Review: Reads like a great scary film!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 25, 2013
Some of you might think this story is predictable. Not so for me. Brandon threw in some curve balls that distracted me long enough to forget a few hints.Jason is the moderator for the three. Even close friends get into it now and then.Brian's ticked off. He's adamant he didn't do it.Freddie's furious. He's sure Brian slipped the card into his deck.They get in each others faces, causing Jason to step in and try to diffuse them.Freddie designs his tarot decks himself, and he's positive the card was slipped into his deck by Brian. Even though the back has the same design, there's no way he created the picture of the creepy old man in the hooded cape. The figure is surrounded by fog, and the raised hand holding up three fingers, what's up with that? No way does this card belong in his deck.Brian's tired of hearing about it. He didn't put the card in the deck and doesn't get why it's such a big deal. It's just a card.Freddie storms out. When Jason suggests to Brian that he apologize, Brian storms out too.Great. He'll just let the two cool off for the weekend and see them next week when they've had time to cool down.Monday comes and Freddie doesn't show up for work. After his shift, Jason heads to his mobile home to see what's up.The minute he steps up to the door, his radar starts warning him somethings wrong. He has a sick feeling, but continues inside.OhGodOhGodOhGodWhat he discovers sends him to his knees. Before everything fades to black he sees it lying there. That card.I love short stories. I get something similar to tunnel vision when I read them. There's nothing like them. So much is revealed in so little words. I let myself go and just become engrossed in the story, knowing I'll only be allowed to be there for a short while.Brandon is great at getting you to connect with his characters quickly. They become familiar and you grow to care about them. At least the good ones.Then comes the twists. You have to have some good ones and know where to place them. Brandon does this very well, drawing my attention this way and that, my mind trying to visual each scene.I didn't get the ending I expected and that was a nice surprise. I'm usually close when I guess the ending and thought this story would go another way. But, nope. I got a different ending and thank Brandon for that.The Card gets Four Stars from me!