2 out of 4 stars
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Killer In The Woods by David G. Tapp is a short crime thriller set in the small town of Willow Springs, Texas, in 1980. When the Shannon brothers, Craig and John, trespass on Frank Tincher's farm one night for a little illegal hunting, their noisy activities alert Tincher, who unleashes his six-hundred-pound hog "Killer" on the boys. After it gores Craig to death, Tincher shoots John in the head and buries them both on his farm. The next morning, Tincher calls Lieutenant Chris Finch of the Willow Springs Police Department to help dispose of the dead men's truck. Tincher grows marijuana on his farm which Finch sells throughout the small town, an enterprise they must keep secret at any cost...
Tapp's prose is generally economical, though there are examples to the contrary. Some early descriptive sentences are consistently short: "Craig looked through his scope. Feeling confident in his aim, he fired off a round." Such writing is neat, clean, and easy to read, which I enjoy. The chapters are very short at around three pages each, which keeps the story moving quickly. Though there is no time for subplots in a story of only 71 pages, the main story is engaging, though I did find some elements unrealistic.
Unfortunately, there are more negatives than positives about this story. Killer In The Woods is riddled with typographical errors and needs another edit. There are ten minor errors in the first four pages of the story. Further errors include missing quotation marks, missing commas, missing question marks in dialogue, and hyphens used unnecessarily (such as "spot-light" and "down-hill"). There are also incorrect words, such as "ease dropping" instead of "eavesdropping" and "what so ever" for "whatsoever". The incorrect tense is also used on occasion, switching back and forth between past and present tense.
Some sentences in the story are poorly worded. For example: "With his mind wondering on why Mr. Tincher was so impatient in wanting to see him, Lt. Finch quickly drove passed the donut shop not even giving it a single thought." Aside from the errors, this could be rewritten: "Wondering why Mr. Tincher was so impatient to see him, Lt. Finch drove past the donut shop without giving it a single thought." The short chapters and overall story length leave little opportunity for real character development. In this respect, the characters seem a little clichéd and "cardboard cut-out", lacking details such as interests or hobbies.
One particular scene loses almost all of its tension due to the viewpoint switching back and forth between Tincher and his intended victim throughout. Because I saw both sides, I knew what was coming, and when; thus, it had little impact. Also, the viewpoint switches mid-paragraph, a disconcerting jump between two separate locations. Had this scene been written from only the victim's viewpoint, the timing, nature, and direction of the attack would have been a surprise, which would have increased the tension.
The reporter and cameraman in the story call each other "Ms. Ridgeway" and "Mr. Montgomery", which seems odd: old-fashioned and formal. I think two colleagues who travel around together would be on a first-name basis. Finally, the ending was solid, but it wrapped up too quickly and suddenly for my liking. I would have liked a longer and more detailed climactic scene, which I feel would have added more tension.
Killer In The Woods is a story with definite potential which suffers from a lack of editing and other issues as detailed above. For this reason, I rate it 2 out of 4 stars. With proper editing, it would appeal to readers of crime thrillers looking for a quick fix they can read in one sitting. However, be aware that it has short, brutal depictions of violence which may put some people off.
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Killer In The Woods
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when I get a little money I buy books; and if I have any left l buy food and clothes
