Torched: A Thriller

by Daniel Powell

Fresh on the heels of the thrilling novella Frozen comes Torched, a continuation of the tale of two women who have had their families decimated by tragedy, and who will stop at nothing to gain a measure of vengeance for their suffering.Terri James lost her husband to the Colorado wilderness, but she never lost the hope of making Vivian Bowles pay for what she did to her family. After enlisting the help of a private detective, Terri has discovered that Vivian escaped to a tiny village in Central Mexico. She has taken up residence there with another American expatriate, and is embarking upon what appears to be an idyllic existence.All of this while Terri’s children struggle with chronic nightmares and an existence without their father.But life has a fascinating way of repeating itself, and Terri has some very uncomfortable plans for the happy hideaways taking refuge in Cerritos. Torched explores the depths of obsession that govern the human impulse for revenge, as well as the redemptive qualities of what it means to let go.Whoever said that revenge was a dish best served cold?A 28,000-word novella, Torched is intended for adult audiences. It contains graphic depictions of sex and violence.

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2012

About the author

Daniel teaches a variety of writing classes at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He has published numerous short stories and critical essays in journals, anthologies, and magazines, and his novellas have been recently collected in Maximum Dark Four Tales of Suspense. He recently completed his doctoral degree (emphasis on digital media studies) in the Texts and Technology program at the University of Central Florida.

He enjoys fishing the tidal creeks of Duval County and jogging the haunted shell mounds of the Timucuan Preserve. He shares a small home near Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway with his wife, son, and daughter.

Other works include:

Cold on the Mountain
The Reset
In the Walls and Other Stories
The Silver Coast and Other Stories
These Strange Worlds Fourteen Dark Tales

You can learn more about Daniel’s upcoming writing projects by visiting The Byproduct, his web journal on speculative storytelling.

Reviews

[Phil Syphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Torched’ is a fast-paced novella and sequel to ‘Frozen’. Of the two, I prefer ‘Frozen’, which I found more exciting and more realistic.

I do prefer of hot settings over cold ones, though, plus this sequel is not without its fair share of action and tension.

Vivian, who was the vengeful and somewhat unhinged antagonist of the first book is now more grounded and at peace. The roles have reversed, however, and Vivian has gone from seeking revenge to having vengeance taken upon her.

One thing I strongly dislike about this novella is the overuse of Spanish. For example, “Mi hijo,” he pleaded. “Por favor, mi hijo!”

While I’m pro-language-learning, my ultimate pet hate in fiction is the use of foreign language in what’s supposed to be a work of English literature. The moment an author inserts a foreign word or phrase into their story, every reader who’s unfamiliar with the language is locked out of the story. I can’t think of anything that interrupts the narrative flow more.

Despite the above complaints, this was a decent read.