The Perfect Plan

by Ty Hutchinson

From the author of the wickedly funny, action-thriller, Chop Suey, comes a psychological thriller that shows you how bad your day can get when your perfect plan is perfectly wrong for you and perfectly right for someone else.

For Blade and Angel, everyday is about their next high. Tired of the daily jobs they have to pull to support their habit, Blade hatches a scheme for a bank heist. It’s the perfect plan.

Suddenly things go terribly wrong. Their plan crumbles and now they’re forced to find a way out of this mess. And if that’s not enough, someone in the bank just killed a hostage and it wasn’t them.

This psychological thriller is around 6,000 words. That’s about twenty-two pages or forty minutes of your lunch break. Enjoy.

Also included are three excerpts from Chop Suey––the first book in the Darby Stansfield Thriller Series.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Short Stories, Horror

Nook

First published June 8, 2011

About the author

Ty Hutchinson is a USA Today bestselling author who writes dark, high-concept thrillers that punch hard and don't let up.

A full-time nomad since 2013, he blends real-world detail with twisted imagination to deliver binge-worthy stories—where the rules are bent, the stakes are high, and the exits are never marked.

Living everywhere and nowhere, he's drawn to strange things and peculiar people—almost always leading to one question: what if?

Reviews

[Brandon Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique

It is a neat idea but the shortness works both for and against it. It moves quickly and keeps you guessing but had moments that just don't work including the end.

[Kim (Wistfulskimmies Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story about The Robber and The Babe who concoct the perfect plan to rob a bank to feed their habits. It all goes a bit wrong and they end up having to take hostages. But does someone else have a hidden agenda?

This is a very clever short story. It starts off innocently(!) enough with a sort of routine bank job. Then things start to unravel.... Good characters, good lead in and then a sock in the chops of a twist ending that I defy anyone to see coming!

A very good thriller short to fill a lunchtime or a long journey.

[Karin Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guts, gore, guns, and a plot twist that will keep you guessing, this story is a nice, quick, Tarantino-esque read that belts along at a cracking pace until the clever twist ending.

Yes, there's violence and cussing, and even some blood spattering, but that's in keeping with the theme of this bank heist gone wrong. A little more polish would certainly make this diamond in the rough sparkle even more, but overall, it is a well-executed short that will certainly appeal to fans of this genre. I, for one, will be keeping my eye on author Ty Hutchinson's next offering.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super short story I read in about twenty minutes. I've read other Hutchinson books and really really like them so I got this one to try.

This is about a bank robbery gone bad for 2 two-bit criminals. They take hostages and have nothing to lose. Too bad they didn't have a better plan. I have another TY Hutchinson book to read, Corktown. I can't wait. If you haven't read any of his books, treat yourself.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, I guess it is a novella, very short and a really quick read, wanted more. Included was an excerpt of another book Called Chop Suey. Enjoyed the except very much and will buy Chop Suey.

[Stephanie Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

They thought they had the perfect plan to rob a bank. How did one of the hostages end up dead when they didn’t do it? Who did?

Short but definitely a great read. Keeps you reading the next page. Who is behind it all!?!? Great thriller, action packed and easy to read for a lunch break.

[Ashley Case · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty good little mystery. I didn't figure it out until right before the end. Way short. Don't read it if you aren't a fan of bad language, but if it hadn't been for the language, it would have gotten 5 stars!

[Wendie Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the mix of comedy and mystery- fun, fast, good read. Once you start you can't really stop reading. I highly recommend this short story and definitely will be reading his full length novels. Great characters and dialogue sprinkled with a touch of sarcasm.

[Ty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book today during my lunch. I absolutely loved it. It was a great read that left me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Going to go purchase Chop Suey right now!

[Deirdre Scherzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short quick-action mystery. It was a pretty violent - not really my taste but in regard of the art in writing, it was descriptive and painted a clear picture for the imagination.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a free Kindle book, so I can't complain much. Very short, easy read. Not too great, but an okay waste of 30 minutes.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story' very good. Creepy!

[Robin perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

very will written. I felt like I was there and love the ending. It was a nice unexpected twist.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth the short read. Amature bank robbers and of course it doesn't turn out to be a simple go in, get the cash, escape...

[Janey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not actually a book, just a short story. Took a half hour to read and had a nice twist.

