Review: Skillfully rendered suspense
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 3, 2011
A swift, skillfully crafted read, in this former newspaper reporter's opinion. Author Scott Nicholson does a good job of leading readers in one direction and then pulling the rug out from under them with a surprising finale that, in retrospect, makes perfect sense. I would have enjoyed seeing the story more fleshed out in a longer novella or even a novel, with some deeper scene-setting and a more pronounced tone of black-comedic horror, as it seemed almost too swiftly paced. But it works as is ... I was hooked early and stayed hooked. And Nicholson does a good job of examining the pressures the modern-day small-town newspaper is under to keep from becoming a murder victim of the economic downturn -- and a suicide victim of the industry's own horrific missteps.