Frayed

by Tom Piccirilli

“Are you the one who helped him kill the angel?”Twenty years of repressed anger and memories. A bitter knot of hatred that binds and divides two friends. The dark secret that fuels and devastates them both.“He killed it. I only helped him to bury it.”Eddie's doing his best to get by, but every day the good fight just gets harder. And now there's a new burden to shoulder. Gray - his best friend and nemesis in literature, romance, and life - has landed in a bizarre mental hospital, known for its radical treatments, because Gray couldn't bear the weight of an unspeakable trauma.The last time they met, Gray almost killed Eddie, but it seems that all is finally forgiven. Tonight, there's a wild hootenanny up at Gray's house.The nuthouse.And Eddie's invited.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

82 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Thomas Piccirilli (May 27, 1965 – July 11, 2015) was an American novelist and short story writer.

Piccirilli sold over 150 stories in the mystery, thriller, horror, erotica, and science fiction fields. He was a two-time winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for "Best Paperback Original" (2008, 2010). He was a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He was also a finalist for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America, a final nominee for the Fantasy Award, and the winner of the first Bram Stoker Award given in the category of "Best Poetry Collection".

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is yet another novella that could have only come from the mind of Tom Piccirilli. This story about two lifelong friends and bitter rivals is a tale filled with sadness, laced with madness, and written with a poetry that feels urgent to the point of boiling over.

There’s a palpable mood here thats created by the ambiguity and unreliability about the whole proceeding. I wasn’t quite sure what to believe as I realized that our narrator might not be as mentally sound as I was led to understand. Piccirilli never spoon-feeds his stories and this one is intelligent, densely layered, and quietly intense.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible story from Tom Piccirilli! A novella of two friends, whose lives seem to center around the rivalries between the two of them. Gray is in a "nut house", as Eddie puts it; but is he really any more unstable than Eddie? The two are compelled to compete with each other in every aspect of their lives ever since a fateful day as boys when one--or both--of them "killed an angel".

I found this book an intensely gripping read as I struggled along with the characters to understand the nature of their reality. Just how much could be relied upon as truth? And what exactly happened all those years ago to turn these two "best friends" into the most hated of rivals. Hated or not, they can't seem to exist without the other.

A very deep, profound story that takes you into the very soul of these two individuals, into a relationship of dependency, jealousy, and need. The secret that draws them together evolves and shapes the course of each of their lives, completely binding them together in all areas.

Highly recommended!

[Paul Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracking novella from Tom Piccirilli tells of the relationship between two close friends Gray and Eddie Cane, both are authors and Gray is currently housed in a mental institution for attempting to kill Eddie. A borderline psychotic in a clinic that more resembles a holiday camp than your average dull and dreary but functional nuthouse, but still just a touch too spooky.

The two men have a dark history that begins in a place called the Isle of Dogs, destined to return along with others interested in their plight to a place where two boys with imaginations too powerful for the constraints of their friendship created an angel who in return was fated to pick one of them and be killed by the other. Two boys who grew into men, intense and delusional, haunted by murder and betrayal in an intelligently dark tale.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Pic book and it was great. The prose was excellent and it read fast. I look forward to more from Mr. Piccirilli!!

[Иван Величков · Rating 5 out of 5]

ОК, тази история беше абсолютно клише.
Обаче...
Том Пикърили (или Пичерили, де да знам от английски или италиански да го транскрибирам) успява толкова невероятно да завърти вниманието на читателя, че дори след като свършиш с книгата, просто ти се иска да повярваш в илюзията, която създава и сюжетът да е различен. За това помага най-вече първо лице единствено число, което използва за водене на разказа си. Читателят се вглъбява в илюзиите и самозаблудите на главния герой и ефектът е БУМ! Може би само в Slowly We Rot на Брайан Смит съм попадал на подобно майсторство.