[Quinesia Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting plot. suspenseful. 3 star ending.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to believe that this story was dreamed up after watching the honeybunny scenes from Pulp Fiction--desperate amateur tweakers encounter established professionals in their element--and given a more violent twist. Ty weaves a good, slightly gory scene through a few perspectives and manages to keep the suspense high the entire way through. Choices of wording and cadence were exceptionally appropriate and do a great job of conveying the emotional states of the individual perspectives as calm and controlled hide amidst the frantic and frightened.

One can read the evolution of villains of Ty's future works in here and I think he manages to provide the proper voices for each. There's an art to disappearing into the mind of a killer and it'll be interesting to see where this path leads.

The ending seemed to me a little too abrupt, which seems a silly nit to pick (read to understand since I'd be delving into spoiler territory otherwise), but I get it. I think there was some lost potential with the hostage negotiator and standoff, but if that which is on the page is solid enough to leave you wanting more, I'd consider it a job well done.

[Ginney Etherton · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is good tension in the plot, the pace is right for a short story, and the voice of each character is authentic (I don't mind cursing if it's realistic). Something is missing, though, in the irony that usually supports a short-story plot. The premise, the coincidence of the killer being there, has holes in it. Maybe the bad guys needed to be fleshed out more.
I did guess right off who it was, so I was hoping for a surprise ending that wasn't there. But I enjoyed doing the math and following each subtraction. There is one place near the end where a character's title is changed, which I think is a goof-up. And a couple places where a word was left out. Those things can be fixed on e-editions.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blade and the Babe have the perfect plan to rob a bank but everything possible goes wrong.

This is a short story and I cannot give any more details as it would be a spoiler, but it is a really good short story. In such a short time, the author manages to put in this unbelievable twist. For only 99 cents on the Kindle it was definitely worth the price. You can also read it in about 10 minutes. Great short story!

[Richard Gillispie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and to the point short story.

Blade and Babe want money. So what better way than to rob a bank. The wait till right before the guard locks the door and enter the bank. That's when everything spirals out of control.

When the guard locked the door. 17 people were alive. When the police stormed in only three leave alive.

Ty Hutchinson has created a story that can easily expand into a big time novel.

This is easily a short story that leaves you crying for more.

[Kami Dodson-Perry]

Only got 17% through it but I was not invested enough to keep going. That is not very good considering it is only 35 pages of a short story. Maybe others will relate better to this story and be invested by that point but I was not. The writer lost me actually in the first couple pages with calling people names. I don't mind profanity but calling the guard by the color of his skin, a oversized woman "fatty", and cops were referred to "pigs" I could go no further.

[Melissa Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick suspensful read. Everything needs a plan..robbing a bank..murder...only the perfect plan can guarantee success.
While I usually find short stories to have something missing, this one is complete! I recommend this tale to anyone who loves a bit of gore and violence mixed in with suspense.

This is currently available for free on Kindle.

[Scott Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read about a bank robbery gone wrong. Descriptive and action packed, but I preferred Chop Suey. Still looking forward to Stroganov by Mr Hutchinson.

[Ginger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing! This was not only strange, but just meh. Due to a typo towards the end, it threw everything into a confusing story for me. I don't think I'll be reading anything else by this author. I am glad this was free at the time I downloaded it (2011), as it would've been a waste of money.
***WARNING** This short story has a lot of profanity!

[Surbhi A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this free book on amazon Kindle yesterday and read it in an hours time, It's a short story about two people Blade and Angel who have a plan to Rob a bank and they have this perfect plan which goes terribly wrong.
Short but a great read.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book about a bank robbery in which 12 people were hostages. They did one at a time and it turns out that the last two hostages were in fact serial killers who bumped off everyone else in the bank. Nice twist at the end.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like short stories. This one is ok. The idea was cool but something about how the writing flowed bugged me. I will check out other stuff from the author because I am curious about his style -

good quick read. Predictable, for me, but good none the less.

[Jennifer Erwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was all right. It's a short story, about 40(ish) pages. It's similar to the diner scene in Pulp Fiction but with a twist. Not bad for a lunch time read, or in my case, I finished a book last night and wasn't ready for bed just yet.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silly short story about a bank-robbery gone wrong when the some of the hostages start mysteriously ending up dead because among (and unbeknownst to) the hostages is a notorious serial killer. Why the serial killer wouldn't take a day off under the circumstances is a mystery...

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the story's concept and the ending...the only thing I didn't like was the characters' names. There's gore, comedy and a bit of OMG. Overall, it satifies your need for WTH.