I’m as innocent as a newborn baby. I swear. I didn’t kill those men.They threw me in a mental hospital to cover up the real killer’s crimes. I have no idea why, but I have theories.Let me tell you my story so you can decide if I’m guilty or innocent.
Innocent (Pen Pals and Serial Killers Book 5)
By jomichaels
What a fun way to get a taste of an author’s writing style.
Michael’s is a new author for me (obviously) and Innocent was offered as a free short story, so I figured why not?
I found I really enjoyed the narrative, the writing style, the little twists and the moments of chaos came together as a very engaging and entertaining read. I will be seeking more from this author.
Before you jump in remember this is a short story – The kind that gets the reader fully engaged, sets up all kinds of plausible scenes then leaves you the reader searching for the answers to the questions – Like How? Who? Why? And maybe even a bit upset you don’t have all the answers. Ahhh the love of a short thriller.
That being said the fact you were engaged and want more is a positive point to the author’s ability to write. Just a thought
What an intense hour! That’s all it took to read this, if even that long. So gripping! I could not put it down. While it is book 5, you really don’t have to read anything prior to enjoy this.
Innocent is the title of a short story by Jo Michaels. Just under the title is this line: Pen Pals and Serial Killers – Story Five. If you like this story, you have more good reading to look forward to. For this story, there is an introductory part in which the narrator promises the reader a cookie or maybe two if, after reading the story, the reader is convinced the narrator is innocent. The story is short, and there are reader rewards based on judgments made. The story is not quite your grade-school activity book. No one used words like these in grade school when I went to school, but times change.
With only forty-five pages to work with, Jo Michaels had to get through a build-up, central conflict, and resolution quickly. The build-up was excellent, the conflict was promising, and I missed the point of the resolution. I left the story going, “Yeah, but why?”
Readers will not know the first name of the narrator and main character. We must accept “Miss LeBrague,” Never mind that she has five kids somewhere; she is “Miss.” Despite her complaints of complete innocence and at the risk of losing cookies, LeBrague is not entirely innocent. She is at least guilty of being a Peeping Tom. Occasional sexual high jinx of neighbors may have been nothing more than guilty pleasures had it not been for the murder she says she witnessed. The police believe she did it.
If LeBrague did it, why would she have called the police? She believes the question supports her innocence. What is notable in this story is that the cops SEEM to have approached several killings with a preconceived determination that LeBrague is guilty. How will the innocent LeBrague get out of it? Listening to her story makes it seem obvious she is innocent.
There is one determining sentence in the story that almost solves the mystery, but I had to go back and read the paragraphs a second time to make sure. I won’t reveal the place (a spoiler). My conclusion? I will read more by this author because despite the confusion I felt with this short story, I found the writing style refreshing. I read the story on a break between two inconveniently scheduled appointments, and the story improved my mood immensely. I rated this at four Amazon stars. The price was free (USD 0.00) on Amazon. It fulfills the vital task of motivating a reader (me) to read more novels by Jo Michaels.