Двама автори на мрачна фикция - двама най-добри приятели от детинство, двама врагове цял живот. Само най-добрият си приятел мможеш да мразиш колкото мразиш себе си.
Единият посещава другият в лудницата в която е затворен заради опит да го убие. Другарската им среща отново бързо ескалира в размяна на удари и вади и двамата от крехкото психично равновесие, в което се намират "На косъм от границата на лудостта в срещуположните ѝ брегове"
Историята завърта главния герой надолу по спиралата на самосъжаление, самообвинения и вади на показ пред читателя трупани в продължение на двадесет години тайни.
Макар от първа страница да ти се набива развръзката, а се появява и периодично през всичките стотина страници на произведението, Пикърили с умението на илюзонист задържа вниманието ти където той иска и до финала си в плен на представлението.
Както казах клише е, но един майстор на словото явно може да превърне клишето в нещо близко до съвършенство. А как пише този човек, направо не е истина.

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Are you the one who helped him kill the angel?"

This was a fantastic novella by Tom Piccirilli!

Meet two men- Gray and Eddie. Both are authors of horror and dark fiction. Both share a secret about their past. But only one is in the "bin". That would be the loony bin, as Eddie refers to it. What put Gray into such a place? You will have to read this novella to find out.

This story took some crazy turns and the reader is never quite sure what is reality and what is not. (After all, my reality may not be the same as yours, right?) As other characters are introduced throughout the story, the reader is still trying to figure out what is what. Little tidbits are dangled-such as the question which I used as the title of this review. As the pieces start coming together, the reader is compelled to read on.

Frayed was skillfully written-philosophical at times, bluntly realistic at others, this was an impressive story. I highly recommend it!

[Rade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters, I liked the setting, I liked the atmosphere, I LOVED the writing of this author, but I did not like the story's ending. I felt it was building up to something big but it sort of crashed before reaching that maximum desired altitude. It felt a bit predictable too, at least the ending did.

I will read more books by this great author. This was one of those hit or miss deals.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smooth prose weaving a weird story: Piccirilli is in his element in this novella. I detected shades of the "The Night Class," one of his earlier novels which is chock-full of surreal scenes and changes in tone that throw you off the scent time and again. I'm still not sure about the ending of that one.

Piccirilli writes damn-good novellas--and by damn-good I mean intriguing, well-written, and entertaining. I do not feel like a larger person after reading this, but I do feel like I took a small trip into someone's dark basement, where wood creaks and unrecognizable critters brush by your leg, strange smells duck in and out of your senses--and though the light at the top of the stairs is always visible, you're still anxious about where the hell you might step.

[Ken B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two writers, life-long friends, life-long rivals share a dark childhood secret that fuels their love-hate relationship and fans their shared insanity.

"Frayed" is an intriguing novella that kept me guessing right up until the final paragraph.


4 STARS

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts on this book were, well, frayed. It's taken several days of chewing it over, but I think I've finally come to a decision. I liked it, mostly. The story is a wonderfully twisted menagerie that drags you along by your desire to know what the hell is going on. As I read, I had a few different ideas where he could go with it, really hoped he'd take one of those roads, but alas, the end was what I feared it would be--thus making it predictable and the reason for the delay and contemplation. I hate predictable!

That said, the rest was as shiny as the buckles on a new straight jacket. The characters were skillfully done. The main character [Eddie] was sympathetic, if not pathetic. In a sense he reminded me of Jimmy Stewart in any number of roles he had over the years--the lanky, geeky, non-lady killer of the film, that is reluctant at best and bitter at worst, but in the end, the character you like the most. His friend [Gray] is up to something, always, and even though you know it, you're ok with that--not really the antagonist [except in Eddie's mind] but the closest thing you have to it. Everyone else? Are they even who they say they are?!

