A genre-busting new short story from the No. 1 bestselling author of the Will Trent novels. ('Remmy Rothstein Toes the Line' is also available as part of a bundle with 'Go Deep and 'Necessary Women'.)
As an intrepid adjudicator of World Records, Mindy Patel has met lots of strange people in lots of strange places. But they’re no match for the Swampers of the Georgia bayou. Mindy has braved the oppressive August heat in search of Remmy Rothstein, who they call 'The Cajun Jew'. If the photos are indeed accurate, she might be about to certify Remmy as the World Record Holder for Longest Tongue in the World . . . and maybe even the Widest!
First Mindy meets Remmy’s half-brother, Buell Rabinowitz, surely the world’s only one-legged, albino, Jewish African American. Then she makes the acquaintance of Remmy’s mother, a foul-mouthed old woman with an impressive beard. None of which prepares her for an eyeful of Remmy: a man who measures up to his singular reputation in ways that will change the course of Mindy’s life.
Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular storytellers. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty- five novels, including the Edgar nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels PRETTY GIRLS and FALSE WITNESS. An international bestseller, Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER, based on her novel, debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix as an original series in 2022. Her bestselling thriller series, Will Trent, is now a television and streaming sensation in its 4th season. THE GOOD DAUGHTER will soon be a limited series starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy, and further projects are currently in development for film/TV. Karin Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.
I got my hands on this short story through Three Twisted Stories.
This was really interesting in terms of style but the story… it seemed as though she was making an attempt at dark humour and missed out. As a whole the only thing I liked with this one was the way in which it was set out, as a correspondence. The story could have been interesting but there was no real Slaughter vibe behind it at all. A part of me thinks it would have been better had it been longer, but I’m really not sure.
As much as I hate to do it, wanted more thus the one star.
This short story is going to be ever so hard to review but I'm going to try my best! First of all, as you might already know if you're a regular visitor to my blog, I'm a big fan of Karin Slaughter. I love her writing style, her dark humour and the way she's not afraid to go to places other authors might shy away from. I couldn't respect her more as an author or a woman yet I'm afraid I found myself not really loving Remmy Rothstein. It had a lot of interesting stylistic quirks, which I really enjoyed but somehow by the end, I was left feeling a little unsure. I could have gone right back to the start and re-read it but unfortunately, I wasn't even bothered enough to do this.
The story is told from the point of view of Mindy Patel, an adjudicator for the World Records and she is writing back to her boss in the form of emails as she flits about the country, witnessing some very odd world record attempts. The main crux of the narrative follows her journey to the swamps of the Deep South and an intriguing man called Remmy Rothstein who claims to have either the longest (or the widest) tongue in the world. She of course must verify his claim so she heads off with her trusty measuring tape in tow to see if Remmy can claim a new world record. However, she doesn't expect to meet a man and his strange family who have quite a different and lasting effect on her than she could have believed - and it's nothing to do with the tongue.
I hope I've described this little story accurately, of course with Karin Slaughter you are going to get a few surprises and twists in the tale and I always enjoy seeing what she's going to surprise me with next. Sadly, there weren't as many "Oh My God" moments as I've found with her previous stories/novels and this is perhaps why I'm a little disappointed with the tale as a whole. I'm also wondering if maybe I just didn't get it? I left the story feeling quite confused and racking my brain to try and figure it all out, unfortunately this means that it has had an effect on the rating I've chosen to give. As always, Karin's characteristic humour is evident throughout the story but for some reason, I felt she was trying a little too hard with this one and it didn't come off as entirely natural which was a shame. Ending on a positive note, I did love the structure of this narrative, especially with the little footnotes about previous world records told by Mindy that you could read at the end of each chapter. I felt it added something a bit unusual to the story in general and a few really did make me smile. Again, if you've read this short story and have the same opinion or a different opinion as me I'd love to hear from you - especially if you can shed more light on the ending for me?
interesting to say the least. I listened to this. I liked the way the story was told honestly but since I listened to it while driving it was annoying that I couldn’t really look up any definitions which I normally do when I READ a book.
Remmy Rothstein Toes the Line is a short-story written by author Karin Slaughter. I read this as part of her short-story collection titled: Three Twisted Stories but this one in particular brought out some chuckles from me. Ms. Slaughter writes this dark comedy using only email messages to tell the story. I know some readers hate the correspondence style of writing but I tend to consistently love this type of storytelling and it totally worked for this piece. The storyline had so many very original but strange factors that I couldn't help but stay incredibly engaged. I get annoyed when I have to read accents off the page (just a pet peeve of mine) so I'm so glad I listened to this one via audiobook - the narration for the rural bayou family was fantastic. I loved Remmy Rothstein Toes the Line and couldn't help but shake my head and giggle at the end.
Ms. Slaughter, I saw some pretty critical reviews concerning your comedy skills but I am a fan for sure. Please keep at it!!!!
A very different style to the usual Karin Slaughter novels. I've been a big lover of the Will Trent and Sara Linton series' since their beginning and I love how Karin's short stories are always so hauntingly odd! This one didn't disappoint in those stakes.
Written in the form of correspondence from a World Record assessor (to her boss?) it follows her progress in the swamp to find out if Remmy Rothstein does indeed have the longest tongue in the world. It was equally disturbing and hilarious in parts and a nice quick read which took around 15 minutes to read in full.