  Today we have a short review of what my book tour group calls a “Quick Bite”. These are short stories that take little time to read but still fit in the horror/suspense/thriller genre. Once a month we get the option of asking for that month’s “Quick Bite” and the opportunity to review it. This month we had a very intriguing tale that is only about eight pages long. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with our character. Our main character has no name. There is no solid description of them to form that image in the mind of the reader. You get little tidbits here and there, but nothing to form a complete image of a real person. And yet, we quickly realize that this main character is also the narrator. Written in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner, the author takes us inside the head of this character and the prison cell they are in. And then it just kind of takes off on its own. I found the story to be quite entertaining and it had a constant grasp on me. I liked the kind of anonymity that the character has while still being someone absolutely relatable. I can typically read about a page per minute on average. I got through this eight-page story in just about five minutes. There are so many seemingly random oddities in the dialogue but I assure you, these comments for a very clear picture when put together and put with the context. I must admit, while it takes a lot to shock me and I wasn’t really “shocked”, some of the comments and dialogue in this story caught me a little of guard. Now, for me, that just adds to the fun of the story and the whole feeling of suspense, and that need to know what happens next and where all of it is going.  This was all that is in the summary I got: “Prison time hangs heavy. Prison life is not kind. There is a [sic] corruption in it. There is no redemption. But everyone needs a break. Everyone needs a friend.” But, that was enough for my interest to be genuinely piqued. And it is a unique writing style that doesn’t show up very often. That makes for a new kind of fresh type of reading experience. My only struggle was that there were no quotation marks around the lines of dialogue. It was a little confusing to follow but not difficult and certainly not impossible. But the actual formatting of the piece which was all left justified and did not always have those few “return” lines between paragraphs to space them out coupled with the missing quotation marks for dialogue did sometimes make me stumble a little here and there through the story. Meaning that I would have to go back and re-read certain parts to make sure I was fully understanding who was saying what to whom and from where and at what time. But that is my only criticism. I like the content of the story and the way the character was written. I think on that front, which is the most important of all, did a fantastic job. This is even a short story that I will be reading more than once. I enjoyed it that much. It gave that perfect combination of a chill crawling up your spine and a devious smile of satisfaction at the same time. This would be a fabulous quick read for any fan of any aspect of the horror genre. RATINGS 4/5 Stars About The Author Carly Rheilan was born in Malta and lives in the UK. She was educated at Oxford University (which she hated and left) and then at Brunel (a small-town technological university where she stayed for a Ph.D.). She is a psychiatric nurse. She has done research into criminal justice and taught in universities. She has children of her own and has also fostered children with mental health problems. She has worked many years in the NHS, in secure units and prisons.
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