Review: Dark, twisted humor.  I like it.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 16, 2013
This turned out to be a tough read to review.  I read this darkly humorous short story twice.  I found that in one way I enjoyed it more the second time, because I picked up more of the little twinges of humor that were thrown in along the way to the twisted ending, and in another way I picked up on how, for me, it fell short of reaching it's full potential.  This was most obvious when I read parts of it aloud.It has a bit of a slow beginning - I would have liked to have met the main characters sooner.  Also, their reaction to poor Justin, while understandable to a degree, seems extreme given that we haven't witnessed enough other quirkiness to explain it.  It would be nice to have additional exposition on this, to explain why Clara and Esther were so quick off the mark, and why they reacted so similarly.Since in a short story there isn't enough character development for a reader to form an attachment to (or aversion to) the characters, and it's difficult to create tension with such a brief plot line, there has to be something else to reward the reader's attention.  In Murder at Shady Oaks, it's the off-the wall humor.  With a little more polishing of the timing of the dialog, this short story could be real gem.  As it is, it's funny.  It just left me with the impression that it could have been funnier.I'd still recommend it, though.  Not to give anyone ideas, of course.  Poor Justin.