

Price:  Amazon-UK - £0.86, Amazon-US - $1.38, Barnes & Noble - $0.99

Rating: 5 out of 5

Old Man Coyote by R.Thomas Brown

Old Man Coyote is the first in a series of stories by R.Thomas Brown. This series will explore ghost stories and folklore but in a modern setting. I found that Brown succeeded in giving the story an interesting fable like quality to it. A grandma frightens her grandson with stories about the charismatic old man across town. The stories couldn’t be true could they?

The author manages to captivate the reader with the fairy tale like feel of this story. Strong descriptive writing and good characterisation make this story stand out above the average. A great short read.

Download Old Man Coyote HERE

11 The Hard Way by Graham Smith

This is Smith's debut collection and I have to say I am impressed. Short stories are difficult to write and getting the right ending can be particularly tough. However, this is where Graham excels in adding that twist or trick ending that really makes a story shine. Some of his endings are surprising whilst others are plain quirky but all are cleverly executed.

Another thing I enjoyed about this collection was the “voice” of some of the characters within the stories. This voice was very strong particularly in the first story Under The Cover of the Streets and stood out well also in Bobby’s Bar.

A quirky and interesting collection that contains all the necessary ingredients for an entertaining read. Smith gives us humour, wit and plenty of action. He manages to get a surprising amount of story within a few words. Some of his tales convey precise descriptive detail and a clear sense of irony such as Shooting Stars. Other stories like the Kansas Kindred Killer showed good deal of plot development for a such short story.

The only negative is that a couple of the stories have a plot kink or two that with closer editing could have easily been ironed out. A great value collection that I would recommend.

Download 11 The Hard Way HERE

I Should Have Seen It Coming by Victoria Watson

Victoria Watson is one of Trestle Press’s newest signings. She impressed me greatly with this excellent story.  Written in the first person Watson unveils the story of a woman who has fallen upon hard times.

The woman finds a deck of tarot cards and the next thing you know she is called Jacqueline Stargazer and is making plenty of money fraudulently.  If you mess with karma you soon find things don’t go your way.  So it is for our central character.

Watson has most definitely found a strong voice for this story and we find that we are sympathetic with the main character throughout. She managed to pack plenty into this short story and it is clear that she is an accomplished and very competent writer.  This tale although told in the first person never for one moment became dull or uninteresting she keeps it real and believable.

You would be hard pressed to find fault with the internal dialogue described by Watson it struck a chord as being a genuine thought process and as any writer knows that is a hard thing to achieve. I’ll be looking out for more from the talented Victoria Watson.

Catch Victoria's blog HERE
Download her story (Only 86p!) HERE

Liverpool 5 by Luca Veste

Luca Veste sprang onto the writing scene earlier this year like a scouse gazelle on steroids.  He very quickly established a good name for himself with his excellent blog Guilty Conscience

Liverpool 5 is a collection of five flash fiction stories. The stories are set in and around the great city of Liverpool. The stories are about life, death and the wafer thin relationship between the two to quote Luca.
I’ll discuss each story in the order it appears in the collection. As this is flash fiction I’ll try to generalise so that I don’t give anything away.

Dreams – This story is perhaps my favourite of the collection. Luca makes a great point about life, friendship and relationships in this story. A heart warming and beautifully melancholy tale.

Model Behaviour – Social networks come under a lot of scrutiny.  On the news you hear mainly negative things.  But what if someone used it to reach out to you in a time of crisis? A fantastic observational story that makes you think.

Heavy Sleeper – Now a couple of years ago I slept through an earthquake.  This story sent a chill down my spine because I am a heavy sleeper.  An excellent and darkly chilling tale.

Peeling Spuds – A tyrant of a husband.  A selfish pig who cares about nothing and no one but himself. Everyone has their breaking point right? Eloquently related from the start and with a very clever twist.

He Ain’t Heavy – A tale of two brothers whose lives take them in two different directions which could turn out to have potentially dire consequences.

What Luca Veste does best is give you everyday situations and make them interesting. He has the gift of the storyteller and you find yourself racing to get to the end of each story to see how it turns out. He has an uncomplicated style of writing and that is not a criticism.  He uses this style to great effect to engage and hook the reader expertly.

Trestle Press have once again signed up a cracking writer who I have no doubt will turn out to be the Steven Gerrard of their squad. Strong, solid always reliable and a great finisher.

Download Liverpool 5 for only 86p HERE

Black Betty by William Tooker

Wade and Eliza were through. The love was gone and the fighting was non-stop. Desperate as they were to get away from each other neither of them was ready for how they would finally part. The death with a thousand faces had reached up from the Downs to harvest yet another victim. Heart broken and driven by revenge one of them would come face to face with the otherworldly terrors lurking in the Downs and eye to eye with the remorseless Black Betty.

A dark horror tale by William Tooker.  The sinister town of Veil mentioned in his previous story Bad Angels features in this dark tale. It’s difficult to discuss the start without giving anything away. However, I’ll say that a young couple has an argument and a car journey from which one of them will not return.

Tooker’s dialogue between Wade and Eliza is very believable and the interplay between these two characters impressed me a lot. I found the way he described Wade’s thought processes smacked of realism.  The author has a true story tellers flair and I very quickly raced through this one as he built up the tension I found the descriptive writing to be of a high standard throughout. Here are a couple of examples of great stand out lines:

Gnats swarmed in clouds everywhere humming a chorus that sounded like distant whispers.

A fallen crystal chandelier looked like the mummified remains of an ancient crystal snowflake beneath the dust on the floor.

All in all a great story well told. The tension is excellently build up and just when you think it can’t get any darker you are plunged head first into the abyss. Great stuff from Mr. Tooker.

Download Black Betty HERE.

Reprisal Part 3 - Shadow Boxing by Sam Lang

Trestle Press author Sam Lang sets the scene for the Reprisal series nicely with the first two episodes: Making Plans, Making Memories (Reprisal) and Impeccant (Reprisal).  This third episode switches over to another setting, the Edgar King Federal prison. Unlike Impeccant that was playful in parts this third instalment is dark throughtout but also atmospheric as we get a glimpse inside a killers mind.  We are introduced to prison inmate Devin “De’Light” Lighter. A nasty piece of work who finds himself with an unexpected visitor.

Another enjoyable episode of this serialisation. I am looking forward to the next thrilling episode. As with any multi-part story this is building slowly, patience is required just enjoy the ride as Sam Lang slowly builds the tension.