Short Story Peril: Tricks by Laura Lippman (And a Wrap Up Post for R.I.P. V Challenge)

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Tricks by Laura Lippman (The Dark End of the Street: New Stories of Sex and Crime)

Tricks by Laura Lippman will be my last read for Carl's R.I.P. V Challenge, considering this challenge will end on October 31st and I don't think I will be able to finish reading the rest of the short stories of this anthology over the weekend. Nonetheless, I want to say I had fun participating in this challenge (as always! Plus, Carl is a wonderful host) and this has given me the opportunity to read more short stories since I rarely read them these days.

As the title indicates, Tricks by Laura Lippman is a story of a con man who not only cheat vulnerable women into marrying him but also stealing money from them during the process. We never get to know his name right from the beginning since there is no point in it considering he moves on and changes his name after getting what he wants from the victims.

Tricks tells the story of his perspective and his moves on his latest victim. I wish I could say something more aside from these but I am afraid that would spoil the fun for you. Laura Lippman writes great mysteries so expect a twist and a good ending to this story.

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I decided to do a wrap up post here for the R.I.P. V Challenge since October 31st marks the last day of the challenge and I don't think I will be able to read and review a few more short stories over the weekend. I am committed to read The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories for the Short Story Peril but instead I got sidetracked by other books and by the time I wanted to get into that anthology again, the interest is no longer there. Thus I picked up The Dark End of the Street with a new expectation since they are two different genres altogether.

Due to time constraint, I am not able to finish reading the whole anthology but I would get to the rest of the stories at some point. Below is a list of short stories I read for the R.I.P. V Challenge (in chronological order):

• Tricks by Laura Lippman (The Dark End of the Street)
• Me & Mr. Rafferty by Lee Child (The Dark End of the Street)
• What Was It? by Fitz-James O'Brien (The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories)
• The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell (The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories)

Among these four titles, I have to say my favourites are Me & Mr. Rafferty and The Old Nurse's Story. I was wowed by the former and the latter simply creeps me out.

Before I end this post, I would like to thank Carl for hosting this fun challenge! Carl's R.I.P. Challenge is one of my favourites reading challenges and I always look forward to it this time of the year.

Did you participate and what books did you read for this challenge?

Short Story Peril: Me & Mr. Rafferty by Lee Child

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ISBN-13: 9781408807583
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published: September 2010
Source: Personal Library


Me & Mr. Rafferty by Lee Child (The Dark End of the Street: New Stories of Sex and Crime)

When I saw the list of authors' names printed on this anthology, I just knew I have to get it. Well how could you possibly say no to big authors like Lee Child, Laura Lippman, Joyce Carol Oates and Francine Prose (just to name a few)? I know I couldn't, so there you go.

Me & Mr. Rafferty is actually the fourth story in this volume, and Lee Child is the main reason why I jumped into this story instead of starting from the first because I enjoyed reading Killing Floor, which is the first book of his Jack Reacher's series.

I have to say that Me & Mr. Rafferty is somewhat slow paced as compared to Killing Floor, and I don't meant it as a bad thing considering that the tone and the writing style is totally different. Killing Floor is intense, explosive and very action-oriented, whereas I find Me & Mr. Rafferty is more focused on the build up, as if Lee Child wanted us to take the time in exploring the narrator's thoughts and getting to understand him better. And in my opinion I think this approach is simply fantastic because you absolutely have no idea who the nameless narrator is except that he kills and his victims are often associated with prostitution. And he loves playing hide and seek games with a detective named Mr. Rafferty.

And I confess: It is about more than just equilibrium and partnership. It is about the contest. Me and Mr. Rafferty. Him against me. Who will win? (Pg 61)

As much as this is a mystery, what made this story such a delightful read is Lee Child's writing style and the satire behind it. In the end it was the overall reading experience that overrides the feelings of finding out who won eventually and to me, that is the real satisfying treat.

Short Story Peril: "What Was It?" by Fitz-James O'Brien

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What Was It? by Fitz-James O'Brien (The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories)

What Was It? was one of the most extraordinary ghost stories I had read in a while. To be frank, I did not know if I should classified this as a ghost story because the overall story just astounded me (even the narrator said so himself through the opening line).

