Sharon Boyle has an individual, Boylesque style of writing. Her use of verbs and regional idiolects give her very often working-class protags a vivacity and energy that is consistent throughout her work. This deeply arresting, killer opening is Boylesque brevity at its best, “She whips out a pistol and shoots him. Bang, bang, you’re dead.” Totally engaging and not, the reader immediately suspects, entirely what it seems. You lean in to get your bearings and gradually come to see via laugh-out-loud moments the eye-prickingly sad truth. A roller-coaster of a read despite its concision. Anyone wanting to learn how to give their writing energy, pace and pizzaz, and their characters real depth in as few words as poss, should read this story.

First published at Flash 500, 2024, and available to read here