Love Hurts [Paperback]

Barry Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2006

LOVE HURTS, Barry Hoffman's second short story collection, treads the gray area between good and evil...

Love Hurts - The kidnapped victim becomes a bit too attached with her capturer

None of My Concern - An urban jungle tale based on the brutalization of Kitty Genovese

Second Chance - Community service can be a bitch

Law of the Jungle - An advocate for the homeless carries with her a deadly secret

Too Late - Kicking cancer comes with a price

King of the Hill - A Shanicha Wilkins (from BORN BAD) prequel; she was bad even at age 5

Spare Parts - Soldiers fight a war in which there are no casualties

Tradepaperback copies bought through Gauntlet will be signed by Barry Hoffman.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"More writers should have (Hoffman's) passion (and, of course, his talent!). Barry...keep these shorts coming." -- The Horror Fiction Review

"These stories embrace the terrifying realities of the human condition...the scares come fast and hard...Another fine (Hoffman) collection." -- Tomb of Dark Delights

We must be grateful that (novelist) Hoffman spends his spare time producing short fiction...his stories are actually very good. -- The Zone

From the Author

From the Introduction by Barry Hoffman:

"Most of the stories I pen are written because I love writing. If I'm not working on a novel...I still want to be writing something. It's in my blood. The stories in Love Hurts are among my favorites. I imagine if I wanted to I could get them published in magazines or anthologies. For those who enjoy my writing, though, I think these stories appearing as a mini-collection will be more enjoyable".

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: Gauntlet Pr; 1st edition (May 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887368892
• ISBN-13: 978-1887368896
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,196,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Social Horror at its best...and Worst!, June 16, 2006

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Love Hurts (Paperback)

Barry Hoffman's "Love Hurts" is a collection of short stories that truly tears at your conscious. This isn't about supernatural horror (although a couple of stories have supernatural elements) or deranged killers, but rather I call it socially aware horror, taken from the pages of everyday life and thereby making all the more potent and thought-provoking.

"Second Chance" is based on a true story...actually several I think...about a pregnant teenage who gives birth to her baby during the prom, dumps it in the trash, and then returns to the dance with hardly a second thought. What is more horrific than this obvious contempt for life? In Hoffman's story, a judge dishes out a deliciously ruthless sentence on the teen and we could only wish that this could be done in real life.

"None of my Concern" is another tale based on all too real events. A young woman named Tyra is brutally assaulted by a gang of thugs while friends and other passersby turn their heads away, refusing to get involved. It's not their concern, you see, and isn't this a horrible indictment of the human condition?

"Spare Parts" focuses on the on-going war in Iraq in a blend of Frankenstein science and horror when technology discovers a way to literally piece soldiers back together, even returning them from the dead, so they can go back out and fight. Hoffman skewers the media with a shotgun blast right to the head in this story.

The title story, "Love Hurts" puts the spoiled rotten, Paris Hilton/OC type snobs of the world in the spotlight. A mysterious man who knows her type only to well, kidnaps rich brat Brianna. He breaks down Brianna's defenses in a masterful psychological game, stripping her both literally and figuratively, right down to her soul, and forcing her to admit just what she's become. Masterfully written.

There are seven stories in all in this short, 84 page collection and they all prove that Hoffman is at the top of his game.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seductively Terrifying Tales, July 21, 2006

By 

J. L. Comeau (Fairfax, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Hurts (Paperback)

Seven short masterworks grace this slender volume of psychological thrillers, each of which delve into the darkest reaches of the human mind. You'll encounter a kidnapping victim who forms a bizarre relationship with her captor, and find tales set in bleak cityscapes of brutal streets that test humanity's instincts toward kindness. You'll also find a truly spine-rattling tale of combat soldiers who do not die, but are repaired and sent to battle again and again, and more. These stories embrace the terrifying realities of the human condition and, written in Hoffman's lean prose style, the scares come fast and hard. And here's a real treat--included with this collection is a story titled "King of the Hill", which is a Shanicha Wilkins (the infamous BORN BAD character) prequel that proves that Shanicha was, indeed, born very, very bad. She's a malicious five-year-old who will eventually become a cold-blooded serial killer. Here is another fine collection from an author who consistently delivers the heartpounding thrills readers have come to associate with his name.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent and scary, June 8, 2006

By 

Nick Cato "nickyak" (Staten Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Hurts (Paperback)

Hoffman shines in this nifty collection, featuring seven stories (including one that features Shanicha, the conscience-less villain from Barry's great novel BORN BAD). The ending of the opening story ("Love Hurts")will give you the chills, and several of the tales feature important social commentary. Highly recommended.