R.P. Lauer 3 years ago ‘Layers: A Collection of Short Stories’ is just that; a collection of short stories, by Zuzanne Belec. There’s not a lot I can say about this, other than the fact that it was a delightful read! These are all stories that have some sort of twist or ‘got ya’ moment at the end, where most of the fun is not knowing what is going on, or where the story is heading, and then trying to guess with each new detail. Even a brief plot blurb would potentially ruin the journey in my opinion.
There is one in particular that I do wish had been more than just a short story. It involves a death investigation (no, that does not reveal anything), and the investigative tool itself presented an extremely interesting idea. I’d absolutely love to see this method explored more in its own full-lengthed story.
Just as in shows like The Twilight Zone, the majority of these stories do end in a bit of tragedy, though one specifically was maybe a little too heartbreaking for my soul. But, I won’t hold that against the author; some realities of life are too powerful (even if in a sad way) to be ignored in fiction.
Overall, if you are a fan of these types of tales - again, smaller stories that end in twist or shock - then I highly recommend picking this up! I look forward to seeing Belec does in the future, should she write full-lengthed novels.
