A collection of short stories all centering on getting justice. A word of warning: many of these stories have domestic abuse, child abuse, and other crimes to which our society often turns a blind eye to.
Publication year: 2018
Publisher: WMG Publishing
Format: ebook
Page count from Amazon: 288
“The Ball Breaker’s Summer Club” by Valerie Brook: Felicia and Ruby want to be private detectives when they grow up. So they start a justice club, going around town and seeing what they can do to help. Then they witness a real crime.
“Grace” by Michael Kowal: Set during the US prohibition. John Devin is a PI, yet he’s smuggling three young girls to Mexico. And a man who deserves to die.
“Pariah” by Louisa Swann: Rosa May has done what she must to survive and so she’s not a welcome person in the small town of Bohie. But when her only friend is killed and she knows there won’t be justice, she must act.
“Spoils” by Eric Kent Edstrom: Vince in a suspended cop. When his brother Shawn sends him a mysterious text, the first communication after eight years, Vince has no choice but to meet him. Shawn is shot before Vince’s eyes and Vince must find out why.
“The Night Takes You” by Leslie Claire Walker: The main character was the victim of horrific abuse in the foster care system. Now, he decides to get evidence to bring his tormentor to justice.
“My Honor to Kill You” by Dan C. Duval: The main character’s father sends him to kill his sister. The sister has disobeyed their very religious father and left their home in Afghanistan. Now she lives in America.
“A Pearl into Darkness” by Lisa Silverthorne: Set in a little Yazidi village in 2014 when the jihadists started to slaughter the villagers. The main character survives, but her little sister was captured and the rest of her family killed. She’s determined to get her sister back.
“Mercy Find Me” by Diana Deverell: Winnie Yates has been in prison for twenty years, for a crime that her cellmate suffered only for four years. Now, there is a chance that she can finally go free. If she can say the right things.
“Best Served…Salted” by Lauryn Christopher: It’s 1964 and Jessie is the first in her family to go to a university. In Colombus, she lives in a boarding house that is divided between the young men and the young women. But when the boarding housekeeper must cut expenses and let the maid go, the youngsters must do their own share of the chores. Except that soon the women realize that they’ve been duped into doing the men’s chores, as well. Of course, the women want justice.
“Domus Justice” by Michèle Laframboise: Aemilia is a house slave in Faustus Livius Tullius’ house. When two golden armbands are stolen and evidence points to Aemilia, she must use her knowledge of the household to prove herself innocent.
“Uncle Philbert” by Dory Crowe: Pat’s mom lives with old, crabby uncle Philbert and also cares for him as a hospice nurse. When Philbert dies, Pat and her mom don’t know where they will end up.
“Bone” by T. Thorne Coyle: Bone is a young boy growing up in a poor family. One day he sees a man near a murder scene but he doesn’t have any evidence to bring against the man. But the crime doesn’t give him peace and eventually, he must do something for justice.
“A Vulture Waits” by Rob Vagle: Guillermo has finally found the man who killed his father. Or has he?
“The Supporters in Panama City” by Brigid Collins: Miranda is a devoted fan of soccer player Marcus. She’s over the moon when she hears that a rich businessman has formed a soccer team in her hometown and hired Marcus to play. But something fishy is going on…
“The Darks of Their Eyes” by Robert T. Jeschonek: Max lives in Johnstown. He’s a business analyst and has a girlfriend. Then he starts getting threatening letters. In 1923, the then-mayor of Johnstown decided to run all the black people out of the town.
The stories in this collection are mostly pretty dark and deal with crimes that aren’t easy to get justice to. Only one story is more humorous ”Best Served… Salted” and it was my favorite.
The stories are very personal, even when dealing with a horrific theme such as genocide. Many of them deal with topics that are important to bring to light, but they aren’t easy to read. A couple of them are set in the past but most have a modern-day feel. I don’t think any of them have fantasy nor science fiction elements, which is the first time in a Fiction River collection.