Customer Reviews

Unexpected: Eleven Mysterious Stories

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"Things are never quite what they seem." Whoever said that must have read UNEXPECTED, 11 stories that are almost guaranteed to surprise --- and delight --- you. Some are mysterious, some are funny, and some are touching. But all will keep you reading until the very last page, when you get an unexpected surprise every time.

One of the stories, "Loser," is about a boy who constantly loses things, all kinds of things --- even a tuba that the school lent him so he could practice (yes, he actually misplaced a tuba!). Now, of course, you'd expect the tale to end with Frederick (that's the boy/loser) not losing things anymore. But what's unexpected is how he breaks his losing habits. As you might guess from the tuba episode, "Loser" is not only highly unusual but also quite funny.

In another story, "The Telltale Croak," an underage boy sneaks his father's car out for a little joyride and accidentally hits the youngest member of a neighbor's family who has wandered out onto the road. In a panic, he buries the body near a hidden pond. The boy is terrified and feels guilty --- so guilty in fact that he keeps hearing the croaks of a bullfrog that was in the pond and witnessed him bury the body. The "croak, croak" sounds to him like "murder, murder" and almost drives him mad. How can he explain to his father about the new dent in the car's fender? How will he tell his sobbing neighbor girlfriend that it was he who is responsible for Marky's strange disappearance? What will he tell his family and the police? Ah, that's the surprise, and we'll never tell....

UNEXPECTED will enthrall you with such strange occurrences as a haunting that started in pioneer days and now affects a modern-day family, and a miniature village where the inhabitants are tiny as well. But be warned: expect the unexpected when you read UNEXPECTED. You won't be disappointed.

--- Reviewed by Robert Oksner