‘All Shorts…of Revenge’ by Di Shelley

Published by Di Shelley, 2017.
ISBN 978-1-54320213-7

In her second collection of short stories Di Shelley concentrates on the satisfaction achieved by an individual from wreaking vengeance on someone who has betrayed them.   These revengeful actions show careful planning, often over a lengthy period of time, and subtle knowledge of the likely reactions of the original malefactor.  A woman scorned is the traditional picture but Di ranges way beyond this stereotype in her different tales with examples ranging from the relationship of a fiction reader meeting a famous author to a group who have been defrauded in various ways.    It is satisfying for the reader to feel that triumph over evil involves a reversal of roles so that the biter is bit!  There are complex processes in these revenge stories as the tables are turned.  

Other tales also have a chilling intensity about them - Wilf in Away with the Fairies causes much trouble for the boy who attempts to save him. Here the circumstantial tangle of events tightens around an innocent subject.   These stories all draw the reader along through ‘the author’s mind [which] remains twisted.’

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Reviewer: Jennifer S. Palmer

This is the second book of stories partly on the theme of revenge that Di Shelley has written, following Sweet Revenge…and Other Stories.   She promises us a third Revenge thy name is….to follow soon.

 

Diane Shelley (nee George) was born in Buckinghamshire, and brought up in a house surrounded by books. She was taught to read at an early age, (for which she is eternally grateful to both her mum and dad). Prior to winning a scholarship to Aylesbury Grammar School she attended Waddesdon Church of England School where, at the age of 9, her first piece of fiction was published in the school magazine. Later, she honed her craft both as a freelance columnist for the Bristol Evening Post and as a freelance broadcaster and producer with the BBC. She now resides in the West Country and can usually be found at her computer with a glass of wine to hand!

Jennifer Palmer Throughout my reading life crime fiction has been a constant interest; I really enjoyed my 15 years as an expatriate in the Far East, the Netherlands & the USA but occasionally the solace of closing my door to the outside world and sitting reading was highly therapeutic. I now lecture to adults on historical topics including Famous Historical Mysteries.