Published: April 12, 2011
Words: 14,188 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781452436050

Short description

In this first edition of short stories offered by Istoria Books (eBooks You Want to Read at Prices You Want to Pay), readers can devour two tasty and satisfying tales of suspense and cozy mystery. Jenny Milchman and Libby Sternberg take readers on domestic journeys where the prosaic turns into the perplexing, creating everyday dramas that aren’t easily resolved.

Extended description

Lunch Reads Volume 1: Two Short Mystery Stories

The Very Old Man…by Jenny Milchman
A chance encounter in a grocery store spooks a young mother. When small accidents begin to happen around her young child, she wonders if the old man who'd given her daughter a quarter is to blame. (Read more) Lunch Reads Volume 1: Two Short Mystery Stories

The Very Old Man…by Jenny Milchman
A chance encounter in a grocery store spooks a young mother. When small accidents begin to happen around her young child, she wonders if the old man who'd given her daughter a quarter is to blame.

Escape From Southern Point…by Libby Sternberg
At small town on the Outer Banks, a loving groom fails to show up on his wedding day. As family and friends try to locate him and explain his absence, the bride's aunt draws on town gossip to figure out where he's gone, unintentionally mimicking the Jessica-Fletcher-like character her sister actress plays on TV.

About the Authors

Jenny Milchman’s short fiction has been published and reviewed online and her novel of literary suspense is currently on submission. Jenny is founder of the series Writing Matters, which draws authors and publishing folk from as far away as Seattle to events at a local independent bookstore in New Jersey. Last year she began Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, which wound up enlisting over 80 booksellers in 30 states. She blogs about writing at suspenseyourdisbelief.com, featuring international bestsellers as well as authors published by micro presses in the Made It Moments forum, and teaches classes on writing and publishing for New York Writers Workshop.

Libby Sternberg is the author of several young adult mysteries, the first of which (Uncovering Sadie’s Secrets) was an Edgar finalist. Her two adult mysteries, Death Is the Cool Night and Lost to the World, are published digitally by Istoria Books. Her first historical women’s fiction, Sloane Hall, is a Five Star/Gale release. Writing under the name Libby Malin, she is the author of several humorous women’s fiction books. Before becoming a novelist, she studied voice, earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Peabody Conservatory of Music.
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Tags

short stories, short story anthology, mystery series, humorous mystery, detective stories, mystery collection, mystery short stories, mystery shorts, short stories series

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Reviews

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Review by: Arthur Levine on May 25, 2011 :
Lunch Reads – A Very Old Man by Jenny Milchman

From the first line of this wonderful short story describing The Very Old Man you know that Jenny is a writer who has total command of detail and description. And before you finish the first page you will believe she is a consummate storyteller. She puts the reader in the scene.

Add a element of suspense, a nasty old coin that magically affects a nine month old baby replete with falls and old plumbing bubbling up over the baby’s crib and you have a prescription for an entertaining lunch time read that will leave you speculating over what the ending means and wanting to read more from this talented author. Definitely five star material.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Jonathan Quist on May 09, 2011 : (no rating)
I was fortunate enough to read one of Jenny Milchman's contest submissions recently, so when I saw her name in an announcement for Lunch Reads, Vol. 1, I jumped on it and added it to my Nook.

The bio on jennymilchman.com states: "Jenny Milchman is the married mother of a kindergartener and a preschooler", and her photo matches that description pretty well - a lovely young woman with a sweet, nurturing smile.

Don't believe it for a minute, folks.

Beneath Jenny's warm, caring exterior beats the heart of a macabre story teller, and I am quite sure that it beats with much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.

The story starts simply enough, with a minor encounter that has caused many a parent to look back and say, "Of course there was nothing to worry about--how could I have been so foolish?" Young Denise has taken her infant daughter shopping, and a stranger approached, wanting to give the girl a little present. It has happened at one time or another to nearly every parent or anyone who has had charge of a cute baby in a public place for more than a few minutes. Nothing to worry about, right?

Don't believe it for a minute, folks.

To avoid spoilers, I'll omit additional story details, but if I were asked for the author's recipe, I'd say blend equal amounts of Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King, then season with additions by Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock. Blend well by holding the mixture in your hands. It will be shaken up when you are.

I know nothing about the novel that Jenny Milchman has on submission, except that I can't wait for it to be published so I can read it. She is a talented young writer from whom we can expect wonderful things.

As this is part of a two-story set, I should say a bit about the second, Libby Sternberg's "Escape from Southern Point". In the afterword, Libby says the wanted to come up with an amateur sleuth who could have stepped off the screen of Murder, She Wrote, but who does not see herself that way. In fact, her sleuth Olivia is not a mystery writer who solves crimes in her small town--but she has a sister who plays one on TV. While attending a wedding where the groom doesn't show, circumstances force Olivia to live up to her sister's reputation. Libby Sternberg has succeeded admirably in bringing her premise to the page, in a quiet, small-town cozy short that provides a very nice counterpoint to (and relief from) the intensity of The Very Old Man.

The vending machines at my place of employment charge a buck for a candy bar or bag of chips. For a penny less, Lunch Reads last longer and are far more satisfying. If subsequent volumes meet or exceed the standard set by this first installment, they will continue to find their way into my lunch bag.

With my compliments to the chefs,

jeq
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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