The Envelope
Short story: ~3,500 words
A tropical storm is battering Bennett Bay, a small town on Florida’s Gulf coast. Tony’s trying to close a sale on a house. The commission on this property will be a life changer but it just isn’t going to happen. He fights his way home through the storm to find a mysterious envelope waiting for him. Will it add more misery to a bad day or will it be a ticket to move on?
***** Exceeded Expectations
The Envelope is a well written and engaging story about a man struggling to deal with the impact the death of his longtime life partner has on his life. More reality than fairytale, the main character is well developed, supporting characters are believable, and the back story is summarized in such a way adds depth to the content without leaving unresolved issues. Due to its short story length, the ending does not bring the reader to a clear and concise conclusion but rather details the main characters next step, leaving the rest to our imaginations. Sometimes this type of ending can feel like a cliff hanger, but surprisingly not, in this instance. I thoroughly enjoyed this authors quality writing style, detailed story development, and most certainly see the potential of The Envelope as a full length novel. However, that would defeat the purpose of short stories. I finished in one sitting, and found it to be one of the better short stories I have read in awhile. (Link to review)