First, let me say JF is part of a group of central Pennsylvania genre writers I've grown to love and greatly respect, even if he yearns to return to California sunshine someday.
Readers may be familiar with JF from his collaborations on the popular Clickers series, first with the late Mark Williams and more recently with Brian Keene.
Screaming to Get Out is a collection of brilliant shorts written and published over the last fifteen years. Each one different in concept and written with skill and talent, delivering a highly entertaining package for the reader.
If you've never read J. F. Gonzalez, you would be doing yourself a big favor by picking up this sampling of his work. Inside you'll find thirteen tales to keep you up at night, starting with "Laura," the story of a mother dealing with a father hiding from the police after attempting to kill his son because he believes he's a monster. Nice twist, which seems to be an earmark in JF' s stories.
I'm not going to list all of the pieces in the collection, I'll let you discover them for yourself, but a couple of my favorites include, "After Nightfall," which has that Twilight Zone feel to it. A couple takes a back roads shortcut on their way to Denver and stumble on a little town stuck in the past. They can't wait to get out of town...and then.
There's even a Clickers story called, "Captivity" set at a horror con. Good stuff.
It all wraps up nicely with, "Breaking Point," where a former gangbanger is pulled over by the cops and as the one officer starts to beat on him he ends up turning the tables and takes the policemen hostage. A great "what if" story.
A couple of items worth noting. EVERY story in the collection is solid, there are no clunkers. And, JF provides a bit of history on each story before the next one starts.
Screaming to Get Out is available now for the Kindle at Amazon.com and is one I can strongly recommend.
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