"It is, I confess, with considerable diffidence that I approach the strange narrative which I am about to relate. The events which I purpose detailing are of so extraordinary a character that I am quite prepared to meet with an unusual amount of incredulity and scorn."

Harry (the narrator whose name I did not know until later) lives at No. -- Twenty-sixth Street in New York (for some reason, the number wasn't disclosed and I wondered why). The house was built some years back by Mr A-- (again the name wasn't fully disclose) but he died of a broken heart after a stupendous bank fraud. After the news of his decease reached the country, and from there rumours are that the house was haunted. The caretaker and his wife who temporarily inhabited the place by the house-agent had declared that they were troubled with unnatural noises, and claimed that doors were opened without any visible agency and that the remnants of furniture were scattered through the various rooms were piled one upon the other by unknown hands, etc etc. The house agent did not believe the couple, and put others in their place. This continues until a Mrs Moffat (who is Harry's landlady) decided to rent the house and she brought along her set of boarders from her boarding-house who declared that they would accompany her to explore the supernatural beings, if there is any.

As you would have guessed, Harry did encounter something but what he found just astounded (and perplexed) me. Is it a ghost? I wasn't sure, and I do not wish to elaborate much further in case you want to read it and find out yourself. At this point, all I can say is the title is very fitting for I find myself scratching my head and asking that same question - What was it?

Related Post

The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell

Short Story Peril: "The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell

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ISBN-13: 9780141442365
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: April 2010
Source: Personal Library

The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories is a collection of gothic tales written by various well-known writers during the 19th century to early twentieth century. Elizabeth Gaskell's The Old Nurse's Story is the first story of this anthology and this was first published in Charles Dickens' weekly periodical Household Words in 1852.

The Old Nurse's Story is unlike any other gothic tales I have read, for its first opening line started with a second person narrative, in which I confess it is not my favourite narrative mode to read, but yet I find it works quite well here. Here is the opening line:

You know, my dears, that your mother was an orphan, and an only child; and I dare say you have heard that your grandfather was a clergyman up in Westmoreland, where I come from.

This is a tale of an old nurse named Hester (which does not disclose until towards the middle) as she recalls her experience working as a charge to a young Miss Rosamond in Furnivall Manor. Hester plays a huge role in Miss Rosamond's life since she is an orphan; and the house where they are moving in happens to be some old relatives of Miss Rosamond's family. Despite the huge and isolated manor, the household consists only of the ageing Miss Furnivall and a few housekeepers.

Hester and Miss Rosamond are quite adjusted to their new life there, until one evening she hears someone playing the organ despite that it is all broken and destroyed inside. However, that is not all to it as she is also curious about the east wing of the house that is always stayed locked. The true terror only begins when Hester found Miss Rosamond has gone missing one day and this allows her to learn of the old secrets that has been tormenting Miss Furnivall for years.

The Old Nurse's Story has all the right elements of a great gothic tale - an atmospheric setting of an old manor no doubt, a dark secret and the strange behaviour among the Furnivall's household.

As much as this is a ghost story, I think it is more appropriate to say this is also very much a sad and tragic story and this is where I need to put an end to this post. My verdict? I loved it!

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge V

I know I have said this before that I am not going to participate in more reading challenges, however I have to make it an exception when it comes to Carl's R.I.P. Challenge because i) it is fun and I love reading gothic, horror stories and ii) it is kind of a tradition for me to participate in Carl's R.I.P. Challenge every year.

So, this is the fifth year of Carl's R.I.P. Challenge and for this round, I would like to participate the following:

I rarely read short stories nowadays and I want to take this opportunity to read The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories - From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (Selected by Michael Newton) which I had purchased awhile back. For this category, I will post a review of each short story I read (well maybe up to 3 stories max.) from the collection instead of compiling them all in one post as I thought it will allow me to pay more attention to each story and to express my opinions more in details.

R.I.P. V Challenge runs from September 1st (that's today!) through October 31st and this time around, Carl has also added an additional Peril (Peril On the Screen) where you can post a review of any scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare you have watched, be it a television show or a film. I am going to keep this choice open as I am quite keen to watch Haunted Changi but then again I wonder if my weak heart is able to take in the horror considering the setting is based on a true famously haunted old hospital in Singapore. Well we shall see.