Duplicity: and Other Stories

by Doris Davidson

The acclaimed author of The Brow of the Gallowgate presents 20 short stories from across her decades-long career as well as a new novella.   Two men sit petrified on Christmas Eve at the thought of spending it in supernatural company; a young family makes a tense Cross-channel trip in fear of some unspecified threat; an old man contemplates jumping to his death at the thought of being evicted from the house in which he has lived all his life. In these and other tales, Doris Davidson explores moments of desperation in the lives of ordinary people.   Looking back over her successful writing career, Davidson has collected these twenty short stories to pair with her eagerly awaited novella "Duplicity". Together, these stories trace the progression of one of Scotland's best-loved authors and stand as a tribute to her skill and imagination.

313 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2012

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars. My copy had about 270 pages or so.

I must say... a lot of the stories were cliché. Some of them had interesting concepts, but weren't worked out well enough, and a lot of it was repetitive. There was also a novel in there, "Duplicity", which was better, but again very repetitive.

[Susan Leonard · Rating 1 out of 5]

not sure why i picked up this book from my local library as i'm not a great fan of short stories. The first half of the book comprises short stories which were all previously submitted to magazines but either not published or turned down by the publishers. OK but pretty lame - style of stuff published in the sort of womens magazines i only read accidentally in the doctors or dentists waiting room. The second half of the book was a longer story, much better, and i was enjoying it until the ending - twee sentimental 'Mills & Boon' rubbish, not what i enjoy reading, spoilt what had the potential for a good read.