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Mr. Baker's normal life is turned upside down when he is visited by a mysterious cowboy one day. With a gun to his head, Mr. Baker is given until midnight to make a drastic choice. Either kill his wife, or kill his daughter. If he doesn't choose one, the cowboy will kill them both. Mr. Baker has only a few hours left to figure out what the hell is going on. If he can't solve the mystery, people are going to die.
- GenresHorror
Audible Audio
First published May 10, 2016
13 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Ryan C. Thomas
55 books407 followersI am the author of the novels The Summer I Died, Ratings Game, Born to Bleed, Salticidae, Undead World of Oz, Hissers and more. I hope to learn a lot from the readers on this site, and get some good book recs in the process. Thanks!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 23, 2016
A well-written if mostly standard thriller from the author of The Summer I Died. Except it takes a fairly large detour at one point which shifts the genres in a way that I suspect some will love and others will no doubt find problematic.
You'll have to find out which camp you fall into by reading it.
3 Feature-Hiding White Cowboy Hats for Choose.
You'll have to find out which camp you fall into by reading it.
3 Feature-Hiding White Cowboy Hats for Choose.
Want to read
May 23, 2016This is copy V of 36 signed numbered copies signed by Ryan C. Thomas.
February 18, 2021
In the words of Larry David: “Pretty, preeetttyyyy, preetttttyyyyyyyyyy, pretty good!”.
A nice, FREE horror short with a terrifying premise. It was creepy and effective, and had a nasty Bachman-esque ending. It also gave off a bit of a Secret Window, Secret Garden vibe, even though those two stories differ quite a bit.
That said, there were aspects of this that were a bit too far-fetched, and I found the villain’s motivation (once revealed) to be a bit too over the top. I can’t really expound on that without spoiling the entire story, but it’s definitely my biggest criticism and hurt the overall score a bit.
A nice, FREE horror short with a terrifying premise. It was creepy and effective, and had a nasty Bachman-esque ending. It also gave off a bit of a Secret Window, Secret Garden vibe, even though those two stories differ quite a bit.
That said, there were aspects of this that were a bit too far-fetched, and I found the villain’s motivation (once revealed) to be a bit too over the top. I can’t really expound on that without spoiling the entire story, but it’s definitely my biggest criticism and hurt the overall score a bit.
November 9, 2017
William Stryon won a National Book Award, and Meryl Streep won an Oscar for Sophie's Choice, the tragic story of a woman forced to make a horrifying life-or-death decision. Ryan C. Thomas isn't Stryon by any means, but he takes that same premise and turns it into a chilling thriller that involves an equivalent life-or-death situation in his novelette, Choose.
The narrator of Choose is Peter Baker, the owner of a small computer repair store whose life is turned upside down when his first customer of the day pulls a gun on him and issues a bizarre threat. The gunman tells Baker that he must kill either his wife or his daughter by midnight or the stranger will kill them both. After the man leaves, a naturally disconcerted Baker spends the rest of the story trying to save his family. However, he soon finds, that even though he calls the police, they aren’t much help, especially since he never got a good look at his assailant. As midnight approaches, Baker eventually tries to put as much distance as possible between his family and the stranger, winding up in a fairly remote area. However, as anyone who ever saw either version of Cape Fear will tell you, that’s rarely an effective strategy in a story like this.
Author Thomas has written some extremely graphic horror stories, but Choose is more straightforward suspense, albeit with a somewhat surprising twist towards the end. The key to a story like this working is that the main character has to behave in a manner that readers imagine they themselves might in a similar situation. As Baker does so, the stranger appears to outwit him seemingly every step along the way, and, to make matters worse, gives Baker some follow-up phone calls advising him how much time is left. Thomas manages to ratchet up the tension considerably by essentially having the equivalent of a countdown clock to let Baker (and readers) know how much time is left before the stranger will make good on his threat.
But while Choose is an offbeat form of a classic suspense story, it also involves some elements of mystery as well. Baker has no idea who the stranger is, and both he and the readers try to figure this out, as well as how the stranger is able to keep tabs on Baker so effectively. The answer isn’t one I would have expected, but the author does drop enough clues for astute readers to have a pretty good idea before the reveal. In addition, that reveal makes the final few pages of the story even more interesting.
The author also tries to explore the choice Baker has to make by revealing bits and pieces of the character of his wife and daughter, as well as the family dynamic. That portion of the story, while an admirable effort on Thomas’ part, is the least effective. As often happens in a story this short, the attempt at character development turns into somewhat stereotyped, and not all that interesting, characters.
