Review: Kindness by Michael R. Goodwin

Rating: 7.75/10

Synopsis

EVERY FAMILY HAS THEIR SECRETS…

Jay and his siblings live in fear of their father, a man with a strict set of rules enforced by his brutal temper. One of the many rules Father stresses the most is to stay out of the garage, which is always kept locked. When his father invites him inside the garage one day, Jay notices that the rest of his family is nowhere to be seen. Once inside, he is overwhelmed by a horrible, rotten smell.

Then, Father takes out an axe.

Dark secrets and horrible truths are revealed in this harrowing and dark tale, all in the pursuit of one coveted thing: REVENGE.

Review

This is a short story that I grabbed a paperback copy of, kind of cool that that’s even an option, and I loved that it’s like pocket sized similar to Evening of the Mutated Undead by E. Reyes and The Gatherings by Jeremy Ray. I read it in a single sitting, so no need for pocket storage, but the option’s always there.

Jay’s father is a man of rules, a harsh corrector when the rules get broken. One of his biggest rules is to never enter the garage, which is most often locked, and the memory of the one time Jay’s brother disobeyed is well engrained in their memory. So when Jay’s father tells him to follow him, and he seems to be headed for the garage, Jay doesn’t know what to think. Where is his family? And why is his father being stranger than usual?

This was a quick read but it still packed a punch. While not exactly long enough for me to sink my teeth into as a revenge story, it’s certainly short and sweet. A family heirloom, an axe, makes Jay feel strong, makes him feel like he’s up for the task of taking on his dad. All his father wanted was to be obeyed, but he’s done things unforgivable. In a kind of rule of two ending, the student may become the master. And I loved the barrels, they made me think of Breaking Bad.