How’s it going, readers?
I’ve been doing a pretty good job of catching up with my backlog of TBR items, so I thought I’d take a quick respite by reviewing a short story. Today I’m reviewing Northward Stones Mark a Crooked Path by Tommy B. Smith.
I met Tommy a long time ago the first time I attended Crypticon (pre-pandemic) and we’ve been friends since. I even interviewed him back in the day (post here if you wanna check it out).
When he told me about this short story I just knew I had to give it a try. The cover reads as creepy, and that’s a huge draw for me. Let’s see how it went!
Blurb
Since the passing of his wife, Samantha, Albert found a somber escape in the unusual black book, which still smelled of smoke, even years after salvaging it from the ashes and ruins of the past. From its cryptic poem of trees and stones, he and his former student, Chloe, now seek to understand its strange mysteries.
They pursue a curious path, and it might prove more than they expect.
Some stones are better left unturned, particularly the northward stones, which mark a winding course into unfathomed territories from which there may be no return.
GoodReads
Amazon
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I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase.
The Review
This was a pretty solid short story with plenty of mystery and suspense.
We follow young Chloe and her former mentor Albert. Albert lost his wife and has since uncovered a mysterious black book with cryptic instructions towards an unknowable discovery at its end. Unable to deny the allure of the dated mystery, they follow the clues, getting more than they bargained for.
I have to give it to Smith, he’s quite the wordsmith. The writing was really strong and flowed well from page to page with details that I could clearly see in my head as I read along.
Chloe and Albert felt like real people and had distinct personalities, which is pretty hard to pull off in a short span of time.
The black book and its mystery really drew me in, and I had to know what they were journeying towards until the ending, which only took about thirty minutes of reading. If I had to pick at something, I would say that the ending was a little abrupt for me and I wanted a bit more payoff from the great buildup. Regardless, this is still a really fun and tense story if you need to switch it up on your lunch break. Worth a try!
That’s A Wrap!
Well that’s it for this short story review. I hope you enjoyed it!
Have you read this story? Are there other short stories you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!
Have a great day!
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