FIRST Thrills is a compilation of short stories written by various thriller-suspense writers both established (Jeffery Deaver, Alex Kava and Lee Child) and unknown.
Title: First Thrills
Author: Various authors, edited by Lee Child
Publisher: Corvus
Reviewer: Lebohang Thulo
The attraction of thrillers for me has always been the convoluted plots, the development of the characters and, best of all, the neat twist in the end. And this takes time. Something that the short story format does not offer.
Having said that, the stories themselves are enjoyable. What they lack in plot they make up for in interesting and rounded characters.
A wonderful example of this isEddy May by Theo Gangi. A tale of two fake detectives using teenage boys to blackmail paedophiles for huge sums of money. Ultimately, the story of betrayal between the fake partners is what holds our attention until the end.
The Princess of Felony Flats by Bill Cameron is another great read. It is set in a block of dirty and dangerous flats in Newcastle. We follow the adventures of a young anonymous career criminal with the great ambition of taking over local kingpin Frank's territory and girlfriend while he is in jail.
The fact that he only has a week before Frank is released, adds to the excitement of the story. Last Supper by Rip Gerber and The Plot by Jeffery Deaver succeed for the same reasons.
Unfortunately, some stories fall short. Children's Day by Kelli Stanley is one of them. I found the fantastical story of a former war hero, who transforms into a flesh-eating zombie in 1939 San Francisco, a little difficult to buy into. Same with Eye of the Storm by John Lutz and Lise S Baker and Chloe by Marc Paoletti.
Great and not so good short stories
FIRST Thrills is a compilation of short stories written by various thriller-suspense writers both established (Jeffery Deaver, Alex Kava and Lee Child) and unknown.
Title: First Thrills
Author: Various authors, edited by Lee Child
Publisher: Corvus
Reviewer: Lebohang Thulo
The attraction of thrillers for me has always been the convoluted plots, the development of the characters and, best of all, the neat twist in the end. And this takes time. Something that the short story format does not offer.
Having said that, the stories themselves are enjoyable. What they lack in plot they make up for in interesting and rounded characters.
A wonderful example of this isEddy May by Theo Gangi. A tale of two fake detectives using teenage boys to blackmail paedophiles for huge sums of money. Ultimately, the story of betrayal between the fake partners is what holds our attention until the end.
The Princess of Felony Flats by Bill Cameron is another great read. It is set in a block of dirty and dangerous flats in Newcastle. We follow the adventures of a young anonymous career criminal with the great ambition of taking over local kingpin Frank's territory and girlfriend while he is in jail.
The fact that he only has a week before Frank is released, adds to the excitement of the story. Last Supper by Rip Gerber and The Plot by Jeffery Deaver succeed for the same reasons.
Unfortunately, some stories fall short. Children's Day by Kelli Stanley is one of them. I found the fantastical story of a former war hero, who transforms into a flesh-eating zombie in 1939 San Francisco, a little difficult to buy into. Same with Eye of the Storm by John Lutz and Lise S Baker and Chloe by Marc Paoletti.
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