Welcome to My Monday Minis.
This is where I review very short stories and flash fiction.
For today I’ll be telling you about Rag Doll
by Troy McCombs
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Yikes! I know. I’m a day late posting this, but the book is still free!
I picked this up as a free download while looking for short stories to review on my Monday Minis post.
It was still free as of time of posting.
Click on the cover to get yours. Just remember to check that it’s still free!
My Review
At about 14 pages, I hardly blinked before I was finished reading Rag Doll.
Lucas’s young daughter Lucy just has to have the rag doll. She discovered it in a pile of stuff at a yard sale.
The thing is frayed and battered, ugly actually, but she wants it and so Lucas buys it for her.
Here’s where the author sets the tone. It’s dark now and a thunder storm is raging. A must for most horror settings.
The rag dolls name is Sandy and it will come as no surprise that the she comes to life.
The author even throws in a babysitter. Poor thing. She must be the sacrificial lamb.
There are some creepy scenes that reminded me of Dean Koontz‘ Tick Tock and voodoo dolls.
You get just enough to connect with characters, kind of recognize them, and then the fun begins. There are no wasted words. The author goes straight to the gut.
I never get tired of this kind of horror story. I suspend my disbelief and dive in, getting all kinds of creeped out and having fun.
The ending is deliciously horrific.
4 STARS
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Author Troy McCombs
Ever since my third grade teacher made me write a short story for class credit, I was hooked to the art of writing. Creating and designing worlds that don’t exist, and populating those worlds with interesting and unusual characters, is what I do best. There’s nothing better than escaping reality for a while and taking an adventure. Who knows? Maybe somebody out in outer space is writing us. Perhaps we’re some make-believe characters in somebody else’s mind.
I hope you join my imagination and take my stories for a spin. If you read work by Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft (my favorite writer), then you’ve definitely come to the right place! I also have some coming-of-age stories as well (The Graveyard; The Black Place Inside; The Music of 1997).
Anyway, welcome! And enjoy!
Go HERE for more about the author and his books.
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