REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Curious Stories
by Gregory Eaves
Curious Stories is currently on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. The tour stops here today for my review and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
If you like mysteries with a surprise twist at the end, then Curious Stories is for you. This is a small diverse collection of mystery short stories, ranging from the noir detective story to supernatural suspense. Neurotic characters and strange turns populate the pages of this quick and entertaining read.
Excerpt from "The Editor is Always Right"
Marchand sat down and stared dumbly at his computer screen, not knowing where to begin. He had tried creating outlines and character profiles, but no ideas surfaced. He took his hands and buried his face in them. They moved up to his forehead and slowly began a descent over the mounds of his closed, bulging eyelids, then over his bulbous nose and rough, reddened cheeks. He shifted his oversize torso in the direction of a buzzing noise; his body felt heavy, leaden with humidity and the salty crust of baked-on sweat. With uncharacteristic speed and violence he smashed a fly with his flyswatter, then turned his attention back to the screen.
He made a few tentative stabs at the keyboard, trying to grease the wheels. Nothing. Then he noticed the smell again, the same stench from yesterday that hovered somewhere between sweet and putrid. It irritated him not knowing what it was. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Marchand got up and crisscrossed the room several times, sniffing the air, trying to home in on a location. The dusty books were possibilities; he walked slowly past them, examining the gold-striped and leather bound volumes the same suspicious way a Nazi commandant would inspect prisoners-of-war. Some of the books were very old, with yellowed pages and stitched bindings that disintegrated when handled. They were musty with age and produced a very intense odor, to be sure, but that wasn’t it. He stood over a bologna sandwich, considered it, but rejected that as the source of the smell.
My Review
By Lynda Dickson
This is a small volume of four short stories.
In "The Package", George Hurley suspects his wife is having an affair with their next door neighbor, Roberto. When George finds a package from his wife on Roberto's doorstep, this leads to a tragic set of events.
In "The Editor is Always Right", writer John Marchand is under pressure from his editor, Dylan Grundy, to submit his next novel. When Dylan suggests that John needs to get out and experience things, John decides to do something about it.
In "Roadside Assistance", a Wall Street financier returns to his small home town after a forty year absence. On the way, he picks up a ragged hitch hiker who brings back some old memories.
In "Secrets of the Dead", after his mother dies, Detective Steve Grover finds a photograph of his estranged father hidden behind a painting. So Steve sets out to find out more about him.
All four stories are interesting and entertaining, with an unexpected twist. An enjoyable, quick read.
About the Author
Gregory Eaves was born October 18, 1950, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended Speedway High School and Indiana University. In his twenties, he traveled extensively throughout the United States, with an eight year stay in San Diego, California, where he studied and practiced meditation.
Gregory moved to Florida and completed a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida.
Library school rekindled his interest in reading, which had been his favorite activity as a child growing up. Mysteries had been his first love, and he devoured his first mystery books with singular passion and zeal. Nothing else seemed to hit the sweet spot like reading The Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes, and Poirot. He later enjoyed authors like Raymond Chandler, John D. McDonald, Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith, and others.
Schism is Gregory’s first novel. His prior experience with writing included poetry and short stories. One of his short-shorts won runner-up in a contest in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
He now lives on the east coast of Florida, and when he isn’t writing, he enjoys playing guitar and collecting vintage stereo gear and vinyl records. He is a member of American Mensa.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon or B&N gift card.
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