Turn Around Where Possible

by Martin Pond

In this "don't go in the woodshed"-style short horror story, a young couple get off the beaten track in search of a bite to eat, and find a horrific meal...

Genres: Horror, Fiction

16 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 12, 2012

About the author

Martin Pond is a Man of Kent, now living and working in Norfolk. His stories have appeared in Unthology No 1, Streetcake magazine and Alliterati magazine, whilst three poems have appeared in The Artillery Of Words magazine. In 2012, Martin was a winner of Comma Press's Short Story Day "story in ten words or less" competition.

Martin's first collection of short fiction, Dark Steps, was published in August 2011. Two standalone short stories, Turn Around Where Possible and Cold, followed in 2012. The non-fiction essay, Tesc-No: living without supermarkets, was published the following year.

Drawn To The Deep End, Martin's first novel, was published in September 2017.

Martin is also the editor of The Petrified World and other tales, a collection of short stories in support of the charity Population Matters.

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a couple who ignore their GPS in the quest for somewhere to have a bite to eat. It doesn't end well for them....

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpectedly and remarkably chilling short story, “Turn Around When Possible” takes a familiar setting-becoming lost while driving in a rural area-and makes it unforgettable. I still have chills from the story and expect to have for quite some time.

Modern couple Jo and Dan are out for a drive, on a dreary overcast day-a day which has already been too long and tiring. They’re hungry and weary, they just want to reach their destination; but they need to eat, and they need to stop and stretch. As an up-to-date modern couple, their car has a satellite navigation system, so getting lost should not even be a possibility; but it is-and taking just one wrong turn, let alone two, can be disastrous.

[Evans Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, fun little short - very short - but managed to be a complete and satisfying tale. Glad it was free, not nearly long enough to justify payment as a stand alone. For a free Kindle download, a good little five minute read.

[Tara Kable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet and creepy!

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, two minute, okay short story.

[Kay Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and creepy tale with great atmosphere. Sometimes it's best to listen to that voice in your sat nav telling you to turn around, you never know where an old, eerie road might lead you.

[RedRedtheycallmeRed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really short, "listen to your instincts" kind of story. The end leaves the possibility of more to come...

[Nev Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doesn't pull any punches this one. A short story that gets straight to the point.....I wonder what is for desert.

This review was written before I started to take my reviewing seriously. I would need to re-read the book to give it a serious and fair review so the above review was what I posted at the time.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love short horror and mystery fiction, almost more than I like novels in those genres. I stumbled on Martin Pond accidentally on the Indie Books Blog (www.http://indiebooksblog.blogspot.com/) and I'm glad I did.

Looking forward to more from Pond.

[Monica Akinyi Odhiambo · Rating 4 out of 5]

WTF is what went through my mind as I read this short story.I mean,just like that?So unexpected.And to think that Jo kept telling him they go back because the place looked so odd,and he kept insisting they should stay because he was hungry.Only to end up,like that.Wow.Lovely read though.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part I found this short story a fun/scary quick read but I also found it to be very predictable. The story was good at helping you visualize what was happening to these people and thats what I liked most about it. Give it a try :)

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilling 5 minute read... which like all good horror, had an element of dark humour

[Pamela Milin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay for a short story

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

whoa that took me by surprise!!!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worthless read. Didn't really go anywhere much less tell a complete story.