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Two Minds
From Authors Matt Shaw and Sam West - A New Extreme Horror.
My name is Samantha Brown, and I am 31 years old. I work in an office in the city. My older sister, Beth, went missing 3 weeks ago – disappeared without a trace. I’ve seen you once, but you didn’t see me. Or, at least, I don’t think you saw me. I saw you leaving my sister’s flat early one Saturday morning when I was pulling up in my car. Me and Beth had planned to go shopping that day, and she had forgotten about our arrangement. She was hungover and grouchy and refused to tell me anything about the mysterious man that I had just seen leave her flat. We never did go shopping, we argued and I left. I didn’t call her, and she didn’t call me. One week later, she disappeared.
Ever since then, I have been obsessed with the man I saw leave her flat; call it women’s intuition, call it what you will, but I have a bad feeling about you. You were too good-looking, and my sister was cagey about who you were. That wasn’t like her. So three weeks later, I see you in a bar. I approach you, and there we have the beginning of our story…
Two Minds is told through the viewpoint of the two characters living the story. The woman - convinced the man she is talking to is responsible for her sister's disappearance - and the man... Who is he? Did he have anything to do with the sudden disappearance of Samantha's sister or is he nothing more than an innocent bystander?
Only one thing is for sure... After this night, neither of them will be the same again.
My name is Samantha Brown, and I am 31 years old. I work in an office in the city. My older sister, Beth, went missing 3 weeks ago – disappeared without a trace. I’ve seen you once, but you didn’t see me. Or, at least, I don’t think you saw me. I saw you leaving my sister’s flat early one Saturday morning when I was pulling up in my car. Me and Beth had planned to go shopping that day, and she had forgotten about our arrangement. She was hungover and grouchy and refused to tell me anything about the mysterious man that I had just seen leave her flat. We never did go shopping, we argued and I left. I didn’t call her, and she didn’t call me. One week later, she disappeared.
Ever since then, I have been obsessed with the man I saw leave her flat; call it women’s intuition, call it what you will, but I have a bad feeling about you. You were too good-looking, and my sister was cagey about who you were. That wasn’t like her. So three weeks later, I see you in a bar. I approach you, and there we have the beginning of our story…
Two Minds is told through the viewpoint of the two characters living the story. The woman - convinced the man she is talking to is responsible for her sister's disappearance - and the man... Who is he? Did he have anything to do with the sudden disappearance of Samantha's sister or is he nothing more than an innocent bystander?
Only one thing is for sure... After this night, neither of them will be the same again.
- GenresHorror
72 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 2, 2016
27 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Matt Shaw
531 books2,208 followersBiography
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 12, 2021
A collab between two great authors? Yeppers. The intro explains how they wrote back and forth, pretty much without a solid outline. It was just an idea and back and forths between Shaw and West.
That equates to an unpredictable story where the reader has no clue what would happen next. How could they? I'm not sure the authors even knew how it would end.
I must admit that the story went places that I didn't expect in the least
That equates to an unpredictable story where the reader has no clue what would happen next. How could they? I'm not sure the authors even knew how it would end.
I must admit that the story went places that I didn't expect in the least
October 15, 2021
Woah.... This was HEAVY.... very emotional. completely felt for all the characters. Love this collab.
Plenty of f*d up scenes for sure. Great read!
Plenty of f*d up scenes for sure. Great read!
April 11, 2019
Matt Shaw and Sam West are two very capable writers in my opinion and this collaborative effort works nicely. The concept where each author writes 500 words of the story as one of the two characters and hands over their work for the other author to continue the story as the other character is very cleverly handled. It adds to the experience as you wonder how each author is going to respond to events taking place.
Don't get me wrong though, this is fundamentally torture porn at the end of the day which is pretty nasty at times - and maybe the the story is slightly bonkers, but - it gets the thumbs up from me.
Don't get me wrong though, this is fundamentally torture porn at the end of the day which is pretty nasty at times - and maybe the the story is slightly bonkers, but - it gets the thumbs up from me.
February 16, 2021
Nah
Not for me. Story takes forever to get going then goes off on a bizarre angle. Not what I expected from these two.
Not for me. Story takes forever to get going then goes off on a bizarre angle. Not what I expected from these two.
March 12, 2023
Stop me if you've heard this one before: A woman disappears - all signs pointing to foul play but the police aren't getting anywhere. Instead of waiting for the visually impaired justice system to work, a loved one of the missing woman (in this case, a sister), heads out to seduce the last man who she was with.
Still with me? Sure - that's a pretty standard vengeance story angle, right? Someone gets hurt/killed, loved one comes after the top suspects to get to the truth and dispense their own judgment. You'd think two talented authors like Sam West and Matt Shaw wouldn't rely on such an old standby. And it turns out you'd be right.
It comes across initially hitting the expected notes for a "get close with the suspect and pull details" vengeance story, but relatively quickly it changes to a bizarre S&M story. Instead of wanting vengeance, Samantha wants to know what it's like...to be killed during sex like she assumed happened to her sister. Is Jack the guy who killed her sister? Is he a sexual deviant? Will their safe-word be "Header"?
At a brisk 70 pages or so, this is not a story that's going to set up a great deal of backstory or characterization. So your enjoyment is likely tied directly to how the plot works for you. For me, I'd have enjoyed more digging into the missing sister story personally. There's a reason why Death Wish, Promising Young Woman, I Spit on Your Grave, Foxy Brown, Deadly Weapons, etc are popular - those revenge stories hit a nerve for many. While the "twist" is novel, it's done in such a way that it feels out of place. Sure it's dangerous to telegraph twists too much, as you may ruin the fun for the reader, but in this case it just fell flat for me as a reader. Additionally, when it moves into "I'm horny to be hurt" territory there really isn't anything erotic to back up the "S&M" style. Rape is not sado-masochism. My final note is that the story takes place over a very short period of time. And some of the personality changes of the main characters simply come out of nowhere. A little more room to flesh out how these changes came to be would have helped it feel less "convenient" and more earned.
I know I've been harsh, but overall, it's not a bad quick read. It just seems to lose it's way as a mystery/vengeance tale, trying to turn erotic, but still so stuck on the "extreme horror" side of the wall to embrace the shift in tone. It's a short story that doesn't overstay it's welcome, but likely would have been better if it fleshed out the characters better and let the plot unfold more organically. If you're a fan of Matt Shaw or Sam West though, consider it mildly recommended.
Still with me? Sure - that's a pretty standard vengeance story angle, right? Someone gets hurt/killed, loved one comes after the top suspects to get to the truth and dispense their own judgment. You'd think two talented authors like Sam West and Matt Shaw wouldn't rely on such an old standby. And it turns out you'd be right.
It comes across initially hitting the expected notes for a "get close with the suspect and pull details" vengeance story, but relatively quickly it changes to a bizarre S&M story. Instead of wanting vengeance, Samantha wants to know what it's like...to be killed during sex like she assumed happened to her sister. Is Jack the guy who killed her sister? Is he a sexual deviant? Will their safe-word be "Header"?
At a brisk 70 pages or so, this is not a story that's going to set up a great deal of backstory or characterization. So your enjoyment is likely tied directly to how the plot works for you. For me, I'd have enjoyed more digging into the missing sister story personally. There's a reason why Death Wish, Promising Young Woman, I Spit on Your Grave, Foxy Brown, Deadly Weapons, etc are popular - those revenge stories hit a nerve for many. While the "twist" is novel, it's done in such a way that it feels out of place. Sure it's dangerous to telegraph twists too much, as you may ruin the fun for the reader, but in this case it just fell flat for me as a reader. Additionally, when it moves into "I'm horny to be hurt" territory there really isn't anything erotic to back up the "S&M" style. Rape is not sado-masochism. My final note is that the story takes place over a very short period of time. And some of the personality changes of the main characters simply come out of nowhere. A little more room to flesh out how these changes came to be would have helped it feel less "convenient" and more earned.
I know I've been harsh, but overall, it's not a bad quick read. It just seems to lose it's way as a mystery/vengeance tale, trying to turn erotic, but still so stuck on the "extreme horror" side of the wall to embrace the shift in tone. It's a short story that doesn't overstay it's welcome, but likely would have been better if it fleshed out the characters better and let the plot unfold more organically. If you're a fan of Matt Shaw or Sam West though, consider it mildly recommended.
February 19, 2024
Incredible!
Too good to be true!! I enjoyed this book a lot. Although, there was a part that made me literally gag and I had to stop reading and stepped outside for some air!
It’s written sooo good by both authors and they make you feel what each character is feeling in each sentence. I fall in love with it!
Too good to be true!! I enjoyed this book a lot. Although, there was a part that made me literally gag and I had to stop reading and stepped outside for some air!
It’s written sooo good by both authors and they make you feel what each character is feeling in each sentence. I fall in love with it!
July 27, 2025
I knew that the combination of Matt Shaw AND Sam West was going to be a brutal gore fest. But if I’m being honest it wasn’t AS brutal or gory as I expected.
Having said that it, I still loved it and found myself holding my breath as I devoured Two Minds.
The narration swapped back and forth between the characters, letting us see the same scenes from different perspectives.
Having said that it, I still loved it and found myself holding my breath as I devoured Two Minds.
The narration swapped back and forth between the characters, letting us see the same scenes from different perspectives.
December 12, 2016
A form of S @M
I enjoyed this book it had a lot of masochistic in it. I really thought it couldn't get any better.
I enjoyed this book it had a lot of masochistic in it. I really thought it couldn't get any better.
February 17, 2020
Two minds
I really loved reading this. I despise love stories but was like awwwww how tweet. And then there was black
I really loved reading this. I despise love stories but was like awwwww how tweet. And then there was black
July 10, 2020
Brilliant collaboration! I'd love to see more colabs from these two in the future! I've been a fan of Matt's for years but haven't read anything by Sam West yet. Definitely gonna check out a few of her books now, though. As someone who actually manages to write extreme horror on the same level as Matt Shaw, I HAVE to see her other work.
June 28, 2017
A match made in... well, Heaven for me!
I've been a fan of Matt's for a very long time. When I stumbled across Sam's work not very long after, the two people who introduced me to Matt said I'd enjoy Sam's writing as well - (thank you Suzanne and Cathy!) - and they were right.
IMO, Sam West's stories have been getting increasingly better this year, and this collaboration came at the perfect time for both of them.
I wish the ending were a little... 'beefier' (for lack of a better term, or perfect tongue in cheek?). But - I love how it was written. It's a great style, and I bet we'll see more authors experimenting with it.
Authors... your introduction(s) made me laugh out loud at work. Thank you for helping convince my boss I'm a lunatic for sitting down to read "50 SHADES OF F***ED UP" on my break, and giggling.
Full review posted @ http://wp.me/p37DRX-1zR
I've been a fan of Matt's for a very long time. When I stumbled across Sam's work not very long after, the two people who introduced me to Matt said I'd enjoy Sam's writing as well - (thank you Suzanne and Cathy!) - and they were right.
IMO, Sam West's stories have been getting increasingly better this year, and this collaboration came at the perfect time for both of them.
I wish the ending were a little... 'beefier' (for lack of a better term, or perfect tongue in cheek?). But - I love how it was written. It's a great style, and I bet we'll see more authors experimenting with it.
Authors... your introduction(s) made me laugh out loud at work. Thank you for helping convince my boss I'm a lunatic for sitting down to read "50 SHADES OF F***ED UP" on my break, and giggling.
Full review posted @ http://wp.me/p37DRX-1zR
March 27, 2017
Two minds written by two authors expertly done.
Normally when I read a book written by two or more authors it becomes jarring when they switch but here we have two characters and one author writes only one character so you get two very different characters. It works so well.
There is a foreword at the beginning about how the book started and how much fun they had reading this together and they really feed out each other's writing making this a brilliant story.
Normally when I read a book written by two or more authors it becomes jarring when they switch but here we have two characters and one author writes only one character so you get two very different characters. It works so well.
There is a foreword at the beginning about how the book started and how much fun they had reading this together and they really feed out each other's writing making this a brilliant story.
April 25, 2017
A real mindfuck
The intense dance that these character's do Is erotic and satisfying yet horrifying. Poetry in death. Loved the momentum and to try and see from their eyes some of life's greatest taboo's
The intense dance that these character's do Is erotic and satisfying yet horrifying. Poetry in death. Loved the momentum and to try and see from their eyes some of life's greatest taboo's
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews