Presence

Philip Brunn Stories #1

by Phillip Brunn

Not your usual ghost story. First in an ongoing series of five short stories about Phillip Brunn, a former psychologist who had an encounter with a ghost. He used to be a therapist, but he lost both his license and marriage in his last case that made him a media attraction, a drunk and a man who is running away from his past. A girl shows up one day, needing his help...

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2014

About the author

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Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phillip Brunn is running away from his past by drinking too much and spending too much time with the wrong type of women. He meets Paulina who wants him to return to England to help her sister figure out why her late husband is haunting her. When he refuses to help, Paulina resorts to subterfuge to make him return to England with her. This short story can be read in 20 minutes or less.

[D.M. Enslin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Presence” by B.D. Fiala is the first short story in the Phillip Brunn Series. Philip Brunn is an alcoholic ex-psychiatrist who dabbled with the world of the paranormal, and got more than he had bargained for. After gaining infamy, losing his friends and being divorced by his wife, he moved to Prague, looking for a new life away from the thralls of the occult – a life that involves a lot of alcohol and women of bad repute. His self-destructive spiral, however, is abruptly halted when he meets Paulina, a desperate young woman set on hiring his services to help her sister who seems to be haunted by her late husband. After going to extremes, she convinces him and Philip finds himself in a situation he had sorely wanted to avoid as terrifying things begin to happen.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this short story. Philip Brunn is a well-rounded and likeable character despite his flaws, and I found myself almost instantly drawn to him and his predicament. The story was riveting and fast paced, without a dull moment to speak of. The dialogue was lively and easy to follow, coloring the characters who were all complicated and realistic. There is more than enough suspense and mystery to keep you hooked until the very last page and wanting more!
I highly recommend this short story – and the series in general – to horror and fantasy readers who love a good ghost story!

[Diamond Drake · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be the first to admit that paranormal stories haven't always been on my to-read list, but lately I've come across a few which I found enjoyable that made me interested in reading more. Presence sounded intriguing so I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn't a story that I enjoyed but the paranormal element wasn't to blame. Presence is in desperate need of a developmental editor as well as one for grammar and punctuation. The copy I received read more like an author's notes as random ideas came to mind than a final draft ready for publication. I didn't connect with or care about any of the characters and had no desire to know what might happen next. As always, these are merely my opinions and are meant as nothing more than explanation for why I didn't personally like the story. I'm sure not all readers will feel the same.

*****I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*****

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: Downloaded for free from amazon.co.uk.)

This was an okay short story, but I did have to re-read it to try and understand what was going on. Basically this was about a man who had previously written a book about some kind of paranormal investigation, who was approached by a lady whose sister was having some sort of trouble with a ghost.

I wasn't 100% sure what had happened in the man's past to make him so averse to helping this woman, but it must have been something bad. The mystery aspect was quite interesting as I wanted to find out what had happened, and what was going to happen with regards to this new case, and things certainly seemed to escalate towards the end of the story.

Overall; okay mystery/paranormal short,
6 out of 10.

[Michael Mardel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting short story about the paranormal and the normal people who are able, sometimes unwillingly, to deal with it. Mr Brunn has escaped to Prague after a very public, torrid time with a paranormal episode. Pauline tracks him down because her sister Molly thinks her house is haunted. Very reluctantly, Phillip returns to England and visits Molly and weird things take place. Will Phillip be able to return as a psychologist specialising in the paranormal?

[torque · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Not much happened.