But, whatever Choose might lack in character development, it more than makes up for in pure suspense. This is not the first thriller I’ve read that uses this same basic premise, but Thomas handles it better than anyone since Stryon (who, of course, wasn’t writing a thriller). Choose is well written and moves at such a brisk pace that readers won’t stop to think about the implausibility of the plot. And, I have to say, I really enjoyed the reveal and the ending, which turns the story into something rather unique. Readers who enjoy crisply written, fast paced, offbeat thrillers should definitely choose Choose.
The narrator of Choose is Peter Baker, the owner of a small computer repair store whose life is turned upside down when his first customer of the day pulls a gun on him and issues a bizarre threat. The gunman tells Baker that he must kill either his wife or his daughter by midnight or the stranger will kill them both. After the man leaves, a naturally disconcerted Baker spends the rest of the story trying to save his family. However, he soon finds, that even though he calls the police, they aren’t much help, especially since he never got a good look at his assailant. As midnight approaches, Baker eventually tries to put as much distance as possible between his family and the stranger, winding up in a fairly remote area. However, as anyone who ever saw either version of Cape Fear will tell you, that’s rarely an effective strategy in a story like this.
Author Thomas has written some extremely graphic horror stories, but Choose is more straightforward suspense, albeit with a somewhat surprising twist towards the end. The key to a story like this working is that the main character has to behave in a manner that readers imagine they themselves might in a similar situation. As Baker does so, the stranger appears to outwit him seemingly every step along the way, and, to make matters worse, gives Baker some follow-up phone calls advising him how much time is left. Thomas manages to ratchet up the tension considerably by essentially having the equivalent of a countdown clock to let Baker (and readers) know how much time is left before the stranger will make good on his threat.
But while Choose is an offbeat form of a classic suspense story, it also involves some elements of mystery as well. Baker has no idea who the stranger is, and both he and the readers try to figure this out, as well as how the stranger is able to keep tabs on Baker so effectively. The answer isn’t one I would have expected, but the author does drop enough clues for astute readers to have a pretty good idea before the reveal. In addition, that reveal makes the final few pages of the story even more interesting.
The author also tries to explore the choice Baker has to make by revealing bits and pieces of the character of his wife and daughter, as well as the family dynamic. That portion of the story, while an admirable effort on Thomas’ part, is the least effective. As often happens in a story this short, the attempt at character development turns into somewhat stereotyped, and not all that interesting, characters.
But, whatever Choose might lack in character development, it more than makes up for in pure suspense. This is not the first thriller I’ve read that uses this same basic premise, but Thomas handles it better than anyone since Stryon (who, of course, wasn’t writing a thriller). Choose is well written and moves at such a brisk pace that readers won’t stop to think about the implausibility of the plot. And, I have to say, I really enjoyed the reveal and the ending, which turns the story into something rather unique. Readers who enjoy crisply written, fast paced, offbeat thrillers should definitely choose Choose.
June 17, 2018
A novella done well!
Having just read the worst novella of my life, this one was a welcome change to see a novella done well!
When you strip away the fat of places, descriptions and needless characters, you can focus on a single plot arc, and essentially build your characters decisions around it.
The central premise of “Choose” is to make an impossible choice. As a father of one, I could entirely resonate with the protagonists dilemma!
The beauty of this book was the helplessness of the protagonist, the weight of the no way out situation, and the believable decision making!
I have no issue with the sci-fi element of this book as well! I thought it was a nice twist!
Having just read the worst novella of my life, this one was a welcome change to see a novella done well!
When you strip away the fat of places, descriptions and needless characters, you can focus on a single plot arc, and essentially build your characters decisions around it.
The central premise of “Choose” is to make an impossible choice. As a father of one, I could entirely resonate with the protagonists dilemma!
The beauty of this book was the helplessness of the protagonist, the weight of the no way out situation, and the believable decision making!
I have no issue with the sci-fi element of this book as well! I thought it was a nice twist!
September 19, 2017
A short and twisted tale from Ryan C Thomas. At first it seemed like standard fare and became darker. Fast paced, violent and will stay with you.
January 1, 2019
Scary story! I thought that this book was interesting and unusually frightful.
October 15, 2024
3.5 stars for the ending
January 10, 2017
I was very happy to be reading Ryan C. Thomas again!
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
September 11, 2018
I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews