Special

by Sean P. Gerace

Dead mother? Check.

Abusive, alcoholic father? Check.

Sadistic high school bullies? Check.

Chris Murphy’s life was an endless cycle of cruelty and terror. When a newly discovered gift for working on cars gives him the opportunity to escape his living hell, he takes it, figuring things couldn’t get any worse.

He was wrong.

Genres: Horror

73 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2018

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris has a difficult childhood alone with an abusive father. When a boy at school is bullying him and nearly kills him, he hits back and cripples the bully. Expelled from school, a teacher helps him to start a career as a mechanic. He builds up a car that was a complete wreckage (that part reminded me a bit on Christine by Stephen King). But Chris has no luck. As his father threatens him to take away his car, its packback time and he has a rough skirmish with him. Troubles arise at the workshop too, when he gets into a beating with a workmate. Chris collects his only two friends and they are heading west. An accident that damages the radiator of his car forces them to move off to a remote diner. And this diner is very special as you can read when the guys have drunk their milkshakes. The story is well written and comes up with a very surprising twist at the end. In the middle it reads like a typical coming of age story but the end is really good. The horror takes off when they enter the diner. Before it's a rather sad story of Chris' missed opportunities. Really recommended!

[Otis Hanby · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Special' was well written. Although it is extremely short (66 pages) I became emotionally invested in the story. The ending was not what I expected. Although I didn't care for the final scene, you might like it. I wanted this story to be longer. 'Special' should have not stopped so abruptly. However, I did enjoy the author's prose. I look forward to more work from Gerace.

[Bill Schindler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special

A boy with an abusive father finds his passion and magic in repairing cars. For the first time in his life, things were great but things have a way of turning bad. This short story is realistic and I enjoyed it.

[M.J. Edington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Novella

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and only wish it was a full length novel. That said, it is sure to suit the horror gourmet.

[Laurie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG

Sean Gerace __ what a mind, what an Author !! Where do you get the ideas for this book from? Second thought,don't tell me