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The Unsafe Occupant

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The Unsafe Occupant

By: William J. Jackson
Narrated by: Dalton Deeter
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1877, Railroad City, MO:

In a city recently granted superhuman powers by a bizarre foreign element, strange is the new normal. Now, a murder will stun the police and require the talents of a few of these superhuman "paranormals". But the killer they seek is no common man, or even anything like themselves....

©2015 William J. Jackson (P)2017 William J. Jackson Anthologies & Short Stories Fantasy Fiction Short Stories Superhero Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Paranormal
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This quirky short story is set in the nineteenth century small town of Rail, where a previous accident had empowered some of the inhabitants with paranormal powers. When the body of a prominent lawyer is discovered sqaushed into a safe, his friend, who is recounting the incident, calls on one of these, Flag, to solve the murder. Flag has the ability to see the time sequence move backwards and he doesn't like what he sees.

Cleverly written as if of the time, for this reader the book left as many questions as it answered. The narration itself by Dalton Deeter was good but marred by production issues: overlong silent breaks between chapters combined with a the strange enclosed sound of speaking too close to a microphone within a tiny recording booth. There is also, in chapter three, approximately sixteen minutes in where, for about 20 seconds two tracks run simultaneously making it impossible to understand either. This reader, even after several listens, has still been unable to determine if this was supposed to be a representation of the chromoscopic vision possessed by Flag, or a simple mistake in the recording. Whichever it was, it distracts.

Apart from this, Mr Deteer's voice is of pleasant timbre and his characterisations are really distinctive and excellent, incorporating several accents. His intonation when reading the text between conversation is also good apart from an occasional hesitancy which gives it the feel of a first time reading. Overall, though, an inspired performance.

A strange story set amongst an equally peculiar townsfolk and one which conjors up clear images in the mind.. This book certainly piqued piqued my curiosity about the town and it's inhabitants, even if it is not one I would recommend to anyone without their having deeper background..

Too intelligent for shaving.

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