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Bad and Badder
Five contemporary thrillers that will have you bolted to the edge of your seat.
The theme linking all of these visceral stories is bad people - their motivations, their victims, how they get their comeuppance, and how - just sometimes - they don’t.
'Juked' tells the story of Neeta Shah’s healthy cycle trip, and how it takes a very unhealthy turn, resulting in a cat and mouse battle of wits along the Pacific Highway.
In 'Desert Rat' it’s Danny Freemont’s final business trip - his last chance to ‘see a little of the real country’. It quickly descends into a dry-throat nightmare where hope is in short supply.
In 'A.B.C.' a liaison between Shannon and Tyson is not quite what it seems. It all just has to go horribly wrong for one of them. But which one?
'Jack Slave' is a tale of a bully who simply won’t seem to go away, and the drastic action that just has to be taken.
The final tale, 'Crowe Ridge', tells the story of how a person’s tainted history can come back to haunt them in the cruellest of ways.
Each story is between 40 and 50 pages long, and the collection is fully hyperlinked and bookmarked, with an author’s note after each story. Note that all stories contain violence of one sort or another, that all except Crowe Ridge contain offensive language, and that A.B.C. contains scenes and descriptions of a sexual nature.
The theme linking all of these visceral stories is bad people - their motivations, their victims, how they get their comeuppance, and how - just sometimes - they don’t.
'Juked' tells the story of Neeta Shah’s healthy cycle trip, and how it takes a very unhealthy turn, resulting in a cat and mouse battle of wits along the Pacific Highway.
In 'Desert Rat' it’s Danny Freemont’s final business trip - his last chance to ‘see a little of the real country’. It quickly descends into a dry-throat nightmare where hope is in short supply.
In 'A.B.C.' a liaison between Shannon and Tyson is not quite what it seems. It all just has to go horribly wrong for one of them. But which one?
'Jack Slave' is a tale of a bully who simply won’t seem to go away, and the drastic action that just has to be taken.
The final tale, 'Crowe Ridge', tells the story of how a person’s tainted history can come back to haunt them in the cruellest of ways.
Each story is between 40 and 50 pages long, and the collection is fully hyperlinked and bookmarked, with an author’s note after each story. Note that all stories contain violence of one sort or another, that all except Crowe Ridge contain offensive language, and that A.B.C. contains scenes and descriptions of a sexual nature.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2015
32 people are currently reading
538 people want to read
About the author
Ray Backley
5 books30 followersRay has written some very serious and emotionally charged Historical novels under the pen names Ray Kingfisher and Rachel Quinn, but his Ray Backley titles listed here possess a little more grit and address the seamier side of life.
His latest release is The Salamanca Sheiks, an original blend of Horror, Mystery, Historical, and Coming-of-Age.
He can be contacted at raybackley@gmail.com or via a Goodreads message.
His latest release is The Salamanca Sheiks, an original blend of Horror, Mystery, Historical, and Coming-of-Age.
He can be contacted at raybackley@gmail.com or via a Goodreads message.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 31, 2015
Bad and Badder is a collection of 5 short stories with the theme of badness. They are all different and, in my opinion, all great self-contained stories.
Each of these stories had me getting more and more gripped as I read on with little twists to keep me on my toes.
I think my favourite was the last one, Crow Ridge, as it was more other-worldly. More of a macabre gothic tale.
Each of these stories had me getting more and more gripped as I read on with little twists to keep me on my toes.
I think my favourite was the last one, Crow Ridge, as it was more other-worldly. More of a macabre gothic tale.
February 20, 2016
Good (BAD) Short Stories
Very entertaining short stories by a good author. Revenge, a killer, a bully, a supernatural reckoning. I also read Mr. Fisher's novels The Sugar Men and Rosa's Gold, quite different stories of the Holocaust. I recommend those books and this one if you enjoy well-written memorable characters.
Very entertaining short stories by a good author. Revenge, a killer, a bully, a supernatural reckoning. I also read Mr. Fisher's novels The Sugar Men and Rosa's Gold, quite different stories of the Holocaust. I recommend those books and this one if you enjoy well-written memorable characters.
March 7, 2021
Disclaimer: I received this book as part of Good Reads' First Reads program.
Bad and Badder is collection of 5 stories that are about bad and badder people. When bad people meet badder people, bad people don't always win. The stories are all entertaining, and one of them is more of a gothic horror than a suspense story. Included after each is the author's words on how he came to write the story. A bonus is the author talking about how he got the idea of one from a short Spanish film he had seen as a youth. The film, available on YouTube, is worth the price of admission. Anyone who enjoys this genre of fiction will surely be entertained by this book, and I recommend it.
Bad and Badder is collection of 5 stories that are about bad and badder people. When bad people meet badder people, bad people don't always win. The stories are all entertaining, and one of them is more of a gothic horror than a suspense story. Included after each is the author's words on how he came to write the story. A bonus is the author talking about how he got the idea of one from a short Spanish film he had seen as a youth. The film, available on YouTube, is worth the price of admission. Anyone who enjoys this genre of fiction will surely be entertained by this book, and I recommend it.
September 11, 2017
In time, Ray Backley will produce some outstanding fiction, but he's not there yet. The first of these five stories, "Juked", is the weakest. The last three tales are much better, with "ABC" being the standout. The final piece, "Crowe Ridge", is interesting in that it has a contemporary setting but it's told in the style of a Victorian ghost story.
April 25, 2021
A great story collection. Each story went in a direction that I wasn't expecting, but always made sense in the narrative. A.B.C. and Jack Slave both gave me a visceral punch in the gut--so disturbing!
*I received this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway*
*I received this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway*
May 1, 2018
Really enjoyed these five short stories, very entertaining - 9/10.
October 6, 2020
A nice collection of novellas, four interesting and not entirely predictable thrillers plus a kind of horror-with-a-moral thrown in for good measure. A study of badness!
February 28, 2016
**Spoilers**
These "thrillers" are really hard to believe. In the first story the main character finds herself on the verge of being blinded but instead of seeking medical attention she decides to get into a CAR and DRIVE to attack the person who did this to her. Really?! In another story a woman goes under cover to avenge her sisters death by confronting and possibly killing her sisters killer. At no point in time does this woman decide to involve the authorities. Also, the police haven't figured out who this serial killer is but a teenage girl has?
These "thrillers" are really hard to believe. In the first story the main character finds herself on the verge of being blinded but instead of seeking medical attention she decides to get into a CAR and DRIVE to attack the person who did this to her. Really?! In another story a woman goes under cover to avenge her sisters death by confronting and possibly killing her sisters killer. At no point in time does this woman decide to involve the authorities. Also, the police haven't figured out who this serial killer is but a teenage girl has?
September 30, 2016
Step into five thrillers that examine the dark side of a person and what happens to those they meet. I like short stories and felt the five in this collection blended well together, but the author also does a great job of keeping each story unique and interesting. The writing is well done and the stories will have you thinking about them long after the tales are finished.
August 30, 2021
So-so
Meh.
The first story is pretty good.
It had an ending that I didn't see coming.
Both shocking and terrifyingly realistic.
The others...not so much.
This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Meh.
The first story is pretty good.
It had an ending that I didn't see coming.
Both shocking and terrifyingly realistic.
The others...not so much.
This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews