Weekend Getaway by Tom Deady
Grinning Skull Press (October 2017)
142 pages; $10.95 paperback, $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Weekend Getaway is the new novella by the author of Haven, the 2016 Bram Stoker winner for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. This new work is decidedly different in tone from his debut work, which was a lovely coming of age story. Weekend Getaway has more in common with some of Jack Ketchum’s more graphic works, and it’s every bit as good.
In the words from the introduction by Josh Malerman:
Weekend Getaway is as much a gulp of Jolt® Cola as it is a quick snap of a rubber band on the wrist. It’s smart, small, and (undoubtedly) effective.
At its purest, Weekend Getaway is the story of how John Baxter lost his finger. After the loss of their child, John and his wife are off for a weekend getaway to a cabin in the woods, a place John found and booked online. Needless to say, things did not turn out as planned.
There are plenty of unexpected twists to keep the reader guessing from start to finish, making Weekend Getaway one of the best novellas I’ve read in 2017.
Recommended, for sure.
