Every Man's Worst Nightmare...

NO OUTLET by Matthew Warner (2012 Thunderstorm Books / 164 pp / limited edition hc & tp)

Steve and Tanya are shopping at a mall. They have their share of marital problems that get worse when they discover they can't find any exit doors. The mall becomes an endless maze of countless stores and seemingly miles of back hallways, always shifting. When they finally accept the fact they're somehow trapped, Steve begins to wonder if they're on another planet or even in hell.

Whenever they ask someone for help or directions to an exit, security guards arrive and adminster various punishments. Eventually Steve and Tanya meet another couple who are in the same situation, but things only start to get worse and more bizarre.

NO OUTLET is like a classic episode of TWILIGHT ZONE amped up to 10. Warner creates a genuinely claustrophobic nightmare full of suspense and chills that concludes with a lot of heart.

A quick, satisfying read that works its growing sense of paranoia to the max.