Holding Fire by Scott Hughes

[Birdlady1950]

I will admit I have on more than one occasion skipping the introduction to a book, I want to get to the meat of book, fast. I am glad I did not with this one, I started this book with a thoughtful mind in regards to vengeance, holding on to it and its self-destructive traits.

Running with Guilt by Maggie Stancu was proof of the old adage if you seek revenge, go ahead and dig two graves, one for them and one for you. Ms. Stancu proved this adage in this story and did so very well. The victim kill Vic's sister. Vic wanted revenge for her sister death. Vic found she was not as cold-blooded as she thought, she had a conscience.

Dog Eat Dog by Joy Meenah. Ms. Meenah certainly proved that vengeance is a two-sided sword. Pam is the supervisor from hell. She demoralized the office. She had a secret agenda. Pam found she had met her match in the lowly employee, Elaine. Elaine is much more than she seemed. Ms. Meenah did such a good job of creating a despicable character I actually was rooting for the Elaine.

Deaths Door by Chris Chan retired Detective Noah Cecchi must solve how & who killed Mr Stuart. The victim is the father of his sons best friend and from all accounts was a man-whore. Mr. Chan incorporated a mystery into this story, who was the suspect, all suspects had been eliminated or had they? Vengeance is not always sweet, its murder. There is suspense up to the end of this story.

Vindictive by Isobel Sheene. Rape is an ugly word, but Ms. Sheene brings it out in the open in this short story and shows how it ruins and rips worlds apart to never be the same again. Jordan's sister was raped by a friend and Jordan wants vengeance, he became obsessed. Ms. Sheene shows how revenge rips and ruins lives, we again have that two-edged sword, as Jordan sets out on that self-destructive path. What a surprise ending!

This was a sample of the stories you will find in this book by a group of young talented up and coming authors. The authors showed that our behavior alone can be self-destructive and some people have self-destructive tendencies. These are all short thought-provoking stories, the authors showed that when vengeance and revenge are added as motivation it is definitely self-destructive and is it really worth the costs. I found each story was well done and held my interest. The stories did not lag but moved steadily.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the book, I would recommend this book to young adults and up as the stories contain violence.

I received this book from the publisher On Line Book Club.org in return for an honest review.

[bookowlie]

I enjoyed reading your review. I also read this book and agree the stories were thought-provoking. I am glad to see you highlighted Death's Door, my favorite story in the collection.

[Charmaine Mahlangu]

In this book anger is manifested as something that is powerful enough to end you. The stories compiled by Scott Hughes are dramatic in an educational manner. To think Maggie Stancu is only in matric and has written since the age of 6 is exceptional.

We are introduced to a woman who happens to be a cold blooded killer being stalked by Paul. Paul is a man who knows all about her killing secrets and will not stop reminding her of it. He threatens , follows and stalks her to a point of self destruction. One thing about a person that has killed before, they will not hesitate to do it to themselves. This was a woman who had little to live for enough to be paid to murder men .

We all know work can be daunting especially if the environment or the people that make it up are as such. What happens when your own manager is madly toxic and constantly tries to prove a point?

Here's Elaine who happens to be stuck with Pam . Pam is her toxic or vile manager. She spits for a living. She hardly thinks before she says anything .The comment she made about another colleague still talking about an ex even after she's been married for ten whole years is immeasurable.

The last straw in all of this was Pam asking Elaine to summarise an almost a thousand pages in a day. A task that was worthless enough to keep Elaine on her feet. Turns out she did not need it at all. We all know these managers and some of us are these managers.

This book has taught me what life will not stop showing me. That's letting go. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do but it also can be done. It can consume you. In this case I give this book a 5 out of 5 rating for its consistency to deliver such a message well.Well written and looking forward to more books from this author.