PAWN

by Nicole Burron

The deadliest debts are the ones you choose.
Mark is a pawnbroker who can't escape debt.
His business was supposed to cover the costs of his father's assisted living care, but he's running out of time.
When a peculiar woman offers him a rare car, it feels like the deal he's been waiting for.
The he must also take a collection of unsettling objects she is eager to unload.
As the bills stack up and his father's care hangs in the balance, Mark's desperation grows—and the woman's "bargains" are stranger than he could have imagined.
Has Mark found a way out, or has he stepped into a debt that demands far more than money?

98 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2025

About the author

Nicole Burron writes stories that explore the strange, the taboo, and the horrifying. She views the world through a lens that is both haunted and curious. Her soul resides in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Micah Thorp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all well-constructed horror stories, Pawn by Nicole Burron (2025) is a wonderful example of carefully calibrated tension, strong character motivation and twisted drama. The underlying story isn’t complex, though there is a nice twist at the end (no spoilers here…). A simple transactional relationship is fraught with all the surrounding emotions and frustrations of Mark and Evelyn which slowly build to a dark conclusion. The best part of Pawn is the writing, which is exquisitely well paced with just enough character development to invest the reader in the story without getting bogged down in too much detail - which helps hold the suspense. The deeper the reader gets into the book, the harder it becomes to put down. Well worth the read.