Review of "Cold," short story by Martin Pond



Summary:
No workplace relationships (they get messy). And no relationships with married men (they get messy too). Lisa broke both these rules when she met Daniel. But when their affair ends, and Lisa realises she cannot get him back, she decides to get even instead, and exacts her revenge in a series of acts that start small but quickly escalate. And as the old saying goes, revenge is a dish best served... cold.

Review:
A compellingly told story marred by unlikeable characters.  But let me be clear: In general, I like the antihero types.  I think they actually end up being more interesting and complex than your regular ol' hero.  But in order to get into this type of character you have to be completely immersed in their twisted minds.

We watch as Lisa, our protagonist, changes from a semi-normal woman to bordering stalker.  But that was my problem.  She never really made it past bordering.  A plot like this can't play it safe.  What makes this type of story chilling is watching a sane protagonist make choices that are seemingly logical but really just drive them further and further toward crazy.

Lisa never went full blown crazy.  At best she was spiteful and jealous with a hint of crazy to come.  So all we're left with is a spiteful woman in love with a womanizing boss who's married to an ice queen.  Am I supposed to feel sorry for any of these people?  Even the wife who's being cheated on is a completely unlikeable person.  

So, as I said before, the story was compelling.  The writing was such that it kept me interested until the bitter end.  I just didn't care enough about the fate of the characters when they met said bitter end.

3/5 stars
Reviewed by Alain Gomez 

Buy this story on Amazon.

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