STEVE BREWER - SHOWDOWN (2012)

Synopsis/blurb....

Two old men have played cards together every week for thirty years. Each man assumes he knows everything about the other by now. Then one reveals a terrible secret from long ago. And they both know this night will end like no other.

SHOWDOWN is a suspenseful short story from Steve Brewer, author of more than 20 crime novels, including the well-known Bubba Mabry mystery series.

The fifth and last of the Steve Brewer short stories available on Amazon and another 10 - 15 minutes of fun and another bump to the reading stats.

Two men, old friends re-enacting the same weekly ritual that they've been performing for thirty years. Tonight ends differently......

Cards, beer drinking, maybe one or two too many, loose lips - sinking ships, confession good for the soul but not too good for camaraderie, exposed secrets, horror, grief, family history, wives, cheating, arrogance, disrespect, stored resentment, some pre-planning, a gun in a drawer, a few home truths, shifting dynamics - an outcome which ensures our host is going to have to find himself a new drinking and card buddy.

I do appreciate the skill involved in constructing a short story where there's little time to fully develop the characters or plot and get them from A to Z while having the reader interested in the outcome. Steve Brewer possesses that guile in abundance.

4 from 5

Read - June, 2019
Published - 2012
Page count - 11
Source - Kindle Unlimited
Format - kindle