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Ben Jackson: A Short Story
Jim Connors wakes up on Friday to the news that Ben Jackson, a prominent business man who had recently partnered with Jim's company, is dead. Only, it's not Friday, it's Saturday, and Jim can't figure out where his lost day went. Kevin Anderson, Jim's business partner, is nowhere to be found, and to make matters worse, it appears that Jim's entire company has folded. Without his knowledge.Along with a disgruntled local cop, Jim sets off to investigate where his Friday went, why his business partner disappeared, and most important of all, who Ben Jackson really is.
44 pages, Paperback
First published June 29, 2014
13 people are currently reading
526 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Linehan
26 books116 followersAmanda Linehan is a fiction writer, indie publisher and INFP. She has published three novels and a couple handfuls of short stories. Her short fiction has been featured on Every Day Fiction.
She lives in Maryland, likes to be outside and writes with her cat sleeping on the floor beside her desk.
She lives in Maryland, likes to be outside and writes with her cat sleeping on the floor beside her desk.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 1, 2016
Amanda, oh Amanda.
You delivered a sucker-punch!
And in 31 crisp pages.
Let's begin with the cover .
With the bloodshot stains sprawled over the wall, this has to catch your attention no matter how many books of the mystery genre you have stacked in your library.
Plot :
Imagine waking up on a Saturday, thinking it was a Friday. Only that it wasn't. jim Conors somehow manages to loose up an entire day of his life and he has count how it happened.
You can steal someone's day?!
Character Potrayal :
To add more to that he is portrayed as a fidgety and meek balding man. His manners when he comes up face to face is outstandingly carved out by the author.
He has to undergo the arduous task of expressing his sorrow to the grieving family of his business associate.
Yes, that guy had an accident.
And it happened on the Friday that never was Jim's.
The man behind it all, our antagonist has a mystery buried deep in his past. He is not what he shows the world he is. His is a character, I would pay to watch, if enacted in a movie.
The guy who was murdered (and not died of accident) wasn't either what the world knew him to be.
PHEW!
I had it enough; talking in insinuations and managing not to give out the story to you.
Amanda gave me a tough time as a book reviewer. My unassailable streak of not giving in the suspense was under threat.
Verdict A mystery so intriguing and well woven that I have no qualms before pasting 4 brilliant stars on this book.
You delivered a sucker-punch!
And in 31 crisp pages.
Let's begin with the cover .
With the bloodshot stains sprawled over the wall, this has to catch your attention no matter how many books of the mystery genre you have stacked in your library.
Plot :
Imagine waking up on a Saturday, thinking it was a Friday. Only that it wasn't. jim Conors somehow manages to loose up an entire day of his life and he has count how it happened.
You can steal someone's day?!
Character Potrayal :
To add more to that he is portrayed as a fidgety and meek balding man. His manners when he comes up face to face is outstandingly carved out by the author.
He has to undergo the arduous task of expressing his sorrow to the grieving family of his business associate.
Yes, that guy had an accident.
And it happened on the Friday that never was Jim's.
The man behind it all, our antagonist has a mystery buried deep in his past. He is not what he shows the world he is. His is a character, I would pay to watch, if enacted in a movie.
The guy who was murdered (and not died of accident) wasn't either what the world knew him to be.
PHEW!
I had it enough; talking in insinuations and managing not to give out the story to you.
Amanda gave me a tough time as a book reviewer. My unassailable streak of not giving in the suspense was under threat.
Verdict A mystery so intriguing and well woven that I have no qualms before pasting 4 brilliant stars on this book.
July 8, 2018
It's hard to believe that 36 pages could be SO riveting, but that's exactly what this short story from Amanda Linehan is!
Such a simple premise; a businessman slowly realises he's missing a whole day after reading of the death of his new business partner in a newspaper, and something is terribly wrong with the whole situation. But Linehan throws the cast and has you totally hooked, not only in finding out what happened but the story behind it as well. A very well played tantalising short story that I enjoyed immensely. I have a few more of the author's short stories and I can't wait to see how they hold up to this excellent piece.
I received an ebook of this short story directly from the author. I have voluntarily chosen to review the book, and the gifting in no way determines my review/rating, which reflects my honest opinion.
Such a simple premise; a businessman slowly realises he's missing a whole day after reading of the death of his new business partner in a newspaper, and something is terribly wrong with the whole situation. But Linehan throws the cast and has you totally hooked, not only in finding out what happened but the story behind it as well. A very well played tantalising short story that I enjoyed immensely. I have a few more of the author's short stories and I can't wait to see how they hold up to this excellent piece.
I received an ebook of this short story directly from the author. I have voluntarily chosen to review the book, and the gifting in no way determines my review/rating, which reflects my honest opinion.
March 4, 2017
Ben Jackson is a short but entertaining mystery thriller with a really solid hook: a man wakes up to discover he is missing a day, and during that time his life has been turned upside down. Its brevity necessitates the speed in which events unfold but the story reaches a satisfying conclusion nonetheless. Hard to say too much else without giving away spoilers, but be prepared for a few decent twists and turns.
November 16, 2016
"You guys are a tough audience."
A dead associate, a missing day, and now a missing business partner who has just closed down their company: things are not going well for Jim Connors. What on earth is happening?
A nice mystery short story, well written and intriguing. Can you guess what is happening? It might not be what you expect.
My thanks to Book Reviews 22 for gifting me a copy of Ben Jackson
A dead associate, a missing day, and now a missing business partner who has just closed down their company: things are not going well for Jim Connors. What on earth is happening?
A nice mystery short story, well written and intriguing. Can you guess what is happening? It might not be what you expect.
My thanks to Book Reviews 22 for gifting me a copy of Ben Jackson
February 3, 2017
A very well thought out plot that has you guessing right from the start.
So much happening to one poor man crammed into 31 pages. I couldn't put it down!
I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.
I was lucky enough to win this book from Goodreads.
So much happening to one poor man crammed into 31 pages. I couldn't put it down!
I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.
I was lucky enough to win this book from Goodreads.
November 22, 2016
An amusing short story to while away a few minutes in a waiting room.
Who is Ben Jackson? only one person knows and he is a mad man.
Who is Ben Jackson? only one person knows and he is a mad man.
May 9, 2018
Ben Jackson by Amanda Linehan is only 39 pages long. But that is longer than short stories a reader will find in Writing on the Walls 1, also by Amanda Linehan which I reviewed on April 13, 2018. I found the short stories in the first work contained interesting stories of relationships. Nothing crashed or twisted, there were just interesting observations. This short story began with some nice character observations, described an interesting mystery to be solved and then, like the cliff off which Ben Jackson went, the story went completely off the rails into total unbelievability.
To believe such an improbable ending, a reader would expect to have a character’s mental condition explored, explained, and evolved over a lengthy period. The character of Kevin is presented as three different characters that could not logically co-exist. I gave this two Amazon star because I liked the first part of the story, one which I believe had promise. Perhaps the author will look at where the strange turn took place and rework the entire short story to a longer, more consistent one.
This is a short review of a short story and I will not lengthen the review to recount the many negatives about the story conclusion. This follows my idea of “If you can’t say something good …”
To believe such an improbable ending, a reader would expect to have a character’s mental condition explored, explained, and evolved over a lengthy period. The character of Kevin is presented as three different characters that could not logically co-exist. I gave this two Amazon star because I liked the first part of the story, one which I believe had promise. Perhaps the author will look at where the strange turn took place and rework the entire short story to a longer, more consistent one.
This is a short review of a short story and I will not lengthen the review to recount the many negatives about the story conclusion. This follows my idea of “If you can’t say something good …”
July 23, 2017
Very good short story. Left me wanting more.
I truly enjoyed Ben Jackson. Although it left some unanswered questions it was entertaining. It left me wanting more so I will definitely read more by Amanda Linehan.
I truly enjoyed Ben Jackson. Although it left some unanswered questions it was entertaining. It left me wanting more so I will definitely read more by Amanda Linehan.
November 12, 2017
Interesting read
This was an interesting, exciting tale about what happens when you don't vet out the ones you work for too!
This was an interesting, exciting tale about what happens when you don't vet out the ones you work for too!
March 12, 2017
Interesting short story
The story starts out with a missing day. Then it gets worse the more Jim tries to figure things out.. It was ok but l did not like the ending.
The story starts out with a missing day. Then it gets worse the more Jim tries to figure things out.. It was ok but l did not like the ending.
September 20, 2016
The story starts well. A mystery is introduced that grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading. A man suffers from a twenty-four hour amnesia fit, during which his life has been turned upside down. However, as the plot unfolded, I found the mystery deepening to such a degree that I had to reread certain sections in case I missed a clue or two. At he end, I was left scratching my head, wondering what it was all about, which is a shame, because Ben Jackson has all the potential of being a really good yarn. Of course, this could be my dim-wittedness, not a failing of Ms Linehan.
Amanda Linehan undoubtedly has talent, but I did feel that her otherwise intriguing tale would benefit from a proficient edit.
Amanda Linehan undoubtedly has talent, but I did feel that her otherwise intriguing tale would benefit from a proficient edit.
April 23, 2017
Just not believable
This was free, and I am glad I didn't pay for it.
The premise is great- a man wakes up, finds out his new business partner is dead, an entire day is missing from his memory, and somehow his business has closed down. As I read the story, I just kept thinking, "this makes no sense." The pacing felt rushed, and the other characters never seemed real to me. This has potential, but it didn't live up to it, in my opinion.
This was free, and I am glad I didn't pay for it.
The premise is great- a man wakes up, finds out his new business partner is dead, an entire day is missing from his memory, and somehow his business has closed down. As I read the story, I just kept thinking, "this makes no sense." The pacing felt rushed, and the other characters never seemed real to me. This has potential, but it didn't live up to it, in my opinion.
April 23, 2017
Enjoyed it but...
Good story but too much assumed knowledge about the characters. I disagree with others about the ending but more information about Kevin would have clarified a lot.
Good story but too much assumed knowledge about the characters. I disagree with others about the ending but more information about Kevin would have clarified a lot.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews