Review: Hitchcockian Tale
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 8, 2013
In Something in the Cellar: A Short Story, Sandra Bates seems to have a decent sort of life on Crow Lane where she lives with Jason, her husband, and Oscar, her young son.  A hairdresser by trade, Sandra is also a murderess, having offed her husband on a Tuesday.  Two days later, the body is still in a heap on the cellar floor.  Sandra is forced to go about her day-to-day life while deciding how and when to dispose of her dead husband.  From this simple yet intriguing premise, the devilishly clever author, Ryan Casey, spins a very Hitchcockian tale.  Mr. Casey's pacing, word choice, and sentence structure all contribute to the growing suspense of the story.  This is a brilliant example of what a short story can and should be.Also included is another short story, The Runaway, a dystopian suspense story.  Anna, the title escapee, has eluded her captor and found temporary safety.  Or has she?  While the fascinating story stands on its own, it could easily be the beginning, middle, or ending of a longer tale.  Again, Mr. Casey's concise writing tells us a great deal in a very few pages.I cannot recommend highly enough Mr. Casey's works.  An undeniably talented author, Mr. Casey's is a voice that deserves admiration and respect.  The novels What We Saw and Killing Freedom;  the trilogy The Watching;  Silhouette: A Short Story --- read any one of these or read them all, and you will be richly rewarded.