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MARY ELLEN : A Psychological Thriller Short Story of Family Secrets and Suspense
A psychological thriller short story about family secrets, buried memories, and the danger of coming home.
After almost twenty years, Mary Ellen’s return to her hometown feels like stepping into a surreal and haunting nightmare. She thought she had escaped this place for good. The reason for her return is simple — her father’s funeral — but the trip becomes something far darker. It’s not just grief. It’s a reckoning with the past she worked hard to forget.
Her sister Merrily, once merely wild, now seems even more unstable. Her strange behavior has sharpened into something unsettling, giving Mary Ellen a glimpse into a mind on the verge of unraveling.
As Mary Ellen moves through the familiar yet alien rooms of her childhood home, she begins to suspect that Merrily’s oddities are not random at all — they may be the key to the family secrets she fled all those years ago.
A dark, emotional psychological thriller perfect for readers who enjoy domestic suspense, short, gripping reads, and stories about the shadows families keep hidden.
After almost twenty years, Mary Ellen’s return to her hometown feels like stepping into a surreal and haunting nightmare. She thought she had escaped this place for good. The reason for her return is simple — her father’s funeral — but the trip becomes something far darker. It’s not just grief. It’s a reckoning with the past she worked hard to forget.
Her sister Merrily, once merely wild, now seems even more unstable. Her strange behavior has sharpened into something unsettling, giving Mary Ellen a glimpse into a mind on the verge of unraveling.
As Mary Ellen moves through the familiar yet alien rooms of her childhood home, she begins to suspect that Merrily’s oddities are not random at all — they may be the key to the family secrets she fled all those years ago.
A dark, emotional psychological thriller perfect for readers who enjoy domestic suspense, short, gripping reads, and stories about the shadows families keep hidden.
54 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 8, 2024
About the author
Deena Thomson
35 books28 followersDeena Thomson Lives in Northern Ontario, Canada, surrounded by leafy trees, still lakes, her many children, and her stinky pug Augustus McCrae.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 27, 2026
Looking for a chilling short story, I turned to this piece by Deena Thomson. To call it odd would be an understatement, but it surely gets the reader thinking and wondering what's true in this psychological thriller. Thomson does well to put the reader in the middle of the chaos, while they beg for more!
Mary Ellen is back in her hometown after many years, though it is not a warm return. Rather, her father's funeral is her reason for being here and it is stirring up many emotions and ghosts Mary Ellen would prefer to leave in the past. Add to that, her identical twin, Merrily, makes the return awkward on many levels. As Mary Ellen probes into her sister's life and mental stability, many truths are unearthed, both about the past that scarred them and the years they have spent apart. Deena Thomson delivers something for the reader to ponder.
There is no doubt that Deena Thomson offers up a piece that is some mix of dark and worrisome. The narrative builds from the opening pages, jagged and without a clear direction, at least until things begin clicking. Thomson adds swift parts (read: chapters) that provide some context, while also peppering in more confusion than clarity for the attentive reader. Things are provided to the reader, but nothing is quite as it seems throughout this piece.
Characters prove unique and somewhat entertaining in this piece. There is no doubt that Mary Ellen plays a key role, though she has her moments as she seeks to find truths in the awkward return to a place that caused so much grief. I was committed to seeing how she would grow in this short piece, while also trying to make sense of the horror that had befallen her family. The reader is left with a few others who help push things along and complement the protagonist well. Things stayed dark the deeper the reader ventured, though I surmise this was Thomson's intent.
Surprises work well to keep the story edgy and offbeat. Deena Thomson works her magic with a number of well-placed ideas that emerge at inopportune times to keep the story unpredictable, never succumbing to overcompensation. There is something that does not entirely fit with this piece, though I am left to wonder if that was intentional or just my mental state as I read. Deena Thomson did something with this piece and it lingers for me, much like Mary Ellen's homecoming!
Kudos, Madam Thomson, for a quirky read!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Mary Ellen is back in her hometown after many years, though it is not a warm return. Rather, her father's funeral is her reason for being here and it is stirring up many emotions and ghosts Mary Ellen would prefer to leave in the past. Add to that, her identical twin, Merrily, makes the return awkward on many levels. As Mary Ellen probes into her sister's life and mental stability, many truths are unearthed, both about the past that scarred them and the years they have spent apart. Deena Thomson delivers something for the reader to ponder.
There is no doubt that Deena Thomson offers up a piece that is some mix of dark and worrisome. The narrative builds from the opening pages, jagged and without a clear direction, at least until things begin clicking. Thomson adds swift parts (read: chapters) that provide some context, while also peppering in more confusion than clarity for the attentive reader. Things are provided to the reader, but nothing is quite as it seems throughout this piece.
Characters prove unique and somewhat entertaining in this piece. There is no doubt that Mary Ellen plays a key role, though she has her moments as she seeks to find truths in the awkward return to a place that caused so much grief. I was committed to seeing how she would grow in this short piece, while also trying to make sense of the horror that had befallen her family. The reader is left with a few others who help push things along and complement the protagonist well. Things stayed dark the deeper the reader ventured, though I surmise this was Thomson's intent.
Surprises work well to keep the story edgy and offbeat. Deena Thomson works her magic with a number of well-placed ideas that emerge at inopportune times to keep the story unpredictable, never succumbing to overcompensation. There is something that does not entirely fit with this piece, though I am left to wonder if that was intentional or just my mental state as I read. Deena Thomson did something with this piece and it lingers for me, much like Mary Ellen's homecoming!
Kudos, Madam Thomson, for a quirky read!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
February 17, 2024
Short read. Predictable ending.
Not horrible.
Not horrible.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews