John Amory

Jury duty, ahhh, I remember it well. So far, I've only been called once, but my experience(up to a point) mirrored that which Steven experiences in this story. Utter boredom while waiting with a ton of other potential jurors, then the shock of being picked, followed by endless-seeming hours in the courtroom trying to make sense of various witnesses' statements. Steven has one major advantage to help him pass the time and make things a little more interesting, one I didn't have: Mike.

Mike is the bailiff on the case and he is sort of cute, good to look at, and interesting once they get to talking over lunch. Not to mention he is also courageous when the crisis hits. And I mean crisis!

Steven goes from grumbly and badly tempered to slightly interested to full-on admiration for the man. Not that I can blame him, Mike is a pretty interesting, if slightly conflicted guy. An ex-cop, deeply in the closet, but willing to poke his nose out when pushed.

If you're looking for a character study of a man who does his civic duty only reluctantly, if you enjoy reading about first encounters, and if you're looking for a short, fun read with a bit of suspense toward the end, then you will probably like this short story.


NOTE: This book was provided by Torquere Press for the purpose of a review.
… (altro)

Traveling at Christmas time is bad enough, with masses of people trying to get to their holiday destinations at the same time, but doing it when you’re afraid of flying is a lot worse. George, the narrator of this story and a forty-something, is not doing well on his flight from Philadelphia to London to start with, and then things start really going wrong once he’s there for his one-day layover before seeing his partner-of-ten-years Scott in Paris. I really felt for George and admired his stubborn determination to “survive” so he could collapse into Scott’s arms once he made it to Paris.

From the moment the story begins with George already several hours into the flight and about to fall apart, his incessant babbling alerted me to the fact he was in trouble. Then the scene while he was waiting for his bag to arrive made things worse, and by the time he arrives in the hotel and meets the truly grumpy concierge, he just wants a shower and some sleep. Unfortunately, that isn’t in the cards either. I did think the concierge was incredibly rude, but the truth is, people like that exist in Britain just like anywhere else. For George, who is already exhausted, it must have been infinitely worse. When he gets lost in Harrods—something I have done without the excuse of an overseas flight, by the way, so I sympathize—he is ready to give up. Luckily he has Scott to save him, even long-distance, and the story takes a wonderful turn into a sweet Christmas tale. At least for me, the initial “suffering” made the ending all the sweeter.

If you like stories about established couples who have to cope with aging, but have the advantage of knowing each other really well, if a slightly neurotic main character sharing all his mishaps sounds like an interesting perspective, and if you’re looking for a story that is funny as well as sweet, then you will probably like this short story.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
… (altro)