The atmosphere is based on the confusion of the storyline. That kernel of what that drags you along, and colors the walls around you. The sanitarium doesn't look like it should, and the apartment/city isn't really painted beyond the twisted vision of Eddie. The only thing that really stands on its own is the beach scene, and I'm still wiping sand off my feet. The pace also relies on the enigmatic storyline. Your forward momentum has a purpose--what happened on that island? No fluff, no filler, just moving forward--even though more questions are asked than answered along the way, that's ok. Questions get you turning pages...

The style of this one threw me. Not as much as that ending, but enough to make a note of it. While reading, I didn't jot down a single sentence--something I usually do with Piccirilli's work, as I find strings of words that are so poetic they are worthy of noting [the "clumsy ballet of terror" still sticks with me from Choir of Ill Children]. But this time I didn't. I didn't notice while reading, but afterwards, looking at my notes, no pretty sentences. It's not something that takes away from the book at all, but is worth mentioning. In hindsight, I guess it's slightly different than his normal style, but nothing you should be afraid of...

And after consulting the doctors and setting up an appointment to check into the nicest looney bin ever imagined, I've decided to give this one a 4 It's a good read, and both those that are currently fans of Piccirilli's or new to his work will enjoy it... I just wish he'd done something a little less predictable at the end.

......................

Originally posted to Horror-Web

[Chad Jordahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good short story. I enjoyed ambiguities of the unreliable narrator approach. The writing style is not my favorite, though - what I think of as a Gonzo style (not sure if that's strictly accurate). One nit to pick: there is a moment where one character says he can "sense the presence" of another character in the nearby woods. But of course people don't have any such metaphysical sense. I grant that the character might believe he feels this sense, but I still find it annoying (and a bit lazy by the writer).

[Sherri Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confused

Was he split or not. Unanswered questions. I did not feel satisfied at the end. Still written excellently as always

[timj26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of two life long best friends and their levels of insanity
Well narrated psychological horror worth checking out
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frayed is a very well written short book that left me wondering if I really understood what I had read, as much of Piccirilli's work does. It's the story of two dark fantasy writers who share a dark bond from childhood, one of whom is confined to an asylum when the book starts. It's a first-person narrative, so all the bets are off as to what's real and what's a delusion. Are there really two writers or are they two personalities of one patient? Who's a patient and who's a doctor, and does it really matter? What's the dark secret from their past, or is there one? As the narrator says: "When you got down to it, you could never be sure of your own sanity. You just had to guess at it. You had to hope that you were never the craziest fuck in the room." It's all terribly ambiguous and extremely thought-provoking, written with brilliant lines like: "She brought her own atmosphere with her, one separate from the rest of the thong." It's a good, challenging book, and I recommend it highly to those who want some philosophical exercise.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novella about two best friends who buried an angel as kids, and it has been haunting them ever since. One of the friends, has been admitted to a psychiatric ward, while the other comes to visit. This book basically is about two lifetime friends trying to come to grips with, and bury the past. But, unfortunately it's not so easy.

This book, while horror, reads like a mystery. Which, isn't surprising, since Piccirilli dabs into both the horror and mystery fields. The ending was a little predictable, but there were a few surprises toward the end, and there still were questions left unanswered after the end of the book. I liked this book, it was fun and interesting read.

[Cher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been so much more interesting than it was if it had just been told in a straight forward way. Many interesting turns of phrase and a gorgeous premise, but ultimately 100 pages about writer's block and extremely unrealistic depictions of mental health facilities and professionals. Less than a paragraph about the angel. I will try other work by this author because I can see the genius in his prose, but this first experience was disappointing.

[Penin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Piccirilli has got the greatest imagination! And it wasn't lost one bit on Frayed. This book was hard to put down, and I couldn't figure out how it was going to end. I had my own theories along the way but was happily surprised to be wrong.

[Elizabeth Nesbit-comer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really need to stop buying these collectable signed books. This one was at least short, but nothing really happened in the story and the ending wasn't really an ending.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sat down on break to read this, and had to walk around the rest of the day with it in my hands. I really wanted to hear about the angel...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secrets buried, dug out by a shovel composed of hatred and pain.